Exercise Challenge! Go for the Gold!

[guysis 0]

Julie - give me a couple of months to see how I'm doing with the preliminary "training"..................see how my body adjusts to the every dayish thing and if I can do one - I think I'll be able to do 2 with a month inbetween........if I feel that I can only do 1..................I'll give up the April one and wait for you until May..............deal?

Julie that weight "not lost" might be you buffing up with muscle??? I've found that if I exercise more and eat more to compensate my body won't move in weight loss...........so I'm not sure I totally believe fully in calories in vs calories out (at least at some point) - or maybe I'm just fooling myself into believing the amount of calories in???? (more than I think)......I'm really going to give this bodybugg a chance now and "see". My goal is to have a 1000 cal deficit.........So for this month at least - I pledge to myself (again)..........one day down! Yesterday was an awsome exercise day - did an hour of NIA, 1/2 hour of Core and an hour of Strenth training...........then in the afternoon walked for an hour.....yes, I'm sore, but feeling good about myself. This morning our 3 mile (round trip) to Breakfast. So today is easy, but I'll count it!

[DeltaDawn 0]

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well. As always when I am travelling, on my own, it is harder to make good choices, but I think I did okay. We'll see how the scale reacts on Friday. I am on the flight home today (yeah!!!)

I did the run for the cure on Sunday with my good friend whose wife has breast cancer. I ran, he walked and then I back tracked and met him on the walk. It was emotional to say the least. There were 25,000 walkers and runners in Montreal alone.

Julie... I agree with Betty in and out doesn't always = in weight loss. You body has gone through a HUGE transformation and it may need some steady time. You are training so much (I am sooo inspired) You will do it!!!!!!!

We all have to have reality checks. I went to the running room to pick up my race pack and we had to decide on the size for the run for the cure shirt. I asked to see the large and xl... and the lady at the table asked if I was getting it for someone else. When I said no she handed me a medium and said that was what I needed. I am wearing it right now... and she was right. I still don't see myself that way.

Betty... you amaze me!! Keep it up!!!

Chat later,

Dawn

Banded April 4th, 2006

Montreal

358/160/148

[guysis 0]

Dawn a Medium - oh my, oh my G.. especially in a probably cheap T-shirt! You must look awsome. So proud of you and my X-buddies.

Off to Mah Jong today and want to get NIA in first - so, I'll check in later.

[JulieNYC 4]

Betty, I've seen you. You're a medium in a race t-shirt as well.

[Boo 3]

It is definitely a victory to be given a medium-sized shirt! I don't EVER want to look at anything with an 'X' on it again. Sometimes I have to try a 'L' because of the chest, but I just LOVE knowing I am medium/normal!

The unfill is definitely a challenge. Growling stomach pains were something I forgot about. I'm working with it. We'll see. I've been patient for so many months of plateau that I should be able to be patient with myself through this transition.

I agree with Dawn and Betty! The calories in=calories out idea has not served me well. There is a much more sophisticated thermostat inside of us that regulates our bodies and prevents us from dying of starvation. We just can't imagine how many other people can eat the way they do and then stay thin. Ours is a daily fight for our lives.

[DeltaDawn 0]

A daily fight for our lives... I like that. I believe it is true!!!

I weigh in tomorrow and I will let you know how it goes... tough when I travel and also, most likely like you Julie, my body wants to be where it is... we'll see!!!

Have a good one everyone!!

Dawn

Banded april 4th, 2006

Montreal

358/160/148

[JulieNYC 4]

I did 10 miles this morning before work. It's still so wild to me that I can do that. I wanted to get it out of the way because I'm traveling this weekend and didn't want to have to work in running time. If I can get in 4 miles in the morning, I'll be done for the week. Next week is my last real training week for the marathon. I have 4-9-5-22 next week, then it halves every week for 3 weeks until November 4.

I bought my plane ticket for my thigh surgery on November 8th today as well. All this is ALMOST becoming real!

My view on the calories in vs. calories out discussion is that it IS only calories in versus calories out, but that calories out varies dramatically within the same body, meaning that running exactly the same run can burn 300 cals one day and 400 another day, depending on what's going on in your body. My body is pretty consistent and I'm thankful forthat. It's just that the ONLY downside to being smaller is that we don't burn as much with the exercise we do because we don't weigh as much, so it doesn't take as much energy to perform the task. I know you all know this -- I'm just rambling.

So, the guy I was excited about turned out to be a flake. Too bad -- he was really cute and interesting at first. So, I made 2 dates for next week with new guys to console myself!

I'm going home to AL this weekend and looking forward to seeing my family and finalizing my PS details.

[DeltaDawn 0]

I hope you all have a nice weekend planned. It is Thanksgiving here in Canada, so I am looking forward to a nice bonus day with my family.

I weighed in this morning and the scale was straight 159... so slow but steady it is creeping down- seems about 1.5 pounds a month now. Julie, I know how it feels when it slows down so much... it is tough.

I have my long run tomorrow - 16 km so wish me luck.

chat later and lets all think of things we are thankful for!!

Dawn

Banded april 4th, 2006

Montreal

358/159/148

[JulieNYC 4]

Happy thanksgiving, Dawn.

I'm thankful for so many things right now. I'm thankful that I wear a size 6. I'm thankful that I don't have to go into debt to have plasic surgery after this incredible journey. I'm thankful that I can fly to see my family today and I'm not at all worried that all that was left on my flight when I checked in was a middle seat. I'm thankful that I didn't have to book my ticket 3 months in advance out of fear that all that there would be were middle seats on the flight. I'm thankful that I like my new job and that it's rewarding. I'm thankful that I am in really good health as is my family. I'm thankful for my LBT friends and for my band.

scale moved ever so slightly this morning. I'll take it.

[DeltaDawn 0]

I hope you are all well. Yep... Julie, we have so much to be thankful for. I know that I am blessed.

Yesterday was my long run... 16 km, which I did in 1:47, which is a pace of 6:40 a km. It was a good steady run and I was really happy with it. Tired afterwards, but happy.

Today is just a fun run for me, so that is nice!

Have a good weekend everyone,

Dawn

Banded April 4th, 2006

Montreal

358/159/148

[guysis 0]

Great Thanksgiving messages! I'm busy - fine - going away with the Mah Jong girls for a few days to the rainy beach........be back on Wed! Have a great few days!

Good with exercise - not so good with tracking food......hate it......going to give up and just do the exercise and let my band handle the rest!

[Boo 3]

Wow...there is SO much to be thankful for! I am thankful for my family, friends, faith, and life. I am so very thankful for a future that I can look forward to rather than dread. I am thankful to have choices. If I don't feel like running or dieting, I can hike, or bike or walk and just be careful. There IS always tomorrow to be more strict. I am thankful for all of the support and inspiration you have given to my life. We are all slightly different, yet we are all succeeding.

Do we ever get to lay back, quit working out, watch loads of TV, and cry over what "could have been"? No! This lifestyle is what is now required of us to live in our healthy bodies. But what we all agree on is that it is FUN to be active.

Happy Thanksgiving, Dawn, Julie, Betty, Eva, Amourette, Kat, and ALL the April '06ers!!

:canada::canada::canada::canada::canada::canada::canada::canada:

p.s. Julie...there is only 1 MONTH UNTIL YOU HAVE NEW THIGHS!!!!

[JulieNYC 4]

Do we ever get to lay back, quit working out, watch loads of TV, and cry over what "could have been"?

Boo, that's definitely what I feel like doing right now. Going home for this PS consult took more of a toll than I thought. It's such a huge surgery for me. My body is so marked from this weight loss. It's taking an emotional toll. I can see it in my Dad's face (the devistation of the effects of the gain and loss) and I hate seeing that.

I can't do this right now. I'll have to come back to it.

[Boo 3]

Julie, you are a beautiful woman with so much to be proud of. The only "what could have been" thoughts of yours should be realistic remembrances of what was. When I feel discouraged from looking at my various sags and stretch marks, I just force myself to imagine where I could be now if I had NOT been banded and worked out these past eighteen months. PLEASE don't be hard on yourself, or fearful. You are an inspiration to so many of us. Your body is strong and will heal. If you were to change your mind and NOT get the lift, you are ALREADY gorgeous enough.

I ran 6 miles tonight, very strongly.....it felt GREAT.

[JulieNYC 4]

Boo, I'm glad you had such a strong run. Those feel soooo good.

Onto my mental health. I guess I had pinned a lot on having these two surgeries in calendar year 2007 and being done with PS. I don't think I have unrealistic expectations about what PS can do for me, meaning that I'm not looking to be a swimsuit model, but I am looking to not have to wear a compression garment every day of my life in order to put on work clothes. My legs are just worse off than I thought they'd be. I thought with the marathon training, they'd be in the best possible shape -- and they are -- there's just so much loose skin. Dad thinks it'll take 3 surgeries to get rid of it. He thinks the first one (outers) will take off most of the volume, but that the inners are definitely a second procedure, and that there will probably be a second inner surgery to fix the dog ears that he expects I'll get around my knees. I guess that's the part that bothers me -- dog ears around the knees must be REALLY visible. Like, I feel right now that nothing is really that visible in clothes and I'll be making it a little worse to get to the stage where I can make it a lot better. I don't know -- my head is all over the place.

My head is also all over the place in that he told me to not lose any more weight before surgery. He thinks it won't give me a better result to be any thinner going into it and that it's better to let my body settle at this weight and be stable going into surgery. That's really hard for me! I know how to lose weight. My body is still big when I look in the mirror -- it is illogical to my brain to quit trying to lose weight. I know the "bigness" is because of the extra skin that I see, but it's still illogical. 148 lbs is really heavy for a small woman who is only 5'1 1/2". Just when I think I'm developing some kind of backwards eating disorder (backwards from my compulsive eating, I mean), it occurs to me that 148 lbs is, objectively, still large for my frame.

Anyway, those are the struggles of the day....