bambam31

Kudos on getting a heart rate monitor - it's a must in my book. I ditto what Jachut said.... It's not so much what/when/where you exercise, rather it's the intensity at which you do so. Expecting to get to goal with walking being the only form of exercise is really unrealistic. Most people have to continually alter their exercise in order to create the challenge necessary. Work hard and stay focused! Brad

I get pain in the port area sometimes during intense exercise but have found that it's associated with improper breathing. Once I get that under control the pain goes away. I have not experienced lasting port pain. Brad

Good job for all your hard work everyone! Lellow, good luck with your surgery! I'm still not counting in fitday. Maybe next week. Last 2 Weeks: 173 This Week: 172 Have a great week everyone! Brad

LOL... That had to be a great feeling though when you saw those numbers appear on the doctor's scale! Brad

Shoes? You mean there are places where people still wear these? That's so 20th century! Brad

This is definitely one of those topics that varies from person to person. I'm down 90+ pounds and I'm not saggy at all. In fact, I am so impressed by how well my skin has adjusted. While everyone's different, a combination of 1) drinking lots of Water 2) LOTS of exercise, both cardio and strength 3) copious amounts of skin moisturizer have done the trick for me. I can't wait to open the swimming pool this year! Brad

I too weigh multiple times everyday. I think it helps you learn how different routines, foods, hydration, sleep, etc all effect your weight. EVERYTHING has an impact on EVERYTHING. I have gotten to the point that I can guess at my evening weigh-in what my morning weigh-in will be - and am normally very very close, if not spot-on to the 1/10th of a pound. I agree with the others - if you use it as a tool - it's motivating. But if it stresses you out - hide it! Brad

Congrats to everyone on their losses! Keep up the good work. I stopped journaling in fitday last week and did not have a good eating week either... I despise food journaling and know I will not do it long term, so I decided to take a couple-week break from it. Fluctuated up and down a few pounds throughout the week, and well all in all didn't gain or lose. I'm not going to journal for at least one more week, but am going to make better food choices for sure! Have a great week everyone! Brad

Congrats to everyone on their progress and a special tip of the hat to Lellow for reaching goal! Had another super week and my progress just keeps chugging along full speed. Last Week: 176 This Week: 173 Change: Minus 3 Pounds Have a great week! Brad

Had a much better week this week! Exercised hard and ate right. A chunk of the loss is surely from the fluids I was retaining from eating so many carbs last week. Simple carbs cause me to bloat right up... At any rate I'm wearing regular cut 32 inch jeans so I'm ecstatic this week! I started this journey wearing size 44 and 46. Last Week: 182 This Week: 176 Change: Minus 6 pounds Brad

My doc does fills incrementally - and I'm glad for it. He's also never used any kind of pain meds - just a poke and that's that. What doesn't make sense to me is some days are tighter than others - so if they adjust the way you described every time I would think it would make your restriction very inconsistent. There is already so much inconsistency amongst band docs. With diet and exercise and fills etc.... It's disturbing to be on the consumer end of the chain. Brad

First the disclaimer... Everything hereafter is just IMO.... Nearly everyday here on LBT you'll encounter a post about a person eating a very small amount of calories (less than 1000) yet they aren't losing weight. Undoubtedly there are a few who aren't using a calorie counting tool - rather are estimating - and are wrong. Others are genuinly eating very few calories and not losing weight. Why? You can call it "starvation mode" or "adaptation" or whatever you want. But from my brief studies of successful "losers" combined with my own personal experiences, this is explainable for many people. If you eat a set number of calories and do a set amount of exertion day after day, week after week, your body will adjust to it - and you won't lose fat - band or no band. Digesting food and converting it into energy burns calories. The more you eat - the more you burn. Being significantly active and staying away from simple carbs reduces the liklihood of fat storage. For me, I've found it's a very complex meshwork of factors - and it's a bit different for everyone. All I can say is you'll know when you get it right. If you're happy with your results - kudos - don't change a thing. OTOH, if your not then it's time to tinker with the variables. Brad

I'm with ya Misty - on to next week! I had an awful eating week - by far worst since surgery. I really fell off the track from about last Thursday through this Tuesday. Worked really hard and focused on Wednesday and Thursday and managed to get back to where I started for the week. Not to rationalize, but in reality I guess we're always going to have some periods where we stray. Just hope to not do too much damage during those periods. Last Week: 182 This Week: 182 Change: EVEN Have a good week everyone! Brad

Still kicking - and that's half of the battle! Brad

Me thinks a mist of oleoresin capsicum would clear the treadmill.... :thumbup: Brad

Spin classes have been my best friend on this journey. IMO they are the best bang for the buck going for intense cardio. The first few classes lead you to believe you're trying to kill yourself, but as your body acclimates it actually starts to crave it more! I've become so addicted to it that I have two spin bikes in my basement now! In fact, I'm sitting on one in my avatar pic... Brad

Thanks Donna! I set my goal where the "charts" said I should be but quite honestly, I'm comfortable with the weight I'm at. I'm already into my OMG pair of pants so if the scale moves no more I'll still be happy. I'm really focusing now on getting my body fat percentage down. If the scale comes with it, then fine, but if lean muscle gains keep the scale from dropping much then that's ok too.... Brad

IMO you have firmly placed your body into starvation mode due to the extremely low calorie diet you eat. You don't mention exercise, but I'd imagine your probably too tired to exercise most of the time on that calorie intake. If I were in your shoes I would gradually increase my calorie intake AND exercise until you achieve more moderate numbers. Once you do, the weight will start coming off. The band is a TOOL, it's not a miracle. Just because you get the band does not guarantee you'll have success. The band was never meant to be cinched down until you practically can't eat. Properly adjusted, hunger will be kept at bay after a eating a reasonable amount of food. A big mistake, however, that a lot of people make (IMO) is that they try to get most of their calorie deficit by eating very little food - rather than getting their deficit from a blend of diet and EXERCISE. IMO... Your band is TOO tight, causing you to eat TOO LITTLE, causing you to be too tired to get adequate exercise. Brad

I've been steadily increasing my calorie intake and I'm have an average of 2099 per day over the past 5 weeks. It breaks down 36% Carbs, 31% Protein, 30% fat (which is 7% saturated - 5% poly - 8% Mono)... Consistantly losing 3 pounds a week, but with LOTS of intense cardio exercise. Brad

Well everyone is different, but how is 600 working out for you? Are you satisfied with your food intake and are you meeting your weight loss goals? Brad

Hey everyone! Had my 5th fill this week after things started getting too loose. I was to the point I could eat a 6 inch Subway Sub bun and all. Sufficient restriction is once again in place. Makes it tougher to keep my calories up around 2100 on average, but with effort I can still hold the average. Last Week: 185 This Week: 182 Change: Minus 3 Have a good week everyone! Shamrock that is a beautiful Grandbaby! I know you are a proud Grandma! Brad

I'm 194 days post op and I guess it's about time for another blog entry... My main thought these days is that had I known 20 years ago what I know now I would have enjoyed that period of time much more. But I guess it's still better than learning 20 years from now... I find I have to keep reminding myself that, as of this point, I've lost 81 pounds. I'm wearing clothes that I really didn't think I'd ever wear again (still surprised I kept many of them). Yet I tend to focus on the road yet traveled. There is still so much work to do. It's kind of like driving without being able to follow a map. I know my body fat percentage is headed south so I guess that's the road I'll stay on - while the end destination and route of travel remains a mystery. It seems everywhere I go these days I get compliments on my weight loss. It feels really good! Many people ask how I've managed to accomplish this feat. It's really a question I try avoid. Am I embarrassed that I had WLS? No. But it's not an easy question for me to answer. I don't credit all of my success to the band. Why? Does the band make me workout almost every day of the week? No! Does the band make the decision to choose healthy foods most of the time? No! Then it sounds to me like the band gets about 33.3% of the credit - the rest is distributed elsewhere. But If I start out by telling people that I have a band, they seem to immediately draw the conclusion that surgery is why I've had success - But that's not the whole truth! So this normally leads into a many-minute long explanation on my part. There are many people who've been banded but aren't enjoying success - or at least not to their satisfaction. The answer why is multi-faceted. Many people wrongly assume at the outset that the band itself will make them lose weight. Of course this isn't true. People need to do more research. I did a fair amount, but not as much as I should have. Secondly, many doctors are not telling patients the whole story. The plain fact is that if you plan to get anywhere near goal, you'd better plan on intense exercise - and lots of it. My experience has been that a lot of medical professionals dance around this issue. I believe they are scared that they'll chase patients away. After all, many patients see the band as a way to lose weight without exercise. What morbidly obese patient want to hear, "oh yah, and by the way, even though you have the surgery, you'll still have to exercise intensely most days of the week to achieve satisfactory results." We as a society want what we want right now - and don't want to work particularly hard to get it. Exercise is one area in which I've become more fluent, but nutrition is another. I believe everyone has a different combination. It takes trial and error to find a method of operation that illicits the results you desire. I've found my combination in a big way. I now know how to keep my metabolism fire burning so hot that even a wet log thrown in the flames barely slows it down. My average calorie intake for the past month is over 2000 a day. Fall off the wagon days barely have any impact on the weeks' results. Now I am just focused on keeping the burn going. I've set an arbitrary goal of 154 pounds. My main focus, however, is fat loss. My body fat percentage is right around 19% to 20%. My goal is 10%-12%. Basically, I'll be happy with whatever weight I end up at, so long as my body fat percentage is at goal. Keep fighting the good fight! Brad

It's going to get so much better for sure! Rather than focusing on the tough times right now, just imagine what the next summer or Christmas or whatever period is going to be like. Stay focused on your goals and don't let anything stand in your way! Brad

Hi Michelle, Yes, seeing the kids so happy and without a care in the world on their birthday brings back fond childhood memories. The cake and ice cream tastes so good too! It scares me a bit to eat these foods because I kinda feel like, "here we go again - the diet's over" but then I realize I'm not on a diet anymore! I eat junk food occasionally, and even overeat it a bit when I do endulge - but the important thing is I can walk away from it now and get back on the wagon so much easier. Not to mention my metabolism is just unbelievable right now and even the junk food isn't slowing me down. I'll be glad when cold and flu season is over! Between DD going to school and DS in daycare, our house is like germ stew. I did really well staying resistant to it during the first half of the winter, but it finally caught up with me. Hope it is retreating for you and get feeling better real soon! Brad

Thanks to Gilta for the last challenge, and Michelle for the new one! Today: 184 Goal: 168 pounds for a 2 pound per week loss. Good luck everyone! Brad