KartMan

Journey, Everyone is a little different and goals can very subjective. Some people want to fit into an old outfit, get back to pre-pregnancy weight, return to college weight, or get into a normal BMI range. My first goal was to surpass whatever I did on “regular” diets. I am a 6 foot tall male in my early 40s. My best diet weight was 205ish (I started lapband at 285). I passed that first goal fairly easily about 5 months postop and felt I was still able to lose more. I set my next goal get to a “Normal” BMI of 24.9 (which for me was 184 lbs), I made that goal about 8 months post op. Still, I thought I could lose more and felt like I still had some belly flab to deal with. I took a Hydrostatic Dunk test to determine what my actual Body Fat was relative to my total weight and decided I wanted to get under 13% Body Fat which is considered “Excellent” or “Athletic” on most charts. I passed that goal about 1 year postop (I currently have 9.7% Body Fat). So I would say set your first goal to a healthy attainable goal and readjust as you get closer to it. Don’t believe the hype about only being able to lose a portion of your excess weight on the band. I have lost 115 lbs, which just happens to be 115% of my excess weight. If I believed that logic I would have stopped at 209lbs which would have left me with an overweight BMI of 28.3. Remember, those estimates are based on averages. Some of those people don’t follow the rules or have complications. If the band works well for you and you do your part, there is no reason to limit yourself to anything predetermined.

Oh Patty, it’s such a tired argument “we can’t afford it”. Of course we can afford it, not only can we afford it, we can’t afford not to do it. The non-partisan CBO has already said it saves over $100B in the first 10 years and over a Trillion dollars in the next ten years. I would argue that net net we would have saved a ton more if we just gotten rid of Insurance Companies altogether and provided Medicare to all. See my post #288 here http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f80/bet-youre-sorry-you-voted-obama-now-88530/index20.html for a simple explanation of that. Ok, so you don’t believe the CBO? Then it really comes to a matter of priorities. I believe a healthy America is a strong America and it makes us a better country than either of the two wars we are in. To date, we have spent over $700B in Iraq, a war in which we had no business starting and have no reason to continue. That war saved us zero lives and has only made us weaker on the world scene (it is single handedly the reason Iran has become so powerful). As for Afghanistan, we have spent almost $300B there. I can buy the argument that we initially had some cause to go in there and clear out Al-Qaeda but we have no business there now and it is not our place to continue the fight with the Taliban. Afghanistan is fighting a Civil War and we are doomed to failure there as long we stay.

Oh, I’m just curious. The band has been wonderful for me and I am happily maintaining below goal. I am only about 13 months out though and in the back of my mind I’m always worried that it will fail at some point. I don’t know much about the sleeve, but what little I do know makes me think the transition to it from a failed band seems very plausible. I am so happy with my new body that I have no intentions of EVER letting myself get fat again, even if that means revising to the sleeve. I just hope it is never necessary for me. Good luck to you BJean on whatever path you take.

BJean, Did you have a problem with the Band or has it stopped working for you?

Jre1974, I am usually pretty good at following the LBT rules and addressing the issue and not attacking the person. However, whenever I see this particular argument, I just want to scream at the lunacy of such a comment. Everyone NEEDS healthcare, it’s really that simple. We are all human and we all at one time or another will have a human malady that will need to be addressed with some sort of medical care. In most of the cases, if that person that needs care does not have insurance because they didn’t “want it” or thought they didn’t “need it” they will either go untreated, die of their ailment, or go onto some sort of public system (like walking into the ER). None of those solutions are acceptable and all cost the economy far more than Universal Health care would cost. Unfortunately this Bill is not Universal Health Care, it is not Medicare for all, and does not have a Public Option. This is a first step in the right direction and it certainly addresses a lot of the problems with the current system. I just hope we find a way to add to it to make it better. My Plan: Apply an appropriate percentage of Medicare Tax on ALL income and give everyone Basic Medical coverage under a centrally administered Medicare Program. The basic plan would include well doctor visits, routine medical/dental care, medical necessities, and critical care and that’s it. Anything deemed elective or above and beyond “basic” care could be addressed with supplemental medical insurance bought on the open market. This could be done the same way our public school system works. We all pay taxes so that every child is guaranteed the right (not privilege) to attend K-12 education. If parents choose to supplement the public education, they are free to send their kids to private schools, add supplemental tutoring, enroll in out of school extracurricular activities, etc. It just seems so simple to me, but then I’m just a regular guy and not a politician.

Imagine that? Me too skinny. Well I don’t think I am, but I definitely don’t think I need to lose any more weight. I just went in for another Hydrostatic Dunk Test and found out I only have 9.7% Body Fat. Under 13% is considered Excellent on most Body Fat charts. In case you are unfamiliar with it, Body Fat is your actual Fat relative to total body weight and is measured by weighing your lean mass while submerged in a pool. In my case, my total weight is 170.6 lbs, Fat Mass is 16.5 lbs, and Lean Mass is 154.1 lbs. This measurement should not be confused with BMI. BMI is a very crude measurement that can tell you roughly where your weight is relative to the population, but doesn’t really tell you anything meaningful with regard to your actual fat and lean composition. The band has done a lot of this for me, and for that I am eternally grateful. Probably of greater importance though is that it has taken me learning how to control my eating (even with the band), working out smartly, and getting the proper amounts of nutrients (especially protein). I still see a fat guy in the mirror at times, and I am working on that (he’s not really in the mirror, just in my head). But everyone else that sees me sees a thin, healthy and happy guy. I love the new me and could not imagine going back to the place I was before.

Caffeine, it looks like we started in similar circumstances. If I can do it, you can do it. Best of luck!!!

Not exactly what I was hoping for (I wanted Single Payer or MediCare for all), but this is a great step in the right direction. The sad thing is that in the end we didn't get a single Republican to vote for it yet we inserted a lot of what they wanted in the bill. The irony is that we could have rammed a more progressive bill through six months ago still with no replublicans - so much for trying to be bipartisan.

Thanks, I am! And I'm here to tell everyone to stick with it. With a little hard work and some help from the band your weight goals are within reach. Good luck all!

I passed my 1 year point back on 2/18 and everything is going great!!! Blew past my weight goal, trounced my BMI goal, and knocked my Body Fat Percentage goal outta the park.

Good luck in post-op. They put on a support group meeting on the second Monday each month, hope to see you there.

That is what I am working on now. In fact, with this last test I gained 4.6 lbs of lean (muscle) mass. I’m not trying to get on the cover of Muscle & Fitness, but I won’t be mad if in a few months I have some guns and pecs to show off. Now that there is not a giant layer of fat in the way, I can actually see some muscle definition. Even in my abs, I’ve got a ways to go to get to a six pack - but right now I can actually see the V forming. It’s so much more motivating when you can actually see the results of all the hard work.

Fox is in a whole different league. I only dislike Maddow on style, she is spot on when it comes to substance. Fox is full of lies and misrepresentation, they are morally bankrupt as far as I am concerned. Having said that, I do try to watch them on occasion to see what lies they are currently spewing (barf bag in hand). Right now they are falling all over themselves trying to say that the current severe “weather” on the East Coast debunks the whole theory of “climate” change. Note that I emphasized “weather” and “climate”. They are very different terms and if Fox continues to equate them in their commentary, they only further to prove how ignorant they are. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html

I made it to my goal weight in just under 8 months:thumbup: Back when I started this process (@285lbs), losing a significant amount of weight seemed possible but remote. I really didn’t know what my final weight would be, so I based my goal on BMI. As you all are very aware, a BMI of less than 25 is considered “normal”, so I set my goal to 184lbs, which is a BMI of 24.9 given that I am 6’ tall. Now that I am here and am “normal” am I done:confused: Heck no! First the good news: - I look pretty good in clothes - Most people that know me now but not then, cannot believe I was fat - I don’t look anything like my Drivers License picture - I look younger - I have way more energy than ever before - I don’t have much loose skin (just a little around the belly button) - My man boobs are gone - My restriction is still good, and I have no complications - Good food choices are now a habit - With all the fat gone, I am starting to see muscles in my arms, chest and abs Bad news: - I didn’t eat enough protein or exercise the first 5 months which caused me lose muscle along with fat - Because of the muscle loss, I’m pretty weak in the gym (that is improving) - I am a bit obsessive about weight loss and being healthy. I have to remind myself that most people don’t care about it that much and don’t want to hear about it all the time - I have to be careful to not judge people that are still overweight, I have to fight the urge to tell them there is a better way The new goal? Well it’s not really new. I figured out about 20lbs ago that I wouldn’t be satisfied at 184lbs. So I have set my new goal to a Body Fat of 15% rather than BMI. Many of you know that BMI is only an estimate of proper weight. Body Fat Percentage is much more accurate (if measured correctly) because it calculates your actual Fat Mass relative to Lean Mass. When I started checking it 2 months ago I was at 22%, I just had it checked last week and am now at 17.3% 17% is good by all standards and I could stop here, but I have a desire to get something I never had before – an “athletic” look. Heck, my body is cooperating, so I might as well go with it. Good luck on your goals!

I forgot about this post, maybe an update is in order. I am now hovering at around 173lbs, which is a good weight for me. Some people actually think I’m a little too thin, imagine that :biggrin: . I have surpassed my Body Fat Goal, I am now right about 13% which is considered “Athletic” on most charts. I am still working on muscle definition, 3-4 days a week in the gym helps with that. I am wearing size M shirts and size 30 pants. I still can’t believe that, I’ve never worn clothes this size in my whole life. Food choices are still pretty easy and restriction is good. I find that I have to watch myself with soup/chili – I love them but I tend to overindulge on them. And Frozen Yogurt :thumbup: I don’t know if you have those self serve places where you live (they are evil), So Cal is full of them and I can way overdo it on that stuff.

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I can only watch so much of Rachel Maddow before she drives me totally crazy, but she was making some great points last night. Essentially what she is saying is that the Republicans are going to block everything so why even try to be bipartisan? I think the Left should just stop whining about the Right, we know who they are and what they are doing – deal with it. I gotta give the Republicans credit, they working as a team. If the Democrats were as organized, they would have had half of Obama’s agenda passed by now. Last year they had the majority in the House and a filibuster proof Senate and they let time and the momentum slip away. Now they have lost the Senate and may be on the verge of losing the House (and possibly the WH). Would it have helped to have a few Republicans cross the aisle on Healthcare? Yes – but don’t let that be the excuse. The Democrats are to blame for losing Healthcare - period. They let the “death panel” lies go on, allowed the special interests to water it down, and finally allowed it to wither and die. They had the votes and they fought amongst themselves and have nothing to show for it in the end. They are a perfect example of the adage “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”. It’s obvious to me that neither Obama, Pelosi, nor Reid have the strength or backbone to control their own party. They should have taken a page form LBJ or GW Bush and twisted some arms and busted some heads – too late now I’m afraid.

BJean, I am fine with giving her the benefit of the doubt, and that is probably what she meant. Unfortunately, statements like that – particularly when so poorly thought out contribute to our legitimate arguments getting turned against us. People on the other side will demonize women (and the issue) over a statement like that and set the whole movement back. Even if she did mean politicians as you say, the statement was bad for the movement in my opinion. There have been plenty of men (I count myself in that group) that have positively contributed to the Pro-choice agenda. No important issue (especially ones like civil rights, gay rights, and women’s rights) can be championed only by those in the oppressed group, they all need the help of outsiders.

Woah, watch it there LapNYC. Totally irrelevant? You would be hard pressed to find a more Pro-choice male than me. Look back at my previous posts and I think you’ll see where I stand on this issue. But with all due respect, that was a stupid comment for you to make. If what you are saying is that men (especially politicians and the general public) should not have a say on what a women does with her body, I can totally agree with you. However, to say it like you do only serves to alienate men, and that is not something the Pro-choice side should be doing. I believe there are certainly cases in which men DO deserve some say. For example, in a committed monogamous relationship, or in a marriage. I would agree that in the end, a women has the right to choose, I believe after all that it is her body – but in true relationships, a (potential) father should have some rights. I’m not saying I know how to legislate those rights, nor do I believe the fathers rights outweigh the mothers rights, but to say their opinions are totally irrelevant is ludicrous and shortsighted and does a disservice to the Pro-choice cause. Supposing that you were not talking about potential individual fathers in your statement, I think you are still wrong to say what you said. This important topic obviously is more relevant to women than men. Men have no idea what it means to be pregnant, but to totally discount men’s opinions on the issue would be a huge mistake. That would be like saying that white people have no valid opinions on civil rights or that straight people shouldn’t contribute to issues around gay rights. I myself am a white, heterosexual male and am vehemently supportive of civil rights, am pro gay rights and decidedly Pro-choice – but by your logic, my voice shouldn’t matter in any of those discussions:confused: I would suggest you rephrase your comment.

Well said. If we ever get it wrong (and statistically, we get it wrong far more than people realize), we have no business killing people. At least if we wrongly imprison someone we can compensate them when we figure out they are innocent, if we kill them they are dead forever.