puddin

Sunsett, I don't know where you're getting that information. Protein does a lot, but lack of it doesn't keep us from losing weight - unless over a long period of time we haven't gotten hardly any and can't feed the muscles that we have so our bodies burn our own muscle for energy instead of fat. It would take awhile to get to the point where we've starved down our own muscle to the point where our metabolism will only burn 600 calories per day and we maintain at that.

Holy cow, woman, you really don't eat a lot! The fact that you're PBing on the last bite is strange. I usually only PB on the last bite when I've eaten too much. Sounds like you're eating solids (like Tuna and green beans), so maybe you just need to slow it down. Also, are you eating ENOUGH? I bet that calorie content is less than 600. I'm not going to throw out the whole starvation mode thing, because I really don't believe in it generally, but with less than 600 calories, consistently, per day, this could be a possibility for you. You were only banded in April. My hair started to sort of fall out at about 4 months after my surgery, which is consistent with what my doc told me the anesthesia might do to me. The hair loss only lasted a couple of months and now it's just fine. A lean cuisine or Smart Ones frozen dinner usually will satisfy me for a couple of hours, but not for too long. I have to have a snack mid-day and in the evening to be satisfied. I am full when I've had about 1.25-1.5 cups of solid food (we're not talking mashed potatoes here). My calorie consumption is usually between 1,100 and 1,400 calories. My doc told me to get at least 70 grams of Protein in each day, so I try to hit that. I've been curious about what others can eat as well. It seems like other banded people eat a lot less than I do. It could be unrelated to your hair loss or even weight loss, but it still looks like you're not eating enough to me to stay active. I HAVE to eat 1,100 just to get enough energy in each day. Believe it or not, I burn more calories by eating more in that respect.

The band just doesn't not work. In rare cases people have metabolic disorders that don't allow them to lose weight, but for the majority of us, it works because we MAKE it work. Follow the band rules and you'll do just fine. You still have to exercise and eat a healthy diet, but the band makes it a LOT easier to stay on task. It's a constant reminder. What's this kit you're talking about?

Here I am today!

Yesterday: B: 3/4 Apex Protein shake - 165 calories, 15g protein L: Lasagna Florentine - 290 calories, 15g protein S: 5 cherry tomatoes & light string cheese - 78 calories, 9.7g protein D: Veggie Omlet w/ ff sour cream and salsa & a peach- 412 calories, 21.7g protein S: 1/2 Protein Shake w/ Peanut Butter & banana - 248 calories, 14.4g protein Totals: 1193 calories, 72g protein Today: B: 1/2 Apex protein shake: 110 calories, 10g protein L: Smart Ones Stuffed Turkey Breast - 290 calories, 17g protein D: Thin Crust veggie pizza planned

Vines, I think you defy the rules of physics! LOL. Really, no one is exempt from the rules - they just can't be. But you have other things going on, I have no idea what, that for some reason are causing fluctuations all over the place. I wish I was a brilliant doctor who could somehow be injected into your body and see exactly what was taking place. I do think that if you eat VERY low amounts of food (like sub 700 calories, long-term), your metabolism will greatly slow, making the "low worse". I have another friend who exercises her tail off, despite her low energy, and is very disciplined with what she eats. For some reason, she just doesn't lose either. I think TYPICALLY it's a case of just not being aware of our calories in/calories out (assuming the calories are not way too low, causing muscle loss and a lowered metabolism). But SOMETIMES there are those who have other things going on in their bodies that force them to hold onto the fat and burn other things for energy instead. I know this is the case with my friend. She doesn't have the Cushings "look", but she could have have it, or Epstein Barr, or a myriad of other things. I'm going to ask my professor about this. I'm in a medical program right now, and there are some good doctors with up-to-date information on this kind of stuff. I know you don't have much faith in doctors at this point (and neither would I), but it won't hurt to get other opinions on what might be happening.

Here's what I can't figure out: Every fill I get, I'll be restricted, perfectly, for about 2 days. And then I'm right back to where I was with the previous fill. I can always eat 1.25 to 1.5 cups of food at a time. I know I'm not losing any fluid. Could I have stretched my pouch? My nurse says I'd know it if I did, but I'm not certain of that. Anyhow, here are today's meals: B: 1C Apex protein shake L: 1/2 roast beef sandwich on ciabatta S: mixed fruit, 1/4 pc. cheesecake, 1/4c sliced strawberries D: rest of ciabatta sandwich S: WW Peanut Butter Pie Total Food: 1,342 calories, 60g protein Exercise: Rode bike 10 very hilly miles, treadmill 30 minutes, ellliptical 20 mintues

Hey Vines, I wanted to chime in here. I think you've been a real trooper through all of your medical problems and have been so motivational each time I see one of your posts. I thought I'd comment on the "calories in/calories out don't work for everyone." It really does work for everyone - it's just that some people have very slow metabolisms. You apparently have a disorder where your metabolism is just greatly slowed down (I believe you said it was cushings?), maybe because the increased cortisol levels cause you to gain weight (because cortisol is the stress response hormone) and instead burn muscle for energy which further lower your metabolism and causes a lot of fatigue. Anyhow, your calories OUT just don't amount to much, so you end up just maintaining instead of losing, even on as few calories as you ingest. I think Jaime should definitely be tested for thyroid and cushings and other metabolic disorders, but the chances of having these problems aren't high. I think a lot of the time we just really need to buckle down and log what we eat so we can truly look for trends. I've never lost so fast with the band as when I'm logging what I'm eating. Even now, I'm losing faster than I was at 2 months out with the band. I think I just thought HAVING the band would make me lose weight. I learned my lesson after not losing any weight for 2 1/2 months! I started to log and lose again. Of course, the calorie device I wear all the time helps a lot. I can "cheat" if I know I'm still at my 1,500 calorie deficit goal for the day. I usually reach that through increased physical activity and eating around 1,200-1,400 calories/day. Going on fewer than 1,200 calories/day doesn't necessarily put me in "starvation mode", but my energy levels are low enough that during my exercise session and activity throughout the day I'm not going to burn nearly as many calories as when I eat more. But if it's a Sunday and I'm not going to be moving much, I know that it's okay for me to lower that calorie intake to about 900 and still hit my daily deficit goal.

Activity for today: Went for 10 mile bike ride around the river parkway Did about an hour of gardening Cleaned out basement Went to luao and shook it!

My doc recommends a little unfill every time we go out of town for a few days. He doesn't unfill much, but just enough to keep you from vomiting your food if you retain water while out of town. I've had about 4 unfills. When I get back I just get a re-fill (I sound like a car). This has worked well for me because I usually retain water while on vacation and, even with the unfill, I feel the same or a bit more restriction when I'm out of town.

I want in on this thread! Today 7/28: 45 minutes upper body WT Biked to work and back: apprx 8 miles of evil hills Filmed video, operated steadicam: apprx 2 hours

You know, I've had ups and downs, too. And even if you have gained muscle, if you are consuming fewer calories than you are expending you WILL lose weight. I know that when I keep an accurate record of exactly what I'm eating on a daily basis, that's when I lose. And let me tell you, when I find a Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones sale, I go crazy. I just got about 100 Smart ones meals at about $1.17 each. One of those will fill me up. That way I have no guessing and it's very cheap. I don't mean to sound skeptical, but 2 hours of exercise with 31 pounds of weight loss doesn't sound right, unless you're downing ice cream every day. Keeping a diary has been the key for me. Since doing that I have pretty much consistently lost 2-3 pounds per week. Try doing the journal - it could be very revealing as to how many calories you're consuming. The device I wear tells me how many calories I'm expending all the time, but you could go get your BMR tested and have a pretty good guess of how many calories you burn in a day. It helps to take the guesswork out. For example, tonight I burned about 3,000 calories (that's about 300 more than usual for me), and I'd only consumed 610 for the day after dinner. That way I knew I could have a bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup (because everyone else was eating it) and STILL hit my 1,500 calorie deficit goal for the day, PLUS have extra calories to spare. Tomorrow I won't be so lucky, but I'll still aim for a 1,500 calorie defecit and by the end of the week I will have lost 3 pounds. It's all about the math!

Bechee, I'm so glad you posted here. It shows that you recognize there is a problem and your open attitude shows that you are teachable right now. I think you are on the right path! I totally agree with Vines here, getting help is not about being weak - it's the opposite! You are SO much stronger for being willing to do what it takes to rid yourself of this addiction. And relying on a higher power I believe helps as well. I'm so excited for you to move onto your new, drug-free life! Go find some professional help and keep asking God for strength, and I know you'll be able to do this. I can hear it in your post. Do this for you and your children. You can do this!

All these to-be banded people! I remember how excited I was as when I knew I was going to be banded - I knew there was a whole other life I wasn't living. I'm SO GLAD I did it! I can't even describe the awesome things I've been able to do since losing 85 pounds, and it just keeps coming off. I'm so excited for all you of you pre-bandsters and the super cool things that lay in wait for you.

Danielle The 20 minute video is very easy to follow. The 45 minute video is a little more coordinated but nothing you can't get down pat within 3 workouts. But really, who cares, if you just keep moving you'll do well. I can't say if I've seen "good results" from the videos alone. I just do them when I can't go to the gym, or on Sundays. So really, I usually only get 1-2 sessions of Turbo Jam in per week. I've seen really good results from just exercising. My calorie device that I wear tells me that Turbo Jam doesn't burn any more calories (or any fewer) than a session at the gym. So, as a backup workout, I do like it. I wouldn't enjoy doing it day after day, though. It would get boring.

I have Turbo Jam. It's not high impact if you don't want it to be. It's very easy to make it low impact and they even have some girls doing it low impact. I really like Turbo Jam, but I have to admit I only do it when I can't get to the gym during their open hours. But it's a great workout.

I got the book and loved the ideas about weight training, but I never followed the program to a "T". I do like his recipe book, though!

I count every stinkin calorie in and every calorie out. I usually know to the quarter of a pound how much weight I'll lose in a week.

There's a Dr. Green in Payson, but apparently his fills are pretty expensive. As far as I know, he's the only one in Utah that does fills for patients banded outside the U.S. Dr. Hansen from South Valley Surgical did my band operation. Their fees are VERY reasonable (I believe the cheapest in Utah) and the support you get is phenomenal. You get your first year of free fills and after that it's only $250 for unlimited fills every year after that (or $60/fill). Before going to Mexico, you should know that fills here in Utah could end up costing almost as much as getting your surgery done here by the time you are finished. I'm glad you're doing your homework ahead of time.

BPM, learning this stuff has been the thing that has kept me going and kept me consistently losing. JUST keeping it simple is what got me fat in the first place. I thrive on this new knowledge and soak it up like a sponge. While I agree that doing something is better than nothing, If I can find the best way to do something, I'm going to do it. If I know that cardio is going to work better for me right now than weight training, I'm going to do that, too. I suppose this weight training vs. cardio discussion is better for another forum, like a weight training forum, and not the lap band forum. However, I do agree that it's very easy to suffer paralysis from analysis with all of this stuff. I have honestly been confused, as well. But I'm going to continue to find out more about this and test it out. I've come to the conclusion that doing light weight training (and taking my vitamins) will continue to challenge my muscles enough that my body will want to hang on to it rather than burn it for fuel. I'm just not going to do enough to really build muscle because I don't think I'm eating enough to repair it efficiently.

I've heard that you will burn more calories all day if you lift weights, but my calorie device that I wear doesn't indicate that it equals a cardio session. I do have somewhat of an afterburn, but with burning 1.2 calories/minute versus 1-1.1 calories/minute (my resting calorie burn rate), after 6 hours that's only a 72 calorie increase, max. I'll get half of that afterburn increase if I just do interval training. So my goal wouldn't be necessarily to burn as many calories as I do during cardio, it would be to keep as much muscle mass as I can hold onto. Perhaps the 20 minute cardio session before weight training is the way I'll go; then I won't feel like I'm wasting time (even though I know I'm not) during weight training. In the end, holding onto more muscle will probably burn just as many calories as simply doing cardio all the time, plus once I've reached goal weight I'll be able to eat more and have a better shape.

OK, here's another burning question: Should you do cardio on the days you weight train? This is another internal question I've been debating over. I need to find that delicate balance of eating enough calories to repair myself after weight training, but trying to burn enough calories during the week to meet my weekly weight-loss goal. Would adding another cardio session on weight training days be too much? I don't want to be sitting there, lifting the weights, and thinking I could be burning so many more calories if I were just doing cardio.

You know, I've given some more thought to this weight training business. Even though I may not be building muscle while doing weight training, maybe I'll be able to hang on to more muscle as I lose the weight (in addition to helping my bones and toning muscle). If I take my vitamins and do weight training, my body will likely feel the need to hang onto my muscle because I'd be challenging them with resistance and feeding them the nutrients they need. Right now, with 0% body fat, I'd be 140 pounds. That may be more muscle than I really need when I closer to goal, but I just don't want to lose more than I have to, thereby making my weight loss slower and slower.

Wow, just WOW! You've done a fantastic job, Carrie. What's your secret?

Telly, this is a good article, but it still doesn't talk about what's required (calorie-wise) to repair the muscle that you build and HOW overweight you should be to do this, ideally. It's general information that's good for the general public, but in our quest for more information about how our bodies operate, it's far more complex than that. Don't get me wrong, I don't think you're going to go wrong with weight training, but is it the ideal thing to do when you have 50 pounds or more to lose?