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Horray!!!!!! I'm Overweight!!!!!!

Ok, I didn't think I would ever be saying, Horray, to being overweight.   But, I have officially left the Obese category, and I'm now entering the "overweight" category.   As it turns out, I had 45lbs to lose to get from Obese to Overweight, now I have 45lbs to lose to get to normal.
Jaffa

Jaffa

2
 

Going to the movies....a challenge ahead.

I think I will take my Atkins peanut butter bar with me. Usually I eat resus peanut butter cups....but I know they are just mostly sugar.   At least this way I won't be tempted and I can get 20grams of protein at the same time.
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

First post op follow up visit

Well tomorrow I have my post op follow up visit. Then I move on to the thick liquids stage. Next week will be mushies, and then solids.   I'm down to 228, which is good. I have been trying to get up to 1000 calories and 60grams of protein a day, but have only been able to do half of that so far.   I'm still tired, but went back to work today.
Jaffa

Jaffa

3
 

Finally, off the Plateau, made it under 200

Well, I finally, broke my Plateau, and went to 195.5.   WOW, being at 202 then 203 for two weeks was a terrible time for a plateau. It seemed like I was just waiting and waiting to go below 200.   Now I can quit obsessing about the scale again.
Jaffa

Jaffa

4
 

Explanation of my name and Introduction

Well I thought I would start my blog with an explanation of my log in name.   My wife and I are huge Stargate SG1 fans. When I was researching the lapband I started to refer to it as a symbiote. Like a Jaffa has, and it kind of became a running joke.   I have been reading on this site for about a month and have just scheduled my surgery date of Jan 14th at the WLS in Kansas City.   I am self-pay so it was important for me to get someone who had a price that included the first year fills and was convenient. They have a filling station for patients in Des Moines.   I have been buying some protein supplements and such to find out what I like and don't like. I will be on a presurgery diet starting the first of the year. But I have actually started watching what I'm eating now.   Here are the things I like so far. Low carb milk chocolate slim fast. Unjury strawberry and chicken soup. I bought some other stuff but can't remember the names yet. I will post later.
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

Exercise paying off big time!!!

Well, I have been tracking my weight loss from the beginning, and it is amazing to see how much the exercise is paying off.   I can see where I was losing about 1.5lbs average per week, and then when I started the extra exercise I have consistently started losing more like 2.5 and even 3.0lbs per week. I am trying to do double of what they recommend.   I am also very please with my restriction. This last fill has stayed with me so much better then the previous ones. I think I will need less on the next fill, but if I keep losing at this rate, maybe I will still need 1.0cc??   This week, I have a huge victory goal that may be achieved. If I can lose 3.0lbs this week, I will be halfway to my goal. It really all depends on getting the excercise in. I am now running a really consistant 1200 calories a day, and about 2800 calories of burn. That equals 10,000 calories of defecit a week....or about 3lbs of fat.   So here is hoping for a great week at the gym. I'm planning to keep doing the 1 hour of biking, 1 hour of walking, and 1 hour of weights. Sometimes I just can't get it in with my work schedule. I'm limited by my need to get done by 7pm. If I don't, I can't get to sleep by 9pm. This is a must for me, as I get up at 4am a lot.
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

Exactly two months, having to figure out some things

Well, I got the bodybugg because I was a little frustrated with the lack of progress lately.:huh2:   So far I am eating half of the calories that I am burning each day, and that runs about 1000 calories of deficit a day. So I should be losing at least 1lb and more likely 2lbs each week. My average for the week is now running about 2400 calories burned and 1200 eaten.   Boy I hope this strategy works, I'm a little frustrated right now with the lack of movement on the scale.:mad2:   I did get stuck once yesterday, first time for that in a long time. I think it was a part of a pecan that didn't go down. Boy it really worried me at first. I didn't drink any water, because that just makes it worse, and after about 30 minutes it did pass.:ohmy:
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

Disneyworld Review....One more day to Bandland Sugery

Well, I just can't believe anyone would really want to make Disneyworld a vacation. I went to all 4 in two days, and found it to be mostly boring.   Each park basically has two decent rides, the rest is just a tourist trap. I feel sorry for anyone who makes that place a vacation. I would rate it about a 1.4 out of 10.   A big word of warning also about the Century Pop Hotel. It is clean and nice, but it is also very very old. It has paper thin walls and you can literally hear people walking outside of your room. I had to go to Wally world and buy a fan just to drown out all of the noises. In the end, I wouldn't go back unless you paid me, and paid me well. But it would be fun for an 8-12 year old.   On a positive note, I did walk about 5 hours a day....good excercise!!!   I'm now on the clear liquid diet for my surgery tomorrow. It is noon and I'm not all that hungry yet, so I'm guessing in another 4 hours I will be starving.   I have to get up at 330 in the morning and drive 3.5 hours to kansas City for my surgery. Should be lovely this time of the year....8 degrees light snow and dark until the last thirty minutes.   I'll post again after surgery....well unless they kill me.
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

Day after Surgery

I had my surgery yesterday. I stayed overnight since we live 3 hours away from the sugery center.   Now I'm on a liquid diet for 3 days, then thick liquids for two weeks, then two weeks of mushies.   My follow up visit is local and is next week. First fill I believe isn't until week 4.   I'm doing great....so far my pain is really just a little discomfort and soarness....about a 1 or 2 out of 10. I was worried it would be way worse then this, but it really isn't bad at all. It is a great relief. I'm taking pain medicine only at night to help with sleeping, but I'm just fine in the day.   I had chicken broth with unjury chicken soup added in for protein today. I'm not hungry at all....but I know I need to get liquid and protein in for healing.   I found out my original surgeon had cornea transplants.....good god, how bad were his eyes? The replacement surgeon was awesome, he had about 20 years of doing these types of surgeries.
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

Bypass versus Lapband Argument with my Doctor

Well I told my regular doctor yesterday, that I am getting the Lapband. I was a little surprised how negative he was, and how much he tried to push me towards a bypass instead.   I am 100 lbs overweight, and my biggest problem is how much I eat. Yes I also need to change what I eat, but for the most part I need the band to help me control the amount I eat. I don't snack and I'm very capable of saying no to certain foods, especially carbs. This seems like a perfect solution for me, but boy he wanted me to look a bypass.   He also argued that the information I had received about the weight loss for band people being about the same as bypass at the end of 5 years was not true. I kind of think he might be a little outdated in his knowledge about the lapband.   My brother had the bypass way back when they were relatively new, and he died. I just can't do a full bypass....too scary for me....although he say's they are way safer then they used to be???????? I don't think there is any way possible I could overcome my feelings about bypass.
Jaffa

Jaffa

3
 

bodybugg food logging versus Dailyplate.com

Well, the bodybugg program made me realize the value of food logging, but the program itself and specifically the search feature was driving me a little crazy. That and it drove me a little crazy that it was fairly rigid on inputs and wouldn't let you go forward or backward to input food.   I decided to try the free version of dailyplate.com. Not only is it much better at both things I didn't like about the bodybugg food logger, but it is also much more user friendly. Man I am just flying through my logging now. I am defintely going to use it to log my food intake, and just use the bodybugg for calculating calorie burn.   I seem to still be bouncing on my weight loss, but I'm sensing that I have broken through the plateau and I'm going to start losing again.   On a side note, my band did start out with a certain amount of restriction right after the fill, got loser by day 3 and then on about day 10 it got a little tighter again. I have heard this is common, but really didn't believe it until I experience it.   My next fill should get me pretty close to the sweet spot. I can feel success coming right around the corner.   Also, the more I exercise the more water weight I tend to retain??? I always thought it was just the opposite? I have been doing my swimming on one day and walking the next and then back to swimming. Also, I started going to the dry sauna after swimming to get my body temperature back up before going home. I have no idea why, but it really helps with my restriction at night. It could be that it gets some of the water out of my system, or it could just be a temperature thing? I have been drinking 50 ounces of my water in the day and just 20 ounces at night. This again seems to help my restriction at night and means less waking up to go pee at night.
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

BodyBugg Day 2 and I'm already learning

I bought the bodybugg more as a learning tool and tracking tool, to help keep me motivated and not look at the scale so much.   Well, I have already learned a couple of things. First off, I'm only burning about 2200 calories a day so far after two days. I haven't excercise in those two days.   What I hadn't even planned on doing was using the daily food log. I have never done this and have always just added up the calories. Right off, I noticed that after logging everything I was actually consuming about 20% more calories then I really thought. My goal is 1200, and while I did that the first day, I really thought I did 1000, and on the second day, I thought I was around 1200 and I was really at 1450.   Wow, what an eye opener. I'm thinking this bodybugg is the best 200 dollars I have spent yet!!!   I'm actually going to use the food logger since I'm not nearly as good at keeping track of the calories as I thought I was???
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) versus Bodybugg

This is just a repost of a thread I started. I found this to be great information for those who don't want a bodybugg to track caloric burn per day.   First let me say, I love my bodybugg.   But for those who don't want the hassle and or expense, I have found that this BMR calculator, is extremely close to what I burn according to my bodybugg.   BMR Calculator   If you use dailyplate.com and add in any physical activity for the day, you will be very very close. So close it is down right scary.   I in fact don't pay much attention to the scale for my feeling of accomplishment anymore. I just add up my calorie defecit and divide by 3500 calories. After a month, I have noted my weight loss to be exactly equal to what it should be for the amount of calories I have used over the amount I consumed.   It has really helped me get past the scale watching, which really isn't as accurate, since your water weight can change as much or more then the amount of fat you have lost.
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

Big news for my wife.

Well, I can't believe I forgot to blog this, but my wife is getting WLS.   She has done really good, just trying to copy what I eat, and how I eat, but she has come to realize, that as usual, it is getting too tough.   I LOVE HER, more then oxygen.   She is getting the Gastric Sleeve, by Dr, Aceves.
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

Better restriction, but not to the sweet spot yet.

I definitely have more restriction again, after my fill on the 26th. But I still can eat about 2 cups of food before getting the full signals.   For me the full signal is one little hiccup. I stop eating at this point, and sure enough I'm full. For me if I eat too much it will become uncomfortable with a kind of tiny bit of pain.   I still can eat way too fast. I eat the Sam's club stuffed chicken breast and 10 sweet potato fries in about 20 minutes. If I was at ideal restriction, I think that I not only wouldn't be able to eat that much, but it would take me the full half hour to eat.   My last fill was another 1.0cc, and I'm hoping to keep this restriction through the entire month. We will see how it goes.   The new "fat burn" type of exercise is working much better for me then the "cardio training" programs. It doesn't bother my knee so much and it burns more total calories. The disadvantage is it takes 3 times as much time to burn the same calories, but since I have the time....thats what I'm going to do.
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

Bandster hell again.

Well, three weeks after my last fill and I can tell I'm losing my restriction again. I was reallly doing well on my daily intake, but yesterday was a combination of problems.   First off, I was eating things I shouldn't, and second I was able to eat about 2 to 3 times as much as I should be eating for supper.   I'm just gonna have to use self discipline and control to get me throught the next week or so, which is the bandster hell. My supper was 8 oz of new york strip and cornbread. It is my daughters birthday weekend and it is really tough. I also finished it off with a cup of homeade ice cream. Oh my god, 440 calories of nothing but sugar and fat, and it doesn't even stay with you.   Today is the birthday meal. Hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill with potato chips and dip and the dreaded ice cream and cake for desert. I have a plan this time to save me. I am only going to eat the hot dogs, which are the 99% fat free hot dogs and only 40 calories each. I will use the 1 carb ketchup and mustard to make them good, and I will not eat the dessert. Ok the last part is the worst, but I have to make up for yesterday. I had 2000 calories!!! If I eat 900 calories for the next 3 days, I can counter that disaster.   I have also came up with an excellerated calorie burn plan. I'm going to do my normal 30 minutes of swimming or weights at night, but I'm going to also walk for 3 hours a day. That should give me a 1600 calorie burn with my normal metabolism. Man I should be able to have a big time weight loss for the next couple of months this way. I want to lose 70lbs in the next 7 months, to get to goal. That is 10lbs a month. I can do it, but only if I'm doing all of the excercise and keeping my band adjusted. I'm starting to think, it will just have to be adjusted every 3 weeks, not every 4, like they want to do.
Jaffa

Jaffa

6
 

Another BMR Revelation

Currently my BMR (Basal Metabolism Rate) is 1915 calories a day at 202lbs and 5'9" and an age of 42.   By the time I get to 160, I will be 43 and need to stay at 1400 calories, just to maintain my weight. Well assuming no physical activity.   This is just a complete revelation to me. My god, I could never get down to 160, and would have no chance of maintaining it without weight loss surgery.   I can't even think about people who lose their band, thinking they can go back to doing it on their own and stay in the normal BMI range. Man, if I ever lose my band, I'm going for a revision at the same time, same surgery.
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

A strange mental change??? Will it last?

I realized the other day, that I have for the first time since I was a little kid felt a kind of piece.   The lack of being hungry all of the time and not being so hungry before a meal is somehow making me feel so much more at peice.   I sit down for every meal and worry at first that this will be the time that I eat and don't get full on very little, or that I'm still hungry after I'm done with my portion. But when it doesn't happen, it is such a relief to feel in control, that it seems to make everything better.   I hope this continues, but still fear it may end at each meal. I never imagined an actual change in my mental state because of my ability to control my eating, but it is definitely there, I hope it stays.
Jaffa

Jaffa

5
 

A solid week of no weight loss

You would think I would be upset, but I'm really not. I had an ok week. Didn't get to exercise as much as the week before, but still got in 5 hours worth.   Using my calories in and calories burned record I should have lost 2-3lbs, but the scale shows nothing. I would be really frustrated, but since I know exactly where I'm at, I know it is just water weight changes making the scale not move.   I can tell, I'm now starting to need a little fill again. I'm doing good, but my daily calorie intake is up about 100-200. Next week will be one month since my last fill, so it will be time for a fill anyway.   I hope to get 10-15 hours of exercise in again next week, and see a nice loss for the week.
Jaffa

Jaffa

1
 

A form of survivors guilt.

Well, my wife has been dieting and trying to eat about the same thing as me. Understand she is NOT banded. She has done terriffic, but the reason I got banded is because I believe everyone can lose weight until biologically we are driven to start eating too much again. I just believe, for most people it is inevitable to regain on a diet because we have in our basic genetic code too many things that work against us.   I watch how hard she is working and I remember how difficult it used to be, and it really makes me feel bad. In fact it is down right upsetting. I wanted her to get either banded or get a gastric sleeve at the same time as me, but she just doesn't want to do it. She wants to lose it on her own. Well she is a strong women who has proven she can do it, but it is a terrible thing to watch how hard it is for her. I also feel that she has lost the weight in the past and can do it again, but has also always gained it back.   Why can't she see how futile it is without some help? I'm just really frustated for her, and I feel guilty, about how well and how much easier this is with help. And then I dred what I think is inevitable, the biological need to eat will force her back into weight gain and make her feel like a failure.
Jaffa

Jaffa

4
 

6 month point

Well, I'm at the 6 month point.   I have really achieved the sweet spot for me.   I got really busy at work, and pretty much quit working out, but I'm still able to lose 1lb every 10 days.   I'm now down to 184.   I decided to revise my final goal. I'm actually, pretty happy with the 66lbs lost, and I think if I just lose another 14lbs, I will just try to maintain that point. That would put me just above the normal weight range, and at the same time, allow me to keep my band a little bit on the loose side. I want to keep this thing as long as possible, and I believe most people get into trouble with too much restriction, so I'm trying to avoid that.   Everything else is going great, and I actually skipped a fill this month, because my restriction didn't change all that much and I did lose the right amount for what I was doing.
Jaffa

Jaffa

4
 

5 days to Sugery....I'm going to Disneyworld for a couple.

Five days to go and I will be in surgery.   I'm still doing good on my preop diet. Lost a couple of more pounds.   Its hard sometimes when I don't have time for 6 hours to really eat. I get too hungry and then overeat. I eat the right things, just too much.   I'm going to be spending 3 of the 5 days at Disneyworld. My plan is to just do a lot of walking and riding the rides to keep my mind off of food. My fear is the park will have food in it that I want. But I will be ok, I'll just eat protein only.
Jaffa

Jaffa

2
 

10/11 months update

Well, I am down to 179. It has been slow going as I approach my goal. Which is to be at the top of the normal bmi range.   I'm going to push the exercise really hard for the next 8 weeks and try to make goal on my one year anniversery?????   I will also plan to post a thread on my one year anniversery on everything I have learned and done to get where I'm at.   My 10th wedding anniversery is in feb and we are going on a cruise....already ordered new wetsuits for both of us.
Jaffa

Jaffa

2
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