Cherrybomb

Physically, I'm feeling great (only three days out from surgery) but mentally, I had a hard time last night. I started doubting again. I wondered if I rushed into this decision. My hubby valiantly tried to reassure me but honestly, I was scared. Scared of what, I really can't say. I guess I was afraid that I would have a bunch of complications and need surgery again. Or that I would be some kind of freak, having to eat jello the rest of my life. I know none of this is likely but Fear and I have a long standing relationship. I worry - a lot. I sweat the big stuff, the small stuff and the impossible stuff. I'm the kind of worry wart that won't touch egg salad at a picnic for fear of food poisoning from the heat. So take someone with major anxiety and plop them into the situation where they now have a device inside them and a whole new way of living to learn. I guess it is no wonder I kinda freaked out. Strangely, this morning, I felt calm. I made a cup of tea, and really didn't think about the band. I guess each day will be unknown for awhile, until I settle into this new lifestyle. Some days I will be feeling great - both mentally and physically - and some days my old friend Fear will pop up for a visit. I guess this is all part of the journey. I will know I have turned the corner on my new life when Fear no longer factors into my thoughts. "A life lived in fear is a life half lived"

Anyone interested in participating in a half-marathon in 2008? I thought it might be fun to have a local group training together for a marathon next year. It sounds a long ways off but it really isn't. Check out the marathon info for April - Nature's Path Whidbey Island Marathon - Race Information There are other events, but a half-marathon on Whidbey sounds fun. I've never participated in one so this will be a major undertaking but it could be lots of fun. Anyone interested?

For those who watch The Biggest Loser, do you think it is a helpful television program or sets people up with unreal expectations for weight loss and exercise goals? Even though I know that losing 8+ pounds a week isn't going to happen for people who can't devote every minute to exercise, I still think it is a motivating program. And, for some reason, I really like Jillian Michaels. It doesn't feel exploitive like Fat March or other reality shows. What do you guys think?

Yesterday during my fill, I asked the nurse what size band I had received and she told me that I had a 14 cc band. Has anyone heard of this size? I thought the large band was 10 cc (Vanguard).

Six pounds to go until I crack into the 200s....I can almost smell the sweat from 21000 calories burning up! :-)

I hate to be a wet blanket but I wouldn't. I wore it religiously for the first days after I bought it but I'm not wearing it every day now. Once my 3 months are up, I don't think I'll be renewing it. It's a great tool and certainly provides interesting information but I'm not sure I need to track things that minutely right now.

I have to disagree respectfully with Wheetsin. First off, I must say that I hate reality TV. I don't watch it and I don't respect shows that exploit people aka Temptation Island, Fat March, etc. But with the Biggest Loser, I really think this show is improving the health of not only the contestants but viewers as well. The show provides diet information (e.g. switching to ground turkey instead of ground beef) and nutrition facts for people who might not know these things, have internet access or a trainer. But most importantly, I think it provides motivation. People see real people losing weight and they think "I can do that". As an example, my sister and brother-in-law started a Biggest Loser challenge to see which one could lose weight and exercise more during the run of the show. And for myself, I hit a speed bump in my own exercise routine, failing to exercise for five days in a row. Watching my taped episode of the BL today got my butt off the couch and into a 40 minute work out. Sure, NBC makes money off the sweat of these folks. But the people are gaining something from the experience and so are the viewers. Just my two cents - :-)

than exercise. I wonder if that statistic would be the same in the US? Six out of 10 Britons would rather die than exercise | the Daily Mail

On the troll meter, this rates 1/10....Try again, Tiki when you have some decent material.

Anybody not log their food - just their exercise?

All the math makes perfect sense but in reality weight loss seems a bit more sporadic and fickle than that. For my weight, I require over 3000 calories a day just to live. Add to that, I am exercising almost every day for close to an hour and my calories are under 2000 (typically around 1400). Given that, I should be losing weight like mad, but it comes off in fits and starts. As much as we like to categorize the body as a machine, I think there are still some unknown variables that determine the rate of loss - beyond simple "calories in, calories out". Just my humble opinion...

Erin, I'm sure your daughters are as proud of you as you are of them. :-)

You mean all those calculators on the gym equipment are lying to me?? Next you'll say that the cabbage soup diet is phooey and that I CAN'T look just like those people on TV who take the diet pills for 14 days.

On average, how often do you exercise? Do you think that is sufficient?

I missed the show - darn it. I was excited to see the beginning but I'll catch it next week.

Dawn, you are my inspiration!!

Name............Chall. Start Wt........Current......Chall. Goal......To Go alwayscurious........245......................245. .............212..............33 Amelia40...............270.................... 270................240..............30 areellady...............232....................228 ...............212.................16 argon..................162..................161.2................142...............19.2 Ariel....................207...................... 207. ..............182...............25 aussie_jode...........212......................212 .................190...............22 BabygotBack..........164.....................164. ...............145...............19 Babygrl1234...........215......................212 ................190...............22 Becky42................253.....................257 .................220..............33 bekafina.................225.....................2 25.................199.............26 Cherrybomb...........311....................306 ..............291................15 chickatee..............203.....................203 .................175..............28 chocolate_snaps....344......................342... ..........299.................43 Chris_NJ................284....................284 ................250................34 dacer123...............243....................243. ..............223................20 Denise...................170....................17 0...............155................15 Denise..................244.....................24 4..................220............24 Desertbunnee.........232....................207. .............180.................27 DonnaD................185......................185 ..............170..............15 eclipse..................215.....................2 12... ..............199.............16 faithmd................303.....................303 ............ 283...............16.7 glindab................ 277....................277...... ........250....... .......27 gonnabfree............231..................231. .................205................26 Guinessgirl77..........241.....................241 ...................210.............31 gweniper................253...................247. ...............223................30 hf2havefun...........240......................240. ..............210..............30 ihadenuf................216....................216 ...................190.............26 jadrad7.................224.....................22 4.................200..............24 jazzystouch...........246......................246 ...............220...............26 Jeni85..................237....................237 .. .............207................30 josiebies...............188......................1 88...............165...............23 JulieNYC................155.....................14 9.................136..............13 Kaelin's G-Ma.........272......................272........... ......220.............52 katalin.e................230.....................1 79.................150.............29 ladydi............. .....233.....................228................20 8...............20 legster..................261....................26 1................235................26 LeslieLee...............216.....................21 6................186...............30 lisa_in_toronto.......180......................180 ................160...............20 losingjusme...........273.....................269. ............238................31 luvinke..................225.................. ..224.... ............195..............29 maddog.................230.....................230 ..................205.............25 marcar35...............277.....................276 .6..........250...............26.4 mcgreen...............236.................... 236...............210................26 METALBAND...........187.....................184... ..... .......167..............17 momlambert............207....................207.. .............185................22 mpalen.................229.....................229 .............200................29 Peache8887...........330.....................306.. ...............275..............31 Rainer....................298................... 292................258................34 robgoblin87............279......................27 9...............250...............29 SC2VA...............233...................... 233.................200..............33 sdakotaRN.............254.....................254. ................225..............29 Short C................. 166....................166.................146.. ............20 Soniacan...............198.5..................198. 5.............175...........23.5 Stacy73................259.....................249 ...............230...............29 Suzzzie. ...............346....................346....... ........315................31 sweethot143..........197....................197. .............175.................22 tanderson..............231.....................231 .............199..................32 ToniaPatt …..........286……….....……......283………........243.…. ......……40 UK-Lady....................255..................223.. ............210...............13 want2beme...........225.....................225.. ............195................30 wen.....................288......................2 88................255..............33 Whosyadaddy.........388.....................388... ..............335.............53

Which celeb has your dream body? If I could pick anyone to look like, it would be Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider - kachow! :-) Who would you pick?

Name............Chall. Start Wt........Current......Chall. Goal......To Go losingjusme...........273.....................269. ............238................31 faithmd................303.....................303 ............ 283...............16.7 mpalen.................229.....................229 .............200................29 want2beme...........225.....................225.. ............195................30 mcgreen...............236.................... 236...............210................26 wombat712...........179.................... 179...............155................24 Suzzzie. ...............346....................346....... ........315................31 Chris_NJ................284....................284 ................250................34 Cherrybomb...........311....................308. ..............291................17 legster..................261....................26 1................235................26 Desertbunnee.........232....................207. .............180.................27 areellady...............232....................228 ...............212.................16 sweethot143..........197....................197. .............175.................22 gweniper................253...................250. ...............223................30 Jeni 85..................237....................237.. .............207................30 dacer123...............243....................243. ..............223................20 momlambert............207....................207. ..............185................22 Rainer....................298................... 292................258................34 glindab.............. ...277....................277...... ........250....... .......27 Soniacan...............198.5..................198. 5.............175.... ........23.5 ladydi............. .....233.....................228................20 8...............20 argon............... ....162.................... 162................142...............20 jazzystouch...........246......................246 ...............220...............26 BabygotBack..........164.....................164. ...............145...............19 Denise...................170....................17 0 ...............155................15 marcar35...............277.....................276 .6 . ...........250...............26.4 Ariel ....................207......................207. ..............182...............25 lisa_in_toronto.......180......................180 ...... ........160...............20 josiebies...............188......................1 88...............165...............23 DonnaD................185......................185 .. ..............170..............15 hf2havefun...........240......................240. . ..............210..............30 Amelia40...............270.................... 270 ................240..............30 METALBAND...........187.....................186 ........ .......167..............19 luvinke..................225.................. ..225.... ............195..............30 JulieNYC................155.....................14 9.................136..............13 wen.....................288......................2 88................255..............33 LeslieLee...............216.....................21 6................186...............30 robgoblin87............279......................27 9...............250...............29 Babygrl1234...........215......................212 ................190...............22 Stacy73................259.....................24 9 ...............230...............29 aussie_jode...........212......................212 .................190...............22 chickatee..............203.....................203 .................175..............28 katalin.e................230.....................1 79.................150.............29 Whosyadaddy.........388.....................388... ..............335.............53 Becky42................253.....................257 .................220..............33 sdakotaRN.............254.....................254. ................225..............29 jadrad7.................224.....................22 4.................200..............24 eclipse..................215.....................2 12... ..............199.............16 alwayscurious........245......................245. . .............212..............33 chocolate_snaps....344......................344.. ...............299.............45 Kaelin's G-Ma.........272......................272........... ......220.............52 Peache8887...........330.....................306.. ...............275..............31 tanderson..............231.....................231 ... .............199.............32 ihadenuf................216....................216 ...................190.............26 Denise..................244.....................24 4 ..................220............24 gonnabfree............231..................231. .................205................26 maddog.................230.....................230 ..................205.............25 Guinessgirl77..........241.....................241 ...................210.............31 Short C................. 166....................166...................146.. ............20 ToniaPatt………...286……….....……286…………….....243.….... ……43

Ok, I've been feeling pretty good - I've lost 35 pounds so far, I workout 6 days a week, I'm at good restriction - so it was tough getting a little dose of reality from a kid today. After dropping my son off at school, I was walking back to my car when a kid commented to his pal "Earthquake!" as I was walking by. Now granted, I was wearing my workout clothes (not very flattering) but the comment really surprised me. It is so easy to view yourself through your own lens and forget that other people don't always see you that way. Here I was, feeling strong and skinny and confident, and one punk kid brought me right down. Welll, phooey on that. I'm still strong, skinn(ier) and confident that I'll continue to succeed. I am (fat) woman, hear me roar! :-)

I'm averaging between 1000 and 1300 calories per day but my trainer thinks that is too low. She says that if my calories don't come up, due to my level of activity, my body will start feeding off my muscle tissue. She knows that I am banded, btw. So - what do you guys think? I'm burning about 3000 calories a day; do I need to add some protein drinks to up my cals?

Paula, According to my Bodybugg (and other estimating calculators), I am burning approximately 3000 a day. That number includes exercise and just "walking around" calories burned. That number reflects my size and the amount of exercise I am doing (6 days a week, hour a day). My trainer didn't say not to follow doctor's orders, she only commented that my calories in were significantly lower than the 2000 calories that she recommended to burn 2 pounds a week. She was concerned that if I don't give my body enough fuel, I would be burning muscle rather than fat because the body turns to muscle tissue first. I just wondered if other bandsters who are exercising were advised to increase their calories to avoid excessive muscle loss.

Well then I'm the second fat person with small boobs! Started as a 48 C (really closer to and I'm already down to a 42 C after losing 30 pounds. My dear hubby commented yesterday, "gee, it looks like your boobs are smaller now, hun..." Just what I wanted to hear...Hope I can swing a boob job to go along with the lower body lift that I'll need.

Today (my "free day" from exercise): B: yogurt (Yoplait light); babybel light cheese (2) L: 1 oz chicken breast, 5 cherry tomatoes, tbsp honey mustard dressing, 1/2c croutons, few lettuce leaves Snack: 60 cal pudding, 60 cal puff pastry twists (2) Dinner: 1/4c mashed potatoes, chicken tender w/ BBQ (KFC) Estimated cals (haven't calculated yet): 1300

I love your photo and your clip art image! Where did you find them? And yes, I accept that challenge - though my playboy bunny costume will have to be in 2008, lol.