Frangipani

Hey Daddy, Welcome Back!!! We missed you!!! Glad to hear you had a great time -- what part of Florida were you in? BTW, did you notice that while you were gone, another thread was started regarding our "Eve" (aka lady at the top of the page)? It seems as if most people feel the same way we do about her......... Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 9/30 Exercise Sessions (5 Cardio, 2 Core Strength & flexibility, 2 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Name: Frangipani Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 87 lbs Name: Candle Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 95 lbs Name: Salsa Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 81 lbs Name: Pammycakes Weight loss from day of surgery: 84 lbs Total weight loss: 86 lbs Name: Ceradad Weight loss from day of surgery: 80.5 Total weight loss: 100.5 Name: KarenG. Weight loss from day of surgery: 74 Total weight loss: 74 Name: NanaRenan Weight loss from day of surgery: 45 Total weight loss: 65 Name: TexasBecky Weight loss from day of surgery: 88 Total weight loss: 98 Name: SPEBSQSAlady Weight loss from day of surgery: 55 Total weight loss: 55 Name: Brandottie01 Weight loss from day of surgery: 20 lbs Total weight loss: Name: Bergdorfblonde Weight loss from day of surgery: 28.5 lbs Total weight loss: 28.5 lbs Name: Gometros Weight loss from day of surgery: 52.9 lbs Total weight loss: 74.9 Hi Bergdordorfblonde, My sincere condolences on the loss of your Father. I would say that considering the circumstances, you have done exceedingly well. As far as the other issues, well, so you've learned some things. Be grateful for this and continue to move forward. I think if you look at the posts of those of us who have lost 80 to 100 lbs, you will see that most of us are exercising a great deal. Are you currently exercising? If not, you should definitely join our challenge! I can just about guarantee that if you start exercising hard and often, you will see the pounds melt off. Most definitely you need to watch what you eat, and pretty carefully. I certainly do and I also use Fitday.com to track my calories. I try to stay in the 800 - 1100 calorie per day range. Most days I am at the upper end of this calorie range, but that's okay because I'm exercising a lot. Anyhow, you're doing great, and you should give yourself a big pat on the back! Gometros good job on your weight loss too! And thanks for posting your stats! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 9/30 Exercise Sessions (5 Cardio, 2 Core Strength & flexibility, 2 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Jody, that's great that the cleanup is done already! It sounds like you have an awesome group of family and friends. Well, one small benefit of this mishap is that between the cleanup and your trek, I'll bet you burned some serious calories today :smile2:! I did a one hour hike today. Have a great night everybody! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 9/30 Exercise Sessions (5 Cardio, 2 Core Strength & flexibility, 2 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Jody, that's terrible :thumbup: :cool:! How scary!!! Thank goodness nobody was hurt. Big Hugs to you, and keep us posted.

Name: Frangipani Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 87 lbs Name: Candle Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 95 lbs Name: Salsa Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 81 lbs Name: Pammycakes Weight loss from day of surgery: 84 lbs Total weight loss: 86 lbs Name: Ceradad Weight loss from day of surgery: 80.5 Total weight loss: 100.5 Name: KarenG. Weight loss from day of surgery: 74 Total weight loss: 74 Name: NanaRenan Weight loss from day of surgery: 45 Total weight loss: 65 Name: TexasBecky Weight loss from day of surgery: 88 Total weight loss: 98 Name: SPEBSQSAlady Weight loss from day of surgery: 55 Total weight loss: 55 Name: Brandottie01 Weight loss from day of surgery: 20 lbs Total weight loss: Name: Bergdorfblonde Weight loss from day of surgery: 28.5 lbs Total weight loss: Hi, Bergdorfblonde and Brandottie, it sounds like you had a few unexpected obstacles in the way, but you are starting to hit your stride. Good job ! I formatted your stats, but if you want to list your total weight loss, just copy and paste the above stats and re-post. Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 8/30 Exercise Sessions (4 Cardio, 2 Core Strength & flexibility, 2 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Well, it took me a while to get myself out the door today, but I finally managed to get my two hour hike in. Have a great night everyone!!!! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 8/30 Exercise Sessions (4 Cardio, 2 Core Strength & flexibility, 2 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Judi, regarding your neighbor, take heart. She just sounds like a person who has a very needy ego. When I lived in the suburbs, we had a neighbor like that -- she was an attractive lady with a stunning figure, but honestly everyone thought gardening out on the front lawn in a bikini was just well......weird. Don't get me wrong all the men on the block, including my husband, would spend about the first 10 minutes of every summer checking her out, but they got bored with it pretty quickly (as of course, men will), and moved on to their more important concerns like grubs and crabgrass. Furthermore, the general consensus among everyone was that this was a person who was desperate for attention, and we all just felt a little sorry for her.............. Well, I better go. I'm procrastinating a bit myself today. I am planning a two hour hike and I always enjoy it once I get out there, but some days the challenge is getting myself out there. Have a great day everyone! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 7/30 Exercise Sessions (3 Cardio, 2 Core Strength & flexibility, 2 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Congratulations Candle!!! :smile::thumbup::smile::tongue::smile::smile::smile::smile::smile::thumbup::smile::smile::tongue::smile::smile::tt2::smile::smile: Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 7/30 Exercise Sessions (3 Cardio, 2 Core Strength & flexibility, 2 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Hey Guys, When you go shopping for bathing suits, just think that nothing can be worse than the experience I had, when (completely unsolicited) all three sales clerks at the swimwear shop would fling my dressing room door open every few minutes to see me in each suit I was trying on. A few times, they even managed to catch me in "mid change." Worse yet, my dressing room was in direct view of a packed open-air restaurant just a few feet across from the shop! It's a good thing that I had an (ultimately harmless) incident last year that precipitated a visit to the Mayo clinic, where I spent three days baring my breasts to anyone who asked, every hour on the hour -- so I no longer have any modesty whatsoever. Otherwise, I don't think I would have survived my bathing suit shopping expedition! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 7/30 Exercise Sessions (3 Cardio, 2 Core Strength & flexibility, 1 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Name: Frangipani Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 87 lbs Name: Candle Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 95 lbs Name: Salsa Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 81 lbs Name: Pammycakes Weight loss from day of surgery: 84 lbs Total weight loss: 86 lbs Name: Ceradad Weight loss from day of surgery: 80.5 Total weight loss: 100.5 Name: KarenG. Weight loss from day of surgery: 74 Total weight loss: 74 Name: NanaRenan Weight loss from day of surgery: 45 Total weight loss: 65 Hey everyone! This is awesome information, and I think a lot of people will find this thread to be very helpful -- especially newbies and people considering Lap Band surgery. Wow, we have lost a lot of weight so far! Just imagine what these numbers will be by Bandiversary!!! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 7/30 Exercise Sessions (3 Cardio, 2 Core Strength & flexibility, 2 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Nana, big hug to you -- what an ordeal!!! I am so glad to hear that you and your granddaughter are alright! And what was the deal with that hospital? The lack of care Sloane received is truly egregious , and the shame of it is they will probably be charging her insurance company thousands for her "care." Anyhow, off my soapbox about that. I'm just glad to hear that you are okay :smile::eek:! Jody, I love Yoga. I'm not very good at it either, but I love the way it challenges me and relaxes me at the same time. I am currently doing Yoga once a week, but I am going to try to fit another class (or two) into my schedule. I did three sessions today, one hour weight training (arms/upper body), 30 minute abdominals class, and a one hour Yoga class. Have a great night everyone! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 7/30 Exercise Sessions (3 Cardio, 2 Core Strength & flexibility, 2 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Hi Candle, Losing weight is hard and you absolutely deserve to claim every pound you have lost by any method. This is they way I would do it, but feel free to re-post if you don't feel this is appropriate: If you and everyone else agrees, I think we should use our absolute highest weight and weight on day of surgery as our benchmarks. Name: Frangipani Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 87 lbs Name: Candle Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 111 lbs Also, I realized that my total was off by one pound in my initial posting, so I have revised it. Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 4/30 Exercise Sessions (3 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 1 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Hi Crazy Ates! A few days ago in another thread, several of us were having a discussion about our group and weight loss. I noticed that a number of the other monthly groups have a separate thread where they keep a running total of their weight loss, and I thought it might be interesting to start one of our own. I will start, and then we can keep a running update by copying the last post every time a new update is posted. I know that on the weight loss tickers some people use their total weight loss and some use their weight loss from day of surgery, so I have included space for both figures and you can list one or both. Here goes: Name: Frangipani Weight loss from day of surgery: 81 lbs Total weight loss: 88 lbs Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 4/30 Exercise Sessions (3 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 1 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Alaverde, Congratulations on losing 120 pounds, and Ceradad Congrats on hitting the 100 pound mark! :thumbdown::party::party::bored::party::mad2: Alaverde, thank you SO MUCH for your uplifting post. I am particularly encouraged because you and I started out at the very same BMI -- right down to the decimal point. Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 4/30 Exercise Sessions (3 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 1 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Hey Judi, Atta Girl! :thumbdown: I could eat soup all day long, as it passes through my band quickly and with no problems. Therefore, I don't eat soup very often, even though I love it. Like you I can still eat bread and Pasta, but it fills me up very quickly. By the way thanks for telling us about your blog. I looked at it last night and it is so cute, I love it! You are a very witty and excellent writer, Judi -- do you write professionally? If not, you certainly should. Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 4/30 Exercise Sessions (3 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 1 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Hi Jody, I see your ticker moving right along too. Right on :thumbdown:! I got an hour of cardio in today. Have a great night everyone! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 4/30 Exercise Sessions (3 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 1 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Everyone is doing great! It will take some of us longer to get to goal than others, but in looking back through the board archives, I can see that most people who are focused, diligent, and who do what they need to do, all manage to get to goal sooner or later. Also, while our rate of weight loss can be influenced by diet and exercise, it is still not completely within our control. Let's face it, some people just have faster metabolisms than others. Another thing to consider when comparing your numbers to others is that we are not always comparing apples to apples. Some posters are folding their pre-surgery weight loss into their overall total, which is fair and reasonable, but different from what some of other posters are doing. Lessnless, you started out with a much lower BMI than a lot of us, so you are way ahead of the game. Good job :thumbup:! BTW, I owe you a PM which I will get to shortly. Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 3/30 Exercise Sessions (2 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 1 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Pizzi, awwww..... we love you too!!!! :shades_smile: And best of luck out in California. I know you will come back with a job offer!!!! Regarding the AP band, I was wondering that very same thing myself. I believe the band was released for general use in June or July of last year. I remember this because I wanted the AP Band, but it was not available in Mexico at the time. I considered having my surgery done in the US so that I could get this new band, but in the end decided that I didn't want to pay an extra several thousand dollars to have it. So I decided to move forward with the surgery in Mexico, and I have the Inamed 9.75 cm, 4 cc Band. That said, I am not one of the biggest losers around here. As you can see, several of our fellow Crazy Ates are in the 90's or well into the 100's, and maybe this is due (in part) to the new band. After all, faster weight loss was one of the selling points of the AP Band when they introduced it. Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 3/30 Exercise Sessions (2 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 1 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Becky, OMG look at your ticker! 98 pounds!!! Congratulations :shades_smile::thumbup: !!! Dave, congrats on losing another pound! It's good to have you back posting with us again too :ohmy:! Nana, welcome back! I'm sorry to hear about your accident. What happened? Were you injured? Are you okay now? Salsa, that volleyball game sounds really fun -- congrats on winning the game and being the MVP! I did one hour of weight training (legs/lower body) and a one hour aerobics class. Have a great night everyone! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 3/30 Exercise Sessions (2 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 1 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Salsa, ROTFL :drool::cursing:! I swear though, the reason this struck me so funny is that this was the thing driving me last summer. As a matter of fact, I was just looking at last summer's bathing suit and it is "this close" to being a full Burqa! My husband told me as much at the time and warned me that I looked rather ridiculous wearing this getup on the beach, but I was fat and miserable, and needless to say, this bit of "constructive criticism" did not go down well. Anyhow, with 80 pounds behind me, I can now laugh at the utter absurdity of the situation, as well a breathe a sigh of relief that I finally managed to come up with a solution to my weight problem in August of 07. Now back to Ceradad's original question -- it has also occurred to me that collectively we are racking up some high weight loss numbers. It also seems that we as a group have a higher number of regular exercisers We rock don't we ! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 1/30 Exercise Sessions (1 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 0 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Hi Judi, that is an excellent insight, and so true. I think it's really easy to fall into the habit of eating "safe" food -- i.e., foods that go down easily, because we are afraid we might PB, or otherwise harm our band. I was overly cautious for a time myself. Part of this was the result of my (mistaken) idea that there are certain things that "Bandsters" absolutely cannot eat, when in fact there don't seem to be any such foods because there is so much variation in what each individual is able to tolerate. I finally decided to take the approach of (cautiously) trying anything once. By doing so I "learned" my band pretty quickly. I definitely did PB a few times in the beginning, but it has now been months since my last PB incident. As result of my branching out and trying as many things as possible, I have managed to find a number of healthy, nutritious foods that I enjoy and that fill me up very quickly. I have also discovered a number of things that go down very easily and that I can eat in unlimited quantities, and those are things that I have learned to avoid. Anyhow, that was a great point and a good thing for all of us to learn and know! Have a great night! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 1/30 Exercise Sessions (1 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 0 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Becky, it sounds like you are reallyon the fast track. I will be looking forward to hearing about your consult. Candle, all I can say is WOW! And congrats!!! You have an amazing metabolism, girlfriend!!! Can I borrow it for a few months :thumbup:? Val, good to hear from you -- you're doing great! My weight loss has slowed considerably too, but no matter where we are, we are all headed in the right direction and we will reach the finish line sooner or later. Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 1/30 Exercise Sessions (1 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 0 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Hi Kiah, Your question is a little tough to answer because a lot of this depends on your shape. I am a pear shape, i.e., I carry the majority of my weight in my hips and legs, so I am dropping blouse sizes much quicker than I am dropping pant sizes. One thing that has been working very well for me is to wear flowy tunics, blouses, and jackets over silk, linen, or knit bottoms that have elastic waistbands. Thus far, I have been able to get a few months wearing out of each new size because the fit of the bottoms doesn't need to be that precise. Hope this helps a little -- and congrats on losing 21.5 pounds :thumbup::smile:! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 1/30 Exercise Sessions (1 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 0 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Hey Jody! Welcome back -- we missed you!!!! I saw your posts in another thread, and you rocked it with the workouts last month. Good job :thumbup:!!! I see you're off to a good start again this month too. Salsa, I think your plan sounds very reasonable and sensible. I got an hour of cardio in today. I also hit the beach and did some swimming, but I'm not counting it because I take my noodle in the Water with me, and always end up doing a lot more floating than swimming........... Have a great night everyone! Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge 1/30 Exercise Sessions (1 Cardio, 0 Core Strength & flexibility, 0 Weight training) Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico

Happy March Everyone! Time for a new exercise challenge thread. This thread is open to anyone -- you don't have to be an August 07 bandster to join us. Last month we had several new people join us and we look forward to having more! Have a happy and healthy month! 0/30 Exercise Sessions Crazy Ates March Exercise Challenge Banded 8/07/07 Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey Mexico