kamala

Here I am earlier this week and in October 2008, 5 months before surgery, 154 pounds heavier...

Check out #10 in this article about endurance athlete mistakes. Bottom line is to keep doing what you're doing, have a small Breakfast, and start figuring out your race day nutrition plan. For a half-marathon, I'll have a small bowl of go lean Cereal with soy milk for breakfast, about 2-3 hours before race start. One packet of hammer gel about 30 mins before start, another 45 mins in, and another at 90 mins (figuring a 2-2.5 hour running time). If you're going slower, one hammer gel an hour would give you plenty to run on. But you need to train with it and make sure you can tolerate it during exercise.

Really? Nobody on this whole giant forum?!

I'm using hammer nutrition products almost exclusively. Perpeteum on really long rides (over 3 hours), hammer gel on shorter events (90 mins to 3 hours), plus endurolyte capsules on all rides. On supported rides with rest stops, I'll grab some fruit, and also maybe pick apart a turkey sandwich. The hammer stuff appears to have less additives and funky stuff than other brands and it generally sits well in my stomach up to about 8-9 hours of riding. If I follow hammer's serving guides, I have no bonk problems. The problems I experienced on my 200 mile ride were after that 8-9 hour mark. Very bad gas and I needed to hit the portapotties very frequently. Figuring out how to deal with this seems to be in every long-distance rider's story catalog, but obviously we have some additional special issues since chowing down on a pile of high density multi-grain bread isn't going to happen.

Thanks!!! Still hoping to find someone who is working on similar events, trying not to be the ultimate guinea pig if there's someone out there with knowledge.

Looking for other band folks engaged in randonneuring/ultracycling. Would love to hear your nutrition experience on 200K+ events and especially on 200 mile + events. Rocked my first double century on Saturday (Seattle to Portland one-day) but had some issues with gas and other intestinal fun.

No joke on the working out, but I've really come to love doing it. Haters will hate, that's their nature. Hopefully the article will continue to generate more LIVESTRONG fundraising (hint, hint :-)) 2010 LIVESTRONG Challenge - Seattle - General Donation

Thanks! Comments thread on the article has gotten a bit ugly with band haters. But I am getting support for my Livestrong Challenge which is great!

My 138 pound weight-loss journey thus far was written about in this week's edition of The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper as part of a piece on my fundraising efforts for LIVESTRONG/Lance Armstrong Foundation. How He Lost 138 Pounds

Little bit of an update... As you can see from my ticker, things are going quite well for me. I'm down 80 lbs since surgery in March, completed a triathlon, a half-marathon, and four 100 mile bike rides since surgery (could only ride 8 miles before surgery and couldn't run more than a mile (and calling it running would have been generous)). I'm not sure what my fill is, but I could probably be more restricted as I eat a bit more than a cup at lunch and dinner. My nurse practitioner and nutritionist are satisfied with my weight loss (consistent 2-2.4 lbs week) and figure that we shouldn't fix what ain't broken at this point. Of course, the trip that caused all the grief in this post is going to end up not happening due to scheduling. But after 9 months with the band, I'd like to say most of you are right. Which is essentially to say, there are many elements of truth from all sides of this discussion. My tastes and desires have changed somewhat, so I'm generally able to pick smaller item wherever I go. I also have a tendency to eat out at nicer restaurants where portion size seems to be smaller/more reasonable. I'm not fully comfortable throwing out as much food as I do, but I live with it. And yes, that's after I say "hold the toast, hold the potatoes, etc." It gets thrown out because I can't stand leftovers anymore, which I used to love. I love food and I love to eat lots of different things, so my desire to eat the same thing, only cold/reheated/not-as-fresh is gone. As for the big issue that caused such agita, my band was never filled enough to reach the question of whether it I should or should not unfill it. If we were going on the trip, I'd probably be able to make due with a couple of sips of Water to push things through and call it good. In most social situations, I don't think anyone has really noticed me eating much less than others. Basically, I think its important to recognize the need to change with lapband to get the most out of the tool. But you also need to know how to get yourself to respond. We can't make hard and fast rules for each other. For example, if I ride my bike 50 miles in a day, I allow myself a human-sized portion of ice cream. Ice cream was my kryptonite before surgery. If I denied it to myself completely, I'd forever be falling off the wagon. But I have a brightline rule in place that allows it under special, limited circumstances. Does this rule make my nutritionist cranky? Absolutely. But she also understands that if I'm riding 50 miles or more in a day, I'm not going to upset my progress with a couple of ounces of ice cream. Anyway, thanks again for all your input. Hope y'all are doing well and finding your path to fitness and happiness, and enjoying the journey on the way!

Kicking a** and taking names! Been a little sloppy over the holidays but had an all around great year. Down 81 lbs since surgery, 137 overall. Completed my first triathlon, four 100-mile bike rides, and my first half-marathon. Keep it up folks!

Sashimi FTW! Fresh tuna and salmon will practically melt in your mouth.

I know it seems less than manly and there can be a lot of older folks but after my first two sessions, I'd like to throw out a vote for hydrofit/water aerobics as a convert. I thought it would be wussy, but my wife wanted me to start going so she would be committed to an exercise buddy. I don't have much problem getting myself to the gym, but my wife does so I thought I'd take one for the team to help her get going with her fitness goals. The type of hydrofit/water aerobics I'm talking about is in the deep end of the pool, so there's no resting/standing. Pretty damn good 45-60 minute cardio workout (especially if you go faster/harder/more weight than the AARP crowd, no offense to those present here:biggrin:). The smoking hot instructor didn't hurt either.