bambam31

I think the polar bear says it all! Brad

I do believe you're correct! I just hate it when I misinterpret posts like that! :cursing: Brad

Gotta love a post with a little shock value! :cursing: Brad

So many people... so little time... :tongue: Brad

Patty... You need to go for a walk and get some fresh air or something. Perhaps you had an out of body experience and left some parts somewhere, I don't know. But you are splitting the finest hairs there are to split. When you post something like this.... "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kindom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.(Matthew 7:21) Those 'religious' christians who mistreated your ancestors for whatever reason, were not true, practicing, God fearing christians. They were in name only. ...and then claim you aren't casting judgment or sending them to hell... or calling them false Christians... well... you need to come in out of the fog... Brad

Ditto Bravo! :cursing: Although someone on here will probably condemn you because you're letting satan and the naysayers stifle your open worship of God and all you believe!

Hell just send Beth after the remainder. I have a feeling he'd gladly anty up... :cursing: What a relief all is intact eh? Relieved all went well for you! LMAO! :tongue: That stuff hurts coming out of your nose doesn't it! What an exciting time! Sounds like a unique Christmas gift is in order here too... Deadbeat... Congrats! Going through old clothes is like a day at the mall! Brad

Sorry ladies, but we were told that the bowl water in the powder room was shallower and warmer.... Please accept our invitation to enter, cramp, and bleed at will... :cursing: Brad

You have entered "Bandster Hell." The restriction you were enjoying was from the surgery trauma. But once that subsided, you physically can eat nearly the same amount/variety as you could pre op. The primary focus during this period is healing. Weight loss is still achievable for many, but requires a great deal of discipline and focus. Most people consider any weight loss during this time frame to be a bonus, because the focus doesn't shift to weight loss until after the fills begin. Even then, the number of fills required to achieve satisfactory restriction varies from person to person. Very few achieve this in the first or second fill. Good luck and stay focused! Brad

In addition to the slider reasoning - by eating less and less food your body adjusts to the day in and day out routine intake, and your metabolism slows to a crawl. If you're feeling sluggish, no energy to exercise, have diminished capacity while exercising, etc., you're simply not getting sufficient nutrition. The band was not meant to be cinched down to the point that you can't eat... Less calories does not necessarily mean more fat loss. Once you get to a certain point, the loss stops. Brad

Thanks so much that's exactly what I wanted to hear. Isn't the support on this site great? I don't think you should be drinking while your eating - you aren't following doctors orders - your supposed to wait 1 hour before drinking the soda... Good luck lulu! Hope you didn't have any nekked surprises on your way out of the gate... ROTFL... Sorry.... LOL Perhaps a guest appearance by Dr. Cracker Jack?

pjtp... I was banded yesterday and after 5 bites of yogurt and cottage cheese I was full and couldn't eat any more!... :thumbup: Brad

LOL.... I heard God talking to me once - or so I thought... It was just the public address system... Hearing voices can be a scary experience! Brad

Wow... we've come full circle again. Now tell me there is no implied judgment assessed by the quoted scripture. You're clearly assessing who the "good" christians and "bad" christians are.... Once again.... Aren't we supposed to live a good christian life and let God do the assessing? Your post is just another in a long list of injecting your perceived superiority as one the "good" christians. Delusions of grandeur? Brad

ALS, you are getting very good advice on this thread! I know how hard it is to be patient - I should know, I'm a very impatient person, LOL - especially when it comes to completing a task. But you must keep telling yourself that this is a JOURNEY not a TASK. Things that happen too quickly are not good! Most all of us are in - or have been in - your position. It's hard to focus on what you've accomplished (and what you've accomplished is fantastic!) because you'd rather focus on what's left to be done. This is a bad habit I fight all the time. It's sounds to me like you're doing everything you should be. Just hang tough and let yourself heal. When the doc gives you the OK - crank up the exercise. At that point it wouldn't hurt to review your calorie intake for a bit of an upward adjustment. Until then - keep on keeping on. Be certain you drink enough pure Water a day. On higher calorie days, try to get a higher percentage from solid Protein - and keep the simple carbs to a miminum. As for fills, only use them to control hunger. The band controls the hunger while exercise burns the fat off. Brad

I think my religious experiences were twisted enough - I'm glad I wasn't exposed to the behavior you described! I find it hard to understand why people would tolerate such an elitist attitude. Many people argue that religion was only created to manipulate and control people. I don't know if that's true or not and quite frankly - neither does anyone else here - I havn't seen anyone's signature mention that they roomed with Moses - and beyond that, we're only basing our beliefs on what people have written and what people have preached and we all know how accurate and mistake-proof people are. Irregardless of whether or not religion was created to control people - there's no doubt that this is what it became. I've always thought it was odd that God the almighty, everknowing, creator of heaven and earth, master of the divine plan, and all needed man to speak for him... And of course to that George Carlin would add, "but he's just not good with money... and he needs your help." And normally following that is Benny Hinn on TV tripping someone, knocking them to the floor, where they proceed to flop like a dying chicken. Perhaps it's worth mentioning that George Carlin was also raised Catholic... Whoops... there I go again - I said I wasn't going Catholic bashing... Brad

Same here! I havn't been this active in my entire adult life! I am so looking forward to this summer. Brad

Glad to hear all is fine with DH Gilta! Now you can focus without so much stress and distraction! I'm just about right on target - maybe a slight bit behind, but not enough to sweat over. START: 202 TODAY: 195 GOAL: 187 Brad

Down 2 pounds this week. 197 to 195. Have a good weekend everyone! Brad

Hey! Can you please tell me if this was particularly painful? I've considered the procedure for a long time because I've really grown annoyed by the temperature of the toilet bowl water. Brrrrrr.... Brad

This is what has been preached to us for decades - but also contributed to our getting fatter and fatter. This formula assumes several falsehoods... 1) All calories are equal - not true. 2) All calorie deficits are equal - not true. 3) Creating a calorie deficit will cause your body to use stored fat as fuel and not lean muscle tissue - not true. Let's take a closer look at this... On number 1, lets have someone eat 2000 calories of a well balanced diet for two weeks and then 2000 calories of Cadbury chocolate eggs for two weeks. If all calories were created equal they would have the same result. Any takers? The result would certainly not be the same - hence a calorie is a calorie is a calorie is a falsehood. On number 2, lets have someone be sedentary for a month, creating a 1000 calorie deficit by diet alone - no exercise. Then for the next month create a 1000 calorie deficit primarily by exercise. The person who ate more and exercised more will no doubt have a hotter metabolism and retain more lean muscle tissue. Every pound lost is partial fat, partial Water, partial lean tissue. We keep the ratio aimed more at fat loss when we do some strength training, focus on intense cardio, and eat sufficient Protein. Brad

Hi Ladies! Good question on the fat percentage... Not sure - gonna ask my doc though! This is what I suspect though...Most weight loss programs are trying to show you progress quickly because that's what keeps us motivated to continue. scale numbers are an easy way to achieve the perception of progress. Please remember that my posts are my method of operation - which will not be for everyone. We are all in different conditions/situations and what works for one may not for another - but here's the core of my strategy... My fat loss strategy consists of three components. 1) Keeping my band effective (proper restriction - not too tight, not too loose. 2) Proper nutrition and calorie cycling. 3) Exercise - with a focus on intense cardio. I take a stricter approach than a lot of other people do. I do not consider walking, yard work, house work, playing with kids, etc. to count for exercise. Those are part of my daily calorie expenditure. Why? Two Reasons. 1) Even after intense exercise, we still must be active for the remainder of the day. If you workout then hit the couch - don't expect much. 2) Those activities do not produce the required heart rate response that I consider crucial. Do a bit of an experiment with yourself. Get a heartrate monitor. This is the only way to accurately track your cardiovascular progress and level of exertion. On the first day, wear the monitor while you do things around the house. On the second day, do 40 minutes of cardio exercise, remaining in your target heart rate zone, then continue to monitor for a period after you've stopped working out and while doing other chores. Then on the third day do intense cardio for 40 minutes, producing an 85% heart rate periodically during the workout. Then once done, monitor the numbers while doing chores. Note difference. Do you see the afterburn? This is why I don't care for always staying inside the target heart rate zone. You're missing out on a huge burn of calories - both during and after the workout. Yes, while in your target zone you burn a higher RATIO of fat calories. However, the intense cardio will still burn a HIGHER NUMBER of fat and total calories. Quite frankly, I don't care about the ratio - I want a good overall burn. You don't have to have a gym to do this, however, you will have to find ways to achieve the heart rate goal. A gym just offers more options. Good luck and keep moving! Brad

Congrats you guys! Take some time in front of the mirror and admire your progress - you deserve it! Brad

Intense exercise and a white hot metabolism! Me neither - makes no sense. The amount of protein needed is always a matter of dispute, but it is a requirement as far as I'm concerned. Not a fan of low calorie diets. Do indeed appreciate the insight of a well educated medical professional, and while this theory sounds good - in practicality it doesn't hold weight. (Oh look I made a funny!) You will encounter many people on LBT who are eating 800 calorie diets and not losing anything... If the body was going to maintain it's usual metabolism and get all of it's excess fuel from stored fat - these people would be losing double digit pounds every month - but they aren't. Nonetheless, protein is very important to sustain lean muscle tissue. Hmmm... I agree in part, disagree in part. I believe low calorie diets will promote a huge weight loss at the outset - that is until your body figures out what you're trying to do. Once the starvation response is invoked, the weight loss will trickle to a standstill. You will encounter these people every day on LBT trying to figure out why the weight loss stopped. Most just write it off as a plateau that will pass so long as they remain low-cal. I strongly disagree. But I wrote my thoughts on this ad nauseum on another thread so I'll just point to pages 3 and 4 of that. But remember... Everyone IS DIFFERENT. What works for me could be disastrous for you and vice-versa. You just have to sort out the information and apply it to your situation and experiences. Here's that thread... Pages 3 and 4 have my thoughts on this discussion. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/ice-cream-horror-85172/?highlight=ice+cream+horror Good luck and keep fighting the good fight!

Hi Lisa, Bandster Hell is tough. You have to really focus and stick to the rules given by your doc. Don't pay any attention to those who tell you that you can bend the rules because they're doc lets them. You're only accountable to your doc. My doc reviews for a fill every 4 weeks. Some docs are 6 or 8 or even more weeks than that. It took me 4 fills to get where I had lasting significant restriction. So for me that was 4 months! But this varies for every person. Some people maintain great restriction immediately post op and never even get a fill. Others it takes 4, 5, or 6 fills to get good restriction. It just takes a lot of patience. Focus and keep your eyes on the road every day. You may fall off the wagon once and a while - we all have - just dust yourself off and get back on immediately. I actually eat much more than three meals a day, but that's a topic for another time. You have enough to focus on right now. The band is tough! It's no miracle, and it's not easy weight loss. You must eat right, exercise lots, and stay focused. Good luck! Brad