jensmallwood

Yes! Push-ups are a fantastic exercise for most of the muscles of the upper body-- with a big focus on the triceps. And there are so many ways to modify it based on your fitness level- you can stand a foot and a half away from a wall, put your hands on the wall and do "pushups " in that position, or on your knees on the floor, etc.

Different doctors give different advice. I was ok'd for "whatever, as long as it doesn't hurt" at my two week post op.

I recommend just googling for triceps exercises (so you can see pictures). A really good one that just involves body weight is dips-- http://www.beebleblog.com/images/tricepdip.jpg Straighten your legs to make it more difficult.

Got mine today!! It's all set up online and is charging now.

The metal must touch your skin for the BB to work. I have heard that some people have reactions to it.

Sometimes. They really are loaded with salt. When I do use them I only buy the "Spa Cuisine" type of Lean Cuisines, because they are made with only whole grains as opposed to white flour products. More of the ingredients on the package are "real" vs chemical additives. Still, enough of the ingredients are chemical that I only use them when I'm out of food and will make a bad choice otherwise.

Carbohydrate is the only source of fuel your brain can utilize. So if you're going into ketosis- which is likely if you're eating only protein-- getting some carbs in may help with both the lightheadedness and the bad breath. If you're on liquids still- try a protein shake that DOES have some carbs- OR- try some cream vegetable soups (like tomato, potato, mushroom). But I think dehydration could also cause lightheadedness-- are you drinking enough? ETA: You'll know you're dehydrated if your urine is dark in color-- if it's pale yellow or lighter, then you're well hydrated and that isn't the issue.

Yes- you still need to upload the info to the website-- otherwise you won't have *all* the data available, and the ability to look back at your history. And if you're want to see your calorie deficit, you also have to input your food for the day. Then you can see calorie deficit over time- it's pretty cool.

I don't remember every having a problem with the BB thinking I was running really fast when I was driving or anything.

The digital display gives you the info real time (steps, cals burned, etc) without having to plug your BB in to anything. Is that how it works with the phone apps? Or does it just let you enter food and look at data from other days (after you've uploaded it onto the site?) I got a BB from ebay long ago, but I had problems with it. Because I didn't buy it directly from the site, I couldn't return it (I guess I could have lied and said I got it as a gift? Not much of a liar.) I didn't have the digital display then, but bought it this time (I wish I'd thought to look for another coupon code!) I find being able to see the numbers very motivating.

Yeah, probably one of those "everyone is different things." :bored: But- I think you're safe to try it-- 2 pounds a week is typically considered a safe weightloss, and that's a 1000 cal deficit a day. I think a bit part of it has to do with whether your deficit is coming ONLY from reducing your food intake as opposed to creating the deficit by also increasing your activity. If you reduce calories by 500 per day, and increase activity by 500 cal per day- that's 1000 cal deficit- without losing nutrients. I've heard that some people get great results by mixing up their calorie intake from week to week or day to day. Higher cals one day, lower cals another. I guess they think this keeps the metabolism guessing. I don't know. My plan is to lose up to 2 pounds a week while eating as much as I can (I don't mean binging- I just mean eating normal, balanced meals). I definitely don't want my body to start hoarding fat because it thinks it is starving! And I'm also very active. I'm also getting a Body Bugg- hopefully it'll be delivered this week, too!

Congratulations-- those are certainly great results!

For me, a combination of good quality Protein, some fat and complex carbohydrates do the trick. Simple carbs (like white bread, white rice or sugary things) empty quickly from the stomach, cause an insulin surge and make you hungry quickly. Protein, fat and Fiber (from complex carbs- veggies, whole grains like brown rice, or oatmeal) delay stomach emptying, and they don't cause an insulin surge, and so you stay full longer. ETA: and by fat I mean some olive oil- maybe I'll stir fry my veggies in a tsp, but the fat from meat also counts- so if it's a super lean meat I may add olive oil, but if it's a fattier cut, I won't.

Welcome, Sheila!! How exciting to have your surgery so close!

Welcome, Marie!! This is a nice site to ask questions and share experiences. I like to look at the Before-and-After photos-- I think it's on the "Basic Lap Band Info" forum. And of course there's a "success stories" forum as well. Come on in and look around! :bored:

Wow-- that's awesome! Congratulations for taking your life back!

Is 50 pounds in 4 months "decent?" Heck-ya!! It's more than decent- it's fabulous! congratulations!

Woohoo! What a hottie! Thanks for sharing your pics-- what great results!

I think you should also write a letter to your old doctor's office and share your feelings with him. I'm sorry that this happened to you!

Congratulations! What a great story-- thanks for sharing your success with us!

What a great revelation!! I had my surgery back at the end of February. I've already got a pile of clothes that I was wearing this winter that are ready for Goodwill! So, like you, I'm hoping to be shopping for new fall clothes next year, and again next spring. It just feels good!

My husband has one-- and I LOVE it. When we got married he snored so badly-- and I tried earplugs for a long time. Finally I *MADE* him go get a sleep study, and he had sleep apnea. He hated it for the first couple of weeks-- then he actually started to love it- because he could sleep through the night. He didn't know how much sleep he was missing until he got it. He hadn't had a good night's sleep for so long, he'd forgotten what it was like. So they are great-- but I'm glad YOU don't need one!!

Hooray! congrats. The bonus is that you don't have to learn to love a CPAP machine!

It has a "motion detector," which I imagine is actually an accelerometer. The thing to note it that it works best with walking, running and activities in which your body is actually moving. This means that some activities will not be recorded properly. From their FAQ page: Does the Fitbit accurately track calories from cycling/biking? The Fitbit is optimized for walking, running and general household/lifestyle activities and gives you a good general 24 hour picture of your day. It's not going to be that accurate for things like biking, but the website will allow you to manually log activities, so that an estimated calorie burn for your biking can be included in your daily totals. If you are only doing the biking for an hour or so a day, the Fitbit will give you a good overview of your activities for the other 23 hours. The Fitbit is really for people to get a general sense of their day and get motivation from improvements in their general day to day trends. the Body Bugg uses a variety of ways to track calorie expenditure, including galvanic skin response (which I think the amount of heat your body is releasing due to activity). So it does better with non-walking types of activities. I say it's all about what you find motivational, and what's in your price range.

Here's a bit of advice I picked up for my sport psychology class last spring: choose a gym that's in close proximity to either your home or your place of work. Apparently, the highest predictor of whether or not you will go is the gym's proximity. Try to choose a place that's within 2 miles if that's an option. Farther than that, and attendance drops off. You should visit the gyms and see which one "feels" good to you. I visited several in my town. I also needed childcare. I choose the Y because there were all sorts of people there (my Y- and I work there now) is a real community of people. I absolutely love it. I belong to my university gym, too (it's in my student fees so I have no choice) but I'm uncomfortable working out there-- it's just full of "beautiful people" and I can't stand it. :smile: Fee schedules at Ys vary by location. Some include all group exercise classes, some charge extra for group ex (ours does, though they are less expensive than for non-members.) We pay about $1 per half hour for child care for the kids under 7. Kids over 7 are free, and can also "roam" the Y if the parents are ok with it. But do visit a few and see how they make you feel, and see that they have the amenities you want (and are clean, etc.)