mypov

I was banded just over a year ago and have had pretty good success. I have lost 117-120 lbs; depending on the day. I'm oddly at exactly the weight that statistically my lapband surgeon said I'd get to. However, I remember the pre-op visit where he told me that and I said, "No way, I'm going to all this trouble I'm going to be a normal weight for once in my life!" Easier said than done. I have made changes in my life. I am so much more active and I exercise at least an hour a day. I wear my bodybugg watch religiously, and track calories trying to get that caloric deficit in every day. STill, I tend to self sabotage and undone every food days the good that I have done. It just seems that when I get powerful cravings and a desire to overeat its too much to overcome. Eating how and what I do is an addiction I am constantly fighting. I'll always be fighting those demons to some degree, but frankly I'd rather do it at my goal weight than this weight. Sooo..... I see ads for diet pills, weight watchers, weight programs etc....all things I have tried and failed at in the past. Sometimes I just want to try them again anyway, this time with the help of the band- I sometimes feel I'd do almost anything to get to my goal weight and then when I'm bouncing between a 3 lb weight range it wouldn't be a problem. Is this irrational????

I agree that the calories consumed journal is annoying. I used to use fitday.com all the time but when I entered my gym's bodybugg weight loss challenge we had to log everything on the myapex website so our trainer's could monitor us. I would do the same thing though- find a similar food and just modify the portion to equal out to the same calories. I really wish they would improve that function. My other complaint now that I'm thinking about it is that with the serving sizes they don't have as many options as fitday and other sites. For example, on fit day you'd have options by size, weight, amount, etc where is on myapex its by gram or portion only. As my trainer explained it's because it's more accurate if you are weighing your foods so you know exactly how much you're eating, but weighing all the time isn't realistic and again, a lot of the foods I eat aren't even on there. On another note, did anyone else catch the new season of Biggest Loser? Now they are sporting the bodybugg watch as well as the arm band!

I'm not a night snacker. I'm a night BINGEr!!! Once the kids are off to bed it's like the kitchen just calls to me. The only thing I have found to combat it is going to bed! As soon as the cravings hit I have a glass of ice Water, get myself ready for bed and go to bed. I have trouble falling to sleep so sometimes I use that time to meditate and do relaxation techniques to keep my mind off food. Often, I think the hunger just hits because it has usually been hours since dinner by that time and my mind and body is just expecting food must be coming soon. The only other tip I have is that sometimes I make a deal with myself that if I wait until the morning, I can have whatever it is that I was craving and I'll be able to start fresh with another days worth of calories. Usually by morning I'll have forgotten about it or only want a little of it anyway. Good luck!

I think your daily calorie burn must go down as you lose weight. Besides noticing it personally, think how much harder it gets to lose weight as you get closer to a healthy weight. It takes so much energy to work a big body than a small one. One flight of stairs used to totally wind me but now I wouldn't even notice it on my bodybugg readout. Even on programs like weight watchers, as you lose weight you have to decrease your points (calories) in order to keep losing. The only thing I know that can combat this is increasing muscle mass. I have heard that for every pound of muscle increase, your BMR increases by about 50 calories. That also goes to show how important it is to increase exercise to burn more calories as you get smaller. I'd miss losing 5 pounds a week doing almost nothing if I didn't have to go back to also being so fat!

I ABSOLUTELY have had fears of being thin. Am I going to be the same? Is my relationship with others going to change? How will people react to me? What will my relationship with food be? How will I feel about my body? Am I ready to live my life as a thin person- and what is life LIKE as a thin person??? Those are just a sample of some of my over-perseverating thoughts that have run through my head. I have found though, the closer I get to goal, the less fear I have because I realize that being the weight I am now is already 100 times easier than being fat. There are still times when I feel those fears again and I think those are the times when my weight loss stalls. It's like my mind has to catch up with my body. Those are "emotional plateaus." But once I've reached those plateaus I've stepped back from the physical part of losing weight and try to figure out what it is that is holding me back. When I've kinda worked through that I add something new to my journey to thinness- bought a bodybugg once, participated in a local biggest loser contest, even went to counseling for a couple of sessions. Those are just some things I've done to keep those fears from stopping me from having the life I want- and deserve!

After major surgery there is increased risk of cysts growing very large, very rapidly. It could also be fibroids, or perhaps your hormones are just really out of whack right now....I would make an appointment with your gyno asap. Good luck and let me know what you find out!

It's weird, my husband is wanting to lose weight and we were trying to figure out how many calories he could eat in a day and lose weight. I tried fitday.com and they estimated his calorie burn as about 5000 calories a day...but that seems way off. We were using a calculator and trying to figure out how much he burns and how long it would take him to get to a 3500 calorie deficit (burn 1 lb)...it was confusing and in the end I threw up my hands and said "You just need a bodybugg too!" Weightloss makes so much more sense with 'the bugg.' He is now considering jumping on the bugg-wagon, too! Yay!!!!

I go through this exact thing each time I let myself go too long without a fill. At my last fill I was complaining to the nurse about it (who does the fills and also has a lapband) and she pointed out that if I made sure to come and get little fills more often instead of waiting until I get to the point that I'm starting to undo some of my weight loss progress I wouldn't feel so bad about it all. Make sure you schedule your fills BEFORE you think you need them. You can always cancel if you get close and really don't think you need it. It's not worth it to start overeating and then feeling all bad about it because you aren't getting fills or you didn't schedule one in advance and now you have to wait for your appointment. Once you get to a good fill level, you wll feel better and you will DO better! Good luck!

I really like the wristband for a couple of reasons. First of all, sometimes the website is down for updates or other reasons, or I can't make it to a computer. It's also convenient when traveling and I can't just upload my calories from someone else's computer. The other reason I like it is because it has encouraged me to increase my workouts because I can easily see how much I am burning WHILE i'm working out. Also I've been able to increase my calorie expenditure during a typical day because I can glance at my watch and actually visually see in numbers how taking that flight of stairs instead of the elevator increased my calories. I burn about 200-300 calories more per day when I'm wearing than when I'm not.

"A calorie is a calorie is a calorie." That said, there are some calorie sources that will give you more "bang for the buck" in terms of quality of nutrients those foods offer. Still, Proteins do fill you up for longer and a bit of fat provides some satiety. You don't necessarily have to completely cut out any entire food group when you get the lapband. Being someone that has tried Atkins in the past it is not something I enjoyed because I got sick of eating the same things all the time and every meal was just so HEAVY. As for now, a lot of the foods that I ate on Atkins WERE a bit bulky for the band- bacon, sausage, steak, etc don't go down very easily for me. Honestly, I would concentrate on healthier sources of Protein like chicken, lean pork, eggs etc, depending on what you like and how you tolerate them. You should ALSO have veggies and healhy carbs as well as dairy. As for mayo and salad dressing- those are very liquidy and the band won't stop them- In fact I sometimes use dressings in small amounts to help lubricate foods that otherwise I couldn't eat like chicken. Small portions of these (in my opinion) are okay, but limiting it will depend on you, not your band.

I think the thing I LOVE about the bodybugg is finally to have that tangible sense of instant gratification...Seeing the actual numbers and the graphs of what and when you've burned calories is soooo motivating for me. I paid full price for my bugg 4 weeks ago through my gym. HOWEVER, that included entrance into their Ultimate Loser (Like biggest loser show) Competition which includes 1 hour of training sessions 5x a week and 1 nutrition seminar/support group a week for 10 weeks total. I have never worked out so much in my life!!!! Prior to this I was on a loooong stall. I was really frustrated because I was really starting to crave my old comfort foods and giving in way too much- as you know, the lapband doesn't help as much when you graze on unhealthy foods all day long....Anyway, I was getting scared that even a fill wouldn't help because that would prevent me from eating bulkier healhier foods, but wouldn't help with the grazing issue. Since getting the BodyBugg and joining the competition, I have learned so much about my body (and self). First contrary to what fitday.com was estimating, I was NOT burning 2700 calories a day. In fact, if mostly sedentary all day (hurry up to get somewhere so I can sit on my butt) I was only burning 1700 calories a day. Through cardio and strength training I am now burning 2400-2600 daily and I am still working to increase that. After being banded I had "learned" that to lose weight I needed to eat 800-1000 calories a day or I wouldn't lose weight. Well, naturally that got harder and harder to stick to which is probably what led to my bingeing. Now I eat 1200 to 1500 calories daily, and simply make sure I make that 1000 calories daily deficit. 1000 daily for 7 days is 7000 calories. 7000 cals=2 lbs. It works! I have been losing 2 lbs a week and am on track to have lost 8 lbs now by the end of my fourth week!!! Finally, I am relying less and less on the lapband. I know I am not at an optimal fill because the band only stops me if I try to do a huge binge all at once....which is thankfully rare lately. The lapband has been such an amazing tool for me, and I think of it as training wheels- I am finally to the point of controlling myself and my eating and only needing those training wheels when I lose temporary control and need quick support. Without the band I couldn't have even gotten on "the bike" and now with the BodyBugg I feel like I am finallly in the race of life!!!!

Hey all, I have lost 110 pounds (give or take depending on the day) since my lapband surgery. I have really been struggling lately to lose more. It has come to a point where I know I need to change my whole lifestyle if I want to reach my goal weight. SO, I have signed up for a local gym's weight loss competition. I talked to the owner first about my lapband and he ok'd me signing up. However, I know someone else in the competition who of the very few people that know, happens to know I had the surgery. SHould they say anything, I feel people might get upset...especially if I actually WON (there are 60 people in the competition). Maybe it ISN'T fair....what do you all think??????

I don't think it's so much that you take it at the SAME time as your meals, just that you have some food in your stomach when the med starts breaking down. So you have a little time before you need to get food in your stomach. That said, I have been taking metformin a long time, and as long as I haven't missed several pills in a row I just take it right when I get up and then have breakfast within an hour or so. No problems.

I have a scale that I like- but the body fat feature is useless. It pretty much hasn't changed the % at all since before surgery to now. I just like that I can save my weight so that every time I hit a new low, I hit save and it just feels so....definitive. Then it blinks a readout of how much I've lost in total, how much further to goal, and how far off I am (+ or -) from my last weigh in.

I suppose I should know this by the time I'm 6+ months out, but, what is the difference between Pbing and vomiting? Okay this is going to be graphic, and I do apologize, but a couple of times this month I have gotten something stuck and I "threw up", but it was the stuff that hadn't passed through the band yet. So, is it a PB since there was no.....you know, stomach acid and all that? I'm really sorry to ask this, I just want to report to my doctor at my next appointment if this is really vomiting or PBing.... Thanks!

Sometimes I miss that too. I do take bigger mouthfuls sometimes and swallow a little at a time, but that's kinda risky cause if I don't pay close attention, too big of an amount will go down and that hurts. I have spit things out before if the previous bite is starting to get a little uncomfortable and I think I might have additional problems if swallowing the current one. So you're definitely not alone in this.

Sorry yes, it always STARTS a garden salad....but then I add two tablespoons of cooked chopped ham, an ounce of shredded cheese of some sort, and I admit, I ONLY like ranch dressing but I have been measuring out the tablespoons and using only two like the serving says...so its definetely not as healthy as a plain 'ol garden salad....I have never liked plain veggies unfortunately.

Slow to none, I should say. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with how far I've come. Still, I'm just not done losing weight. My surgeons goal for me was 170. My goal is 125 though. I didn't spend 13000 of my family's much needed money to only half-way accomplish my goal. Here's what I am doing right now: -I take my insulin-resistance meds daily -My Breakfast is ALWAYS a Protein shake (200 calories with lowfat milk) and I'm not generally hungry until lunch time with that. -I track my calories and stick to under 1000 during the week days. Weekends I have between 12-1500 calories. -I work out three times a week at the gym for about an hour each time (30 minutes on cardio and 30 minutes weight training) The other days I walk around my neighborhood or take the kids to the park and play kickball etc. -I Think one issue is that I LOVE to have salad for dinner and even though I weigh and measure it, I think I may underestimate the calories for that....not sure -I DO indulge in something chocolate like ice cream on the two days weekly I eat slightly more calories. -I follow the rules about not drinking Water after meals Here's what I was doing up until a few months ago that I am NOT doing now: -I WAS taking a Multivitamin daily -I WAS making sure I only had whole grain products -I carried a water bottle everywhere to make sure I got enough water...now I'm not positive I'm getting enough- but the weird thing is that I'm getting sick of the taste of water. NOW after all that- Any tips, thoughts, kicks in the butt to get me going??? I KNOW I want this, I KNOW I am not doing everything I can, so how do I remotivate? How do I get started????? ANY HELP????? Thanks!!! PS- I never PB or slime anymore, sometimes I get that stuck feeling temporarily but I have really been doing pretty well at stopping eating BEFORE that.

My starting BMI was 55 or thereabouts. Its currently 39ish. My blood pressure was usually 145/100 and latest was 108/78. I'm still on my meds for insulin resistance but that's becaus I have PCOS as well. I don't know if I'll ever be rid of that.

I took phentermine in the past, and had a very little success despite the fact that I felt a major reduction in cravings. Since being banding, I have been on a medication that is prescribed for a different reason but one SIDE effect of this med is reduction in appetite. Never felt that side effect until AFTER banding. So, yes, I believe that some meds can help take the edge off those cravings and could help in conjunction with diet and exercise. Then there is those that unpleasantly expel excess fats from your system...but I just didn't have enough money in the world to try and find one that would work- because my hunger and other issues would counteract the effects of these meds anyway.....hmm, rambling. Good luck!

I feel her pain. I WAS that overweight teenager. I hated about every minute of it. I think if I'd even been aware of weight loss surgeries, especially the lapband, I would have driven my parents crazy begging for it. And yet- I DON'T think it's a good idea. First things first, find a counselor for her to address her self-worth issues. Second, get her into some activities where weight isn't a big deal. Third, go with her to some nutritionists and start a fun exercise regime with her. One of the most helpful things my parents did with me is dieted and exercised with me. They made the whole family do it. My mom and I took Water aerobics together and weight lifting classes. The nutritionist helped me learn what healthy foods and nutrition means. You can't always expect a teen to just KNOW that. I didn't before that. I lost and gained several times over the course of my teen years, but the information I learned has been invaluable to me in the past few months. I attribute my success to being finally able to once and for all put into action all the knowledge I gained over the years. If I were in your predicament, I would tell my daughter to start saving her money as we started these family lifestyle changes. I would tell her when she is older (18, 21 whatever) she can help you pay for the surgery, and if she doesn't need it by then, maybe she could buy herself a car or something. Let her know you are open to the idea but she has a lot she could do for herself in the mean time. PS- Most doc's probably wouldn't feel she was emotionally or physically mature enough for such a procedure. I'm almost 26 and its still emotionally difficult. PPS-Through the changes my parents made with me while I was a teen, my mother lost 40 lbs and has kept it off, and my Dad lost 150 with no medical intervention and has kept it ALL off!

The show was just alright for me. Honestly, I thought they should have showed more details. It looked like you get the surgery, lose weight, live happily ever after. For people (like me) with food addictions there are so many more ups and downs than that. I also wish they would have mentioned things like costs, and how people are paying for it all etc...overall, yah, just more details would have been nice.

I have it set to Tivo. I am hoping it will be inspiring and not just focusing on all the complications possible. I also hope to see some lapbanded patients, not just gastric bypass. I have also watched the show about Brookhaven obesity hospital but that often depresses me :rolleyes So, I will be watching!

You are doing so great! I agree, the band is only a tool. There are plenty of ways to work around it and you really do have to be dedicated to changing your lifestyle. I've become so much more physically active as well- but not to the point of being able to run 2 miles...yet. Way to go!

Oh great, like it's not hard enough to live in this day and age as a fat person. I saw on the local news a new study saying that some scientists have find (at least in animals) a virus that can lead to obesity. I'll explain the best I can in the way I understood it. The study suggested that there might be a virus that you can catch that while initially causing cold and flu like symptoms, might actually be a virus that lays dormant in your cells and causes those cells to convert foods you eat to fat faster than before. They are starting initial human studies now. On the one hand, if they found a way to identify people that had the virus that was causing their obesity they could hopefully find a cure. On the other hand, isn't that just what we need, another reason for people to discriminate against obese people????