annecolorgreen

Count me in...I think my goal will be 10 lbs too. Thanks!

NFaith--I like to have yogurt every day but it goes "through" too easy...I've started adding some grapenuts cereal. Yum.

Oh! I just realized I'll be in Florida on a "work" vacation with dh on my bandaversary! Fun!

Wow! Congrats to you all! I hadn't really thought about my bandaversary this year except that I'm going back to my trainer to have new measurements done...that will be fun for a change! NEXT year, I'm planning to go to Hawaii to Celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary...in late September...so that is my big goal. I love to hear what you all are doing! (maybe I'll get glamour shots done for dh's Christmas present...hmmm...) ~~anne

I did a 4 mile group run today and ran/walked. My time improved though! I finished with an average of 13.67/mile. I found someone who ran at my pace and that helped keep both of us going. Thanks for everyone's encouragement...I don't post much, but I read! ~~anne

Congrats everyone! I've been doing so well--almost to Onederland--and have fizzled out the past couple weeks due to stress (I think). I still have restriction but have been eating and drinking things that aren't allowed. Any tips for emotional eating? My son is treating my daughter-in-law horribly (emotional abuse in my opinion) and they have a son who is just almost 4 weeks old. They are both young and didn't even know each other well before the marriage. We paid for a week of intensive therapy--they went--but it didn't help. If that were the only stress! Help!

CONGRATS on meeting your goal! Woo hoo!!!!!!!! About hair, when you lose weight, it changes your body hormones and can cause that temporarily (like after pregnancy). I did hear biotin helps. I cut my hair short and have no problems! I went to see my band doc yesterday and he thinks I'm doing great. I've had two fills. I lost 10 lbs in the past 6 weeks and he expects a less than a pound a week loss at this point. I'm happy losing no matter how quick!! I don't go back for 12 weeks now... I am LOVING walking/running in organized runs. Money always goes to a good cause and it is a great incentive to MOVE. The last one raised money for nature conservation and was on a road running through a state park (woods). Try it if you haven't! The longest one I did was a 10 miler the morning after my first grandson was born and I had been on my feet all day!! It was worth it though :smile:. Hugs, Anne

Well I had a PB today--bleh. I tried to eat a turkey sandwich for lunch and ate about 1/4 and it got stuck. About exercise, I've joined a couple of challenge with co-workers and friends as well as just doing the group classes...both are helpful to me. The group stuff makes it so much more interesting! I go to the YMCA but I saw our community group offers group classes too. Hope this helps! ~~anne

really? I was told to EAT breakfast and avoid just "drinking" meals as it won't keep you full. every doctor is different I guess. The pics are all great! Congrats ya'll! I just had my 2nd fill and am happy I decided to--I was eating way too much and not losing even though I was exercising like crazy (for me). ~~anne

Congrats on your 100 lbs Kathy!!! Woo hoo! I "did" a 5k a couple weeks ago and I think I came in at about 46 min...not like you speedy girls! I'm doing another one on Saturday but don't expect a faster time as it will be extremely crowded (I hear). Great job everyone! ~~anne

I have the stomach flu (apparently). One dd was vomiting Tuesday night, the next Thursday night. My nausea started this morning along with diarrhea. So far, I have not thrown up but continue to have diarrhea. I did just remember that I had some phenergan and took a dose. My question is what to eat or drink? Normally, I would have sprite. I did try some yogurt earlier and I didn't throw up. I guess chicken broth could be good but the thought kind of grosses me out. Maybe the phenergan will make me sleepy enough that I will sleep the night away and wake up feeling better tomorrow! (my dd's did--but they threw up several times) I just wonder if having the band is keeping the symptoms "lower". ~~anne

It's easy to feel frustrated but, just remember, any progress of weight coming OFF the scale is an improvement. For the past several years, I've only seen pounds go ON the scale! Keep it up everyone! ~~anne

I didn't get to see the first hour...for some reason it didn't tape...but I did see the end! Yay--Joelle went home! I was so sick of hearing her excuses and rationalizations... ~~anne

where are your pictures? I'm lost! (not unusual!)

Hi Renewed: Hope this helps. I found it quite interesting (especially #2--I had the same mindset). 9 Cold, Hard Weight Loss Truths: What the Diet Industry Won't Tell You By Brie Cadman of DivineCaroline.com Even if you’re not trying to lose weight, chances are you’ve seen some ideas on how to do so: “Eat what you want and lose weight!” “Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!” “Finally, a diet that really works!” “Lose one jean size every 7 days!” “Top 3 fat burners revealed” “10 minutes to a tighter tummy!” But these claims are readily rebuked by anyone who’s tried to lose five, 10, or 100 pounds. Losing weight ain’t that easy. It’s not in a pill, it doesn’t (usually) happen in 30 days, and judging from the myriad plans out there, there is no one diet that works for everyone. Looking past the outrageous claims, there are a few hard truths the diet industry isn’t going to tell you, but that just might help you take a more realistic approach to sustained weight loss. 1. You have to exercise more than you think. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends getting at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week; this includes things like shoveling snow and gardening. And while this is great for improving heart health and staying active, research indicates that those looking to lose weight or maintain weight loss have to do more—about twice as much. For instance, members of the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR)—a group of over 5,000 individuals who have lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off for five and a half years—exercise for about an hour, every day. A study published in the July 28, 2008 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine supports this observational finding. The researchers enrolled 200 overweight and obese women on a diet and exercise regimen and followed them for two years. Compared with those that gained some of their weight back, the women who were able to sustain a weight loss of 10 percent of their initial weight for two years exercised consistently and regularly—about 275 minutes a week, or 55 minutes of exercise at least five days a week. In other words, things like taking the stairs, walking to the store, and gardening are great ways to boost activity level, but losing serious weight means exercising regularly for an hour or so. However, this doesn’t mean you have to start running or kickboxing—the most frequently reported form of activity in the NWCR group is walking. 2. A half-hour walk doesn’t equal a brownie. I remember going out to eat with some friends after a bike ride. Someone commented on how we deserved dessert because we had just spent the day exercising; in fact, we had taken a leisurely 20-minute ride through the park. This probably burned the calories in a slice of our French bread, but definitely not those in the caramel fudge brownie dessert. Bummer. And while it’s easy to underestimate how many calories some foods contain, it’s also easy to overestimate how many calories we burn while exercising. Double bummer. Even if you exercise a fair amount, it’s not carte blanche to eat whatever you want. (Unless you exercise a ton, have the metabolism of a 16-year-old boy, and really can eat whatever you want). A report investigating the commonly-held beliefs about exercising, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, concludes that although exercise does burn calories during and after exercise, for overweight persons, “excessive caloric expenditure has limited implications for substantially reducing body weight independent of nutritional modifications.” In other words, to lose weight, you have to cut calories and increase exercise. 3. You do have time to exercise. If you have time to check email, watch a sitcom or two, surf the Internet, have drinks, coffee and dinner with friends, go clothes shopping, and on and on, then you have time to exercise. Yes, sometimes you have to sacrifice social, TV, or leisure time to fit it in. Yes, sometimes you have to prioritize your exercise time over other things. But your health and the feeling you get after working out is well worth it. 4. Eating more of something won’t help you lose weight. The food industry is keen to latch onto weight loss research and spin it for their sales purposes. A prime example is the widespread claim that eating more dairy products will help you lose weight. However, a recent review of 49 clinical trials from 1966 to 2007 showed that “neither dairy nor Calcium supplements helped people lose weight.” This idea—that eating more of a certain type of product will help you lose weight—is constantly regurgitated on supermarket shelves (think low-fat cake, low-carb crackers, whole grain Cookies, and fat-free chips), but is in direct opposition to the basic idea behind weight loss—that we have to eat less, not more. 5. Calories in = calories out? There is a fair amount of controversy over the basic question of how people gain weight. Is it simply a matter of energy intake being greater than energy expenditure? Or is there more too it; do the type of calories we eat matter and can avoiding certain types help to lose or prevent weight? The various low-fat, low-carb, and glycemic index advocates can’t seem to agree on which it is. However, most can agree, and logical sense would tell us, that drinking 500 calories of soda is not equal to eating 500 calories of fruits and vegetables. One is simply “empty” calories—those that provide no real nutritional benefit and don’t do much to combat hunger. Whether you ascribe to the simple idea of trying to burn more calories than you take in or focus on avoiding certain types of calories, you want to minimize intake of empty calories, and maximize nutrient-dense calories. 6. Your body is working against you. Most people have noticed that it’s hard to lose weight, but easy to gain it. This is a relic of harder times, when food was not as abundant as it is today. Our genetic taste buds made energy-dense food desirable because it was necessary to pack away calories so we could make it through the thin times. We feasted when we could, in preparation for the famine. But now that we live in a time of abundance, that system predisposes many of us for weight gain and retention. And for obese dieters, this system is even harder to overcome; after weight loss, they become better at storing fat, making it harder to keep weight off. However, this isn’t to say that many haven’t lost weight and kept it off successfully. It just means you have to be diligent. 7. Our cultural environment is also working against you. Let’s face it, modern society does not make it easy on those trying to eat healthfully and exercise. According to Linda Bacon, associate professor of nutrition at University of California at Davis, “We get a tremendous amount of pressure to eat for reasons other than nurturing ourselves, and over time, people lose sensitivity to hunger/fullness/appetite signals meant to keep them healthy and well nourished. It’s hard for people to come to a healthy sense of themselves given the cultural climate, and nutritious and pleasurable options for healthy food are not as easily accessible as less nutritious (ones).” That doesn’t mean this can’t be overcome, but it does require maybe putting other parts of your life on a “diet.” TV would be the biggest culprit, since many food advertisements, especially for children’s junk food, come during this time. Other areas to put on a “diet” are chain and fast food restaurants (where portion sizes are distorted), a bad-influence friend, or driving, which may help increase walking and biking. 8. Maybe you don’t need to lose weight. Some feel that the medical problems associated with excess weight are exaggerated. Gina Kolata, a New York Times science writer questions the notion that thin is a realistic or necessary objective for most. In her book, Rethinking Thin, she asserts that weight loss is an unachievable goal for many, and that losing weight isn’t so much about health as it is about money, trends, and impossible ideals. Recent research also challenges the idea that being overweight is bad. A study in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that being 25 pounds overweight did not increase the risk of heart disease and cancer, and may even help stave off infections. It’s true that people can be fit and healthy and not necessarily be thin, just as it’s true that thin people may not necessarily be healthy. Good health, rather than weight, should be our focus; too often, it’s not. Striving for an unhealthy level of thinness may be detrimental to our health, but understanding the health repercussions of obesity is also critical. 9. This is not a diet; this is your life. The diet industry would have us all think that we can lose weight fast, and that’s that. But most people who maintain their weight understand that eating and exercising are not temporary conditions, to be dumped once a pair of jeans fit. Instead, they are lifestyle choices, and ones to be made for the long haul.

Has anyone used Polar heart monitors? I am doing a program through work (Virgin Health Miles) and one of the add-ons that gets you "miles" is to use a Polar monitor when you work out. Dh is checking them out for my birthday and said it looks like they all require a chest band in addition to the wrist monitor. I don't want to deal with a chest band!!! This program only works with Polar btw. Also, what is the best type of material to look for to help with "wicking"? Thanks! ~~anne

Well, I'm about 12 weeks post-op and I've lost almost 39 pounds so I guess I'm doing pretty well. I had my first fill last week and feel a little more restriction but can still eat more than I think I should...so I need to work on my willpower for now! I am exercising about five days a week and that is new for me (treadmill/light strength training). I just started a class at the Y...also a first. It's a latin dance class called "Zumba" and is really fun as everyone is willing to laugh at themselves! I am truly uncoordinated so that's a good thing! One BIG thing is that I am trying to do some jogging--I'm doing a program called C25K--we'll see. In the meantime, I'm signed up for walk/runs that benefit charities. That's all for now!

Well, I'm about 12 weeks post-op and I've lost almost 39 pounds so I guess I'm doing pretty well. I had my first fill last week and feel a little more restriction but can still eat more than I think I should...so I need to work on my willpower for now! I am exercising about five days a week and that is new for me (treadmill/light strength training). I just started a class at the Y...also a first. It's a latin dance class called "Zumba" and is really fun as everyone is willing to laugh at themselves! I am truly uncoordinated so that's a good thing! One BIG thing is that I am trying to do some jogging--I'm doing a program called C25K--we'll see. In the meantime, I'm signed up for walk/runs that benefit charities. That's all for now!

I had my first fill and it was no problem. I can still eat more than I would like...so I'm trying to limit on my own. I'm not scheduled for my next appointment for six more weeks. I guess I can call for an earlier appointment if needed. Guess I'll just wait and see how it goes. If I lose, I'll wait. My surgeon says the first fill gets you to the city, the second gets you to the neighborhood, and the third gets you to the street. I'm going to try and be patient. ~~anne

Thanks! Any suggestions for podcasts that are with "current" music? The two I checked out had music I wasn't familiar with. I would love one with popular current music! ~~anne

Hi! I'm just getting started with all this but was excited to do a bit of jogging along with my walks last week! A friend and I want to start the Couch-to-5k program and I found this thread and thought it may be helpful. Any great hints for us "not so in shape still fat" people? I walk @ 3.5 currently and "jog" at 4.5. Thanks! ~~anne P.S. We are also doing some hiking and loving it!

I ended up buying some "Sensodyne" or something like that and it really helped! The active ingredient is "potassium ..." so I will bet that was an issue for me. I noticed my multi-Vitamin only contains trace amounts of that. I'm going to keep using it!! ~~anne

Oh wow...what a cutie! He was SO tiny! I'm so glad he ended up doing well! My baby #4 was a NICU baby and it scared the heck out of me (and I was an OB nurse!). I love your myspace--you have some funny things on there! lol Would it be okay if I share it with my daughter-in-law Ellen? I'm so afraid that she isn't taking the preemie thing seriously. Thanks! ~~anne

Hi Holli-- My other son is at Ft. Lewis! He and his wife are expecting a baby in April. Did you have your kids there? How is the hospital situation? She has a high-risk pregnancy and will likely deliver early so I'm concerned. I'm sorry your dh has also had trouble with weight. My son came home at Thanksgiving and has lost 30 lbs this month with the med and prepackaged foods. I really hope his new habits "stick" even after he goes off the med. ~~anne

wow, melboyd, you are doing awesome! KarenK--I'm not diabetic but I am a nurse. Have you called your doctor yet? I would definitely think you need to maybe do some "as needed" meds instead of routine now. Mollyjo--he didn't do a fill. He said I'm doing great and should save my fills for when I need them. I have to agree! He said I can call anytime and come in for one though. I went to a support group meeting tonight and several "old" bandsters were saying they cannot eat oranges or it makes them sick...from the white pulp. They said if you eat them, eat them like a grapefruit and cut in half and use a spoon. Just thought I'd mention it.