Livingthe Dream

You know this was the biggest benefit for me from the bugg. I am 6'3 man that weighed 279 and I burned at least 3000 calories doing nothing. I did nothing on purpose just to see the minimum results and by nothing I mean sitting around the house all day and getting less than 5000 steps. I am shocked at how my calories jump by just getting up and being slightly active. For example, leaving the TV off for the evening and playing with the kids in the front yard jumps me up to 3800 calories a day. The bugg helps you track all those trends.

Frisky, I think you are getting bad information. I think the band is different for everyone so the "trouble food" is different for each person. I know the calorie count of 500 calories a day is a joke and would be irresponsible to maintain that low of calories. If you are getting this documentation from a doctor I would be very skeptical . I personally couldn't live on 500 calories and I am not saying that from a hunger standpoint I literally could not keep my body alive on 500 calories without becoming a shell of a man.My recommendation is to find someone in band land that has a good head on their shoulders and that you agree with in philosophy. I personally feel that if I have to join weight watchers or a fad diet then the band is a complete failure. I want to live a normal life and eat like a normal person or less and that Is what I am going to do. Look for a bandster named JACHUT, she lives a normal life and adds exercise to reach her goals and looks good. My doctor told me to plan on eating meals that are 1 cup in volume. I have been practicing making meals in layers that can fit in a cup. I have a layer of chicken, onion, peppers and some spicy beans on top all stuffed into one measuring cup. Then I dump it into a zip lock bag and freeze it for a future lunch. My attitude is that this band has to work for me. I am 35 years old and I want a better quality of life than what I have gotten so far. This is going to be my year without the belt extender, without the big and tall store clothes, without the daily $18.00 lunches and so on. This is going to be the summer of George....

Well Guys, The good news is that I am 10 days post op and feel like I am back at 100%. I am not sore and I have zero pain left from the surgery. The problem now is the dreaded post op diet. The clear liquid phase was easy since it was just 2 days and I was in no mood to eat. Then the next week was the creamy stage and that was fine and started with chicken broth and ended with the thickest soup I could find that would fit through a straw. My doc has let me advance through the stages as I feel the time is right but I cant afford to mess this up. The calories are not what I am worried about since I am burning 3000 a day (body bugg) and I haven't eaten any meat but Lasagna is not a creamy food no matter how many bites I take before swallowing. Just wish I could do better on the pre op diet that what I am doing. I am down 20 pounds so that is exciting.

I just added a speed bad to my home gym. It cost 40 bucks and has taken about 2 weeks to really get the rhythm down and it is so much fun. The kids come out and watch once you get good at it and it feels good to hit the back to the rhythm of some music. I have a bodybugg and I burned 300 calories in 40 minutes of fun. This is what boxers use to get hand speed going.

The most interesting thing about the bugg is that it allows you to track your own habits and workouts. I go to the gym and record 20 minutes on a new machine and then go home and see what kind of work out I really received. I am really big into trying all kinds of new things like longboarding (Skateboarding that is really long) instead of running and I bought a boxers speed bag from academy and man that thing can burn the calories. I have used it two weeks now and actually am getting really good at it. Here are my stats so far. Owned the bugg for 45 days 37 days owned pre op and average 3200 calories to 4000 on the high side per day. That is Midnight to Midnight and the days that it is 3200 those are not active days really and the +4000 days are basketball days at the church. Surgery Day- 2500 calories that day and I did not move a muscle. 5 days Post op- this was 2500- 2780 each day with 4-500 steps taken a day. I was curious to see the drop in just baseline calorie when pre surgery I burned 3000 doing nothing. I took doing nothing to a new low since I was hurting. Last 3 days I am now post 8 days and hit 3600 calories today. I started this Journey as 6'3 male weighting 279 and I am now 257 and feeling great. There is no way I can eat 3000 calories on this liquid diet so I am just focused on protein and watching the weight fall off. I know this fun ride is about over because the hunger is coming back but I only have 75 to lose so It is a great start. I will the bugg let you do a little screen shot for people to see each others stats and improvement.

I was there on the December 18th and I was very impressed. The name makes it sound like a little surgical center where nothing else happens but surgery but it is a full blown hospital. It really put me at ease since I had visualized getting this done in a small office a short drive from a real hospital but that was not the case. My surgery has been so top notch and I feel that I have made a great decision. Dr. K was great to deal with and is available after hours and he actually picks up the phone when you call him. The hospital is a 5 star hospital and the nurses are really great. There are two hotels that are near walking distance of the hospital. That is the Hampton Inn and the Holiday Inn. I stayed at the Hampton Inn since I have VIP status at Hilton and it was adequate. I did have to call ahead and have them verify that I had a fridge in the room since the meds have to be kept cool. Natalie will give you a list of Hotels but I would stay at one of those two locations just so you don't have to worry about getting there. I actually walked to the appointment because I was amped up and excited and thought that it would be my last walk for a while. I am now 9 days post opt and about 90% recovered.

Ok Guys I need some advice. I was banded on the 18th and have been feeling better each passing day. Last night while watching the Vikings game I got a sharp pain in my stomach so I just drank some water and tried to ignore it. This is a new pain and not something I have had since day one. I can take a deep breath and at the top of that deep breath also get that same shooting pain in my stomach. It feels like a cramp when you are running wind sprints.

I was banded on the 18th and the gasx strips did nothing for me. I had about four boxes on hand just in case but never felt a difference. One question I do have is calories vs. proper food intake. Is there a protein requirement or calorie requirement during the clear liquid stage? I am drinking alot of water and a little soup but I doubt I am getting 500 calories a day. I am burning 2800 calories a day just laying around the house and average about 3500 steps per day.

Just banded on 12/18 and I can tell you guys that Dr. K was the right choice for me. I am still healing but I have no regrets.

Hey Frisky, I was banded on the 18th and I also have a fever. I have been rotating liquid Tylenol and the pain medicine and it seems to have helped. I have to force my self to drink water or I will be in trouble. My scales show that I am 39% hydrated and I am usually 49% for what ever that is worth.

I have bought an entire garage of fitness equipment and have spent hours putting it together. I even painted the garage and put in a stereo system but haven't touched any of the equipment. Trust me I would love to get out there and play with my new toys but I am waiting till I get banded in 2 days. Then once recovered I have a workout plan ready to go. One thing that I am going to try is indoor rock climbing because that is something that I would never had tried and I think it would be great for a total body workout

Hey Guys, I get my banded on Tuesday and I am pretty excited. I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to figure out how fast I can lose the 70 pounds I need to lose and I have been trying use other peoples numbers as a gauge. My question is shouldn't I at least be able to do what I have normally done without the band? For example I can lose 40 pounds in 3 months without the band (cant keep it off) so I should at least be able to match that with the band. I was 5 years younger and didn't have ACL surgery back then but I should still get close to those results right? Sorry if this is a stupid question but maybe you guys have been able to tell a difference in weight lost over different time periods. Thanks for listening

Get in your naughty chair now,,,, no lets talk about how you are acting in a mature way,,,, not lets talk about how daddy is going to set limits in his house and that you are about to get a spanking. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK6icPodjaA]YouTube - Temper Tantrum of a 3 year old boy[/ame]

I have finally made it to the pre op diet phase and I am 7 days and counting to surgery time. My doc has asked me to do the Atkins diet for 7 days but as you might have experienced you tend to eat terrible right up until it is time to go live with your new life. Well I have been eating like it was the end and today was my first day of no sugar/Atkins. I can tell you guys honestly that I am about to freak out. I won't cheat but man I am hurting big time. You guys that have done liquid only diets are SUPER impressive. I actually put a handful of Cheezits in my mouth and didn't even realize it till I tasted the sweetness. I thought why do these taste so freaking good and then it hit me. Later the same day I ran into a gas station and almost grabbed my usual $6 in pure junk food and I snapped out of it. GrannyK, Don't let a few people spoil your experience here. You have to remember that the dieting criticism is coming from grossly obese people (myself included) so throwing rocks in a glass house rule should be in affect.

Thanks everyone for the great debate and comments. I don't ever expect to change someones core beliefs but I do enjoy different view points. Back to the exercise.

I laud Massacheusetts for considering passage of a bill to outlaw hitting children. At the same time though, the citizens of Mass should insist that classes on parenting be required for every expectant parent. Yes that is what we need

Here is my advice for what it is worth. You have a stomach that holds one cup of food so make sure you get a good mix of fats,carbs and Protein in that one cup. Any food that comes in a box or a bucket will kill you, some faster than others but leave the processed food alone. When you go to the grocery store stay off the aisles. Hit the produce lane and the meat lane and then head to the register. Do not waste time with isolation exercises like bicep curls or abs when you are obese. For example there is nothing better than squats since it fires up over 200 muscles. You cant lose weight around your stomach by doing crunches so do full body work outs. In the Gym do free weights and not machines. The free weights make your core muscles fire off since you are controlling the movement and you don't get that with machines that keep the weight on line. Last but not least change your work out ever 4 weeks because your body needs to be "shocked" every so often and it will adapt to that stairstepper or that treadmill routine that use to kill.

My debit card looks like a who's who of fast fast food and my favorite restaurants. I have owned the bodybugg for 2 weeks now just to get a baseline of how I lived before being banded on Dec 18th. I was shocked that I burn 3500 calories a day so I must be eating more than that. I am a self pay so the voice in my head keeps saying "what if this doesnt work".

Wheetsin, That was a nice post and you made good points. To use your story what happens when you come home and your child has messed with the fire extinguisher for a second time? I completely agree with your email so I am just debating here but I think one misconception made on this post is that parents that spank use this as the first option of discipline and I can say for me it is the last option. I have two kids, one boy and one girl and every post that is anti spanking sounds like a word for word description of me and my daughters relationship. The spanking group sounds like my relationship with my son on occasion and is usually triggered by him putting himself in harms way or hurting his sister.

Ok, I should have rephrased that last sentence but you know what I meant. I needed to see results from someone that looked more like me so I have something to shoot for.

Manatee, Holy Crap man you have really made some impressive progress. Can you tell us your routine or your activity level. I am glad that you and Cagstorm took the time to post and I appreciate it. I really needed a guy that has made this work for him and I am really happy to see that you are living the dream.

I am proud of all the December bandsters that we have in this group. I was a self pay and my Doctor let me pick what month I wanted to have the surgery and the earliest was Dec. I chose December because December type meals are what got me in this situation. There is no reason to wait till a New Year resolution lets attack this now and get on with our new life.

Everyone has made great points but I keep seeing anti spanking arguments being made and you are using "abuse cases" to make your point. Lets define what spanking is for the argument going forward. Spanking is when you swat your child on the butt with your hand and the child knows what he/she is getting spanked for. So if you are chasing your kid with a clothes hanger, slapping the childs face, beating them in front of neighbors, kicking, elbowing or screaming at them to the point they cry then you are a shitty parent that needs parental training. Last Year we were on vacation and my wife had my sons hand in the parking lot walking towards our car. My son loves to ride the shopping carts and he saw one sitting in the parking lot unattended so he dropped moms hand and bolted. My wife instantly screamed in terror to stop and he of course ignored her. He knew that time out was well worth it to get to that cart. At this point I was scared to death because a car was coming and the car didn't see him or the cart already in the parking spot. I yelled so loud the entire parking lot stopped including my son. He knew that the price was not worth it and he stopped out of fear of punishment. If you cant make your child stop dead in his tracks (at a young age) then you should have concerns. Screaming time out and counting to three was not going to work. I think those that say there is no place for spanking are probably very loving parents that have been blessed with low maintenance kids or all girls.

Hitting out of anger is wrong and I think everyone can agree on that. I can only do the best I can as a parent and I don't allow my kids to "set the rules" in my house and I think they will someday respect that. I thank my dad every once in a while for setting me straight and giving me a spanking whenever he thought it was appropriate. I set some weeds on fire next to a drainage ditch by our house because we needed light inside our fort. Me and the neighbor kid thought it sounded like a good idea. I was spanked with a belt and learned my lesson at the age of 10. Have you ever seen a child laying on the floor kicking and screaming at Wal-Mart or turning the Church pew into a obstacle course during Sunday service? These are examples of what happens with their is zero fear in a relationship. I am writing this based on me being a man and raising a boy. My little girl has never been spanked and frankly she never has deserved one. It is my little man that needs curbing every once in a while. My son goes to a Christian Pre-K so I have seen first hand how timeouts and sitting on your hands works and frankly it does nothing but builds up his energy to go off the wall.

I think that is a great idea. Topics like were there an surprises or what did you forget to bring or wished you had. We are all reading the same info so if you forget something I am sure someone else will as well. I hear that what ever you do don't forget the Gasx.