I'm 194 days post op and I guess it's about time for another blog entry... My main thought these days is that had I known 20

years ago what I know now I would have enjoyed that period of time much more. But I guess it's still better than learning 20

years from now...

I find I have to keep reminding myself that, as of this point, I've lost 81 pounds. I'm wearing clothes that I really didn't

think I'd ever wear again (still surprised I kept many of them). Yet I tend to focus on the road yet traveled. There is still

so much work to do. It's kind of like driving without being able to follow a map. I know my body fat percentage is headed

south so I guess that's the road I'll stay on - while the end destination and route of travel remains a mystery.

It seems everywhere I go these days I get compliments on my weight loss. It feels really good! Many people ask how I've

managed to accomplish this feat. It's really a question I try avoid. Am I embarrassed that I had WLS? No. But it's not an

easy question for me to answer.

I don't credit all of my success to the band. Why? Does the band make me workout almost every day of the week? No! Does the

band make the decision to choose healthy foods most of the time? No! Then it sounds to me like the band gets about

33.3% of the credit - the rest is distributed elsewhere. But If I start out by telling people that I have a band, they seem

to immediately draw the conclusion that surgery is why I've had success - But that's not the whole truth! So this normally

leads into a many-minute long explanation on my part.

There are many people who've been banded but aren't enjoying success - or at least not to their satisfaction. The answer

why is multi-faceted. Many people wrongly assume at the outset that the band itself will make them lose weight. Of course

this isn't true. People need to do more research. I did a fair amount, but not as much as I should have. Secondly, many

doctors are not telling patients the whole story. The plain fact is that if you plan to get anywhere near goal, you'd

better plan on intense exercise - and lots of it. My experience has been that a lot of medical professionals dance around

this issue. I believe they are scared that they'll chase patients away. After all, many patients see the band as a way to

lose weight without exercise. What morbidly obese patient want to hear, "oh yah, and by the way, even though you have the

surgery, you'll still have to exercise intensely most days of the week to achieve satisfactory results." We as a society

want what we want right now - and don't want to work particularly hard to get it.

Exercise is one area in which I've become more fluent, but nutrition is another. I believe everyone has a different

combination. It takes trial and error to find a method of operation that illicits the results you desire. I've found

my combination in a big way. I now know how to keep my metabolism fire burning so hot that even a wet log thrown in the

flames barely slows it down. My average calorie intake for the past month is over 2000 a day. Fall off the wagon days

barely have any impact on the weeks' results. Now I am just focused on keeping the burn going.

I've set an arbitrary goal of 154 pounds. My main focus, however, is fat loss. My body fat percentage is right around 19%

to 20%. My goal is 10%-12%. Basically, I'll be happy with whatever weight I end up at, so long as my body fat percentage

is at goal.

Keep fighting the good fight! Brad

Brad...you are so right about people thinking the the band is the reason for weight loss. I was banded on 1/13 and so far so many people have said the rudest things regarding the weight I have lost so far. I know I'm new at this but I have been so carefull about my food choices and working in my exercise. You should be proud of your weight loss and dedication.