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Hey there - thanks for the recap of facilities in Chicago. I'm in desperate need of the lap band surgery and I'm trying to find a surgeon that is covered by my insurance - BCBS PPO. It looks like Dr. Shayani is on my provider list for specialist. I hope that I can get this done - do you know what the coverage is for fills post surgery - is this covered by the insurance or out of pocket? Do you know what the cost is per visit and how often the fills are required? I'm really starting from ground zero and I need all the help and information I can get. My BMI is 50.6 so I know I qualify as I have over 125lbs to lose and I've just moved into the type 2 diabetes stage due to the weight gain. If you want to discuss off the board or if anyone does let me know and I'll send my email address. I'm trying to get insurance approval and surgery scheduled as soon as possible. Thanks for listening everyone this board is awesome!

Hi everyone, I keep reading horror stories about Sleevers past 5 or 10 years. I’m wondering if there are any of veteran sleevers with no revisions, major miserable side effects, issues, weight gain from expanded sleeve, that are still thriving and happy with their choice? I’m a week post op and everyone’s horror stories are causing me major regrets and fear.

When I initially went in for my first consult, I was 100% skeptical of the whole process. I was semi-interested in information on the band, because there was no way in hell I was going to let anyone cut 80% of my stomach out. The doctor was very open to my concerns, but also gave me the stats for all of the procedures. He does very few bands anymore, because the post-surgery complications that occur 2-3 years post op (band slippage, total weight gain, etc) were happening more and more frequently. Long story short, I have 80% less of my stomach, and could not be happier with that decision (even though I was freaking out about it until the day of surgery). I was also worried that I would be hungry and unable to eat - rest assured, that doesn't happen. I have to remind myself to eat because I'm rarely hungry (I've felt physical hunger pains 2 times so far, 2.5 months out), and my life doesn't revolve around what I'm going to eat next. Make no mistake, it's a lot of work, but absolutely worth it in my eyes. Way to do your research - weigh out the pro's and con's of each, and make the decision based on what you are most comfortable with, because in the end, that's what is the most important. Good luck to you!

Like Outside and Introversion said, your weight gain is likely water because you're almost certainly increasing your carb intake. I also want to echo their cautions about the 'cheat' mentality. It's deadly. You CAN eat anything, if you plan for it. Take away the implications of 'cheating' and turn that into 'planning'. I just ate macadamia nuts glazed with Kona coffee. Are those a great choice for someone just under one year post-op? Of course not, but I planned for them, and adjusted my day accordingly and will adjust tomorrow as well. It's not a 'cheat' and can't do me any harm if I plan, adjust and move on.

I hear that a weight gain after your liquid stage beforer your first fill (or sweet spot) is to be expected. Could you guys please tell me how much you lost and regained in this transition?

Way to go. Be careful opening the band, it could allow weight gain instead of maintenance

Yeah, DM!!! Don't sweat the small weight gain. I TOTALLY understand the stress-eating... Congratulations!!

That seeming "Weight gain" happened to me too! While the scale might not be your friend right now, the internet certainly CAN be. I read a ridiculous amount before and still after the surgery, looking for comfort that what was going on- from that post surgery weight GAIN to the hideous "gurgly gut" that plagued me for about a week- was normal. Keep your chin up, my friend. It will get better and the weight will come off.

Hi there I'm new to WLS so I still attend support groups and here's what they say to consider about regain: How much have you regained? Have you changed your habits? (Eating, exercise, sleep, work, etc.) Any new medical issues or life changes? Have you seen your Primary or Surgeon recently? I've also heard some chatter that something happen around year 3-4 that are unavoidable that prompt weight gain (idk the validity I'm 6 months out) But take a strong honest look at yourself then seek MEDICAL ADVICE from your Medical team first And you totally got this ... Again

Is it normal to gain weight during the puree stage? I've been losing weight nicely but now it seems like I'm gaining. It is hard to get in all the protein so I'm working on that. But just wanted to know if anyone else has had this experience. Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

Today my mom said that me needing surgery for my weight is all in my head. I share a house with mom and dad and my brother and whenever they can they take jabs at my weight gain. I've told them that it upsets me but they kinda do it anyway. I'm trying my best to watch what I'm eating and when I say I don't want to eat something they're cooking they talk about me like I'm not even there, saying sarcastically, oh she's not eating this she's on her diet, it really makes me think badly of myself for letting myself get this way with the weight gain and all. I've never had a real problem with my weight until I went to rehab for drug addiction. I really think I just substituted drugs for food. I'm fine with it because if I can overcome my drug addiction, I have 7 years sober, I have faith I can overcome food addiction. I just don't know how to handle all their snide comments about my weight. It's very hurtful especially coming from my own family. Anyone have any ideas on how to handle this. I am 4'11" and my starting weight was 238, I am now about 208-210, I am fluctuating all the time but they are really depressing me, at least I'm trying to better myself, when I came back home after my divorce at 238 lbs I also had to have a breast reduction surgery that helped me be able to exercise, I was a 42J now I'm a 42D, a huge improvement that enabled me to at least get up and go to the gym. I've been extremely active since last winter after my breast surgery, working outside on the yard, garden, mowing the lawn, now I can do all these things but no significant weight loss. Main problem though I am wondering how to handle the sarcastic remarks and not feel so alone and just want to cry. Any ideas??

Thanks MacMadame, I never thought to look on their website. Going through VM hell (especially if it can only be done during work hours where I work in a cube, and don't want that kind of conversation overheard) then talking to someone that doesn't have a clue or, me not understanding the medical technology discourages me. I was self pay because, while my insurance DOES cover WLS, my BMI wasn't high enough to qualify. But I could see the direction I was headed, and after a lifetime of dieting only to gain it all back, why wait until I did qualify. I was told at the time, that if I had complications, and needed it removed, that insurance WOULD cover it. I assume that is if it is medically necessary, not just because I want it out. I don't have problems with the band when it is unfilled, but obviously then it isn't doing much either. From experience, I know that unfilled=weight gain. We've had a tough year financially, right now, I literally don't even have the money for a fill/unfill so there is no possible way I could pay for a surgery. That is what is so frustrating, I can't afford to play around with the fills to find the right spot! The sleeve just sounds so much easier. Unfortunately, I had never heard of it when I was banded.

I can sympathize... I have bursitis flare up in my hip every now and then and I had a bad case 2 weeks ago. It KILLED me to lay off exercise for a week but I did it and was able to get back into it quickly. I don't think the steroid shots have the same weight gain effect as oral steroids (but I might be wrong on that). Once the inflammation dies out, you will feel so much better. It's a cycle -- flare up, stay flared up. Kill the flare and try to avoid re-injuring and it eventually will die out completely. Do what the doctor says and rest it up -- will heal much more quickly than if you push it too soon.

Good luck to everyone. I had my band placed in 2008. Two yrs ago I started having problems with my band being too tight (last fill 10/09), reflux, food getting stuck, weight gain, and the worst for me, the health problems I was trying to prevent by having surgery in the first place. I am hoping to get approval for revision soon. I was self pay with band surgery, but I currently have Humana. I am scheduled for an EGD and esophageal manometry on Aug 1st. If my surgeon can find a medical reason why I need the revision my insurance will cover it.

If you low carb, then eat carbs. Your liver gains glycogen/water weight and you can go up 2-10 pounds over a weekend just eating carbs. If you are steadying intaking carbs, then you weight will remain steady. The weight gain after eating carbs following a low carb diet is not true fat gain, at least not initially. You just have to make a lifestyle change, it has to be a lifestyle not a diet. You don't cheat with a lifestyle change. It is hard for everyone. You can get a burger without the bun at a fast food resturant, make them wrap it in lettuce. Fries are my weekness, there is no low carb substitute, but you just have to decided if fries are worth being fat. Good luck!

CHICAGO - Want to spend less at the pump? Lose some weight. That's the implication of a new study that says Americans are burning nearly 1 billion more gallons of gasoline each year than they did in 1960 because of their expanding waistlines. Simply put, more weight in the car means lower gas mileage. <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><SCRIPT type=text/javascript>if (window.yzq_a == null) document.write("<scr" + "ipt type=text/javascript src=""http://us.js2.yimg.com/us.js.yimg.com/lib/bc/bc_1.7.3.js></scr" + "ipt>");</SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript>if (window.yzq_a){yzq_a('p', 'P=AfYYwkSOwhWZggC6RT.pHAMiRd9JKEVA_qsADbnN&T=197m86onc%2fX%3d1161887403%2fE%3d8903239%2fR%3dnews%2fK%3d5%2fV%3d1.1%2fW%3d8%2fY%3dYAHOO%2fF%3d1238585045%2fH%3dY2FjaGVoaW50PSJuZXdzIiBjb250ZW50PSJnYXNvbGluZTtnYXM7aHVuZ2VyO29pbDtmdWVsO2hlYWx0aCBjYXJlO0FtZXJpY2FuO2dvdmVybm1lbnQ7SXQ7RWR1Y2F0aW9uO2l0O2hlbHA7IiByZWZ1cmw9IiIgdG9waWNzPSIi%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d2647BFD1');yzq_a('a', '&U=13a4ul1uk%2fN%3d9N4uDNG_fyI-%2fC%3d540700.9387654.10123690.1442997%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d3906314');}</SCRIPT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT> Using recent gas prices of $2.20 a gallon, that translates to about $2.2 billion more spent on gas each year. "The bottom line is that our hunger for food and our hunger for oil are not independent. There is a relationship between the two," said University of Illinois researcher Sheldon Jacobson, a study co-author. "If a person reduces the weight in their car, either by removing excess baggage, carrying around less weight in their trunk, or yes, even losing weight, they will indeed see a drop in their fuel consumption." The lost mileage is pretty small for any single driver. Jacobson said the typical driver — someone who records less than 12,000 miles annually — would use roughly 18 fewer gallons of gas over the course of a year by losing 100 pounds. At $2.20 per gallon, that would be a savings of almost $40. Outside experts said that even if the calculations aren't exact, the study makes sense. "If you put more weight into your car, you're going to get fewer miles per gallon," Emory University health care analyst Kenneth Thorpe said Wednesday. The same effect has been seen in airplanes. Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that heavy fliers have contributed to higher fuel costs for airlines. The obesity rate among U.S. adults doubled from 1987 to 2003, from about 15 percent to more than 30 percent. Also, the average weight for American men was 191 pounds in 2002 and 164 pounds for women, about 25 pounds heavier than in 1960, government figures show. The study's conclusions are based on those weight figures and Americans' 2003 driving habits, involving roughly 223 million cars and light trucks nationwide. It will appear in the October-December issue of The Engineering Economist, a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Society of Engineering Education and the Institute of Industrial Engineers. Jacobson, an industrial engineer, conducted the research with Laura McLay, a doctoral student in his Champaign-Urbana lab who now works at Virginia Commonwealth University. They estimated that more than 39 million gallons of fuel are used each year for every additional pound of passenger weight. The amount of extra fuel consumption blamed on weight gain since 1960 — 938 million gallons — would fill almost 2 million cars with gas for an entire year. However, that is only 0.7 percent of the total amount of fuel consumed by U.S. passenger vehicles each year, Jacobson said. The estimates "are probably pretty reliable," said Larry Chavis, an economist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. "I don't know if it's going to encourage anybody to go out and lose weight to save gasoline, but even for individual families, it could have an effect on their budget." Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, former <FORM class=yqin action=http://yq.search.yahoo.com/search method=post> </FORM>CDC director and chairman of an Institute of Medicine report on obesity, said the findings are almost beside the point. "The wrong fuel is being focused on," said Koplan, now at Emory University. "If you're heavier, the most important fuel you use more of is food." Eating less, driving less and choosing more active means of transportation would reduce gas consumption, and also help reverse rising obesity rates, he said

© 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 1 Eating in Holiday Spirit – The Art of Cheating It’s never what you eat or do, it’s always how much you eat or move When it comes to food consumption, I am the master of cheating, at least according to the people around me. I never cease to amaze people when I am dining or “grazing” at a party or function, by consuming all the classical forbidden foods (and often in Herculean quantities), prompting the proverbial question, “How can you possibly eat like that and stay in such great shape?” The answer is: I will easily cancel out those excess calories by 3 p.m. tomorrow, or certainly by the end of the day, because when you really get the science of weight gain, weight control becomes a “walk in the park”—sometimes literally. It’s always been simple—it’s all about calories Now that the facts regarding weight control and calories have been globally publicized by the scientific community (washing out all other diet nonsense), most people finally “get it”. Instead of hearing dieters say, “Well, I heard it’s not the calories but…,” now most are saying, “I guess you were right.” Unfortunately, when it comes to weight loss, it generally takes more than hearing the truth before dieters finally get it. What I mean is, most had to experience the journey by trying everything new and old in an effort to lose unwanted poundage. Finally, dieters arrived at the realization that during any program’s short-term success, they were cutting calorie intake and/or adding movement calories creating the undisputable equation: eating less calories than you burn = mass reduction. Although they had to come to this conclusion on their own, causing many frustrating experiences, I never said, “I told you so.” Well, almost never. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to cheating the system, because as long as you know how it works, you can beat it. Beating the bulge by doing the math In mathematics, when you have the answer you can create any numbers that lead to the solution. Same in the case of weight control. The answer is to consume less or equal to what you burn and nobody cares how you do it. As long as your total caloric intake (TCI) is less than total caloric output (TCO) for ANY GIVEN TIME PERIOD, whether it be two hours or 20 years, you will have reduced mass. Getting the picture yet? One more thing to keep in mind, increasing your movements by 100 calories a day has the same effect as removing 100 calories from your food intake. Therefore, your take home messages of any given time period and calorie adjustments in or out are of equal value. Regarding the latter, it’s a heckof- a lot easier to cut the calories than burn them, especially when you consider that one average-size café mocha contains ~ 500 calories, which is equivalent to a very intense one-hour run. Party time – just manage the AVERAGE DAILY DEFICIT There is a certain caloric deficit that a person must average in order to manage body fat. Example: When you are maintaining weight, the deficit is zero, or calories in = out. During weight loss, the deficit is based on the goal, including the desired time frame. Your weekly mass change, shown by weight and/or body fat, validates whether or not your deficit is correct. Notice the key points: average deficit and goal, not the total number or type of calories used to achieve the deficit or goal. It is the deficit number that must be managed. Let’s look at an example: Goal: Lose two pound in November Our example is modest because most people/dieters would be happy just maintaining weight in November. But when you finally get the “calorie thing,” you gain complete control of your body, making anything possible. Because one pound of fat = 3500 calories, for the month of November you will have to burn 7000 calories more than you eat. Therefore: time period = 30 days, goal 2 lbs = average daily deficit of ~230 calories (30 days x 230 = ~7000 calories = 2 lbs). Because I am a typical gym participant, we will use me as an example: Conversation Corner With Neal Spruce A Newsletter for Fitness Enthusiasts November 2005 © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 2 At 180 lbs with a sedentary job and working out one hour, three days/week, my average daily calorie burn is 2700 calories (and of course I know this because I never take my bodybugg™ armband off). Using the 2-pound loss goal, I can choose not do anything different in my daily activities, which means my average daily calorie intake will have to be ~2400 calories. Let’s say during a “fun day” I really blow it and consume ~5000 calories. (Of course, some of those would be alcohol, which is generally the culprit that dis-inhibits my usual appetite restraints, leading to the excess calorie consumption). Theoretically, I can make it up in one day by not eating (not advisable), or by adding 2300 calories of movement (my hangover would probably prevent this strategy). Instead, I would usually alter two days to keep me on track because, factually, if I had been averaging a 230-calorie deficit for the last 10 days, my “binge” would have wiped out my 10-day results. See how easily plateaus can happen? You work hard and/or eat well for 10 days, blow it once, and you are back where you were 10 days ago. Remember, every calorie counts both in and out, because energy (calories) is neither created nor destroyed, only transformed. That said, it’s very simple to make up the loss when you know what you’re doing. Two-day remedy As long as I know I am going to blow it ahead of time, I always prepare by cutting the previous day’s calories in half. In this case, the day before the event I would consume four meals totaling 1200 (see sidebar); consume the 5000 calories on the “fun day” and repeat the 1200 calorie menu the following day, bringing my three-day calories-in total to 7400. Assuming I burned my 2700 cal/day average, bringing the three-day calories-out total to 8100, I am basically back on track, especially when you consider I participated in a function that goes well into the night where I will have certainly burned more calories than if I had stayed home and gone to bed…by myself. In summary, my three-day calorie deficit total was 700 (8100-7400), or an average daily deficit of ~230 calories, back on track and a heck of a good time! And remember, I did this all with food. But for every calorie I burn over 2700 for any of the three days, I can add back to my consumption. For instance, if I had gone for a walk in the park to shake the cobwebs out of my head or puttered around the garden for an hour, I would have burned ~300 calories more than normal, allowing a 1500 calorie total for one of the two 1200-calorie days or 5300 on the big night. Anyway, you get the picture: The more you move the more you get to eat (and that applies all the time). Additionally, you can make up the deficit over a longer period of time, such as 10 days of 560- calorie deficit. I just like my “pain” quick and done. Use the formula anytime you wander of course Best of all, you can repeat the above process anytime necessary. Just plug in the numbers and/or control portion sizes on make-up days. “Blowout” day’s calories don’t have to be accurate, just take a guess. Remember that 5000 calories is very difficult for the average person to consume in one day, but entirely possible during the holidays. The alternate method (non-bodybugg™, lack of desire or inability to count calories) is to simply cut every meal you consume in half during the two days you are using to make up for the “fun day.” The advantage of using Apex foods during the “catch-up” periods is that they are more satiating than most other foods of equal caloric value. And, more importantly, packaged Apex foods accurately count your calories, leaving no room for error. Life is easy when you understand and use only facts. And calories in and out are the simple facts related to weight control. You are now free to control your body composition—anytime. So, there you have it—the biggest, newest holiday tip from Yours Truly. Attached are the regular boring tips I give you every year—but they can also work. Sample 1200-calorie menu 7:00 a.m. Meal 1: Apex Breakfast Square – 230 calories with multi 11:30 a.m. Meal 2: 400 calorie meat of choice sandwich or large salad with favorite protein 4:00 p.m. Meal 3: 400 calories of chicken, starch of choice and salad with multi 8:00 p.m. Meal 4: Apex cookie – 160 calories with multi Any choice of non-caloric fluids © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 3 The Holidays are upon us with their abundance of stress and food. Here are 21 tips that will help get you successfully through the holidays without sacrificing your healthy lifestyle. 1. Exercise an hour a day, 4-5 days a week during the holidays. A brisk walk, run or bikeride will burn calories, relieve stress, and elevate your endorphins and mood. If you have to miss a workout, simply increase your daily activities. Be sure not to snack during this time. 2. Avoid eating no fat. Eating moderate amounts of fat at a meal can help you feel full sooner and keep you full longer, just don't overdue it. 3. Don't skip meals. Skipping meals leads to hunger, low energy levels and improper food choices. 4. Don't pass up favorite foods or deprive yourself completely. Moderate consumption is the key. 5. Don't tempt yourself by keeping trigger foods or comfort foods around the house. If you have them, it increases the likelihood that you will overeat. 6. Plan meals by keeping in mind the demands you'll have on your schedule that day. 7. Don't go to a party starving. Before you leave home, eat something light or drink a meal replacement shake. Also, drink a great deal of water the day of the party. 8. When you attend holiday festivities, don't station yourself near the buffet table. Make a clear-cut decision to distance yourself from all goodies. 9. Alcoholic beverages pack on the calories so if you're drinking alcohol, stick to light beer or a champagne spritzer. Watch out for the eggnog, it is high in calories and fat. 10. If you do find yourself feeling depressed, soothe your spirit with a massage, manicure, pedicure, or facial. Men can enjoy this too! 11. When you shop, eat before you leave home so you won't resort to cookie breaks. 12. To satisfy your sweet tooth, set limits. For example, you might allow yourself two decadent desserts per week; just move more the next day. 13. Just because it is the holidays doesn't mean you should give yourself the license to eat everything that passes by. Factor in the little extras into your daily intake. 14. Help out by saving fat and calories when it's feasting time. Make or buy wild rice stuffing, baked sweet potatoes, whole-grain rolls and angel-food cake with fruit. 15. If you are staying with family or friends, ask them if you can have a space in the refrigerator and keep foods on hand to snack on like lean deli meats, cottage cheese, nonfat cheese sticks, etc. 16. If you tend to overeat during family gatherings, plan and visualize what and how much you will eat before you go. Plan additional daily activities for that day or the following one. The additional activity can be anything from a longer shopping day to additional gym time. 17. If you want to really keep yourself honest and the same size during the holiday season wear your most form-fitting blue jeans. Another trick is to tie a string or ribbon around your waist under your shirt that will not budge with the bulge. 18. If you are at the mercy of the dinner host, eat modest amounts of the foods offered and fill up on foods with more fiber and volume and fewer calories. Make a small plate and skip the seconds. 19. Eat whatever you want on the main holiday feast. If you over-do it just go back to your regular plan the next day and move a little more. 20. Take a meditative moment at least one time each day to breathe deeply and clear your mind of all the clutter. 21. Enjoy the season, not just the food! © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 1 Eating in Holiday Spirit – The Art of Cheating It’s never what you eat or do, it’s always how much you eat or move When it comes to food consumption, I am the master of cheating, at least according to the people around me. I never cease to amaze people when I am dining or “grazing” at a party or function, by consuming all the classical forbidden foods (and often in Herculean quantities), prompting the proverbial question, “How can you possibly eat like that and stay in such great shape?” The answer is: I will easily cancel out those excess calories by 3 p.m. tomorrow, or certainly by the end of the day, because when you really get the science of weight gain, weight control becomes a “walk in the park”—sometimes literally. It’s always been simple—it’s all about calories Now that the facts regarding weight control and calories have been globally publicized by the scientific community (washing out all other diet nonsense), most people finally “get it”. Instead of hearing dieters say, “Well, I heard it’s not the calories but…,” now most are saying, “I guess you were right.” Unfortunately, when it comes to weight loss, it generally takes more than hearing the truth before dieters finally get it. What I mean is, most had to experience the journey by trying everything new and old in an effort to lose unwanted poundage. Finally, dieters arrived at the realization that during any program’s short-term success, they were cutting calorie intake and/or adding movement calories creating the undisputable equation: eating less calories than you burn = mass reduction. Although they had to come to this conclusion on their own, causing many frustrating experiences, I never said, “I told you so.” Well, almost never. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to cheating the system, because as long as you know how it works, you can beat it. Beating the bulge by doing the math In mathematics, when you have the answer you can create any numbers that lead to the solution. Same in the case of weight control. The answer is to consume less or equal to what you burn and nobody cares how you do it. As long as your total caloric intake (TCI) is less than total caloric output (TCO) for ANY GIVEN TIME PERIOD, whether it be two hours or 20 years, you will have reduced mass. Getting the picture yet? One more thing to keep in mind, increasing your movements by 100 calories a day has the same effect as removing 100 calories from your food intake. Therefore, your take home messages of any given time period and calorie adjustments in or out are of equal value. Regarding the latter, it’s a heckof- a lot easier to cut the calories than burn them, especially when you consider that one average-size café mocha contains ~ 500 calories, which is equivalent to a very intense one-hour run. Party time – just manage the AVERAGE DAILY DEFICIT There is a certain caloric deficit that a person must average in order to manage body fat. Example: When you are maintaining weight, the deficit is zero, or calories in = out. During weight loss, the deficit is based on the goal, including the desired time frame. Your weekly mass change, shown by weight and/or body fat, validates whether or not your deficit is correct. Notice the key points: average deficit and goal, not the total number or type of calories used to achieve the deficit or goal. It is the deficit number that must be managed. Let’s look at an example: Goal: Lose two pound in November Our example is modest because most people/dieters would be happy just maintaining weight in November. But when you finally get the “calorie thing,” you gain complete control of your body, making anything possible. Because one pound of fat = 3500 calories, for the month of November you will have to burn 7000 calories more than you eat. Therefore: time period = 30 days, goal 2 lbs = average daily deficit of ~230 calories (30 days x 230 = ~7000 calories = 2 lbs). Because I am a typical gym participant, we will use me as an example: Conversation Corner With Neal Spruce A Newsletter for Fitness Enthusiasts November 2005 © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 2 At 180 lbs with a sedentary job and working out one hour, three days/week, my average daily calorie burn is 2700 calories (and of course I know this because I never take my bodybugg™ armband off). Using the 2-pound loss goal, I can choose not do anything different in my daily activities, which means my average daily calorie intake will have to be ~2400 calories. Let’s say during a “fun day” I really blow it and consume ~5000 calories. (Of course, some of those would be alcohol, which is generally the culprit that dis-inhibits my usual appetite restraints, leading to the excess calorie consumption). Theoretically, I can make it up in one day by not eating (not advisable), or by adding 2300 calories of movement (my hangover would probably prevent this strategy). Instead, I would usually alter two days to keep me on track because, factually, if I had been averaging a 230-calorie deficit for the last 10 days, my “binge” would have wiped out my 10-day results. See how easily plateaus can happen? You work hard and/or eat well for 10 days, blow it once, and you are back where you were 10 days ago. Remember, every calorie counts both in and out, because energy (calories) is neither created nor destroyed, only transformed. That said, it’s very simple to make up the loss when you know what you’re doing. Two-day remedy As long as I know I am going to blow it ahead of time, I always prepare by cutting the previous day’s calories in half. In this case, the day before the event I would consume four meals totaling 1200 (see sidebar); consume the 5000 calories on the “fun day” and repeat the 1200 calorie menu the following day, bringing my three-day calories-in total to 7400. Assuming I burned my 2700 cal/day average, bringing the three-day calories-out total to 8100, I am basically back on track, especially when you consider I participated in a function that goes well into the night where I will have certainly burned more calories than if I had stayed home and gone to bed…by myself. In summary, my three-day calorie deficit total was 700 (8100-7400), or an average daily deficit of ~230 calories, back on track and a heck of a good time! And remember, I did this all with food. But for every calorie I burn over 2700 for any of the three days, I can add back to my consumption. For instance, if I had gone for a walk in the park to shake the cobwebs out of my head or puttered around the garden for an hour, I would have burned ~300 calories more than normal, allowing a 1500 calorie total for one of the two 1200-calorie days or 5300 on the big night. Anyway, you get the picture: The more you move the more you get to eat (and that applies all the time). Additionally, you can make up the deficit over a longer period of time, such as 10 days of 560- calorie deficit. I just like my “pain” quick and done. Use the formula anytime you wander of course Best of all, you can repeat the above process anytime necessary. Just plug in the numbers and/or control portion sizes on make-up days. “Blowout” day’s calories don’t have to be accurate, just take a guess. Remember that 5000 calories is very difficult for the average person to consume in one day, but entirely possible during the holidays. The alternate method (non-bodybugg™, lack of desire or inability to count calories) is to simply cut every meal you consume in half during the two days you are using to make up for the “fun day.” The advantage of using Apex foods during the “catch-up” periods is that they are more satiating than most other foods of equal caloric value. And, more importantly, packaged Apex foods accurately count your calories, leaving no room for error. Life is easy when you understand and use only facts. And calories in and out are the simple facts related to weight control. You are now free to control your body composition—anytime. So, there you have it—the biggest, newest holiday tip from Yours Truly. Attached are the regular boring tips I give you every year—but they can also work. Sample 1200-calorie menu 7:00 a.m. Meal 1: Apex Breakfast Square – 230 calories with multi 11:30 a.m. Meal 2: 400 calorie meat of choice sandwich or large salad with favorite protein 4:00 p.m. Meal 3: 400 calories of chicken, starch of choice and salad with multi 8:00 p.m. Meal 4: Apex cookie – 160 calories with multi Any choice of non-caloric fluids © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 3 The Holidays are upon us with their abundance of stress and food. Here are 21 tips that will help get you successfully through the holidays without sacrificing your healthy lifestyle. 1. Exercise an hour a day, 4-5 days a week during the holidays. A brisk walk, run or bikeride will burn calories, relieve stress, and elevate your endorphins and mood. If you have to miss a workout, simply increase your daily activities. Be sure not to snack during this time. 2. Avoid eating no fat. Eating moderate amounts of fat at a meal can help you feel full sooner and keep you full longer, just don't overdue it. 3. Don't skip meals. Skipping meals leads to hunger, low energy levels and improper food choices. 4. Don't pass up favorite foods or deprive yourself completely. Moderate consumption is the key. 5. Don't tempt yourself by keeping trigger foods or comfort foods around the house. If you have them, it increases the likelihood that you will overeat. 6. Plan meals by keeping in mind the demands you'll have on your schedule that day. 7. Don't go to a party starving. Before you leave home, eat something light or drink a meal replacement shake. Also, drink a great deal of water the day of the party. 8. When you attend holiday festivities, don't station yourself near the buffet table. Make a clear-cut decision to distance yourself from all goodies. 9. Alcoholic beverages pack on the calories so if you're drinking alcohol, stick to light beer or a champagne spritzer. Watch out for the eggnog, it is high in calories and fat. 10. If you do find yourself feeling depressed, soothe your spirit with a massage, manicure, pedicure, or facial. Men can enjoy this too! 11. When you shop, eat before you leave home so you won't resort to cookie breaks. 12. To satisfy your sweet tooth, set limits. For example, you might allow yourself two decadent desserts per week; just move more the next day. 13. Just because it is the holidays doesn't mean you should give yourself the license to eat everything that passes by. Factor in the little extras into your daily intake. 14. Help out by saving fat and calories when it's feasting time. Make or buy wild rice stuffing, baked sweet potatoes, whole-grain rolls and angel-food cake with fruit. 15. If you are staying with family or friends, ask them if you can have a space in the refrigerator and keep foods on hand to snack on like lean deli meats, cottage cheese, nonfat cheese sticks, etc. 16. If you tend to overeat during family gatherings, plan and visualize what and how much you will eat before you go. Plan additional daily activities for that day or the following one. The additional activity can be anything from a longer shopping day to additional gym time. 17. If you want to really keep yourself honest and the same size during the holiday season wear your most form-fitting blue jeans. Another trick is to tie a string or ribbon around your waist under your shirt that will not budge with the bulge. 18. If you are at the mercy of the dinner host, eat modest amounts of the foods offered and fill up on foods with more fiber and volume and fewer calories. Make a small plate and skip the seconds. 19. Eat whatever you want on the main holiday feast. If you over-do it just go back to your regular plan the next day and move a little more. 20. Take a meditative moment at least one time each day to breathe deeply and clear your mind of all the clutter. 21. Enjoy the season, not just the food! © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 1 Eating in Holiday Spirit – The Art of Cheating It’s never what you eat or do, it’s always how much you eat or move When it comes to food consumption, I am the master of cheating, at least according to the people around me. I never cease to amaze people when I am dining or “grazing” at a party or function, by consuming all the classical forbidden foods (and often in Herculean quantities), prompting the proverbial question, “How can you possibly eat like that and stay in such great shape?” The answer is: I will easily cancel out those excess calories by 3 p.m. tomorrow, or certainly by the end of the day, because when you really get the science of weight gain, weight control becomes a “walk in the park”—sometimes literally. It’s always been simple—it’s all about calories Now that the facts regarding weight control and calories have been globally publicized by the scientific community (washing out all other diet nonsense), most people finally “get it”. Instead of hearing dieters say, “Well, I heard it’s not the calories but…,” now most are saying, “I guess you were right.” Unfortunately, when it comes to weight loss, it generally takes more than hearing the truth before dieters finally get it. What I mean is, most had to experience the journey by trying everything new and old in an effort to lose unwanted poundage. Finally, dieters arrived at the realization that during any program’s short-term success, they were cutting calorie intake and/or adding movement calories creating the undisputable equation: eating less calories than you burn = mass reduction. Although they had to come to this conclusion on their own, causing many frustrating experiences, I never said, “I told you so.” Well, almost never. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to cheating the system, because as long as you know how it works, you can beat it. Beating the bulge by doing the math In mathematics, when you have the answer you can create any numbers that lead to the solution. Same in the case of weight control. The answer is to consume less or equal to what you burn and nobody cares how you do it. As long as your total caloric intake (TCI) is less than total caloric output (TCO) for ANY GIVEN TIME PERIOD, whether it be two hours or 20 years, you will have reduced mass. Getting the picture yet? One more thing to keep in mind, increasing your movements by 100 calories a day has the same effect as removing 100 calories from your food intake. Therefore, your take home messages of any given time period and calorie adjustments in or out are of equal value. Regarding the latter, it’s a heckof- a lot easier to cut the calories than burn them, especially when you consider that one average-size café mocha contains ~ 500 calories, which is equivalent to a very intense one-hour run. Party time – just manage the AVERAGE DAILY DEFICIT There is a certain caloric deficit that a person must average in order to manage body fat. Example: When you are maintaining weight, the deficit is zero, or calories in = out. During weight loss, the deficit is based on the goal, including the desired time frame. Your weekly mass change, shown by weight and/or body fat, validates whether or not your deficit is correct. Notice the key points: average deficit and goal, not the total number or type of calories used to achieve the deficit or goal. It is the deficit number that must be managed. Let’s look at an example: Goal: Lose two pound in November Our example is modest because most people/dieters would be happy just maintaining weight in November. But when you finally get the “calorie thing,” you gain complete control of your body, making anything possible. Because one pound of fat = 3500 calories, for the month of November you will have to burn 7000 calories more than you eat. Therefore: time period = 30 days, goal 2 lbs = average daily deficit of ~230 calories (30 days x 230 = ~7000 calories = 2 lbs). Because I am a typical gym participant, we will use me as an example: Conversation Corner With Neal Spruce A Newsletter for Fitness Enthusiasts November 2005 © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 2 At 180 lbs with a sedentary job and working out one hour, three days/week, my average daily calorie burn is 2700 calories (and of course I know this because I never take my bodybugg™ armband off). Using the 2-pound loss goal, I can choose not do anything different in my daily activities, which means my average daily calorie intake will have to be ~2400 calories. Let’s say during a “fun day” I really blow it and consume ~5000 calories. (Of course, some of those would be alcohol, which is generally the culprit that dis-inhibits my usual appetite restraints, leading to the excess calorie consumption). Theoretically, I can make it up in one day by not eating (not advisable), or by adding 2300 calories of movement (my hangover would probably prevent this strategy). Instead, I would usually alter two days to keep me on track because, factually, if I had been averaging a 230-calorie deficit for the last 10 days, my “binge” would have wiped out my 10-day results. See how easily plateaus can happen? You work hard and/or eat well for 10 days, blow it once, and you are back where you were 10 days ago. Remember, every calorie counts both in and out, because energy (calories) is neither created nor destroyed, only transformed. That said, it’s very simple to make up the loss when you know what you’re doing. Two-day remedy As long as I know I am going to blow it ahead of time, I always prepare by cutting the previous day’s calories in half. In this case, the day before the event I would consume four meals totaling 1200 (see sidebar); consume the 5000 calories on the “fun day” and repeat the 1200 calorie menu the following day, bringing my three-day calories-in total to 7400. Assuming I burned my 2700 cal/day average, bringing the three-day calories-out total to 8100, I am basically back on track, especially when you consider I participated in a function that goes well into the night where I will have certainly burned more calories than if I had stayed home and gone to bed…by myself. In summary, my three-day calorie deficit total was 700 (8100-7400), or an average daily deficit of ~230 calories, back on track and a heck of a good time! And remember, I did this all with food. But for every calorie I burn over 2700 for any of the three days, I can add back to my consumption. For instance, if I had gone for a walk in the park to shake the cobwebs out of my head or puttered around the garden for an hour, I would have burned ~300 calories more than normal, allowing a 1500 calorie total for one of the two 1200-calorie days or 5300 on the big night. Anyway, you get the picture: The more you move the more you get to eat (and that applies all the time). Additionally, you can make up the deficit over a longer period of time, such as 10 days of 560- calorie deficit. I just like my “pain” quick and done. Use the formula anytime you wander of course Best of all, you can repeat the above process anytime necessary. Just plug in the numbers and/or control portion sizes on make-up days. “Blowout” day’s calories don’t have to be accurate, just take a guess. Remember that 5000 calories is very difficult for the average person to consume in one day, but entirely possible during the holidays. The alternate method (non-bodybugg™, lack of desire or inability to count calories) is to simply cut every meal you consume in half during the two days you are using to make up for the “fun day.” The advantage of using Apex foods during the “catch-up” periods is that they are more satiating than most other foods of equal caloric value. And, more importantly, packaged Apex foods accurately count your calories, leaving no room for error. Life is easy when you understand and use only facts. And calories in and out are the simple facts related to weight control. You are now free to control your body composition—anytime. So, there you have it—the biggest, newest holiday tip from Yours Truly. Attached are the regular boring tips I give you every year—but they can also work. Sample 1200-calorie menu 7:00 a.m. Meal 1: Apex Breakfast Square – 230 calories with multi 11:30 a.m. Meal 2: 400 calorie meat of choice sandwich or large salad with favorite protein 4:00 p.m. Meal 3: 400 calories of chicken, starch of choice and salad with multi 8:00 p.m. Meal 4: Apex cookie – 160 calories with multi Any choice of non-caloric fluids © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 3 The Holidays are upon us with their abundance of stress and food. Here are 21 tips that will help get you successfully through the holidays without sacrificing your healthy lifestyle. 1. Exercise an hour a day, 4-5 days a week during the holidays. A brisk walk, run or bikeride will burn calories, relieve stress, and elevate your endorphins and mood. If you have to miss a workout, simply increase your daily activities. Be sure not to snack during this time. 2. Avoid eating no fat. Eating moderate amounts of fat at a meal can help you feel full sooner and keep you full longer, just don't overdue it. 3. Don't skip meals. Skipping meals leads to hunger, low energy levels and improper food choices. 4. Don't pass up favorite foods or deprive yourself completely. Moderate consumption is the key. 5. Don't tempt yourself by keeping trigger foods or comfort foods around the house. If you have them, it increases the likelihood that you will overeat. 6. Plan meals by keeping in mind the demands you'll have on your schedule that day. 7. Don't go to a party starving. Before you leave home, eat something light or drink a meal replacement shake. Also, drink a great deal of water the day of the party. 8. When you attend holiday festivities, don't station yourself near the buffet table. Make a clear-cut decision to distance yourself from all goodies. 9. Alcoholic beverages pack on the calories so if you're drinking alcohol, stick to light beer or a champagne spritzer. Watch out for the eggnog, it is high in calories and fat. 10. If you do find yourself feeling depressed, soothe your spirit with a massage, manicure, pedicure, or facial. Men can enjoy this too! 11. When you shop, eat before you leave home so you won't resort to cookie breaks. 12. To satisfy your sweet tooth, set limits. For example, you might allow yourself two decadent desserts per week; just move more the next day. 13. Just because it is the holidays doesn't mean you should give yourself the license to eat everything that passes by. Factor in the little extras into your daily intake. 14. Help out by saving fat and calories when it's feasting time. Make or buy wild rice stuffing, baked sweet potatoes, whole-grain rolls and angel-food cake with fruit. 15. If you are staying with family or friends, ask them if you can have a space in the refrigerator and keep foods on hand to snack on like lean deli meats, cottage cheese, nonfat cheese sticks, etc. 16. If you tend to overeat during family gatherings, plan and visualize what and how much you will eat before you go. Plan additional daily activities for that day or the following one. The additional activity can be anything from a longer shopping day to additional gym time. 17. If you want to really keep yourself honest and the same size during the holiday season wear your most form-fitting blue jeans. Another trick is to tie a string or ribbon around your waist under your shirt that will not budge with the bulge. 18. If you are at the mercy of the dinner host, eat modest amounts of the foods offered and fill up on foods with more fiber and volume and fewer calories. Make a small plate and skip the seconds. 19. Eat whatever you want on the main holiday feast. If you over-do it just go back to your regular plan the next day and move a little more. 20. Take a meditative moment at least one time each day to breathe deeply and clear your mind of all the clutter. 21. Enjoy the season, not just the food! © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 1 Eating in Holiday Spirit – The Art of Cheating It’s never what you eat or do, it’s always how much you eat or move When it comes to food consumption, I am the master of cheating, at least according to the people around me. I never cease to amaze people when I am dining or “grazing” at a party or function, by consuming all the classical forbidden foods (and often in Herculean quantities), prompting the proverbial question, “How can you possibly eat like that and stay in such great shape?” The answer is: I will easily cancel out those excess calories by 3 p.m. tomorrow, or certainly by the end of the day, because when you really get the science of weight gain, weight control becomes a “walk in the park”—sometimes literally. It’s always been simple—it’s all about calories Now that the facts regarding weight control and calories have been globally publicized by the scientific community (washing out all other diet nonsense), most people finally “get it”. Instead of hearing dieters say, “Well, I heard it’s not the calories but…,” now most are saying, “I guess you were right.” Unfortunately, when it comes to weight loss, it generally takes more than hearing the truth before dieters finally get it. What I mean is, most had to experience the journey by trying everything new and old in an effort to lose unwanted poundage. Finally, dieters arrived at the realization that during any program’s short-term success, they were cutting calorie intake and/or adding movement calories creating the undisputable equation: eating less calories than you burn = mass reduction. Although they had to come to this conclusion on their own, causing many frustrating experiences, I never said, “I told you so.” Well, almost never. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to cheating the system, because as long as you know how it works, you can beat it. Beating the bulge by doing the math In mathematics, when you have the answer you can create any numbers that lead to the solution. Same in the case of weight control. The answer is to consume less or equal to what you burn and nobody cares how you do it. As long as your total caloric intake (TCI) is less than total caloric output (TCO) for ANY GIVEN TIME PERIOD, whether it be two hours or 20 years, you will have reduced mass. Getting the picture yet? One more thing to keep in mind, increasing your movements by 100 calories a day has the same effect as removing 100 calories from your food intake. Therefore, your take home messages of any given time period and calorie adjustments in or out are of equal value. Regarding the latter, it’s a heckof- a lot easier to cut the calories than burn them, especially when you consider that one average-size café mocha contains ~ 500 calories, which is equivalent to a very intense one-hour run. Party time – just manage the AVERAGE DAILY DEFICIT There is a certain caloric deficit that a person must average in order to manage body fat. Example: When you are maintaining weight, the deficit is zero, or calories in = out. During weight loss, the deficit is based on the goal, including the desired time frame. Your weekly mass change, shown by weight and/or body fat, validates whether or not your deficit is correct. Notice the key points: average deficit and goal, not the total number or type of calories used to achieve the deficit or goal. It is the deficit number that must be managed. Let’s look at an example: Goal: Lose two pound in November Our example is modest because most people/dieters would be happy just maintaining weight in November. But when you finally get the “calorie thing,” you gain complete control of your body, making anything possible. Because one pound of fat = 3500 calories, for the month of November you will have to burn 7000 calories more than you eat. Therefore: time period = 30 days, goal 2 lbs = average daily deficit of ~230 calories (30 days x 230 = ~7000 calories = 2 lbs). Because I am a typical gym participant, we will use me as an example: Conversation Corner With Neal Spruce A Newsletter for Fitness Enthusiasts November 2005 © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 2 At 180 lbs with a sedentary job and working out one hour, three days/week, my average daily calorie burn is 2700 calories (and of course I know this because I never take my bodybugg™ armband off). Using the 2-pound loss goal, I can choose not do anything different in my daily activities, which means my average daily calorie intake will have to be ~2400 calories. Let’s say during a “fun day” I really blow it and consume ~5000 calories. (Of course, some of those would be alcohol, which is generally the culprit that dis-inhibits my usual appetite restraints, leading to the excess calorie consumption). Theoretically, I can make it up in one day by not eating (not advisable), or by adding 2300 calories of movement (my hangover would probably prevent this strategy). Instead, I would usually alter two days to keep me on track because, factually, if I had been averaging a 230-calorie deficit for the last 10 days, my “binge” would have wiped out my 10-day results. See how easily plateaus can happen? You work hard and/or eat well for 10 days, blow it once, and you are back where you were 10 days ago. Remember, every calorie counts both in and out, because energy (calories) is neither created nor destroyed, only transformed. That said, it’s very simple to make up the loss when you know what you’re doing. Two-day remedy As long as I know I am going to blow it ahead of time, I always prepare by cutting the previous day’s calories in half. In this case, the day before the event I would consume four meals totaling 1200 (see sidebar); consume the 5000 calories on the “fun day” and repeat the 1200 calorie menu the following day, bringing my three-day calories-in total to 7400. Assuming I burned my 2700 cal/day average, bringing the three-day calories-out total to 8100, I am basically back on track, especially when you consider I participated in a function that goes well into the night where I will have certainly burned more calories than if I had stayed home and gone to bed…by myself. In summary, my three-day calorie deficit total was 700 (8100-7400), or an average daily deficit of ~230 calories, back on track and a heck of a good time! And remember, I did this all with food. But for every calorie I burn over 2700 for any of the three days, I can add back to my consumption. For instance, if I had gone for a walk in the park to shake the cobwebs out of my head or puttered around the garden for an hour, I would have burned ~300 calories more than normal, allowing a 1500 calorie total for one of the two 1200-calorie days or 5300 on the big night. Anyway, you get the picture: The more you move the more you get to eat (and that applies all the time). Additionally, you can make up the deficit over a longer period of time, such as 10 days of 560- calorie deficit. I just like my “pain” quick and done. Use the formula anytime you wander of course Best of all, you can repeat the above process anytime necessary. Just plug in the numbers and/or control portion sizes on make-up days. “Blowout” day’s calories don’t have to be accurate, just take a guess. Remember that 5000 calories is very difficult for the average person to consume in one day, but entirely possible during the holidays. The alternate method (non-bodybugg™, lack of desire or inability to count calories) is to simply cut every meal you consume in half during the two days you are using to make up for the “fun day.” The advantage of using Apex foods during the “catch-up” periods is that they are more satiating than most other foods of equal caloric value. And, more importantly, packaged Apex foods accurately count your calories, leaving no room for error. Life is easy when you understand and use only facts. And calories in and out are the simple facts related to weight control. You are now free to control your body composition—anytime. So, there you have it—the biggest, newest holiday tip from Yours Truly. Attached are the regular boring tips I give you every year—but they can also work. Sample 1200-calorie menu 7:00 a.m. Meal 1: Apex Breakfast Square – 230 calories with multi 11:30 a.m. Meal 2: 400 calorie meat of choice sandwich or large salad with favorite protein 4:00 p.m. Meal 3: 400 calories of chicken, starch of choice and salad with multi 8:00 p.m. Meal 4: Apex cookie – 160 calories with multi Any choice of non-caloric fluids © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 3 The Holidays are upon us with their abundance of stress and food. Here are 21 tips that will help get you successfully through the holidays without sacrificing your healthy lifestyle. 1. Exercise an hour a day, 4-5 days a week during the holidays. A brisk walk, run or bikeride will burn calories, relieve stress, and elevate your endorphins and mood. If you have to miss a workout, simply increase your daily activities. Be sure not to snack during this time. 2. Avoid eating no fat. Eating moderate amounts of fat at a meal can help you feel full sooner and keep you full longer, just don't overdue it. 3. Don't skip meals. Skipping meals leads to hunger, low energy levels and improper food choices. 4. Don't pass up favorite foods or deprive yourself completely. Moderate consumption is the key. 5. Don't tempt yourself by keeping trigger foods or comfort foods around the house. If you have them, it increases the likelihood that you will overeat. 6. Plan meals by keeping in mind the demands you'll have on your schedule that day. 7. Don't go to a party starving. Before you leave home, eat something light or drink a meal replacement shake. Also, drink a great deal of water the day of the party. 8. When you attend holiday festivities, don't station yourself near the buffet table. Make a clear-cut decision to distance yourself from all goodies. 9. Alcoholic beverages pack on the calories so if you're drinking alcohol, stick to light beer or a champagne spritzer. Watch out for the eggnog, it is high in calories and fat. 10. If you do find yourself feeling depressed, soothe your spirit with a massage, manicure, pedicure, or facial. Men can enjoy this too! 11. When you shop, eat before you leave home so you won't resort to cookie breaks. 12. To satisfy your sweet tooth, set limits. For example, you might allow yourself two decadent desserts per week; just move more the next day. 13. Just because it is the holidays doesn't mean you should give yourself the license to eat everything that passes by. Factor in the little extras into your daily intake. 14. Help out by saving fat and calories when it's feasting time. Make or buy wild rice stuffing, baked sweet potatoes, whole-grain rolls and angel-food cake with fruit. 15. If you are staying with family or friends, ask them if you can have a space in the refrigerator and keep foods on hand to snack on like lean deli meats, cottage cheese, nonfat cheese sticks, etc. 16. If you tend to overeat during family gatherings, plan and visualize what and how much you will eat before you go. Plan additional daily activities for that day or the following one. The additional activity can be anything from a longer shopping day to additional gym time. 17. If you want to really keep yourself honest and the same size during the holiday season wear your most form-fitting blue jeans. Another trick is to tie a string or ribbon around your waist under your shirt that will not budge with the bulge. 18. If you are at the mercy of the dinner host, eat modest amounts of the foods offered and fill up on foods with more fiber and volume and fewer calories. Make a small plate and skip the seconds. 19. Eat whatever you want on the main holiday feast. If you over-do it just go back to your regular plan the next day and move a little more. 20. Take a meditative moment at least one time each day to breathe deeply and clear your mind of all the clutter. 21. Enjoy the season, not just the food! © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 1 Eating in Holiday Spirit – The Art of Cheating It’s never what you eat or do, it’s always how much you eat or move When it comes to food consumption, I am the master of cheating, at least according to the people around me. I never cease to amaze people when I am dining or “grazing” at a party or function, by consuming all the classical forbidden foods (and often in Herculean quantities), prompting the proverbial question, “How can you possibly eat like that and stay in such great shape?” The answer is: I will easily cancel out those excess calories by 3 p.m. tomorrow, or certainly by the end of the day, because when you really get the science of weight gain, weight control becomes a “walk in the park”—sometimes literally. It’s always been simple—it’s all about calories Now that the facts regarding weight control and calories have been globally publicized by the scientific community (washing out all other diet nonsense), most people finally “get it”. Instead of hearing dieters say, “Well, I heard it’s not the calories but…,” now most are saying, “I guess you were right.” Unfortunately, when it comes to weight loss, it generally takes more than hearing the truth before dieters finally get it. What I mean is, most had to experience the journey by trying everything new and old in an effort to lose unwanted poundage. Finally, dieters arrived at the realization that during any program’s short-term success, they were cutting calorie intake and/or adding movement calories creating the undisputable equation: eating less calories than you burn = mass reduction. Although they had to come to this conclusion on their own, causing many frustrating experiences, I never said, “I told you so.” Well, almost never. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to cheating the system, because as long as you know how it works, you can beat it. Beating the bulge by doing the math In mathematics, when you have the answer you can create any numbers that lead to the solution. Same in the case of weight control. The answer is to consume less or equal to what you burn and nobody cares how you do it. As long as your total caloric intake (TCI) is less than total caloric output (TCO) for ANY GIVEN TIME PERIOD, whether it be two hours or 20 years, you will have reduced mass. Getting the picture yet? One more thing to keep in mind, increasing your movements by 100 calories a day has the same effect as removing 100 calories from your food intake. Therefore, your take home messages of any given time period and calorie adjustments in or out are of equal value. Regarding the latter, it’s a heckof- a lot easier to cut the calories than burn them, especially when you consider that one average-size café mocha contains ~ 500 calories, which is equivalent to a very intense one-hour run. Party time – just manage the AVERAGE DAILY DEFICIT There is a certain caloric deficit that a person must average in order to manage body fat. Example: When you are maintaining weight, the deficit is zero, or calories in = out. During weight loss, the deficit is based on the goal, including the desired time frame. Your weekly mass change, shown by weight and/or body fat, validates whether or not your deficit is correct. Notice the key points: average deficit and goal, not the total number or type of calories used to achieve the deficit or goal. It is the deficit number that must be managed. Let’s look at an example: Goal: Lose two pound in November Our example is modest because most people/dieters would be happy just maintaining weight in November. But when you finally get the “calorie thing,” you gain complete control of your body, making anything possible. Because one pound of fat = 3500 calories, for the month of November you will have to burn 7000 calories more than you eat. Therefore: time period = 30 days, goal 2 lbs = average daily deficit of ~230 calories (30 days x 230 = ~7000 calories = 2 lbs). Because I am a typical gym participant, we will use me as an example: Conversation Corner With Neal Spruce A Newsletter for Fitness Enthusiasts November 2005 © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 2 At 180 lbs with a sedentary job and working out one hour, three days/week, my average daily calorie burn is 2700 calories (and of course I know this because I never take my bodybugg™ armband off). Using the 2-pound loss goal, I can choose not do anything different in my daily activities, which means my average daily calorie intake will have to be ~2400 calories. Let’s say during a “fun day” I really blow it and consume ~5000 calories. (Of course, some of those would be alcohol, which is generally the culprit that dis-inhibits my usual appetite restraints, leading to the excess calorie consumption). Theoretically, I can make it up in one day by not eating (not advisable), or by adding 2300 calories of movement (my hangover would probably prevent this strategy). Instead, I would usually alter two days to keep me on track because, factually, if I had been averaging a 230-calorie deficit for the last 10 days, my “binge” would have wiped out my 10-day results. See how easily plateaus can happen? You work hard and/or eat well for 10 days, blow it once, and you are back where you were 10 days ago. Remember, every calorie counts both in and out, because energy (calories) is neither created nor destroyed, only transformed. That said, it’s very simple to make up the loss when you know what you’re doing. Two-day remedy As long as I know I am going to blow it ahead of time, I always prepare by cutting the previous day’s calories in half. In this case, the day before the event I would consume four meals totaling 1200 (see sidebar); consume the 5000 calories on the “fun day” and repeat the 1200 calorie menu the following day, bringing my three-day calories-in total to 7400. Assuming I burned my 2700 cal/day average, bringing the three-day calories-out total to 8100, I am basically back on track, especially when you consider I participated in a function that goes well into the night where I will have certainly burned more calories than if I had stayed home and gone to bed…by myself. In summary, my three-day calorie deficit total was 700 (8100-7400), or an average daily deficit of ~230 calories, back on track and a heck of a good time! And remember, I did this all with food. But for every calorie I burn over 2700 for any of the three days, I can add back to my consumption. For instance, if I had gone for a walk in the park to shake the cobwebs out of my head or puttered around the garden for an hour, I would have burned ~300 calories more than normal, allowing a 1500 calorie total for one of the two 1200-calorie days or 5300 on the big night. Anyway, you get the picture: The more you move the more you get to eat (and that applies all the time). Additionally, you can make up the deficit over a longer period of time, such as 10 days of 560- calorie deficit. I just like my “pain” quick and done. Use the formula anytime you wander of course Best of all, you can repeat the above process anytime necessary. Just plug in the numbers and/or control portion sizes on make-up days. “Blowout” day’s calories don’t have to be accurate, just take a guess. Remember that 5000 calories is very difficult for the average person to consume in one day, but entirely possible during the holidays. The alternate method (non-bodybugg™, lack of desire or inability to count calories) is to simply cut every meal you consume in half during the two days you are using to make up for the “fun day.” The advantage of using Apex foods during the “catch-up” periods is that they are more satiating than most other foods of equal caloric value. And, more importantly, packaged Apex foods accurately count your calories, leaving no room for error. Life is easy when you understand and use only facts. And calories in and out are the simple facts related to weight control. You are now free to control your body composition—anytime. So, there you have it—the biggest, newest holiday tip from Yours Truly. Attached are the regular boring tips I give you every year—but they can also work. Sample 1200-calorie menu 7:00 a.m. Meal 1: Apex Breakfast Square – 230 calories with multi 11:30 a.m. Meal 2: 400 calorie meat of choice sandwich or large salad with favorite protein 4:00 p.m. Meal 3: 400 calories of chicken, starch of choice and salad with multi 8:00 p.m. Meal 4: Apex cookie – 160 calories with multi Any choice of non-caloric fluids © 2005 Apex Fitness Group™ 3 The Holidays are upon us with their abundance of stress and food. Here are 21 tips that will help get you successfully through the holidays without sacrificing your healthy lifestyle. 1. Exercise an hour a day, 4-5 days a week during the holidays. A brisk walk, run or bikeride will burn calories, relieve stress, and elevate your endorphins and mood. If you have to miss a workout, simply increase your daily activities. Be sure not to snack during this time. 2. Avoid eating no fat. Eating moderate amounts of fat at a meal can help you feel full sooner and keep you full longer, just don't overdue it. 3. Don't skip meals. Skipping meals leads to hunger, low energy levels and improper food choices. 4. Don't pass up favorite foods or deprive yourself completely. Moderate consumption is the key. 5. Don't tempt yourself by keeping trigger foods or comfort foods around the house. If you have them, it increases the likelihood that you will overeat. 6. Plan meals by keeping in mind the demands you'll have on your schedule that day. 7. Don't go to a party starving. Before you leave home, eat something light or drink a meal replacement shake. Also, drink a great deal of water the day of the party. 8. When you attend holiday festivities, don't station yourself near the buffet table. Make a clear-cut decision to distance yourself from all goodies. 9. Alcoholic beverages pack on the calories so if you're drinking alcohol, stick to light beer or a champagne spritzer. Watch out for the eggnog, it is high in calories and fat. 10. If you do find yourself feeling depressed, soothe your spirit with a massage, manicure, pedicure, or facial. Men can enjoy this too! 11. When you shop, eat before you leave home so you won't resort to cookie breaks. 12. To satisfy your sweet tooth, set limits. For example, you might allow yourself two decadent desserts per week; just move more the next day. 13. Just because it is the holidays doesn't mean you should give yourself the license to eat everything that passes by. Factor in the little extras into your daily intake. 14. Help out by saving fat and calories when it's feasting time. Make or buy wild rice stuffing, baked sweet potatoes, whole-grain rolls and angel-food cake with fruit. 15. If you are staying with family or friends, ask them if you can have a space in the refrigerator and keep foods on hand to snack on like lean deli meats, cottage cheese, nonfat cheese sticks, etc. 16. If you tend to overeat during family gatherings, plan and visualize what and how much you will eat before you go. Plan additional daily activities for that day or the following one. The additional activity can be anything from a longer shopping day to additional gym time. 17. If you want to really keep yourself honest and the same size during the holiday season wear your most form-fitting blue jeans. Another trick is to tie a string or ribbon around your waist under your shirt that will not budge with the bulge. 18. If you are at the mercy of the dinner host, eat modest amounts of the foods offered and fill up on foods with more fiber and volume and fewer calories. Make a small plate and skip the seconds. 19. Eat whatever you want on the main holiday feast. If you over-do it just go back to your regular plan the next day and move a little more. 20. Take a meditative moment at least one time each day to breathe deeply and clear your mind of all the clutter. 21. Enjoy the season, not just the food!

Creamy soups really helped me. Don't worry about the weight gain. I had lost a little bit then bam gained about 6 or 8 lbs. It went away after I had a fill. Until you have restriction the band is not performing up to expectations.

I'm in luck my surgeon (lapband)has a twin bro who is ob gyn so the twin will delivery my baby.. I'm happy about that... I got unfil when I found out I was prego only because I was in green zone and was rarely eating... I wanted to make sure my baby gets enough food... I feel better about it as well... I was fainting fatigue and morning sickness so I def had to get unfil.. Of corse I didn't know I was prego I though I was just hot because its summer... I'm happy about it sorry if rambling baby about to knock me out lol... No comp as of now.. No weight gain either with unfil yet

Wednesday evening I wound up in the Chiro's office with a compacted C4 vertebrae and pinched nerve in my neck and have NO idea how the hell I managed all that. Guess it was the sumo wrestling and bungee jumping from the week before? :biggrin1: NOT. Anyway, fast forward to Friday, I've been through 4 Chiro visits and been flat on my back for the past day and a half... I feel better and finally returned to work this morning, but dang it's been a rough week. On top of that, yesterday I started new diabetes meds. I've been taken off Avandaryl, which apparently has contributed to some of my weight gain in the past few months. I'm now on a new medication called Byetta, which you have to inject, but the good news is there are very few lows or crashes with this medication, and in the clinical trials, most people lost weight! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: It would be nice if this were finally the answer to me losing weight and I wound up not having to have the surgery. Who knows. At least I know I still have the option.

Cookie, I would seek medical attention. The doctor's office has seen many people struggle with the band. This band is not a cure all so don't feel bad that you have gained some weight back. Let them check your band out and give you a clean bill of health. It may not be the band at all. I would stay with Clear liquids until your doctor appointment. My doctor said that if something gets stuck, stop eating and wait until your next meal to eat again. However, I would go to the doctor if I were you. Who cares if they give you a hard time about the weight gain? We all make mistakes. Please get there and let them help resolve your problem. That way you can get back on track!

Well kinda. PCOS causes weight gain and causes us to have a harder time losing weight. I have done a ton of research on PCOS. They say if you lose weight it helps PCOS, but PCOS blocks weight loss. It is a horrible circle. They have found that low carb/no carb diets help PCOS. In my personal experience, when I am low carb, PCOS symptoms go away. The band would help you on portion control of low carb items. If you can fight the carb cravings. (Which are worse with PCOS.) I stayed low carb for years, which straightened out my cycles and helped me avoid a hysterectomy (sp?) and it also gave me documentation of doctor supervised diet under my OBGYN. Good luck with your banding...

Good morning all. I am almost at my 1 yr mark for being banded,I have lost umm about 40 pounds.I need help with getting enough protein per day.I am very restricted in mornings and have a hard time with the shakes even,since they are cold (get up at 5am) I was able to eat chicken and tuna before but no matter how I cook it except in soup:phanvan it causes me to feel uncomfortable or I vomit now.I am starting to feel like I am losing the battle against weight gain .I will appreciate any ideas to help me get on track again with the right foods.Oh yeah I haven't eaten red meat in over 10 yrs,but I will if it is a way for me to get enough protein. I have been eating cheeses, yogurt, a little peanut butter, beans, some lunch meats, fish and shell fish but kinda tired of eating same things over and over.(I also have high blood pressure so I watch sodium content of foods, because since banding it has been lower:biggrin1: Thanks in advance for all your help

I have had the Mirena IUD for 18 months now. I had it placed right after my second child. I started working out hard for a year whilemy husband was deployed, thinking i could be hot stuff by the time he came home. I ate good 95% of the time and felt great so much energy. But I put on 65lbs! I've had so many tests to figure out why i'm huge now! nothing, i'm perfectly healthy. other than being obese. I look up weight gain with an iud online and tons and tons of people share my experience. It's insane. so my question is, doesn anyone else have an IUD and have gained weight since having it placed? i'm thinking of getting it removed, but i love having no period!! my friend has one for 4 years now and went from an 8 to an 18, and hasn't been able to drop 1 lb. and she works out religiously.

Hi everybody, A little background info: Had vsg in Fall 2012, lost 120 lbs, felt amazing! I got married, had a baby in Fall 2014, gained weight. Had another baby in Summer 2016, gained even more weight. I sought the advice of my bariatric surgeon, he recommended full bypass, and gave me a goal to lose 15 lbs, before he would schedule. Well, I've lost 40 lbs. I feel like I should be able to get back to my goal weight (165lbs) without having a bypass...but the task of losing another 80 pounds seems almost impossible. Has anyone on here, lost that much weight, without additional surgery? Thanks for reading.