gkeyt

1. I can tie my shoes without losing my breath! 2. My eyes don't shut when I smile! 3. My big hips have less bruises! 4. I can feel my bones! 5. I can see my feet! 6. I can wear an underwire bra! 7. I can run! 8. I can feel my muscles! 9. I can see my cheek bones! 10. I can walk much further without getting tired! 11. I can cross my legs! 12. I look younger ( I got carded twice in one week!) 13. I can shave my legs in the shower! 14. I Have Dimples In My Cheeks.....they Are Coming Thru! I Can See Them! Now, As For The Dimples In My Butt!!! I Hope I Will One Day Never See Them!!! 15. I can get out of the bathtub without 911 on speed dial! 16. I can bend over and..... GET BACK UP! 17. I can shop......anywhere! 18. I have so much energy especially after I exercise! 19. I can bend down without getting out of breath! 20. I'm more flexible during sex! 21. My big bow hips have went down more than 20 inches! 22. Men are turning their heads constantly! 23. My face is so much thinner and prettier! 24. I have collar bones! 25. The fat from my back is disappearing! 26. I feel so good! 27. I'm starting to like what I see more and more! 28. I have a Fricking Rib cage and can feel it! 29. I fit comfortably in an airline seat! 30. I can ride all of the rollercoasters I want! Whee! 31. I can curl up in a chair with my knees up like a little kid. 32. I can give myself a nice pedicure. 33. I am amazingly small boned, who would'a known? 34. No more high blood pressure meds! 35. I no longer run from anyone carrying a camera. 36. I can give myself a BATHING SUIT TRIM down south and actually see what I am doing! hehe 37. I can wear boots up to my knees without fat exploding out the top 39. I can crouch down to get doggie kisses and NOT require an act of god to get back up 40. I no longer feel like a beached whale when I wear black or grey 41. I found my hip bones 42. I can ride a bike FOR MILES and have fun! 43. I stopped SNORING and the CPAP is gathering dust in a closet now <!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- google_ad_section_end -->

My PCP told me the current recommendations are 60 minutes of aerobic exercise every day, 7 days a week. I'm doing about 5 days a week. But she said it's a good goal to have. Once you've gotten to 30 minutes, you can start adding a minute or two every day until you get to your new goal. It's good to change what you are doing so your body doesn't get used to it. I never do the same workout 2 days in a row. I usually do some combination of treadmill, elliptical and upright bike, sometimes only 2, sometimes all 3, for 45-60 minutes. Some days I swim for part of it, some days I do a recumbant bike. Just so I'm not doing the exact same thing every day. It seems to help keep the weight loss going. That was a tip my trainer gave me, and I think it's a good one.

What does your doc think? Have you tried Water exercise? That might help. Hope you find a solution! :cry Gwen

I started walking again the day after surgery. My doc wouldn't let me do more than that for 4 weeks--no lifting, no ab anything, and nothing more than walking, but on a treadmill was ok. I had about 2 weeks off then 1 week of light duty, due to the lifting requirements of my job. The main concern was any abdominal pulling that would affect the stitches on your stomach or your port.

I started exercising before my band. I didn't used to love it, but I do now and get antsy when I can't get a workout. The biggest motivator for me, other than results on the scale, was finding a gym that I loved being in. It's not the cheapest in town, but it was in my budget and it's not too crowded or noisy and it has good natural light, which is important to me. Other than that, just knowing that I feel better when I move my body, and knowing that I see results on the scale, have been the best motivators. You can absolutely start now, before the band! And I started walking as much as I could right after the band. I used a treadmill which my doctor ok'd as long as I didn't go crazy and didn't try to do crunches or any ab work.

My surgeon didn't try to sway me one way or the other. I always preferred the band over RnY, having taken care of a lot of post-RnY patients in the ICU. I've seen a lot of very late complications (>5 years post op) to RnY that I wanted to avoid. But initially, my insurance only covered RnY. My surgeon said either surgery would be fine for me, although with about 75 lbs to lose, RnY might be a bit much. My surgeon left the practice not long after my surgery to go back to Canada, where his family was. But the whole practice, which at the time had 3 surgeons, did about as many bands as GB, and is a Center of Excellence, so they have lots of success with both surgeries. I was going to have RnY if that was all my insurance would cover, but fortunately they did end up covering my band.

Thanks for the warm welcome, Jeni! Good luck with nursing school--it's a good, and very flexible, career. If you are interested in being a CRNA, make sure you get some clinical time in an ICU and get a job in one after you graduate. Most programs require at least 1-2 years of ICU experience, though the median length of experience in my class seems to be about 5 years. I'll let you know how school goes...thanks again! Gwen

Hi all, This is my first post here...I was banded 3/13/07. I'm down 42 lbs and have 32 to go to my goal of 160. Things have gone really well, although I never can quite decide if my weight loss is going too slowly or not. I know it's not a race...I just want to make sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing on the behavior end. At least life is a lot better with 42 lbs gone! About me...34 years old, got married last year. I just quit my job as a trauma ICU RN last month to start graduate school for the next 2 years, with the goal of becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist when I am done. Many of you probably had CRNAs who did your anesthesia for your surgery...that will be me one day! After that, hopefully a baby or two. I'm not sure how getting to my goal weight will go while I'm in school, but I'm going to find out! Hope you all have happy holidays, and I'm glad to have found this forum!