Ceradad

Just a couple for me: 1-Last May DW's cousin was getting married in IL. I tried on almost all of the clothes in my closet to find something to wear to both the rehearsal and the wedding. Nothing fit, way to small. Had to go out and buy new clothes for both. Last month I tried on all those clothes that didn't fit. I had to get rid of all of them because they are way too big. 2-Jeans have gone from size 48 to 44 with pleating (sp) from the belt being too tight. 3-had measurements done at the gym. Bf% has gone from almost 31% to 19% and lost almost 40 inches off my body.

Ok, been awhile since I've checked in on this thread. It's great to see everyone doing so well. Keep up the great work and remember, don't compare yourselves to others, everyone is different. As for me, I am experiencing my first plateau. Not sure what to make of it, but I am not losing weight (even added a lb or two this week with last weekend being a guys weekend:frown:. Oh well, gotta live a little, right?) Anyway, last Friday I had a personal trainer at the gym do my measurements for the first time since last April when we joined. In that time, I've lost almost 40 inches off my body and my bf % went from nearly 31% down to 19%.:thumbup:. I could not believe it. I do think part of my plateau is the fact that I lift 4 days a week with some pretty heavy weights. I do a circuit training routine, but the weights are getting up there in some cases. I just think the muscle is starting to really come on. Maybe I'm just deluding myself. As for the a.m vs. p.m. deal, I was told early on that after sleeping all night your pouch is smaller. As the day wears on, your pouch relaxes a little and gets a little bigger. That is the reason why we can eat more at night than in the morning. Keep up the good work all.:smile: I'll try to check on you all more often.

Ok, I'm going to assume that you did not mean the "feel" as a personal attack upon the hurt/scars that other adoptees may feel. As such, I would assume that a fellow adoptee would be a little more P.C. when it comes to others in the same group. Now, to answer your query, I would like to SEE who I take after. I would like to KNOW if I have birth siblings. I would like to KNOW all the circumstances about the decisions made. I would like more info about my heritage than a simple questionaire that was filled out 37 yrs ago. I'd like to KNOW where I came from and who I look like. My siblings (one adopted from a different family, one biological to adoptive parents) look nothing like me. My little brother, who is the biological child, knows who he looks like. He knows who he takes after. To me, that is an important aspect of life. As for rights for adoptees from previous generations, the biggest thing is just to have rights. The birthparents hold all the cards. If I go through the agency I was adopted through to conduct a search for my birthparents, and they are found, they can say they do not want contact and that is that. I have no choice as far as the law is concerned outside of going through a private investigator and surprise them. I'm not saying I want a relationship with my birthparents. I just would like some information for my own benefit. Anything beyond that, may or may not be great. I am happy for you if you are truly that well adjusted. However, how can you seemingly make light of others in your position?

I am an officer with an EMT-B certification. I use both often on the job. But, I really love it when the "real" EMT's/Paramedics show up to take over for me.:scared2: Great job guys!!!!

Just an update: Today was the shooting portion of the tests to get back on SWAT here at work. Handgun-did pretty bad, even for me. Shot 240 out of 300. I am normally in the 280-285 range. Still passed, but disappointing. Can't say for sure what the problem was. Rifle-244 out of 250. Much better, was told that was the one to do better as they reminded me that rifle is the main weapon on SWAT. Shotgun-passed. No score given. One more step next week, oral interviews. Wish me luck.

And to try to state that abortion is the perfect solution is also a bad idea. I'm not saying there is a "perfect option" for every situation. Just that there are other options. The thread was for a poll to vote on where you stand on the issue. I voted how I felt and explained my reasoning for my views. Without attacking anyone. Now, there has been some very good discussion since I opted to vote and explain, but there have been some very nasty statements from ladies basically telling to F*#k off since I am a man. That is the problem on both sides for the most part. The fanatics refuse to have a calm discussion. As for the whole issue concerning women who are incapable of getting pregnant. Do not minimalize their pain. My DW is a great mother who went through 7 yrs of infertility before we were finally able to adopt Cera. The pain in her eyes I had to witness each and every month when her period came was devastating. I prayed to God daily to allow us to become pregnant. It was not to be. God had other plans for us. Luckily, Ashley chose to turn a bad situation for her into a great situation for us. She had just graduated h.s. and was to start college in the fall. She knew she could not handle that and a child and her child deserved better than she could give by just getting a job. Not downplaying single mothers as I was raised by one, just stating. She could have chosen to have an abortion, but chose the other route. And DW and I thank God every day for blessing us with Cera. So, please, do not EVER downplay the pain and suffering of an infertile women. If you have not gone through the pain, suffering, and mental anguish of a woman going through it, or know of a close friend/relative who has, you know nothing of true pain.

I agree, it used to be, and still can be. But, now it is the birthmothers choice. Adoption agencies, more and more, are going to "open" adoptions. This allows both the birthmother and the child to have interaction with each other. It allows the child to see where they come from. It is no longer the closed "secret" it used to be. And, you don't think abortion leaves scars? If that is what you think, you are deluding yourself. I would imagine it would be tougher on most women later in life knowing they aborted a child than it would be to know they gave birth to a child and allowed the child to grow up in a loving, caring environment. I'm not trying to attack anyone, just stating there are other options out there. To state that adoption leaves scars on the mother and not abortion is just not considering all the consequences of the situation. Now, as an adoptee, adoption also leaves scars on the child. Especially, adults who were adopted in the age of "closed" adoptions where we have no rights whatsoever. However, at least we are alive. And, to me, my daughter, my wife and my extended family, that is a very good thing.

Yes, ultimately that is what it is intended for. We found out about the law after Ashley chose us and we had known about the situation with the birthfather. The adoption agency told us the birthfather had 30 days after the birth to register with the state. If he didn't, he was considered to have abandoned Cera and gave up all parental rights. It was a loooooooong 30 days for us.

It's all good Stef. Thanks for putting in all the work on the spreadsheet.

Understood, Blund. I took no real offense. This is an issue that brings on alot of debate. I'm a big boy (not for too much longer though:biggrin:) and can take it. As for the law, I don't know overall, but this came up in our adoption of our daughter. We only met Ashley, Cera's birthmother, and her dad. The birthfather was from another state. We could tell there was alot of issues with the birthfather as he was apparently much older that Ashley (she was 17 at the time) and what had happened. We found out about the law at that point. It was a long 30 days after she was born, but we didn't have much doubt about it. As for rapists, he would have to admit he did the crime to be able to see the child. Not very likely to happen unless caught. Then, he would have to be aware of the pregnancy, or register with the state knowing of the law. Not likely.

Ok, first off, I gave my reasons for why I feel the way I feel. Secondly, the state of MN has the right idea. Their law states that a father KNOWS of the consequences are of having unprotected sex. Therefore, he has 30 days after 9 mos of the sex to register with the state to find out if the woman has had a baby. If he does not do this, it is considered abandonment and he gives up all rights as a father.

I just found this and will state my reasons as to why I voted Pro Life. First, I was adopted in 1970. Roe v. Wade was not in existence at that time, but my birthmother still could have gotten a "back alley" abortion had she chosen. She was an RN. Still may be, have never looked her up. 2nd, my older sister was adopted in 1968. Again, same reasons as above. Lastly, my daughter is adopted as is her birthmother. There are choices out there other than abortion. There are thousands of couples who go through infertility that would jump at the chance for an unwanted child to give them a good home in a loving enviroment. I know, I know, it's a womans body and she has the right to do with it as she chooses. But, why doesn't the child have a say in it. That child has a right to be born and live it's life. In most cases, the woman made the choice to have unprotected sex. Why not make a "bad" situation good by going through the 9 mos of pregnancy and give a loving couple their wish to become parents? That's just my $.02 worth. I'm off my soapbox.

Ok, so I took this weekend off as I was north of Heyward, WI for a church guys weekend of snowtubing and watch movies (and yes, some drinks:frown:, but not too many). Anyway, I went to the gym Friday morning before we left. I had a personal trainer do my measurements for the first time since I joined last April, which was about 5 mos before my band. Anyway, in that time, I have lost just over 90 lbs, bf went from almost 31% to 19%, and I lost almost 40 inches from my body. I was so excited. I then went on to do my lower body workout for approx. 45 minutes and 65 minutes on the eliptical machine for interval training. Back at it this morning for 65 minutes of intervals on the eliptical machine again. Tonight will be upper body. I'll post the workout later today as I don't have the time to do it right now. Stef, I'll get you my numbers as well then. Thanks.

Great! I passed everything with flying colors. Ran the mile in 9:10, started off @ 6.2 mph and just kept increasing the speed periodically to see how far I could push myself. Made up to 7.5 for the last .12 mile. Pullups were a little iffy going in, but I made it on those, did 30 situps in less than a minute, and benched my body weight 4 x's (only needed two, but thought I would prove a point with the testers.:confused:) Thanks for asking. The more support I have, the better I can do. Next is shooting next week. No problems there (if there were, I shouldn't be in this field:lol:). Then, oral interview. I have nothing but good feelings about this process right now. Don't see how I can make it easy on them to not take me back.

Thanks Jess. I just noticed we were banded 2 wks apart. It's nice to see another one in my time period getting "it". Keep up the good work. As I stated, you'll probably hit 100 sooner than me, but I won't be far behind.

Another weekend down. I overdid it, apparently, on Friday on the treadmill. Later in the day my shin below my boot line really started to hurt. The bone, not just the muscle. Hurts to touch. However, I was able to get my upper body workout in on Friday night and toughed through my lower body workout Saturday morning. Did 100 minutes on Saturday and Sunday for cardio. 50 each on treadmill and elyptical. Another 65 this morning on elyptical. I've rediscovered interval training during cardio. Makes the time go by just a little bit quicker. I only perform interval on the elyptical as it is easier to ramp up/down than on a treadmill. Upper body again tonight. I'll post the workout tomorrow.

Another weekend down. I overdid it, apparently, on Friday on the treadmill. Later in the day my shin below my boot line really started to hurt. The bone, not just the muscle. Hurts to touch. However, I was able to get my upper body workout in on Friday night and toughed through my lower body workout Saturday morning. Did 100 minutes on Saturday and Sunday for cardio. 50 each on treadmill and elyptical. Another 65 this morning on elyptical. I've rediscovered interval training during cardio. Makes the time go by just a little bit quicker. I only perform interval on the elyptical as it is easier to ramp up/down than on a treadmill. Upper body again tonight. I'll post the workout tomorrow.

Stef, you can put me down for another 2 lbs lost. I am like Jess, I am now only 10 lbs shy of 100 lost. I'm not sure when I'll hit it though. I've got a "guys" weekend coming up. I don't plan on drinking like I did last year, but the diet won't be great. I'll just have to work extra hard to make up for up before and after. Sidenote, I started doing interval training on the elyptical machines in Cardio Cinema at the gym this weekend. I'd forgotten all about that until some of you started talking about it recently. Thanks for the reminder. It was great and added a little something extra to think about instead of thinking about how much I had left to do.:eek:

Top weight:379 Ideal weight: 240 Current weight: 301 Initial BMI: 47.4 Ideal BMI: 30 Current BMI:37.6 I was banded on Aug 28, 2007 by Dr. Jones in St. Louis Park, MN. I had my information seminar in Nov., 2006. I had been considering this procedure for a couple of months. One of my officers at work had it done a couple years ago. After speaking with him about it, I decided it was what I wanted. This was a huge step for me as I had not been kind when he had his done. I thought he had taken the "easy" way out. However, after thinking about my life, current, past and future, I knew I had to do something. My adoptive father died suddenly when I was 18 of a massive heart attack. Even though we were not biologically related, I have the same build as he did. He never got to see my sister get married. My brother or I graduate. Never met any of his grandchildren. I did not want this for my daughter. She deserved to have a father in her life. So, after going through 6 mos with a dietician and a big battle with my insurance company (I'll get to that in a later posting), I had a date set in late August. I played an entire softball season at a weight I never would have thought I would get to. It SUCKED!!!!! My knees hurt all the time. Even went to State, lower division but still. Leading up to my surgery, I had to go on a 10 day liquid diet. Very rough time, got dizzy alot. However, I lost 23 lbs in those 10 days alone. Since the day after my surgery, I have missed a total of 5 days w/o at least some form of cardio. One of which was Christmas. I've lost close to 80 lbs while increasing my muscle and losing bodyfat. That's enough for now. I'll post more ramblings later. Edit: Did legs last night. Here it is for the record. Circuit training: 1-Single leg leg press: 250 x 12 2-Single calf raise: 250 x 12 3-Leg Curl: 140 x 12 4-Leg Press: 160 x 12 5-Abductors: 130 x 12 6-Adductors: 130 x 12 Repeat this circuit 2 more times for a total of 3 circuits. Hangout on assisted chin/dip machine: 50 lbs taken off, hung for 30 secs. Machine ab crunch: 65 x 10 x 3

cherie, I lost the 10 lbs due to the liquid diet for 10 days. It sucked for the first 5. I was always hungry. But, after awhile it went away, a little, and became more manageable. I was dizzy almost the entire time from day 3 on. But, it was worth it. Thanks for the comment

Another 65 minutes on the treadmill this morning. I changed it up a bit as I started off running 1.25 miles @ 6 mph w/no incline. I have to run a mile in 9:56 next Wed to for the SWAT team tryouts, so I wanted to make sure it was doable. Then, I added the extra 1/4 mile because if I make it back on, I will have to go to a SWAT school to become recertified and that will include a 5 mile run. I want to be able to work up to 5 miles over the next couple of months. Anyway, after the 1.25 miles, I went back down to 4 mph and put the incline @ 2 % for 17.5 minutes, 3 % for 18 minutes, 4% for 10 minutes. The last 2 minutes I increased the incline 1% every 30 seconds. I ended up the last 30 @ 8%, that was tough. Then, 5 minute cooldown @ 4 mph and 0 incline. Upper body tonight to get on a schedule more condusive to the tryout next Wed. I'll do cardio and lower body tomorrow and cardio only on Sunday.

Another 65 minutes on the treadmill this morning. I changed it up a bit as I started off running 1.25 miles @ 6 mph w/no incline. I have to run a mile in 9:56 next Wed to for the SWAT team tryouts, so I wanted to make sure it was doable. Then, I added the extra 1/4 mile because if I make it back on, I will have to go to a SWAT school to become recertified and that will include a 5 mile run. I want to be able to work up to 5 miles over the next couple of months. Anyway, after the 1.25 miles, I went back down to 4 mph and put the incline @ 2 % for 17.5 minutes, 3 % for 18 minutes, 4% for 10 minutes. The last 2 minutes I increased the incline 1% every 30 seconds. I ended up the last 30 @ 8%, that was tough. Then, 5 minute cooldown @ 4 mph and 0 incline. Upper body tonight to get on a schedule more condusive to the tryout next Wed. I'll do cardio and lower body tomorrow and cardio only on Sunday.

Exactly what I was thinking. If you look at my ticker below, when I get to my goal weight of 240, my BMI will still be 30. 30 is still considered obese. I'm 6'3", an athlete all my life, and have lifted all my life. My weight really got out of hand, but c'mon, I graduated h.s. at 250 as a starting tackle on the football team. That is just ridiculous. As for that bill, there is no way it will ever get passed. I would imagine it is just some little hick legislator trying to get his/her name out there.

Yes, I will "ask" to be let in. Like I said, I get a little on "edge" when I am working out and irritable. Most people do not have a problem with it. And, also as I stated, I am open to going on to the next exercise and come back. If the person is actually using it, that is not where my problem lies. It is when someone sits on the machine for 5 minutes between very light sets and talks with someone else that I really get annoyed. I know, I know, I sound like a gym "snob". But, I've been lifting for over 20 yrs and I tend to get a little annoyed with people that are there to be seen and not better themselves. That's just me. And I know I'm not alone there.