rdk211

If you are NOT comfortable telling people about your band, and they notice the port sticking out (Mine is super-noticeable in the gym) what do you tell them it is? Deb

I do muay thai kickboxing - and my port sticks out a lot - I just wear Belly Bands and it's fine (makes me a bit hot when I work out, but hey, that just helps trim my waist so I'm OK with it.) And I have gotten kicked repeatedly in the stomach, with real Muay Thai teeps (think footprint on my abs for days!) it's fine - but I DO wear the belly band cuz it HURTS even more than getting kicked in the flower!

I LOVE Zumba. I do it appx. 3 times a week. It's meant to be a party style Latin/Hip Hop class where you are doing a lot of party/club type dancing. It's so much fun! I am not much of a dancer (think Elaine on Seinfeld) but once I got over my self-conciousness, I found I really enjoyed it. It helps to have a fun, nice, encouraging instructor, not one of these skinny gorgeous girls who thinks she's all that. Well, the instructor I love actually is a skinny pretty girl who thinks she's all that, but she is also really nice and encouraging, and looking at her figure is major workout inspiration. And my dancing is actually improving, something I never thought would happen.

I love your quote - "My world is expanding as my butt is shrinking" - I think that exactly encapsulates what we were talking about. Today, I carried my boot camp trainer on my back across the room (and let me tell you, that girl has MUSCLE, she is HEAVY) The whole way across the room she was telling me that I love doing this The funniest part was that she wouldn't get off until I said "I love this!" Bizarrely, this was actually FUN, not something that I would have predicted before I started this journey. Like seriously? I can pick up this woman who is taller and more muscular than me on my back and walk across the room with her????? It's insane but I feel so accomplished right now. (also seriously SORE) RDK

OK, so I'm not the only crazy one out there! Yes, I really feel something missing when I don't go. But I guess it is a healthy addiction, and anyway, I have no desire to change it at this point. Maybe when I lose the remaining 44.4 lbs I can think about changing something. But as it is, I am losing so slow - it took me 4 years to lose 55 lbs (mostly cuz I had a kid in middle and ended up worse off than where I started) But I am finally below where I was when I got pregnant with my baby, so my journey has restarted. RDK RDK

WOW - you lost 105 lbs in a year????? That's awesome! I'm so impressed. It has taken me four years to lose 55 lbs, but I had a baby in the middle and gained most of my weight back. Still, 105 in a year, you must have had a lot of focus and committment for this. Aside from the gym, did you do anything else? RDK

Good luck at the gym. Just go and do things at your own pace. Also, don't get intimidated by challenging classes. I was miserable in my first few classes, I kind of hid out in the back and just suffered through it. Now I am really able to do it, and it's so much fun to keep up and feel your body moving the way it is supposed to! RDK

So I've been thinking about this, because my husband has been "on" me about it. I guess I got the band because I was addicted to food and over-eating. It was my "go-to" comfort, way to de-stress, and overall how I managed stress in my life. I guess I'm just the type to get addicted to things, because now that I have my eating under control, and I've started really working out a lot, it's like the gym has become my new addiction. I really suffer if I miss a day in the gym, and I really look forward to my workouts. I even sometimes work out at night now, after a hard day of work, because I find it calms me. The problem is, my husband sees this as my new addiction, and he might be right. On the other hand, it's a healthy addiction, it makes me feel great, it allows me to accomplish more with my day because I'm not so tired all the time, and it really builds my confidence. I have the time for it - it's not cutting into other things, although I used to be more of a work-aholic and now I am cutting back a bit because I got too stressed. I really feel like so what if it's an addiction? It's a healthy one, and maybe I'm just the addictive type, might as well be addicted to something healthy. He feels that just for my "mental health" I should cut back. Does anyone out there know what I'm talking about? Does anyone have any opinions on this? RDK

I don't remember how I did it anymore, my surgery was four years ago. There is a file in the archives section that describes exactly how to do it. Just search the topic and it walks you through it. I'm not very computer savvyy and I was able to do it. BTW, look at my ticker - I am FINALLY in the 150's!!!!! It definitely was the Zumba....and the Cardio Kickboxing....and the Boot Camp... and the Power Lifting....... and (sadly) the nutritionist! RDK

Congrats on the surgery. Good luck! I do Zumba three times a week now, and I love it. I used to be a bit more restrained, but now I go ALL OUT and I love it. I think that Zumba is a little bit more tough on the port, because moves like body rolls and side bends are going to stretch your port site. I would wait till my port site was COMPLETELY healed and got an OK from the surgeon. Zumba is so fun and high energy, you might overstrain yourself or strain healing tissue without realizing it. Better to make sure your surgeon has pronounced you 100% ready to excercise before doing it. Or you can try a Zumba Gold class, which is for seniors and is a bit less intense. Don't worry - you'll heal in no time and have TONS of time to Zumba, and as the weight comes off, you'll look cuter and cuter as you do it!

I love it. It took 3 years, and a lot of work with a trainer. I think I hated it at first because I felt self-concious in the gym, I was one of the fatter girls there and my form was awful. So, after working one-on-one with a trainer, I then graduated to HER group class, which I felt comfortable in because she helped me learn what we would be doing before. Then I got into Zumba because the Zumba teacher in my gym is just so funny and charming and approachable that it didn't feel intimidating. Once I was doing Zumba practically every day, my trainer challenged me to take Cardio Kickboxing, which is taught by a very intimidating woman, and the class is very fast-paced. To my shock, I was able to keep up and loved it - and I realized how strong I had become (loss of 65 lbs, able to lift serious weight, good form!) and it was just the BEST feeling. Now I take Boot Camp, which I pay extra for, and whenever my gym hangs up a flier for a new form of excercise, I'm one of the first to try it out. I have become such a workout addict. But it did take about 3 years! I can't even describe how AMAZING it feels to take Boot Camp or Kickboxing. I feel so confident and strong and exhiliriated afterwards. Anyone else LOVE the sore muscle feeling you get after a really challenging class, where you know you will feel it the next day, but it's a good kind of pain?! RDK

I've been working out from home for 3 years. I had the luxury of being able to buy some really great equipment - free weights, dumbbells, DVDs, a TRX system, and a good elliptical. I hired a trainer who helped me come up with a variety of routines for all of that equipment. BUT, lately I've been losing motivation, so I joined a gym (it helps that now my baby is older and needs the stimulation of the babysitting group there!) I LOVE being at the gym. I especially love Cardio Kickboxing and Boot Camp classes - I find the experience of being yelled at to JUMP HIGHER! RUN FASTER! is such an adrenaline booster that it keeps me motivated. I think it's a matter of mixing it up - there are times in my life that I just can't get out, but there are times that I just NEED the stimulation of the gym to keep myself going! Right now I'm in gym mode, but I'm prepared for that to change. RDK

I really want to create a yahoogroups group for kosher bandsters, (so that takes care of your religious affiliation, Amy) but have no time to manage a group right now. It will have to go on my backburner of projects for when I have "leisure time" (which, and I'm not complaining about this, will be not anytime soon because my business and kids are consuming my life, which I can't complain about at all) Rdk PS, I am THRILLED! I have officially lost 41 pounds! To me, that's amazing. I've managed to lose as much as 25-30 pounds pre-band but never as much as 41 pounds. :tongue: