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I know this will sound silly considering I'm a year+ out of surgery, but does anyone have any suggestions about workout routines? I cannot afford a gym membership which is what I would ultimately like to get at one point. For now however I have to kind of come up with my own routine. What I would like is something to slowly build up my stamina so I could eventually run or when I can afford a membership be able to use the treadmill, elliptical, whatever have you for longer than I could now. We have a pretty decent sized pool, nice yard and nice neighborhood, so walking, jogging, swimming, etc. are all options. I've seen people on-line do routines of like 10 leg-lifts, 50 crunches, 50 push-ups, etc. have any of you tried something like that? Just curious to see what at-home workouts have worked well for you guys!

Congratulations, Kate. I've been dancing around 205 for nearly 8-10 months and am still technically overweight. I would love to drop another 20, but if it never happens, I'm still happy. I'd love to hear more about your PS as it gets closer. Can I assume you're covered by insurance? I will be completely self paid, but feel like it's the only right way to end this long journey. Keep us posted. I look forward to reading all about it! Good luck!:scared2:

Today was my 1 month follow up and scheduled for my first fill,this week I have been having a flare up due to lupus,overall not feeling good, I was NOT numbed before the poke my dr said " we don't numb anyone because they can be over poked" it was painful! I felt immediate stabbing pain in my back. And the sensation of the fluid running through the port was excruciating. I had to ask her to stop! I couldn't take it anymore. A 10/10 pain. And I have a high tolerance to pain. I'm wondering has anyone else experienced pain like this, it's probably that my body is sensitive and hurting because of my flare up :/

I was planning a Gastric Sleeve procedure but was unable to due to Barret's. I had my RNY bypass on July 10 and everything has worked out great. I am down 50# and have decreased my risk of esophageal cancer, amongst other things! I was initially upset about having to change my plans bit once I got used to the idea and educated myself, I went for it. I am so glad that I did! Good luck!

Hey June Bugs, Here it is the end of August. Three months ago we were nervous, excited, and anxious about the calendar turning from May to our month, June and our surgeries. So how's it going? There's lots of missing Junebugs that aren't checking in anymore, we were 300+ strong. So come on in and post a little blurb with how band life is going! I just can't believe it'll be 3 mos. for me on Friday. (banded June 5th). I had high hopes and dreams for the band but never in a million years did I think I'd be sitting here 59 lbs lighter 3 mos later (well 49 I lost 10 from May 14th, my consult until surgery). One more pound and I will be at 60 that is unreal. My surgeon redoes your bloodwork at 3 mos and I just got those results. I have "the cholesterol of a 12 yr old" and everything was excellent. I am off blood pressure meds. and my knee though still hurts, is better when I consider I take nothing for it now and was taking 10 ibuprofen a day. I have had 4 fills and believe I am at my sweet spot, at least it feels that way right now. I'm tighter than I've ever been but just got it on Tuesday. I had one setback in that my gall bladder went and had to have a 2nd surgery 3 weeks ago to remove it. I'm slowly recovering from it, it took longer than my banding. And now I've developed a rash in a few of the incisions that I am fighting. They can't figure out what it is and did some tests on it and I may see a dermatologist next week. So that's what's up with me, Next????

Hi, I am in Clearwater, going to the seminar May 19 at the Holiday Inn. My ins is FEPBLUE and they cover the surgery, but the "approval" is what I worry about and I am not sure My GP will send that letter. I think they feel they will lose you, if you get too healthy! HA! I am just in the middle, defenitely 40 BMI with borderline BP, arthiritis, and pre-diabetic, and on Nexium for Gerd. At 58, i think I will only go downhill from here if the weight doesnt come off. Anyhow, wondering what all the insurance companies want. A contract from the gym, an attemp to get weight loss with a center that offered the vitas B-12 shots etc, and? they need receipts? I guess I'll learn more Thursday, I am so exited! I pray it all goes well. Pray with me, it be a new life !!

Mandy - - I was just admiring your weight loss!!!! You're not even 1 yr out and you're 19 pounds from your goal weight!!!!!! You're a great inspiration!!!!! CONGRATS!!!! :Banane56: Tina

In our house we have BOTH! I have the band and my DH has the RNY( 7/01). Neither of us have had complications He has had his longer- better results thus far. Im sure since he doesnt absorb everything.- and no he has NO malnutrition! His labs are perfect. He has NOT had any of the BIG BAD RNY longterm complications AND IT CAN BE REVERSED- why does every one think it cant? All of his parts are there just not connected the same. NO it wont be a "simple 1 hr deal". There are some people who WOULD NOT make good bandsters and he is DEFINITELY one of them. Secretly- I envy the permenant-ness of his RNY when I hear of people who have erosion or slippage with their bands. I just PRAY daily I dont become a complication statistic! If your wondering why I chose the band when Ive seen such good success with RNY- I did not have high enough BMI - nor did I want to wait for it to get there. Thus far my band and I are happy. I test; it pushes back.

hi there! great idea Long2bthin! i can't believe it's been 3 months either! i've had 2 fills and am not quite at the sweet spot yet. have lost 13lbs pre-surgery and am down a total of 35 lbs now. i am so appreciative of being smaller and of my band! we are going for a bike ride today and while it's hard (going up hills) it's a great work out and 35 lbs ago i would not have put my butt on a bike! i'm still not wearing new clothes yet - just the baggy stretchy clothes. i don't know why. haven't even started the goodwill donation bag yet! i will tho. i have 1 new outfit and a few new t-shirts from our vacation (some of those 'life is good' t's). looking forward to my next fill which i moved up a bit to 9/10. getting used to the eating changes now and i look forward to eating what i can eat. i definately do not waste eating time now with mindless eating! most of the time i really pay attention and enjoy the small amount i can eat! hope you are doing well and long, that you continue to feel better and better after your gallbladder surgery. sorry to hear about the rash! best things about losing weight so far.... i fit in chairs now without thinking about it, i can exercise a lot easier - makes it more fun!, my face looks thinner and that surprises me everytime i see my reflection, my husband noticed that i look good (and it's hard for him because he doesn't want me to think he thought i looked bad before so he's careful with his compliments - tho i know i was so puffy and 'full' looking not at all healthy - so i don't mind being lavished with compliments!), i walk with better posture (maybe not hiding as much as i was). could go on and on. it's nice to feel like my body is working with me now! it wasn't for so long! bye for now!

I'm so sorry you have to suffer with kidney stones.. My husband has suffered from them for the past 10 years. HORRIFIC pain.. The doctors told him to lay off all dairy, and some other items including spinach and blueberries.. Here's the thing,, he DID stay off all that stuff and got stones ANYWAY!! The calcium kind.. So i just think if your body already makes stones, it will keep doing it regardless. imho.. Take your calcium and try not to stress too bad.. your bones need it! good luck to you!!!!!!!!:cool: 278/231/180

I had very similar statistics when I dated online. Met my hubby on mySpace -- almost 10 years ago!

Hi, I'm new to the group. I am suppose to have my surgery Monday 10-10 Dr Wagner from St Louis is my doc. I'm doing the liquid diet my 5th day its really getting tough hope I'm not this hungry after Monday. Hope I can make it on this diet till Monday. Anyone else with Wagner on Monday or that has had him?

I've had my lap-band for 19 months now and for the past 2 1/2 months I have been having diarrhea/stomach aches everyday. So I went to a gastro. Dr. and am to get a colonoscopy and an endoscopy in 2 wks so went to my lap-band Dr for a total unfil for my endo. Well, that very day I did start feeling better after my unfill, I only had 5.5 in my band so I didn't think it would make such a difference in how I felt but it did and now I don't have the stomache aches anymore and the diarrhea is gone. I really think it's my band that was making me feel this way. Has anybody else experienced this??? Thanks, Alice

Yes my NUT told me to avoid "fat free" foods actually. To look at sugar grams per serving. Needed to be less than 10.

Ugh! Mine periods were horrible. A couple of days of insanity followed by 24 hours of terrible cramps and diarhea. And I started really young. I turned 10 in July and got my first period at the beginning of September. Because I never wanted children I thought that all this suffering was most unfair and I was always trying to find a doc who would remove the apparatus that was causing me so much grief. I was relieved when I crashed into an early menopause. So relieved that I refused HRT for the first five years, then tried it for a couple of years in my late 40s before going back off of it. With menopause I did suffer from hot flashes for about a decade and I do have osteopenia. You are lucky that your periods were/are easy.

I was banded on 10-19-09 by Dr Trace Curry in Evendale Ohio, and he is really good about the fill process(he is banded also) This is hard work, but in the end I know I did it and you are right, this is only the tool, the work is up to us.

Well, we're in the same boat, I'm 5ft 10 and 150. I also run for about 40 minutes five days a week - quite moderate and I've cut back on doing quite so much as what i was doing when I was losing. I just do it now to stay fit, stay at this weight so whilst I love my running, I keep it to a sensible portion of my life with a time commitment that fits round working etc. I eat all foods, I eat pretty healthy, I'm certainly not afraid to indulge in a treat every now and then. I dont journal, calorie count or obsess over food. TOTALLY healthy lifestyle and it pisses me off when people say I'm too thin or obsessive. But you know, its only really been on here by people that dont know me and cant see me! We've had huge fights on this, lol. My mother gets a bit worried though, despite being thin herself. And my middle sister is extremely petite. I really do think its because people are used to seeing people in general heavier - a BMI of 30 or above is probably MORE common these days and in particular they're used to seeing YOU heavy.

Glenna, congrats to you! So happy to hear you will be getting surgery soon. I worked 4 years before getting my revision surgery. It is so worth it!! Keep us posted on date and your progress--right now, I am finding need to be engaged with successes from the board here--loss is kind of stalemating my successes right now due to having a birthday last Sunday and just generally a high stress week. I am working to get right back on track, tho! Take care, Ronda I DID IT!!! I DID IT!!! I GOT APPROVED!!! I am soooooo excited I can hardly stand it!! I haven't even called the surgeons office yet LOL I told my sister & my best friend!! I cannot believe that it worked out, after 2 denials from BCBSIL I was starting to loose hope... for all of you who are in the process be patient! I have been working toward this for the last 10 months!! Now to call the surgeon & figure out what to do next... Wow, I am in shock... my new life will begin soon!! Thank you all for your support it kept me going through all the months! Glenna

Reposting this from another board by a fellow sleeve vet I have a lot of respect for Elina_7. I have this printed out on my desk and read it all the time. Sorry for the eye-bloodying wall of text - VST wont let me edit unless it is pasted from a word document. "This is a post for those of you that think that this surgery will get you to your goal, and I am here to share the bad news with you that it will not. This surgery alone will most likely only lead you to lose to about 50-60% of EW all by itself (on average, some people lose much less and others more). That is the bad news. The good news is that this does not have to be your fate. You can make a choice to do much better than this statistic. You can choose to lose all the way to 100% EW and be in the top 10% of sleeve patients. You really can do this and than keep your results. I am here at four years into my maintenance sharing this with you from my personal experience as well as observation. You can reach goal and you can keep it. This is what it takes (from my point of view) to get there and to stay there. 1) You will read about many programs on OH and your doctor will have their own program, my experience tells me that in most cases, the 600-800 cals, over 80 grams of Protein, under 40 grams of carbs is the way to go. Others will disagree, and I am OK with that. This is my post and my opinion and my observation. There is no way that I would have reached goal on 1200 calories. That is my maintenance level eating. This of course might need to be tweaked on an individual basis. If you are an athlete and workout multiple hours a day, or if you have a different goal than I did or if you have a super fast metabolism or are a guy and have tons of muscle, than maybe eating more calories will work for you. If you are a woman, petite, not a youngster, and work out an hour or so a day, in most cases, the higher calories will not get you to goal. Are there exceptions, of course there are exceptions. Are those exceptions common? No, they are not. 2) If you go into this with without realizing that the first six months to a year is all about your weight loss, you are cheating yourself. I read posts on here about how to add flavor to foods and often the point is about making this more palatable. There is nothing wrong with adding spices, or finding low carb, nutritious alternatives to some foods, however, when your focus is anything other than maximizing your weight loss, you are sabotaging your progress and your opportunity of reaching that elusive 100% EW. I can honestly tell you that I think I would have eaten cardboard in those early months if that was required of me. The dedication needs to be to the process, the rest is not that important. Find your groove with certain home made lean Proteins and mostly eat that until goal. This is not rocket science, eat 2-3 ounces of protein and eat low carb veggies as Snacks. 3) Do not allow relationships to get in your way. I don't care if you have kids, or an unsupportive husband, or parents choose to undermine your efforts. That might sound callous, but really, I don't care and neither should you. This next six months to a year is about you and you alone. This is your selfish time, the time when nothing comes before you. If you can't have certain foods in the house, get rid of them. If your spouse sabotages you, stop them. Speak up, find your voice, set your boundaries and do not allow anyone to take your mind off the prize. You matter, you are important, you are precious, and you must find the strength to do the right thing for yourself. If the people in your life are not supportive of your efforts, minimize your contact, or set firm limits. You are in charge and you will not allow anyone to get in your way. 4) Find the warrior in you and give yourself over that part of you for now. Find your type A personality, your alpha and your OCD parts and marry them to get one heck of a fighter. This is not a passive experience, this takes guts, sweat and tears. This takes being over focused on the minutia of your eating and exercise. This is a second job, a new baby, a big deal. This is not about passively taking what comes your way. You must drive this and you must take full control and responsibility. This will not be easy, but it is worth it, really, really worth it. Stop thinking that it will just happen, stop thinking that it should be easy, stop thinking that this shouldn't take a good deal of your time and energy or that it will be convenient. It will not be any of these things, and yet, in the end, you will love the results and remember the process with fondness. You will feel proud to own your results. This journey will change you, and I don't just mean your weight. In the end, it comes down to an age old question; how badly do you want this?"

Tony - I was banded two weeks ago, and found SO much comfort, information and help on this site; just before surgery, and since. I contemplated WLS for close to a year before actually moving forward. The two I looked closely at was the gastric bypass and the lap band. I teeter tottered back & forth between the two for a long time. I was scheduled for the bypass, then freaked out about 10 days prior. In between that and my decision to go with the band (plus plication), I gave dieting one more good try. That was about a two week period, and I managed to gain three more pounds. Congrats on your decision! I'm on my path, and soon you will be, too. It's a lot of work, but even this early on, I'm finding my new "tool" is quickly becoming my new best friend

Hi I'm in London and I'm post op 13 days now. I think the first 10 days are the worst! Or have been for me. How long are you on liquids for?? For some reason the last 2 days have been better, iv stopped thinking about food and seem not to have a appetite. I was so hungry the first few days it felt like a was about to collapse.

Are you still taking your proteins... I had my surgery last Monday (10/19/09) and I was told by my dietitian that after the surgery, I will need at least 50 to 60 grams of protein a day, otherwise I will have problems with my gallbladder, weak muscles and experiencing hair loss. I am using Ysopure with skim milk plus. I sip on it throughout the day... It tastes pretty good.

Thanks Pik. It made me nervous. I pray its nothing serious. Will take the meds for 10 days and then what? Will they draw blood again? The only thing I have left to do is the upper endoscopy. Im sure now that they won't schedule it until i finish the ten days of meds. Hoping I can stay on track for October.

I've been saying this for a while: low weight/high reps is the smarter choice for building strength and toning/bulk. It's far, far safer -- not only are you at less risk of catastrophic injury, you're at less risk of the kind of ongoing, degenerative injury that eventually sidelines all champion bodybuilders. The idea that muscles somehow "know the difference" between being worked to exhaustion via low weights and lots of reps or high weights and a few reps is ludicrous... and the research is confirming that: Protein. So they took a group of 21-year-old men who were weight lifting novices. Three times a week, they had them do knee extensions on a weight machine. That isolates and strengthens the quadriceps muscles on the front of the thigh. "Those are the most important muscles for standing up and getting out of a chair," Phillips points out. With one leg the study volunteers did the conventional 80-percent-of-maximum lifts until they reached fatigue, at 8 to 10 reps. The other leg lifted 30 percent of maximum until fatigue set in, around 25 reps. At the start of the study and 10 weeks later, the researchers put all the volunteers into MRI scanners to measure their quadriceps. There was essentially no difference between the heavy and light lifters. The results appear in the Journal of Applied Physiology. ... But the findings are controversial in some quarters. As word has begun to get out, Phillips says he's "been deluged with emails from trainers" who challenge the results. "They're very resistant to these types of findings. It challenges dogma." [emphasis added] Of course, you DO need to use enough weight and reps to work out to exhaustion; if you're not using enough weight and reps to actually get to failure (the point where you literally cannot lift the weight again), you're not really pushing yourself hard enough. The only thing this study confirms is that you don't need to use HEAVY weights to achieve the same results, as long as you work till failure (and trust me, you power lifters, even a 15 or 20 lb. dumbbell will eventually turn your biceps into useless rubber if you do enough curls with it... I promise you.)

did you get weighed already? You could add a few 10 lb ankle bracelets and take them off slowly