KartMan

Killing each other for any reason is inexcusable. I don’t care how heated the exchange gets or how opposed you are to the other side, violence is not the answer and murder is the extreme non-answer. Having said that, I’m not sure you can really equate this whack-job with the nut that killed the abortion doctor a while back. This guy on Friday was a guy on a killing rampage. He killed the pro-life protestor, then a gravel pit owner for completely different reasons, and was on his way to kill somebody else when they caught him. He was a nut on a killing spree, not a pro-choice activist killing a pro-life activist. Regardless, he should rot in jail for the rest of his unnatural life.

Ummm, nope – not this time. I’ think I’ll stick to the healthcare discussion. Religious discussions are fun, but endless. The last time I got wrapped up in this one I lost a week of my life.

Don't do it Kartman Step away from the thread

Time for another update. I went in for another dunk test today and was very happy to hear that I dropped another 1.9% in Body Fat, I’m currently at 19.3% At this rate, I need to lose another 9.5lbs of fat to get to my elusive goal of 15% Body Fat. Unfortunately, when we lose we don’t lose just fat, we lose some lean as well. Having said that, I calculate I need to lose a total of 14lbs in order to hit my goal. Keith, you will be happy to know that it is possible to bend the curve on fat/lean loss. You will recall that last time I said my total loss consisted of 55% fat loss versus 45% lean loss. This time I was able to improve those numbers a bit, the new ratio is 76% fat loss versus 24 % lean loss. I think the trick here is that I have tried very hard to get my protein intake up to around 150 grams per day and am doing weight training at least 3 days a week.

I think they say the 50% thing as a CYA. They don’t want to get your hopes up and for you to be frustrated if you don’t reach that stretch goal. The historical data may show that to be the case, but the procedure and the community has changed a lot since the early days of WLS. Now there are so many more people doing this and such a better support system in place, I would have to guess the success rates are climbing. It would be interesting to see what it is looking just a few years back. In any event, I think you have a much better chance of taking off a higher percentage of excess weight and keeping it off if you actively work on it. Again, that is the reason I started this thread. I feel like the band is a tremendous tool, but I have to keep working on it to have success. For me, that means being conscious of the calories I consume (all of them), trying to balance my meals with appropriate vitamins and proteins, sticking to an exercise regimen, and generally just not slacking off. I can tell you from experience though, that 50% is certainly not the limit and I don’t think anyone should set that as a goal. I started at 285lbs, which is exactly 100lbs over a normal BMI for a 6’ tall male. As of today, about 7.5 months out, I am down over 95lbs – which means I have dropped 95% of my excess weight. I must admit that the loss has slowed a bit in the last month, but I attribute that to the muscle mass that I am building from working out and lifting weights (I am trying to get to 15% Body Fat). Some of my favorite tickers on here read something like this “The biggest risk with setting your goals too low is that you will achieve them.” Set your goals high, and then give yourself a stretch goal even a little past that. Then, as you start to achieve success (or slowdown), reevaluate your goals. Not reaching a goal may not constitute failure, it may just mean that the reality of the situation has changed. I have started to blow past many of my early goals and am now past any historical reference for me. With that in mind, my new goals are into uncharted territory. For some of them, I don’t even know if my body can get there – but I will set them anyway and strive to achieve them.

You can put lipstick on an idiot, but at the end of the day she’s still an idiot.

Really? Me too:thumbup: In fact, I think he is so great that rather than settle for Press Secretary, he should just run for President himself. C’mon Patty, lets me and you start a “Draft Glen Beck 2012” campaign:drool:

While some comments like this are based on jealousy, these ones in particular were not. The ones I had in mind were by people that they really knew to have slipped backwards in some way. As I said, I don’t know the particulars of the WLS or the reasons they slipped, just that after some success they ended up that way. The fact that we can and sometimes do fail inspired me to start this post. I want to make myself vigilant so that I never end up in that category. Jachut, you are an inspiration. Several years out and still thriving… I can only hope the rest of us “age” as gracefully as you when we are 4 years old and beyond.

And Glen Beck as Press Secretary.

To hell with BMI, and to hell with people telling you that you’ve gone far enough. When I got close to goal, I started to realize that BMI wasn’t accurate enough for me. I’m 6’ tall so a 24.9 BMI would put me at 184lbs. I’m pretty close to that now and still have some flab around the belly. I decided to try to be more accurate, so I got a Hydrostatic Dunk test to check my actual body fat. The first time I went (about 2 months ago) I was at 22% which is Average, 3 weeks ago I improved to 21% and I go in tomorrow for another test. Even though 21% is average (and a good stopping point for some), I am not satisfied with that. I think I can lose the additional 10-15lbs of fat (while building muscle) to get to 15%, which is considered Ideal in terms of Body Fat.

Ok so I’m still getting used to the idea of buying M shirts and 32 pants – I’ve NEVER been there before. But today I got a real shocker. I ordered a costume online for a party I’m going to this weekend, I plan to wear the costume for Halloween as well. In the bad old days I would have been worried about bursting out of an off the shelf costume (one size fits all, yeah right:cursing:). Well, I put the thing on today and it drapes on me. The shoulders are saggy, I got no a$$, and the belt falls off. That was the happiest I ever felt about not fitting in a costume:thumbup:

Do I hear Palin/Wilson 2012? Bring it:lol:

I think you and I agree on this one, it’s not the Republicans that are in the way. They are opposed to it because they see that this may be a way to defeat Obama, I get that. I don’t like it, I think they are morally wrong to oppose Health Care, but I get it. It’s the Democrats I can’t forgive. I hate to give Bush credit for anything, but he would have had this thing in the bag already. He would have gone to his party leaders and said “look here fellas, it’s time to put up or shut up”. Anybody that didn’t support him would have found some well funded Republican competition at the next Primary. Ok, so maybe the Democrats don’t want to emulate Bush. I can respect that. But how about taking a look at another Texas President that was pretty successful at getting the tough things done, LBJ? Now that guy knew how to flex some muscle. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Statesman in Obama, but sometimes you just gotta take the gloves off. PS Thanks for the kudos, I feel really good about the progress.

Ok, I have a confession:blush: I just LOVE being thin! Most of my adult life I have been overweight or obese, so this is really new to me. Last time I was even close to normal size was when I got out of Navy Boot Camp back when I was still 18 (too young to know better). Now I am almost at goal and I’m really enjoying the new me. Since about 5 months out, I have been pretty open with everyone that I had surgery, even with strangers. The problem is that almost half the people I tell have had some experience with friends or family that lost a bunch in the first year of WLS, but then gained it all back. Usually they are not specific about which WLS it was, but they imply that my loss will be short lived:scared2: I am only 7 months out, lost fairly easily, had no complications, am feeling great, and I’m sticking to the lifestyle. But I REFUSE to go back!!! I won’t let myself be a statistic and be one of “those” people that lost it but then slacked off and gained it all back. For now I am focusing on my weight goal (only a few pounds to go there) and my Body Fat goal of 15%. I need to commit to myself right now that I will always be vigilant and never let myself fall into old habits. I know that if I have a complication, I could gain the weight back. But barring complications, it should be on me right? I should be able to do this. Scratch that, I will do this dammit:cursing:

Why are we even worried about the Republicans? They won’t vote for this no matter how much we water it down. I am angry at the President and the leadership for not first starting from the position of Single Payer then negotiating down to Public Option. Since we are here though, there is no going back – we’ll never get Single Payer. But it has to stop here, we can’t lose the Public Option, and this fight is not even with the Republicans. It’s time the Democrats (especially the Blue Dogs) heard the voice of the people that put them there and not the whiners of the town halls. The progressives in this country want the Public Option and we have the electoral momentum and strength on our side. If any in Democrat in the 111th congress votes against the Public Option they should be primaried out in 2010/2012.

You should get the one that will work for you.:blushing: I wish it was that easy, unfortunately people just don’t know what will work (or not work) until they have it done themselves. It’s easy to get a bunch of band cheerleaders on here and I’m sure you can find an RNY friendly site that will tout all the glory of that WLS. I agree with the Monkey though, if you are fat because you are a portion eater, then the band may be the tool for you. That was the story for me. I never had much of a sweet tooth and I rarely snacked. I never (ever) missed a meal though. And my meals were big (I mean freakin’ BIG). For example… 5-6 egg omelets for breakfast. 2 fast food combos for lunch. I would start out with a big plate for diner, and always go back for seconds. If I went to a buffet, I always had 2-3 big plates plus dessert. Now, well let’s just say I don’t eat much. I still never miss a meal, but I eat like a bird. In fact, my 7 year old daughter eats more than me. I would estimate that I used to eat 4000-6000 calories a day pre-band, now I am at 900-1500 per day. What happens when you reduce your calories that much? Well, for me it meant dropping about 95lbs in 7 months. People refer to me as thin. Shirts dropped from XXXL to M, pants down from size 44 to size 34. Oh, and did I mention people call me thin:cool:? Best of luck, there are no easy answers and no guarantees (and don’t think it’s a cakewalk – you gotta want it, and you gotta work).

About 7 months out and down about 95lbs. I’ve had 3 fills and 1 unfill and currently at my sweet spot. I lost weight pretty steadily at about 1-3 lbs per week right from the beginning. I didn’t exercise at all the first five months. Didn’t really feel the urge because the weight was coming off fine on it’s own. I went in for a hydrostatic dunk test about 2 months ago and was pleasantly surprised to find out that my Body Fat (this is not BMI) was about 22%, which is Average for a guy of my age. I was inspired though to get my Body Fat down to 15%, which is considered Ideal. However, to get down to 15% I would not only need to lose another 10-20 lbs, I would have to do it while gaining muscle. Well, I like a good challenge – especially one I feel I can make. I have been hitting the gym since and it is working. I went back for another dunk test a few weeks ago and I dropped down to 21%. At this point, I think I am about 10 lbs away from attaining that 15%.

Yes and no. The incumbent has a huge advantage in any election which has been shown to sway the results in their favor. I don’t see term limits as a lazy way out, just one way to remove an fair advantage in the system. I would be for a system of term limits under the right circumstances. I would also like to see serious spending caps on campaigns, more transparency in voting records vs contributions, public financing, and a host of other reforms. Have I mentioned I’m for all reform? Gonna change my account name to ReformMan :blushing:

Patty, I don’t agree with you on much of anything, but I do agree with term limits. I wouldn’t limit people form serving in different capacities, but I would be in favor of limiting a specific role. For example, you could serve say 4 terms in the House – then move on to the Senate or some other role, but not back to the House. I would also advocate lengthening the term from 2 years to 4 years for the House. It seems like those guys are in campaign mode from the moment they get elected.

Liar, its on page 15. Everybody knows that even pages are blank in that book because they are on the left side and nothing good comes from the left side.

Ok, time for another Secular Democracy rant… This country should make laws that are constitutional and supported by a majority of voters. If voters don’t like a law, they can change out their legislators (or in some states have a referendum on the ballot). God, religion, the bible, your preacher, etc, etc, etc - none of those things have any significance to our laws. It is a mere coincidence that some things that are illegal are also considered sins, but it is only a coincidence. Your (or anyone else’s) idea of sin has absolutely no relevance to me nor does it have any bearing on the law.

You are being just a little disingenuous here. You are implying that you were “for” his change (whatever that change was) and now you are upset that you didn’t get what you bargained for. You didn’t vote for him and you didn’t support ANY of his change. Guess what? I did, and I am a happy customer. In fact, I think I’ll shop here again.

You know what Patty? It’s really all about compromise? If I had my way, we would have Single Payer (sort of like Medicare for all). Obviously, you would be for no Government Insurance at all (which if you are consistent, should mean that you wish to abolish Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA as well). Guess what? The middle ground here is the Public Option, not really what either of us wants but a compromise nonetheless.

I have no problem in someone pulling together sources form the internet and using them here, I do it all the time. In fact I often include links so that people don’t think I am just making something up. It just came across in the opening sentence that Patty wrote that it was HER idea and that it was original. Sometimes there is a fine line between paraphrasing and plagiarizing. I think this was the later.

Exactly! Couldn’t have said it better myself.