Oberhasli

And they say chivalry is dead. Tom

I thought I posted my weights at one point, but I'll do so again. On March 31, 2006, I was 316 when I visited my family doctor. (I had previously gotten as high as 330.) At that point, I was on three different oral meds for diabetes and still not completely controlled. I contacted the Ohio State University Bariatrics department and began my quest. I had to do a 12 week supervised weight management program to qualify for the surgery. At the end of the 12 weeks (which was actually 13 weeks because I couldn't make it on the 12th week so sometime in July), I weighed 294. On my initial visit to the surgeon in early August, I was 288. On my birthday, November 2, I was 290. They weighed me the morning of surgery (11/7) but the weight was so ridiculous I don't use it. As of Monday, I'm at 258, so 32 pounds in 12 weeks post surgery. Don't have a specific goal weight, per se, but a waist size, but somewhere around 225. I'm 6'3", 43 years old, divorced (21 year marriage) with an 18 year old son. Ex and I get along great as long as we don't live together or talk about money. I live with my 3 dogs (two Miniature Australian Shepherds and a Corgi) and, hopefully this weekend, about 15 dairy goats. (Ex and I have raised goats for years and she's kept my goats from the time of separation until I found a goat-friendly property.) Finally found a place that I could afford that wasn't falling into the ground and bought it and moved in October. (I would NOT suggest buying a place, moving in, go to a week long convention then have LapBand surgery all within a month! And then get a new puppy a few days after surgery.) I live in North Central Ohio, north of Columbus. Occupation wise I work for a major credit card company in customer service. (Basically means I sit on my butt all day, wear a headset and listen to people whine.) I did the whole corporate ladder thing and found the higher you climb the further you fall so now just coast along. Enjoy not worrying about my job until I clock in and forgetting about it as soon as I clock out. I'm a licensed dairy goat judge so from spring through fall, I travel the country judging shows and county and state fairs judging goats. (Being "licensed" means I've passed a test to become a goat-titty expert. :heh: ) I'll have to see if I have any G or PG pictures. :bandit I'm looking for someone to take care of me for the rest of my life. Appearance means far less than size of the bank account. Please, no one who's bank account has undergone reduction surgery! :omg: Preferably very old too. Any other questions? Tom

What a guy! Speaking of which, if anyone else needs a "workout partner", I'm single. Just offering to help support the group, of course. :heh: Tom

What a guy! Speaking of which, if anyone else needs a "workout partner", I'm single. Just offering to help support the group, of course. :heh: Tom

Might have a slight impact on the moment if you have your sheet out and counting calories during. Of course, when you ask for the higher calorie burning activities, it could add an exciting element!:heh: Tom

I think you mean BSR and not BMI. If your BMI is over 1300, you've got FAR more serious problems than the band will help with. <G> (40 is morbidly obese.) Tom

Congrats on the weight loss. The 2.54 is the conversion for inches to centimeters. The formula uses metric numbers. By the way, the 2" extra I gave you means you can eat 8.64 calories less a day. Tom

The test I had had me clip my nose and breath through my mouth into this machine that was hooked up to a computer. It actually measured the caloires I burned through "normal" breathing. Just as everyone's blood pressure, blood sugar, resting heart rate, etc. varies widely, I would think that would be much more accurate. I did a Google search and found Basal Metabolic Rate and found a BMR calculator at the following site: http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html It says my current BMR is 2341. (I tried a couple different BMR calculators and came up with slightly different numbers.) I put in based on my information at the time I had the actual MedGem reading. It says a little under 2700. I don't remember my actual number at the time but it was over 3000. Error on the side of a lower caloric need would be better. Remember 500 calories a day less than required equals about one pound of weight loss. In theory, I should be able to do absolutely nothing other than breath and consume 1300 calories a day and lose 2 pounds a week. For more information on how the BMR is calcuated, go to: http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/Courses/ns421/BMR.html Some of the things that affect BMR is age (older people have lower BMR), height (tall people burn more calories), body composition (the more body fat, the less calories burned) and fasting/starvation/malnutrtion (lowers BMR). So, if you're old, short, fat and not eating, you're actually lowering the number of calories you need. So, if you'd just get younger and taller, everything would be fixed. :omg: The site lists two ways to calculate BMR. The easy way is the weight in pounds x 10 kcals/pound. A 150 pound person (which is NONE of us!) needs 1500 calories. A 300 pound person needs 3000 calories. The more complex method (Harris-Benedict equation) for females (different for men but since I think I'm about the only male here, I'll just do the female formula) is: 655 + (9.6 x W) + (1.7 x H) - (4.7 x A) W = weigh in kilograms (divide pounds by 2.2 to get kg) H = height in centimeters (multiply height in inches by 2.54 to get cm) A = age in years I don't know how tall Angela is but using 5'5" as her height, her age of 49 and her current weight of 195 she would be calculated as: 655 + (9.6 x 195/2.2) + (1.7 x 65 x 2.54) - (4.7 x 49) which is 655 + (9.6 x 88.64) + (1.7 x 165.1) - (4.7 x 49) which is 655 + 850.94 + 280.67 - 230.3 Angela needs 1556 calores to breath if she's 5'5". (Just using the "simple" formula, it says she needs 1950 calories.) 400 calories is a pretty big range (almost a pound a week difference!), but based on the lower figure, if Angela eats around 1000 calories a day, she should lose one pound a week if she does nothing but breath. Just for fun, I checked the number of calories burned during sex. Varies greatly on the activity! Here's a web site that lists your "options". It's kind of like an ala-carte "menu" but looks like if you had inventive sex daily, you could lose another 1/2-1 pound per week. Just remember that this is based on a 150 pound person (which I don't think is any of us!) so we'll actually burn a few more calories getting our bodies in motion. :omg: http://calorielab.com/burned/sex-calories-burned.html Have fun! Tom

One of the pre-surgery things I had to do was met with a dietician and have a Med-Gem reading. It's a machine that you breath into for 2-5 minutes and it determines the amount of calories you burn a day by just breathing. (The company web site is: http://www.microlifeusa.com/products_weightmanage.asp) Basically, they wanted to establish the base calories used to make sure that metabolism was sufficient to make the surgery a success. Granted, metabolism changes, especially with weight loss, but it gives you a real good idea on caloric needs. The *ONLY* way to lose weight is to consume less calories than your body needs. If you're body is only burning 1000 calories a day, you'll gain weight on 1100. Anyway, having an idea of your resting metabolism rate gives you a starting point for calorie counting. Add in calories for the various activities you do throughout the day and make sure you consume less calories than that and you'll lose weight. Roughly eating 3500 calories less than you need equals one pound of weight loss. (That's a reduction of 500 calories a day.) By exercising, you increase the number of calories your body needs. By eating less, you reduce the number of calories you take in. It's a win-win situation. It does, though, put into better perspective healthy weight loss. To lose 3 pounds a week, you need 1500 calories a day less than your body needs. If you're body only needs 2000 calories, that's consuming only 500 calories a day. That's NOT healthy. My insurance did not cover the MedGem reading. (I think it cost me $50. It was done at Ohio State University through the dietary department.) Last April, my reading was approximately 3000 calories a day with just breathing. Evidentially, I have a fairly high metabolism. I'm sure it's slowed down since losing some weight, surgery, winter weather, etc., but that makes it a bit easier to lose. In theory, if I eat 2000 calories a day and do nothing, I should lose 2 pounds a week. (Since I'm eating FAR less than 2000 calories a day and I do some activity, I don't think this is exact, but does give an idea.) Tom

I use the Kraft "South Beach" bars. Kind of like a flavored Rice Crispie bar. Sam's has a big one (210 calories) in Chocolate Peanut Butter that's pretty good. They also have a smaller one (140 calories) that comes 18 to a box, 12 peanut butter, 6 chocolate. I think the bigger bar has 19 grams of protein. Can't do them right now because of restriction but it's one of my Snacks. Another snack I rediscovered that is high in protein and relatively low in calories is pork rinds. Salty snacks have always been my weakness so it's a nice "cheat" for me. They come in various flavors (salt & vinegar and hot & spicy are my favorites) and give the salt and the crunch my body craves. Of course, 1/2 cup is a serving (*NOT* the whole bag!) and is 80 calories and 9 grams of protein. The flavored rice cakes are a nice treat too that are fairly low in calories although not overly high in protein. Speaking of Sam's Club, they carry a 12-pack of Dannon Light 'N Fit yogurt smoothie. Only 60 calories for 7 ounces with 5 grams of protein. (Wal-Mart, Meijer and Kroger all carry a 4-pack but it's almost 1/2 the cost of the 12-pack at Sam's unless it's on sale.) They're easier to eat than regular yogurt as you don't need the spoon and it has a screw on lid so you can sip at it and put the lid back on. Tom

Angela, I don't think it's too tight. When I got my first fill, I felt MUCH tighter. After a couple of days, it was more comfortable. Unfortunately after a couple of weeks, I was able to easily eat more than I should. I stayed on track because of healthy food choices and will power. A girl at work (that had gastric bypass several years ago) has a candy basket on her desk. I've been indulging myself with a couple hershey kisses a day. Figure I'm better off having a taste or eventually I'll break down and eat the whole bag. I made a Protein Shake this morning (8 oz of fat free milk, 1/2 scoop of Protein Powder, half of a banana, 1 tablespoon Peanut Butter and a handful of frozen strawberries) and it took almost 2 hours to get it down. I just need to get use to the new level of restriction and I'll be fine. Definitely want to keep chewing, chewing and chewing small bites. If it is too tight, I'll go in and have them take some out but I think it will be fine in a day or two. In the meantime, it's back to soft and squishy foods! Tom

1 pound a week is great as well!:clap2: That's all my doctor expects with the band. But, as I've said several times, think back over the years and ask the last time you sustained even one pound a week for going on 3 months? This isn't a race that we can't ALL win. The first one to the "finish" line doesn't have an advantage over anyone else. In fact, study after study shows too rapid of a weight loss results all too often in regain. I'd *MUCH* rather lose 1-2 pounds a week, take a bit longer to get where ever it is I'm going, and stay there long term. I did have a NSV at the doctor. I had bought a new sweater but wore an older turtle neck under it. Had to take the sweater off for my blood pressure check. When the doctor came in to do the fill I asked if he wanted the shirt off. He said I could just untuck it and lift it. He then commented about how big the shirt was on me. (And that's why I wore the sweater over it!) Last spring the shirt was feeling a bit tight. And his secretary, who is an absolute hoot, noticed a significant difference too. Remember your family and close friends are seeing you all the time. They're not as likely to notice a difference in your body because they're there for every pound. (Many of us look in the mirror and don't think we look that much older until we look at a picture from several years ago.) 20-30 pounds, a pound at a time, doesn't seem like a lot. 20-30 pounds difference between seeing you will be huge. I guess the moral of the story is that if you want someone to really notice, find friends you haven't seen in awhile. They'll notice! (I have co-workers that now work opposite schedules. I ran into a couple last week and they didn't know I had surgery but certainly noticed the weight loss.) Now, to go SLOWLY sip my Breakfast. Can DEFINITELY feel the restriction. Had a small incident last night with my cream of (if skim milk can be called "cream of" anything) chicken Soup last night. Not a full-blown PB, but some sliming until it passed. I took 30 minutes to eat one cup but with a couple spoonfuls left, felt some tightness. Got the hiccups. It all passed in a few minutes. Not as painful as other times but definitely uncomfortable. Keep telling myself CHEW and SLOW. Tom

I got my 2nd adjustment today. I got 2 cc (4 cc band) 6 weeks ago. I'm now up to 2.5 cc. He removed what was in the band and got out 1.5 cc. I asked if there was any absorption and he indicated the band is non-porous and the reason 2 cc didn't come out is that it doesn't completely drain. He did indicate that the protocol is that after the initial adjustment is done, until weight loss stops, or at least slows considerably, they don't usually do additional adjustments. He was afraid to go to 3 cc as it was very tight with 2.5 cc (I could feel it as soon as he got to 2.5 cc) and he feared I'd be back for some taken out and I've lost 12 pounds in the 6 weeks since my last adjustment. He only expects 1 pound per week and I'm averaging a bit over 2. I told him that what was keeping me on track was more will-power and healthy food choices than the band making me feel full. I go back in 8 weeks and he might add another .25 to .5 cc to the band, depending on how I'm doing. I did learn my lesson last time and when he had me drink the Water, I took only took a couple of sips. It was going through. It took me over an hour to sip a 7 ounce sippable yogurt. Now, to work on the exercise. Tom

Right after I sent the post, the "woman's" fitness center ad came on. It's Victory Fitness. A friend of mine told me that if any one is looking, be happy. You can always so no but at least someone is looking. I keep telling myself that every time one of the gay guys at work tell me I'm looking good. Tom

I'm single so a pick-up joint would be great! <G> Actually, we have a fitness center right at work. I literally walk down stairs and I'm there. It doesn't have a pool, sauna or whirlpool but otherwise seems pretty complete. There are sufficient machines of torture for me anyway! Not sure about your area, but we have a couple different "women's only" fitness center chains here. A lady I work with had the gastric bypass a few years ago and she didn't feel comfortable working out at work for fear someone would "see" her so she went to Curves where it is only women. We also have Lifetime Fitness for women only. You might also check to see if there is a YWCA. You might find that one of those is more comfortable for you. When I did the pre-surgery weight management plan, one of the things they stressed is that ANY exercise counts. Cleaning the house is exercise so count it. Parking your car a bit further from the door and walking in counts. Granted, doing cardio exercises are even better, and weights will help tone things up, but even if you park 10 places further away at work, that's a bit more exercise than you did before. I'm sure I should be doing MUCH more. Probably should easily be able to do the plan the trainer devised but I figure if I spend 15 minutes in the gym twice a week, that's 30 minutes more than I did before so I'm better off. I refuse to kill myself over exercise. I'll work up to where I need to be but at my own pace and the heck with the trainer. I figure I'll strive for the 15 minutes of cardio and one set on each of the weight machines. When I'm comfortable at that level, I'll add the second set of weight exercises and more cardio. I doubt I'll ever be a gym body. I'm not 20 anymore. I just don't want the skin that use to be stretched over my fat to hang there. And I want to have more stamina. That way if I do get picked up, I'll have the energy to do something about it. :heh: Tom

Congrats! I was also banded on 11/7. I go tomorrow for a second fill and will re-weigh. I should be right around 30 pounds, give or take a couple. I've had a couple weeks where I went up a pound or two but have fortunately maintained a pretty steady decline. I'm sure my pleateau is coming but as long as clothes continue to get looser, I'm not too worried about the number on the scale. Tom

Thanks, Kristi. I don't have a choice on which type of machine as they only have the ones with the movable arms. I don't believe the foot pads themselves are adjustable. I could adjust the resistance (it actually continually adjusts itself but I kept making it go back down), but think I'll stay off that one for a bit until I get more in shape. While I didn't feel it yesterday, I do today! The fronts of my calves really feel it. I was thinking of going in a bit early today and get in some time on the recumbant bike but will be passing. Didn't get much sleep last night with a sick dog so I'm already dragging. Wouldn't take a lot of convincing to not even go into work but I'm on the way. Tom

I think the problem was that I started on the elipitical machine and it was too much. I managed the recumbent bike with no problem and did get through one set on each of the upper body machines. I was going to stop in tomorrow afternoon before I go to work for some treadmill or bike time but not sure I'll fit that in with the work I need to do on the barn. The trainer went through each machine during orientation and we did find comfortable weights for each machine so I think it's a combination of her not realizing I really meant I was out of shape and me not knowing what I'm doing and picking something far too strenuous to start. She did tell me to take it easy and work my way up. DUH! I thought if I went during a different time of day, I might get a different trainer and a different view-point. I'll just take it easier on the warm-up and will just try for one set on each machine for a couple of weeks. They only had me doing weights twice a week and one time upper body, one time lower body. I might be able to do one set on each upper and lower in a day and do that twice a day, but will see how the body cooperates. Tom

Well, hold the congrats until I make it more than once! I thought about going tonight to do some time on the treadmill or recumbent bike but decided that since I left a bit earlier this morning to pick up my new glasses, I'd come straight home so the dogs weren't locked up any longer than necessary. Little did I know that I would get exercise at home. My older dog, who stays loose in my bedroom with the door closed when I'm not home, got sick. Not sure if he ate something that didn't agree with him or what but he had some serious gastro-intestinal issues. I got to scrub the carpet in LOTS of places. It felt like a pretty good workout! The dog normally is fun loving and ready to play. He came in, crashed out on the bed and doesn't want to move. He's gone out a couple times but returns to the bed and just wants to be near me. Tom

OK. I realize I'm old, decripited and WAY out of shape but had no idea how much so until I actually tried to exercise. I thought the trainer's expectations were a bit lofty (over an hour workout when I haven't done any for YEARS), but was game. I was to start with a 15 minute warm-up on any of the cardio-type machines. I went to a elipitical trainer, looked at it and totally forgot how to get the machine going. Went up to the trainer, she came back and got me started. (DUH! It's self-powered which means *I* needed to do something for it to do something.) Had the time set for 15 minutes. After about 4 I could really feel it. At 5, began to plan my funeral. At 6 thought I should call to have them start digging so got off the machine. My legs were wobbly and numb and I could hardly walk. I wobbled up to the desk and she was kind of surprised. (She did check the machine and somehow I was at an advanced level and she said it was probably the most rigorous of the cardio machines. Why she didn't suggest a more mild machine to start with, I don't know!) Any way, I did some stretching and spent 10 minutes on a recumbent bike. That wasn't too bad and I even increased the level a couple of times to get more resistance. I was suppose to do the weight training on my lower body. When she saw I had to lift my legs to get them up to the plate (still burning from the elipitcal machine), she suggested we do the upper body instead. I did get through one set of 12 on all 7 machines. Was suppose to do two sets but wasn't going to happen. I hit the showers and drove home thankful that my first day in hell was over! I don't hurt as bad this morning as I expected that I would. I'm planning on going back Monday (plan calls for twice a week with the weight training and can do extra cardio if I want - like that will happen!), but I'm also scheduled for a fill on Monday so we'll have to see if the old, weary body can handle both. And this weekend I get the pleasure of working outside in the freezing cold putting up fencing so my goats can come to the new place. I have decided that surgery is MUCH easier than exercise. I'd gladly go under the knife anytime they want if it would get me out of formal exercise. I'm reasonably active but I still think it's not a fitness center but a torture center. I'm sure there's a dungeon somewhere with similar equipment! Tom

I don't own a scale. Most home scales aren't overly accurate, especially at the upper weights. And most don't go over 250-300 and I was over 300 and still over 250 (although getting MUCH closer!!). I weigh once a week at the nurse's office at work. Actually, there's a scale in the locker room in the fitness center so I'll probably just start using that instead. It's a medical scale so far more accurate than what I'd buy in the store. I still remember back 800 years ago when I was on Weight Watchers (long before the "points"), they did not want us weighing between meetings. Probably not as big of a deal for me as it would be for women, but your body can retain fluids that can add considerably to your weight. Remember, a gallon is about 8 pounds. A cup of water weighs about 1/2 pound. In other words, a good pee before you weigh could make the difference of a pound or more depending on your bladder size. Like everyone else, I'd LOVE it if I woke up one morning in shape and totally irresitable by all human kind. For now, though, I have to just settle for the totally irresitable. <G> Any time I get discouraged, I look at my total weight loss since surgery and ask when the last time in my life I lost anywhere near this amount in that amount of time. Obviously, the answer is never so I pat myself on the back for what I've done and restate that I'll be more careful on what I eat if the loss wasn't what I wanted. The world is a tough enough place that I don't need to beat myself up as enough others are more than willing to do that for me. If I can't be my best friend, I certainly can't ask anyone else to do so! Tom

Well, I'm fortunate that our fitness center is company subsidized so it's only $15/month. And it is right in the building so if I don't go after (or before) work, I won't go since I live almost an hour away from work. All I have to do is walk downstairs, change clothes and I'm exercising. All of the staff in the fitness center have degrees in related fields and are great. They were all VERY interested in the band. Several at work have had the bypass and have used the fitness center but none have been banded. Unlike some, I don't mind talking about it. They felt my weight loss (30 pounds, banded 11/7) was great and MUCH more healthy than those that had the bypass. For those that aren't happy, remember 1-3 pounds is a much healthier loss rate for the long haul. It will take you longer to get where you're going but you'll have more likelihood of staying there once you get there. You didn't gain 50 pounds in a couple of months so don't expect to lose that much that quick either. Remember, good things come to those that wait! Tom

Anyone ever notice how close the two words are? The devil HAD to invent exercise! :omg: I had my orientation at the fitness center at work this evening and will begin regular work-outs. The trainer walked me through all of the machines so I knew how they worked (not that I'll remember it!) and set up a plan for me. I'm to go a minimum of 2 times a week. I'm to do a 15 minute warm up on a cardio machine (treadmill, rower, elipital, recumbent bike, stair climber, etc.), a set of 12 on 5 different machines, 10-15 minutes of cardio, another set of 12 on the 5 different machines followed by a 5 minute cool-down. Once a week the machines are for the lower body, the other time for upper body. I can go as many additional times as I want and use the cardio machines. We went through and found the comfortable weights and settings for all the machines so I know where to start each time. The trainer was very interested in the band process and was very encouraging. I told her my main goal was to tone up so that I didn't have flabby skin. She said she didn't see any but I told her the flabby areas were all covered. Several of the cardio machines had where you set your age/weight, etc. and she kept setting the age at 34. I figured that was a default. She then showed me a chart to know when my heart rate is in the target range and I told her I was 43. She didn't believe me. Not sure if she's just a sweet talker or what, but I'll go back! :heh: Tom

Many things are "powdered" at one point. For instance, instant non-fat dry milk, pudding, jello, etc. Once they are mixed with liquid, they're form changes and they are no longer dry. To me, the critical thing to do is to listen to the medical staff that each indivdual deals with. If you're doctor/nutritionist is saying not to use a powdered protein, then you probably shouldn't use it since you have to deal with them. My nutritionist actually includes several recipes that do include protein powder. When I make pudding, I add both powdered non-fat milk AND protein powder to up the protein of the pudding. Knock on wood, I've not had any complications from it's use nor have I experienced any hair loss which is a side-effect of low protein levels. (Of course, I didn't have much hair to lose anyway, but the three hairs I started with are still firmly attached. <G>) Tom

Remember that water (or for that matter, most liquids) weighs about 8 pounds for a gallon. If you're drinking as you should, you're consuming at least 4 pounds of water a day. If you've not gotten rid of that at the time you weigh, that's an extra 4 pounds that really isn't you. Tom