Baroness

Did the metformin help at all with weight loss? I got my band in May and have only lost 15 pounds - much of which was in the first 4 weeks. I was just diagnosed with PCOS last week and my doc/gyn thought I should just use yaz for the symptoms but I had seen where some docs use yaz and metformin. Doc was concerned with the GI symptoms. Think the symptoms would be worth it if I could lose more weight. I have only lost 2 pounds in the last 2 months. Any thoughts?

At least you are doing some exercise :smile: I think you can always build off of that if you can get in the habit of going.

Baby Got BAck posted this a couple of times and I saved it in case I ever platued. I dont know if this will help, but maybe it will give you some ideas. I know platues are horrible. Also Baby said she used something called QuickSlim 30 that got her over her hump. How to Lose 22lbs or 10kgs in 28 Days Without Starving or Training Like an Olympic Athlete!' By Stephen Smith BSc If you seriously want to lose 22lbs or 10 kilograms in 28 days then you must perform all of the principles exactly as recommended. Unlike the recommendations in my book, ‘Look good, feel great!', where you can pick the principles you want to use and ignore the rest and where you can even modify the principles to suit your lifestyle, these principles must be followed exactly as they are outlined. If you want extraordinary results, then you must be willing to put in an extraordinary effort! I realise that some people may be thinking, ‘But it is impossible to lose 10 kilograms of fat in a month!' I agree- it is! However, the truth is, it is impossible to only lose fat on any type of weight-loss program. You will always lose a combination of fat, water, stored carbohydrate and some muscle. Furthermore, most people who want to lose 10 kilograms in the first place are generally retaining excess fluid anyway, so a system that helps get rid of the excess fluid is certainly going to accelerate their results. Perform 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise morning and night. Yes, you read that correctly, morning and night- 2 sessions a day… every day! No excuses. We're all busy, we all feel tired some mornings, but if you're serious about getting amazing results, then you must be willing to do everything necessary. When we talk about aerobic exercise, we're talking about exercise! Not walking around the shops, doing the gardening or doing housework. It must be exercise, which means your breathing rate increases, your face goes red, you sweat, you get tired- simple! Some examples of aerobic exercise include: walking (pounding the pavement at a brisk pace- not dawdling), cycling (stationary bike is ideal), swimming, rowing, stepper, cross-trainer, aerobic classes, boxing, etc. Use ‘thermogenics'. There are several very effective thermogenic supplementson the market that can accelerate your progress towards your goal. Those containing caffeine, green tea extracts and an extract from a plant called coleus forskohlii are the most effective. They will boost your metabolismand promote the release of fat from the fat stores. ‘Scorch' by MAN Sports is a good example. It contains a combination of 7 powerful herbal ingredients specifically designed to boost your metabolism, burn body fat and increase your energy. Unfortunately though, thermogenics are not ‘magic pills'. You can't expect to take a couple of thermogenic capsules and then go home and eat pizza and drink alcohol and expect to get results. Thermogenics only work when their use is combined with a good nutrition and exercise program. Take 1-2 capsules twice a day; once prior to your morning exercise session and once with your lunch. Don't take them later than 4:00pm in the afternoon because they may keep you awake at night. Before using thermogenics, see your doctor first and obtain their approval. Do not eat anything for 30 minutes after the completion of any exercise. As a result of using the thermogenics combined with the exercise, your metabolism will remain elevated for some time after the exercise session is finished. This means your body will burn fuel at a faster rate than normal. Any exercise causes the body to use carbohydrate (muscle glycogen and blood glucose) as a fuel source. This means that after the exercise is completed the carbohydrate stores in the body are low and the body will be forced to use fat as its fuel. If a meal is eaten immediately after the completion of the exercise session, the blood glucose level will rise, inducing the secretion of insulin from the pancreas. One of the effects of insulin is to stop fat burning in the body. Therefore, wait 30 minutes (but no longer because cortisol will rise) before having your next meal. Perform a weight training workout 2-4 times a week. Lifting weights is the most under-estimated way to lose fat fast! Now, before you start saying, ‘But I don't want to get big muscles!' or ‘I don't want to look like a man!', consider the following. The main purpose of lifting weights when your primary goal is to lose body fat is to preserve the muscle massyou already have. You see, muscle is the ‘engine' within which the fat, or ‘fuel' is burnt and maintaining or even increasing your muscle mass slightly will help ensure your body fat is burnt off efficiently. If you don't lift weights, your body will quite happily lose both fat and muscle as you drop the kilos. Lifting weights forces your body to maintain your muscle mass, therefore keeping your metabolism elevated and turning your body into 24-hour-a-day fat-burning machine! Incidentally, it only takes two 30 minute sessions a week to obtain the muscle preserving benefits of lifting weights. Have 5-6 small meals a day. One of the most common strategies people use to lose weight is to skip meals. Whilst reducing food intake is certainly an effective way to lose weight, having fewer meals is not the way to go. Many overweight people say, ‘I don't know why I'm overweight, I only eat once or twice a day!' Unfortunately, this is exactly why they are overweight. Having a mild calorie restriction is effective because if you consume less calories than you burn each day you will lose weight- simple! However, skipping meals forces the body to invoke its ‘Starvation Mechanism' because it thinks it is entering a famine. As a result, the body slows the metabolism to preserve energy. It also increases cortisol output and cortisol is the most powerful catabolic hormone in the body, which means it goes around the body breaking down lean tissue, particularly muscle. A loss of muscle slows the metabolism even further. Skipping meals also results in an increase in appetite, which forces you to eat larger amounts of food when you do eat. In addition to all these factors, the body also increases the activity of fat-storing enzymes, lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and fatty acid synthase (FAS), so when you do eat the food gets stored as fat. All of this results from simply skipping meals! By having a small meal every 2-3 hours throughout the day, your metabolism stays elevated and your body will happily burn fat all day long. Unfortunately though, most people are conditioned to having large meals and they automatically assume they will put on weight if they have 5 or 6 meals a day. The fact is, the ideal portion sizes for most people are actually quite small and in order to lose weight fast it is essential that you never feel full from a meal but you do feel satisfied. Also, most people find it difficult to have a meal every 2-3 hours throughout the day because they are so busy with work and/ or family commitments. Here are some suggestions to ensure you get your 5 or 6 meals a day. • Plan and prepare your meals the night before • Use meal replacements (protein shakes or bars) • Select foods that are quick and easy to prepare and consume Ensure each meal contains protein. Protein is a component of all cells and makes up over half the dry weight of the human body. Furthermore, the human body is a dynamic structure, which means it is constantly building up and breaking down tissue. Just imagine a bath full of water. At one end of the bath the plug is pulled out and at the other end the tap is turned on full. The water level in the bath doesn't change but there are ‘new' water molecules entering the bath and ‘old' water molecules leaving the bath all the time. The human body is exactly the same. If the body breaks down more tissue than it builds up, then it is said to be in a catabolic state. This results in the metabolism slowing down due to the loss of muscle tissue. Having a portion of high-quality protein every few hours throughout the day provides the body with a constant supply of amino acids- the building blocks of the body. This prevents the catabolic state, promotes an anabolic state (tissue building) and therefore keeps the metabolism ‘fired-up'. If only carbohydrate or fat is consumed for a meal, for example a piece of fruit (carbohydrate) for the mid-morning meal, then the body will still enter a catabolic state because it doesn't have the building blocks (amino acids) to re-build body tissues. Protein, as its name suggests, is of primary importance. Reduce your intake of high-density carbohydrates. Most high-density carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice and cereals cause a rapid rise in blood glucose. This invokes the release of insulin from the pancreas, which in turn stores the glucose. The body stores glucose in the muscles and liver as glycogen and once these sites are full, the remaining glucose gets stored as body fat. Not only this, but insulin also stops the body from mobilising and utilising fat for fuel (burning fat). So if you want to maximise fat loss, you need to keep insulin to a minimum and the best way to do this is by reducing your intake of starchy carbohydrates without cutting them out altogether. Cutting them out totally is a philosophy of many low-carb diets on the market. However, these are very hard to sustain long-term and may lead to nutrient deficiencies. Each day, have a small amount (1-2 serves) of high density carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, cereals); a moderate amount (2-3 serves) of medium density carbohydrates (starchy vegetables and fruits); and a large amount (5-6 serves) of low density carbohydrates (fibrous vegetables). [For a complete list of carbohydrates, see pages 136-138 of the book, ‘ Look good, feel great! ] Do not have a Treat Day. Since you are expecting an extraordinary result, it is essential that you put in an extraordinary effort. Accordingly, for the next 28 days you must follow the plan exactly as it is outlined without deviating. This means you can't allow yourself to indulge in any ‘forbidden foods'. This also means avoiding alcohol for the entire 28-day period. I know this may be hard for some people but let's face it, it is only for 28 days! By committing to the plan and disciplining yourself to see it through, you are ensuring that the results will follow. Plus, the disciplines you create to help you achieve your physical goal will have a ‘carry-over benefit' to other areas of your life as well. I wish you the greatest success in achieving outstanding results! * Before using any nutritional supplement, speak with your health care professional.

Hey Julirey - today was my first post as well so I just wanted to say hi. How do you feel post-op? Are you working out?

Away2me - thanks for the reply! I want to wish you the best of luck with IVF; I have heard that it can be a very emotional time so I will be thinking about you. Are any of you telling people? I am just going to tell my husband. So far he has been very supportive. I am a little afraid my step mother-in-law will guess because she has had lap-band done. Also my sister-in-law had gastric. We will see if I can pull it off :thumbup:

Hey all! I just finished reading all of the posts and it took me about 4 days :biggrin: It was so inspiring to read all of your stories from the beginning until now and see how much progress you have all made. What is even more inspiring is that it seems you have all felt you have lost slowly, but when I look at your tickers I can see how your weight loss has added up so quickly! I think it is easy to lose sight of how well you have done over the long haul when you are willing the scale to move weekly. I am so excited for all of you - you have done a FANTASTIC JOB! And thanks for posting all of your struggles and victories. My story - I am 5'5", 183 lbs, late 20's, and have a BMI of around 30.5. Lost and gained with various diets but eventually put it all back on +. I am scheduled for surgery on May 22nd and am super pumped about it. My biggest issue is admitting/feeling that I am too weak to do the weight loss on my own. What is wrong with my self control? It has been a constant struggle since I went to college to manage my weight. But I am miserable! I have always been a very active person and my family goes to the lake every summer. I cant really play tennis anymore or do many of hte other activities I love to do so much. Yeah, and no way am I getting into a bathing suit around my skinny family - they think I dont see the looks they give me when I am in a bathing suit; you know the looks that are trying to figure out how bad its gotten. Anyway, dispite having feelings of failure I have come to the conclusion that I have a proven track record of not being able to do it myself. I HATE constantly feeling hungry. And I would rather admit/accept help and be happy succeeding at weight loss than continuing in the downward spiral of weight loss failure and self hate. I hope this thread picks up! I was so relieved when I found a thread for low BMI. When I went in for my initial consultation, 2 ladies in the waiting room made some unfriendly comments as I walked by knowing that I would hear them. Made me feel guilty and like an outsider. So hope there is support to come from this thread. Thxs for listening - Baroness