she doesn't and won't blow sunshine up your ass.

Which is good, 'cuz that's where the sun don't shine.

It's the White Mountains. The nearest town is still small: Show Low. It's maybe three and a half hours northeast of Phoenix. It's about three and a half hours from everywhere, frankly, Tucson, Flagstaff, you name it, we're three and a half hours from it.

But not from me! Wah!

I think fears of hyponatremia are overblown for the vast majority of people. According to Grace's GI and dietician, hyponatremia is "common" only in infants or athelets who are sweating a lot and at risk for a salt imbalance. When pressed, the GI told us that adult kidneys can process 15 liters of water a day safely but it's 15 liters spaced out over the entire day. He said adults should consume about 3 liters a day of water, but most of the water comes from foods.

Water is super useful because water by itself is not digested in the same way as food and other liquids. However, water can increase the volume tolerance of a stomach so if you want to feel full faster, it's best NOT to have water an hour before you eat (conversely we give Grace the same amount of water an hour or 30 min before a feed as a prep to get her stomach primed to accept 8 ounces of liquid).

Water will also help with moving the poop along so it can help with reflux relating from volume intolerance. Water with food or after food, however, doesn't produce the same results.

So I guess, Liese, I'm saying if it works for your DH, it makes sense,

I work with someone who lost about 30 lbs 7 years ago and has kept it off. And another guy who lost about 45 lbs maybe a decade ago. Both of them really upped their exercise after they lost the weight and that seems to be key. In NYC, I worked with someone who lost 90 lbs and had kept it off for 7 years when I met her. She brought in pictures to show us once and it was kind of amazing. I haven't seen her in a decade, though, so I don't know if that's still true.

My cousin had gastric bypass surgery several (Maybe 6, can't remember) years ago and lost almost 200lbs and has kept it off, but I don't know if surgery counts.

I'm curious if anyone has taken off a significant amount of weight and kept it off for five years or more.

I took off 15-20 lbs four years ago. It's still off. I didn't do WW but I did track my calories using online applications (Fitday or livestrong). The maintenance has been based on changing my eating habits (much less pasta, more whole grains, fewer snacks), making sure I exercise regularly, and weighing myself every morning.

The key for maintenance for me is remembering how difficult/annoying it was to lose the weight in the first place. Well, and I have other, family-related incentives.

One of my best friends lost about 75-80 pounds 15 years ago. She gained some of it back (15-20) but has mostly kept it off. That said, She did yoyo around for a bit. She's since trained to be a nutritionist, and is very focused on maintaining a healthy and balanced diet. But she's by no means a constant dieter, just very into eating healthy, organic, whole foods.

I lost 55 lbs via exercise and eating regimen and kept it off for 3 years. But it came back up plus another 25. :( I think part of the problem is it has been so hard for me to believe exactly *how* much exercise one needs to do as one ages and one's metabolism slows down. If I ever manage to get it down again, I'm apprised.

Huh. I just joined online weightwatchers on Monday. I bought the kit so I have the booklet with the points plus system. I also bought a scale (I haven't had one in a while) - both kit and scale arrived tonight. Well, today - but I just got home.

I have a friend who did gastric bypass surgery and really remade her lifestyle in that first year to include alot more exercise and alot more thought about what she eats. This is important because when you get that done you've destroyed part of your digestive system and need to pay close attention to your intake to make sure you're getting the nutrients you need. That was a while ago - she really discovered that she loves to run and feels down when she can't. But right now she is still rehabbing from an Achilles tendon injury so cannot run and has put some (but not nearly all) the weight back on. So she is joining (rejoining) WW to get back on track.

I am finding the hyponatremia conversation very interesting and educating. Thanks to everyone.

Oh and about that guitar... well I was at Costco, and they had a 3/4 size electric guitar there. So despite the good advice to start with an acoustic, I picked it up. I figure they have a very generous return policy so if I bought it now I could still shop around and see if I could find an acoustic that we liked better.

For Chicagoistas: Weekend forecast: 4-7 inches of snow (eta: the heaviest snows are supposed to northwest of the city.)

Fun! Or, you know, not.

Weekend forecast: 4-7 inches of snow

I don't know how I feel about that.