UT LB Loser

Pedals and bike shoes are the way to go!!! You clip in and have so much more control. It took some getting used to, but I definitely wouldn't do without them! I took a spill on my bike shortly after getting the clips. Be very careful when you first start out. You can't just take your foot off the pedal. You have to clip out. Once you get used to it, it happens very quickly. I'm doing an Oly tri on 6/6/09. I will also be running a Winter Racing Circuit starting in Feb. There are 5 races, 2 to 3 weeks apart. A 5K, 10K, 10 Miler, 1/2 Marathon and 30K. This is all to prepare folks to run a marathon in May. I will run the 1/2 marathon instead. My goal is to run a full by the end of August. Good luck to everyone!

2008 What a year it has been for me! So many positive things have come to pass. My Band experience was only the beginning of a great adventure. To those of you who are struggling with the Band, I am sorry that you are hurting and not seeing the progress you want. Remember that the Band is only a tool. You still have to work towards your goals. Many choose gastric bypass because they don't want to work to achieve their goal. It is so satisfying to know that my progress is MINE and that the Band only helped me along. 2009 holds new challenges and goals for me. My measurements are in place and I intend to reach every goal that I have or will set. Just Focus and Do It!!! You can too!!! Happy New Year!!! Chris

Last summer, I had an epiphany on my state of being. I didn't like where I was physically or emotionally. I realized that the emotional side had so much to do with the frustrations and inability to change physically. This epiphany was "Just Focus and Do It!!" I wanted change but had been unwilling to give change my focus. I was determined to FOCUS. I had been researching WLS for a few years. There were so many options and they all sounded so radical. I started hearing about the LapBand and about the same time I had my epiphany, I ran into an old friend. We had dinner together, Chinese food. She was eating slowly and talking quite a bit. Something inside told me to raise the issue with her. She had lost some weight since the last time I saw her. I told her that I had decided to get fit and healthy. She asked me what I was prepared to do. I told her that I had been looking into LapBand surgery. She stunned me by telling me that she had LapBand surgery 3 or so years prioir. I told her that I had noticed she had lost weight and looked good. She told me about her experience. I had nothing to fear!!! My FOCUS was just beginning. A few months after discusiing the LapBand with my friend, I had the surgery. My Re-Birthday is 12/6/07. I'm less than a year out as I write this. It has been life changing!!! I have my LIFE back. Prior to the surgery, I set a few goals for myself. I had to ask myself, why are you really doing this? My answer was to become fit and healthy. It was not and is not about losing weight! That had been my focus for years and I had come away frustrated and feeling like I failed. If you don't like your results, change your approach. Weight is the measure of alot of thigs. But is it the measure of success? No!!!! It is a number. That's all. Weight loss would come as a result of my focus on becoming fit and healthy, no doubt. But it would not be my focus. Also, I decided that I would not treat this experience as a diet. Diets had left me empty and frustrated. Diets NEVER work!!! Changing your lifestyle will work, if you are committed to it! I'm still not on a diet!! One major goal that I set for myself to measure my fitness level, was to run a 5K within one year of my surgery. I started riding an exercise bike as soon as I could. That was about a month after surgery. I don't want anyone to think the surgery is painless and easy. There was some pain. I was lucky that I didn't experience any complications. Sorry to those who do!! I stopped drinking all soda pop, a requirement of my surgeon. I thought that would be the most difficult thing, and maybe it was. After the surgery, the pain meds also kept the caffiene headache away. Water became my FRIEND. I started to exercise and see great results, both on the scale and how I generally felt. My Focus was working. I went skiing for the first time in a few years. Wow, I love skiing. I decided I would do more. Skiing is a serious workout. Especially to those of us who aren't in the greatest condition!! I felt great doing things I loved to do, but had quit doing because of my fitness level. Oh, my legs burned and I walked down stairs sideways on more than one morning!!! I skiied 8 times last season, some were all day events! Then spring came. I decided that my mountain bike would give me some variety in my workouts. I was riding 5 miles, then I got it up to 10. Wow, I felt great! One day, I rode 16 miles on my bike. As I was almost done with that ride, I realized that my goal to run a 5K was not any closer than when I made the goal. In order to reach the goal, I would need to start running. Granted, skiing and biking put me in the position that I could realistically start running. I measured out 2.5K (1.55 miles) on the parkway. I was committed to get out the next day and run that course. Ok, run/walk. I had a miserable time sleeping that night. I knew that the next morning, I would begin the training for the run. I got up and drove to the parkway. I got out and started down the pathway. I ran about 100 yds and had to walk. I walked for awhile then ran some more. This continued until I reached my turn around point (2.5K). More of the same on the way back. How would I ever run that whole thing? I kept biking and run/walking every few days. 2 weeks after the first run, I determined that my focus was a problem in the run. I picked an object out in front of me, sometimes 50 yds away, others 10 yds away. I told myself I could run to those things. Often, I would run to the object and realize I could go further. This FOCUS changed how I trained. The next week I ran to my turn around point. What a huge deal for me!!! I celebrated that victory. The next week, I told myself I had to do as good as the week before. Guess what, I ran the whole thing!!! Albeit very slowly. But I did it!!!!! That day I had my bike in the truck. After the run I decided to bike the same course in order to warm down. I rode to my turn around point and realized I felt awesome. I kept going to the end of the parkway. I turned and rode back to the truck. As I got near the truck, I told myself that I should go to the other end of the parkway too. I did! When all was done, I had ridden 16.4 miles on my mountain bike. But more importantly, I HAD RUN THE 5K!!!! When I got home I started looking for an event to make it "official". I wanted to run in an organized event. I came across a website that had a triathlon. I had always thought that meant IRONMAN. I learned there are 4 types of triathlon. Sprint, Olympic, half Ironman, and Ironman distances. The Sprint consists of a 750m swim(821 yds), a 20K bike (12.4 miles), and 5K run (3.107 miles). "Hey, I did 2/3 of that today!!!" Just add a swim to it. The next day I swam 34 lengths at my local pool (850 yds, 777m). Wow, I could do a triathlon!!! On Saturday, 6/21/08, I did my first triathlon. I set a goal of 2 hours. I did it in 2:02:41. Some unfortuante things happened that day during the race. A man drowned in front of me. I missed my goal, but I still felt I made it! I had to overcome more mental things that day than physical!! It wasn't until 7/4/08 that I did my first "official" 5K, eventhough there is a 5K in a triathlon. I ran a 5K with my brother, who I had inspired to get into shape. To date, I have run 5 official 5Ks and 4 Triathlons. That's 9 5Ks in all. Do you know what they call the last person to cross the finish line in a triathlon? The same thing they call the first person, a Triathlete. Yesterday, 9/6/08, I did my 4th triathlon. My fitness level has increased and I feel so much more healthy than I have been in years. I have a bike race next weekend and one more triathlon this year. Do you know why this was possible? Because I JUST FREAKING DID IT!!!! You can too.

I always drive myself home after the Tris. Ok, once I didn't. I flew home in a small plane from one!!! I also do a recovery run the day after a tri of 2 to 3 miles. It is amazing how that aids the recovery process. These are very relaxed and slow runs. My coach suggested that I do them and he was right as always. They do help. I skiied 4 days in the past 9 days. The holidays have allowed me to schedule that many ski days in. I have most of next week off too. It is a great workout! I have signed up to do a Winter Running series in my area. It starts 2/7/09 with a 5K. 2 weeks later there is a 10K race, 3 weeks after that a 10 miler, 3 weeks later a 1/2 marathon, and 3 weeks later a 30k. This is a huge committment, but I am doing it. I set a goal to improve my run. I have made progress and this will help me continue to improve. I have a dilemma, should I run a 5K on New Years Eve or do a midnight ski run on the mountain? The 5K would be better for my goal. Either way, I'll probably be cold at midnight!!!

That is awesome Kagoscuba!!! I wish you all the best! I'd say good luck, but we know it has nothing to do with luck. It's all good hard preparation. You can do it. I plan to do an Olympic triathlon early next spring. I am also planning to run another 1/2 marathon in the spring. I would love to work up to a HIM later next season. "Hi, my name is Chris. I'm a triathlon junkie, and I LOVE IT!!!"

mrboswell, Congrats!!!!! That is great to hear that you've had good early success! Don't forget to measure the NSVs (Non scale Vitories) as well. They are everywhere early on. Think about how out of breath a certain activity made you before being banded. Now? There are little changes that we aren't always aware of. My approach was, and you are welcome to emulate it, to not set WEIGHT goals, but FITNESS goals. Sure, I still keep track of the #. It is what we all understand. However, if that is/becomes your FOCUS, you will miss oppportunities for growth and lasting change. As one of my larger fitness goal, I set a goal to run one 5K in 2008. I'll admit, it wasn't a very lofty goal now that I have hindsight. I did not know how I would adapt to the band and did not have a mentor to "show me the way". Set a goal you are comfortable with. Remember, a goal not written is only a wish. Once you set the goal, think of milestones that will help you to measure your progress. I have a form that I created in Excel called LBGoals. I'd be happy to share it with you. It now has 16 tabs to the spreadsheet. I measure everything there. I have a quote on my Goals page that headlines it all. It says: "When performance is measured performance improves. When performance is measured and reported the rate of improvement accelerates." Thomas S. Monson Pres. Monson gave that quote more in a business setting than religious one. It is quoted everywhere in business. Google it. He is so right on target with that! I have a "Coach" who is a former neighbor who used to run track at USU. He knows about my band, but he isn't there to talk to about the band. I went to him for advice on running. I asked if he would mind if I shared my workouts with him each week. I copy a portion of my weekly workouts into a training log that I send him each Sunday. He helps me to focus my workouts to where they will help me improve the most. These are short emails. I've only seen him a few times in the past year as he now lives in another city. I feel like I "owe" him an accounting of my workouts since he has been generous with his suggestions. He helps me - and lo and behold, I've helped him to FOCUS too. I can share a whole lot more. I am open to discuss any of my experiences with you. Let me know. Chris

Here is a quick update on what I have been doing since my original post in September. I've done alot, actually!!! This past Saturday was my Bandiversary. It has been one year since I was banded. I celebrated that day by running the Death Valley Half Marathon. Yes, 13.1 miles!!! I did it!!!! I had not run that far in over 27 years since I ran my first Half Marathon in 1981. 26 years, a lot of weight and inactivity, and no FOCUS got me to the point that I needed to change something. I did and you can too!!! I ran 13.1 miles in training about a month ago. I did it in 3:05:11. Going into Saturday's race, I had a goal to be under 3 hours. I shattered that! I did it in 2:46:03. In 2008 I have done 7 Sprint Triathlons, 9 5Ks, 2 bike races, and 1 Half Marathon. I feel great!!! I have FOCUS in my life again. What a sweet thing!!! Always remember and never forget... Where ever you go, there you are! If It Is To Be, It Is Up To Me!!!!! Happy Holidays!!!!! Chris

I completed the Death Valley Half Marathon on Saturday! I reached all my goals that I had set for the race as well!!! I did it in 2:46:03, under my 3 hour goal. I ran it in training in 3:05:11. I cut nearly 20 minut off of my PR. What an awesome Bandiversary gift to myself. I have had the most successful year of my life. Thanks for being part of it. I appreciate the encouragement and examples I received from all of you on this board. Keep up the great work!!! I am now going to concentrate on the Olympic distance triathlons. Haven't done one yet, but come Spring I have my eye on a few. Happy Holidays!!!!!!

Amanda, I noticed that we both have 50 to go. Wow!!! Unfortunately, these are the toughest 50. Slowly but surely. Do you have a plan in mind for the last 50 or are you just biding your time? I don't have specific plans to lose the rest. I just want to keep my fitness level up and increase my aerobic ability. The cold weather makes it a bit tougher. Jon, where did you go? What's up???

Hello fellow Merry Bandsters!!! Our year mark is rapidly approaching. It seems this thread is nearly dead. Please share your Bandiversary plans with the rest of us. My plans include a flight to Death Valley on the 5th of Dec. On the morning of the 6th (my Bandiversary) I will be running the Death Valley Half Marathon. What a gift to give myself!!!! I can hardly contain my thankfulness for my Band and what it has helped me accomplish this past year. I know that not everyone has had the same results, and for that I am sorry!!!! I love hearing about the small victories everyone has had - not just the big ones. Please share!!!!! Have a great day!

Congrats Sue!!! YOU changed your life by using the tool that we've been given. It is hard work, but is so very satisfying!! When I look back, the hard work was actually fun - because the results could be seen. I have had the greatest summer of my life!!! I have bought a season pass to the best kept secret of a ski resort in Utah. I skiied 8 times last year. This year it should be every weekend!!!! My legs are in great shape, so none of that lactic burn I struggled with last winter. Plus I have my 1/2 marathon coming up... There is still so much fun to have this year!!!! I will check out Trikke.com. Good luck to you in your workouts this winter!!! Chris

Had my best time yet in today's tri. The bike course was tough! The hill we had to go up was brutal!!! It was a 2 loop course. I almost didn't make it up the hill on the 2nd loop. The run was first and that helped me! I wasn't fatigued until after the bike. The swim was crazy!! There was a lot of commotion in the water and it was a jungle swim. I finished in 1:21:13. My goal of 7 5Ks and 7 Triathlons this year has been met!!! What a summer!!! Now I will focus solely on the 1/2 marathon. Tomorrow will be my long run (8 to 10 miles).

I am happy that my experiences have given you all some inspiration. I am inspired everyday with what people are overcoming to better their lives. I have a new quest that I am on. On 12/6/08, I will run the Death Valley 1/2 Marathon. 12/6/07 was my Band date. I am excited to give my self this present for my Bandiversary. This represents 1 full year of control of my health and fitness. What a gift!! I did my 7th triathlon today. Each one is so satisfying. I have charted everything since getting my band. If any of you are interested in getting an excel copy for yourself, let me know.

One last triathlon on Saturday, then I'll have to wait until Spring. I have begun a new adventure to keep me busy. I will be running the Death Valley 1/2 Marathon on 12/6/08. This is my Band-date Day!!! I have been increasing my distances for the past month. The run remains my weakness. There is only one way to make it my strength, JFDI!!! I ran 10.7 miles on Saturday, another 3.1 on Sunday, and 4.4 last night. Tonight is for politics, not running. The snow is on it's way to Utah. Saturday's Tri is a reverse Tri with the Run first. I think getting the run done first will really help my overall time. I bought a season pass to my favorite ski resort. My legs are in shape and it will be a great winter full of skiing. I'm lucky enough to work four 10s and have every Friday off. SKI DAYS!!!!! Hope everyone is doing well.

Last Saturday was my 6th tri of the season and was by far the toughest!!! There were 8 miles of hills!!! No joke!! It was held in the most incredibly beautiful setting - Lake Powell. I have one more tri this year, then we'll hang it up until springtime. It's starting to snow in the Utah mountains, so skiing is only a month away. That should keep me in great shape!

Only you can answer that question for yourself!! For me, it was definitely the right decision!!!!! I cannot tell you all of the positive impacts this decision has meant for me. The greatest impact is that it gave me control of my life again. My health and fitness is mine to manage. I am not on a diet! I have changed my lifestyle. I thought long and hard and spent all the money on things that did not help me to change my core. I spent the $ on the one thing I knew would give me a real shot at the change I desired. It worked for me. Good luck! I know it will work for you too!!!!

I completed another tri yesterday. It rained all day, but the race went on. I was very surprised that they still did the bike portion. I was utterly soaked!! The rain actually started to hurt as it hit my face near the end of the bike. I thought that it might be hail. All in all, it went ok. I missed my goal by 2 mins and 6 secs. It is kinda sad when the swim is the warmest part of the race. I have another tri scheduled at Lake Powell on the border of AZ and UT. It will be held on 10/18. It snowed in the high mountains of Utah this weekend. Maybe ski season will be here soon and I can get great workouts in on the hills. I have lost 36.25 inches on my body since December. Each month I measure the same areas and chart all of the data. It is very exciting to see the progress when the scale quits moving as fast. Muscle is replacing the bulk and it has greater mass and weight. So I can't expect to still lose the lbs like I once did. I feel better than ever!!!! I hope you all are still being sucessful in your journeys!!!

I'm sure you aren't asking for the obvious reasons.... It will kill you the same way excess weight will. Weight increases the risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, etc. You are taking the right step to lessen those risk from excess weight. Why not take the opportunity to rid yourself of the smoking as well? Not to mention improve the way you smell. Smoking does act as a appetite suppressant for many people. You will get that from the band. You do need to have some appetite, however!!!! These are just my own humble opinions. Good luck!!!

I'm doing another 5k this Saturday. Last Saturday I had my best time yet! The run has been my weakness and I'm very happy that I am seeing good improvement. I have a triathlon scheduled for the next weekend. I finally sent in my order for shirts that I will be selling to triathletes. I'm going to attach pictures of the shirts here. Tell me what you think. Let me know if you are interested in getting one. Keep Tri -ing!!!!

Thanks for the link, Jon! I hadn't heard about it. My times are pretty good compared to most of them!!! I did a 20 mile bike race on Saturday. I think it went very well! I averaged 18.3 mph. Not bad, especially in light of the number of "slower" riders I had to dodge for the first few miles. I'm doing a 5K this Saturday. My goal at the first of the year was to run a 5K by the end of December. I've now run a total of 4 5K races and 4 Sprint triathlons. I now have a goal to add 2 more of each before the end of the year. I'm loving this!!

You are looking great!!! I'm so glad to know this helps women as much as us guys. I've heard alot of griping that men lose so much faster. Sorry!! Alot of us men had alot more to lose and we are all different. Thanks for your story!!

You CAN do this too!! I know if I can do it, there are countless others who just haven't quite made that committment. It is so fulfilling! Let me know if you need a booster! I'm there for you EbonyRose!!

What are you eating? Maybe more importantly, what are you drinking? Do you drink before the meal? This is very difficult for alot of people, me included, to learn. It is very very important that you drink plenty before the meal and then abstain from drinking during and after the meal for at least an hour. The first month or so is for healing. You will notice a small difference with your first fill. Be patient and make good choices!!! Are you exercising? That will also help in that you will be burning more calories. Hang in there!!!!