YankeesFan

I'm not an outdoor biker, but I love my spin bike. I have a narrow gel seat cover that's made by schwinn (who also made my spin bike). I think that's the key to getting a good fit with a cover -- buy one made by the same manufacturer. They tailor their products to work with their other products.

I'm a big grapefruit fan -- it's fairly low in calories and assuming you don't eat the white bits, it's easy on the band. Sometimes it's difficult for me to tell if I'm head hungry, hungry or thirsty, and this takes care of all three for me.

Hi -- I just posted a similar comment on the bread/pasta/rice thread. I've been banded for 10 months now, and find bread to be a problem most of the time. When I was first banded and after my mushy stage, I could eat tuna or egg salad on a "slice" of wasa bread. If I took small bites and chewed them really well, it went down ok. But these days, I don't even buy bread or wasa bread anymore. If I eat starches, I opt for Kashi TLCs in very small quantities or small bowls of cereal/oatmeal.

Hi all -- I'm wrapping up my 10th month with the band. I'm a big carb fan and have tried just about every breadlike starch possible. Here's what I've found. Most of the time, bread doesn't work for me -- it's painful going down on good days and it comes up on bad ones. I've given up pasta (though I wasn't a big fan to begin with). White rice (even in a sushi roll) gives me grief, but I find that brown rice mixed with a sauce or in soup is just fine, if eaten in small quantities. I've not had a bagel (no desire). I miss my pancakes and waffles and eat them rarely and sparingly, but the longing has receeded in the recent months. While I've not had an english muffin on its own, I have had one with my eggs florentine, and that went ok (though I couldn't eat the whole thing). The greatest tragedy is having to give up cinnamon rolls forever. For me, it's like swallowing a large piece of dough -- no matter how small the bite or how long I chew it. However, I've found crepes (savory is better -- sweet will get you into all sorts of trouble) to be a good substitute (in moderation, of course) for the foods I've given up. Actually, I find I'm far more creative in the kitchen than I was previously and have discovered all sorts of new nonstarch munchies. My food du jour -- pink grapefruit. It fills you up and quenches your thirst. It's a miracle food, IMO.

From what I know of gym machines, the heart rate guidelines and the mechanisms are approximations only. The best way to gauge your heart rate is via a heart rate monitor -- you can program your own stats and the band wraps around your chest, so you get a much more accurate read. Barring that, my rule of thumb is whether I can speak (or sing) during exercise -- not well, mind you -- just enough that I could say something without passing out. And 20 minutes of cardio work maintained at a relatively consistent heart rate is the key -- it kicks your metabolism into higher gear. Anything beyond that will begin burning fat (and continue to do so for about 8-12 hours). At least that's what I've been told . . .