all my seminary buddies!

I can not tell you girls enough what this weekend meant has meant to me. Rebakah, Jane, Robyn, Christine, Ms Linda, Melissa and Rita I feel such a HUGE bond and closeness with you that I have never felt before. I am so happy that we got to experience this together. I feel like we have so much information that is going to help us and others throughout our journey. I pray for each and everyone of us and I hope that everyone is doing great. For everyone else on this board I hope that ya'll can check into this seminary and be able to attend and find the satisfaction that I know the eight of us have found! Love Denise

The seminar meant a lot to me too. I can say it will and has been beneficiary to me and I know I did grow from it. we will have to get our notes together and share some with the rest of you. We all have good tips we can share. AND I plan on having a watermelon festival at my house--complete with a watermelon fight and seed spitting contest. Maybe in June we can do that. I will come up with a date and we can get to planning. Just no watermelon wine please--the preacher Tommy wouldn't like that!!! lol Later Jane You are the greatest Denise!!!

Jane, I think you are great to. YOu know I am just so glad that this weekend gave me the chance to get to know you better. I feel honered to have you in my life now. I would have never prob felt that way just seeing you every now and then at the support group meetings. You are one of the most geniun people i know and I feel truly blessed for knowing you! I can not wait to throw watermelons at Robyn hee hee. and to get seeds in rita's weave. ha ha ha. I just cant wait! You take care! I love you! Denise

:snif::snif: Wish I could have been there! I am so glad you guys got lots out of it! smoochies Arlies

I did go away with lots and lots of useful information and revelations about myself and my problems and my journey. And of course it was great getting to spend time with you and everyone else. You better watch throwing watermelon seeds into Rita's weave. She will get you, girlfriend. LOL. I can't wait for some fun and laughing and just being plain goofy. It is good for us to do that kind of stuff. We get to release dopamine and make seratonin and get the benefits of the endorphins and heal and reconnect our amygdala. Whew!! LOL. Love Melissa

ok Mel now tell the truth did you have to get your notes out for that one? hee hee hee hee. YOu are too much girl. I can't wait for us to get together again! Love ya Denise

You know, I left my notes at home. So, I was just shooting from the hip, and it was probably all backwards and everything else LOL. But, you get the idea LOL. I was ill I left my notes at home because I had planned on going and getting that book at lunch that they told us to get and read. Melissa

I am not sure what that was you just said.. but it sounds like fun!! LOL... Wish I could have been in the seminary with you guys instead of where I was. I am so tired now I think I could sleep for a week.. Good thing my cruise is coming up so maybe I can rest.. Love & Miss ya! Rhonda

Denise - I agree that I feel a special bond with all of yall. I have always felt connected to you and you know that but this weekend really made me look at a lot of things. I have a couple of notes that I dont mind sharing... Just little things that may not mean anything to anybody but they were important enough for me to right them down. I do not just apply some of them to my eating but also to my life: Absolute Favorite: Change occurs when the pain of where we are is greater than the pain of change. To run a mile still only burns 100 calories - the same as if you walked that mile. **Let go of the banana** See me, Hear me, Approve of me Obesity is a disease. Obese people have less receptors to release dopamine. We released our dopamine by eating. Stress and negative emotions deplete serotonin which causes us to not be centered or calm. Lack of serotonin can cause you not to sleep at night. Obese people have huge Hummuculous - the bigger the hummuculous the larger the BMI. Neurons that fire together wire together. 1/3 of the population is overweight 1 out of 50 people are morbidly obese Skinny people are mutants 1 pound of body fat = 3500 calories SSRI: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitar Exercise is the number one predictor to keep weight off If you or someone you know is diabetic and they go into a diabetic coma - the only way to help them out of it immediatly is honey under the tongue. Sugar, orange juice, and other sweets will not work. Warm liquids supress hunger Just the thought of food causes insulin levels to rise which stores calories We think 1000 - 2000 words per minute in our brain You cannot take care of others if you cannot take care of yourself Co-dependancy - more focused on on others which can cause health problems, diarreah, you are a worrier. You are accountable for your own relationships. Just by drinking 2 quarts of water can burn 100 calories Caffeine stimulates hunger. Anti-depressants and caffeine together confuse the brain. You cannot heal what you do not acknowledge What other people think of me is none of my business. Amygdala - center of fear memory Stress constantly depletes serotonin - stress suppresses appetite (accute stress) - get a burst of Cortisol and you eat. At the time of death every endorphin in your body is released. Your body will do whatever it takes to survive. Mindful Eating -- This works. I didnt believe it cause I never practiced it but I am now and it works. If you have your food in front of you cut it up into as many peices as you can. Eat very slowly and taste the food - even put fork down if you want. I promise the longer it took us to eat the fuller we got on a lot less food. They suggest one "quiet meal" a day and they suggest it be breakfast.

enough said my friend. I would suggest that those of you who dont really know what we are raving about right now to read Christines post and then re-read it about 100 times and focus on each and every word! This past weekend was one of the most moving experiences I have EVER had. I think I actually FELT more emotion than I did on my Wedding day! Love ya Christine!! Denise