OH Juli

BG- The light on my ass, as it was so delicately put, is so cars see me at dusk and not hit me. Funny, I ride in biker shorts and I'm at 244 pounds. No small thing. When we did our ride on Sunday I was passing people here and there, those stopped at the side of the road. My GF who was behind me said the people would actually stare a bit. Of course I was the biggest person cycling, well I saw one other good sized chica, but I don't care. Look at me. Look at me pass your skinny ass. Woo Hoo. Okay, and for support, really do you want a phone number? You can keep track of your food with pen and paper. Take a little notebook. Just be sensible about how you eat. You'll be burning mega calories, hauling stuff and just being outside. Watch how you drink, alcohol has huge calories so don't indulge too much...I can't think of anything else. But really, I'm serious if you want a phone number I'll give you mine so to be able to encourage/support ya.

jmc- Great NSVs! Working out and not standing on the toilet! That's so great! Hazel- Even though you are headless, you look great! Woot Woot!

LOOK AT YOU!!! I only see one chin! Fantastic! You're looking good! Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Banded 3-8 Zero Fills 4 cc Band Good Restriction

Jachut, I need to chime in about cycling, not needing to train! I'm simply shocked! Really I agree, but one would want to spend some time in the saddle because cycling does use different muscles than are used for running. Also, there's the getting used to the seat. ((OUCH)). Part of me thinks about doing this as a long term like 2009 goal, but swimming is as close to torture as anything I can think of. When asked if I can swim, my typicaly reply is, "only to save my life" not fun.

I'm going to chime in too. Do something, but be consistent and do it daily. If it's walking up the stairs once, with the intention that that is your exercise...not just a trip up the stairs because you have to. Measure how you feel... Do it again the next day. Do it twice, then three times then more and more. I started off not fit at all. My knees hurt and I had no energy. That's soooo not the case anymore, and I've got much more to lose. You'll be surprised at how quickly you get stronger. HTH

And BG, I forgot to mention, I just bought icy blue sunglasses on line. Two different pair to go with the rest of the blue I'm sporting. I'll have to get a picture. Oh, and I'll be hitting the gym on the none bike days so I'm not a complete slug.....

Hoosier WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!! I don't know, puppies are pretty damn cute. Especially Pomeranians. Babygirl Let me know how the Oprah thing pans out...I'll be part of the group. Cycling Bandsters Who Lose All Their Excess Weight. Thanks for the props. I feel like a slug today because I've not done anything. I can only ride Thursday and Saturday this week, but I'm shooting for 30 on both rides. WOO HOO.

Deanna, You need to change your tag from "wanna be bikerbitch" to "certified bikerbitch". There's no wanna about it. You doing it.

Hey gang. So I saw my surgeon today. I was fretting about do I get a fill or not....I'm losing but I want to eat and am able to eat lots of food. It's mostly healthy and I'm not concerned about having bad nutrition, but I was concerned about the quantitiy...so I went in to talk with my doc. He's so impressed with my exercise and weight loss! He asked if I would talk infront of their mass group initial meeting with people who are interested. He said he has other successful banded people but they are all about the, "fill level" not so much about exercise and eating healthy. Of course I said, "YES!" I'm not shy. Where's the smiley face that's dancing on a bar? I'd insert it here. And no, I didn't get a fill. He said not to eat to the point of pain, but I shouldn't damage myself with 2 cups of veggies and 5 oz of protein, which is what I was concerned about. He doesn't want to reduce my calorie intake because that might impact my ability to exercise. I thought I'd share here, my Marchies, whom I love don't quite get the freakish desire to exercise. But ya'll do. So Yeah ME!

Hi gang. To answer Denise, the biking miles were nearly all on the road, back country roads, or through small towns, but paved roads. I saw my doctor today, again no fill and I'm okay with that. I know some of you are struggling and me? Not so much. I want to contribute so as to maybe help, not to brag... So here goes. I say when I got a band around my stomach I got one around my brain because now I think and act very differently in regard to food. I really feel it is a three pronged approach. There is the physical difference in our body from having the band. It does limit how much we can eat. There is the behavioral part, that's the piece that keeps us from driving through the drive through and makes us work out. Then there is the cognative part. That's where you frame how you think about food/exercise and their roles in your world. I really think you need to engage all three all the time. You can't go on auto pilot thinking, "I have the band"--PRESTO CHANGO-- "now I'll get skinny." My personal challenge is to try to get to where I view food as fuel, I don't know that I ever will...but I certainly don't see it as reward now. It's still celebration, social, comfort at times. But not as much. That's measurable and worthy note. Good cognative change, no? As for exercise, to sound like nike, just do it. Do something small everyday, then add to it. Overtime you'll be up to a full hour. But small, 5 minutes is better than nothing. And really you are looking for better not perfect... Be kind to yourselves, opening the can of emotional worms of why we got the point of needing surgery is unending. So if it's been a while since you poked around in there, you might want to do it some more. Ignore me if I annoy you... I come from a place of :love: love for ya'll.

Thanks for the compliment. I do feel like I ROCK...but this too will pass. As for fills and restriction, I'm empty. I have restriction, in that if I eat too quickly I BP. But I can eat a big quanitity of food...I see my doctor tomorrow to talk about that. I keep my calories about 1400-1600, and I burn quite a bit, so I feel pretty okay with that. However, I'm fearfull that I might be doing damage to my pouch because of the quaintity... anyone have any thoughts about what I should do?

I happened to have a lightish blue helmet (with flowers no less, because my daughter wanted us to match...)but I bought a silver and light blue bike, so now I have light blue gloves... I'm getting light blue jersies and really super dorky here...light blue sunglasses. My pink ones are too scratched now...Your husband is the dork.

I biked 60, SIXTY, six-zero, miles between Friday and today!!!!!!!!! Yeah, that's right. I rode that bike. I'm having a great time and doing things I never thought I'd do. Being banded is one of the best decisions I've made, ever. Woo Hoo! Okay, I just woke up from the very NEEDED nap...:wof:

Hey kids The GF and I did our 28 mile ride today. It was pretty awesome. It was "the covered bridge bicycle tour" in western MI. It's the most we've ever done. We were sitting with an old, had to be close to 70 year old, woman at the speghetti lunch afterward. She had ridden 50 miles and rides all the time. I was awe struck. Yesterday we put 11 miles on the bikes, add 22 from Friday with the 28 today I RODE SIXTY MILES THIS WEEKEND!!!!! There will come a time when I do that much in a day, but that's a ways away! Numb hands...get gloves and shake your hands out regularly. Move them around on the bars too. It just might be a circulation problem. Hurting upper arms...do you have a bend in your elbows when you are on your seat? You might need to scoot the seat foward some. You shouldn't be able to lock your elbows. Helmets...I'm happy you got them. The other cyclists will respect you more too, like you are part of the serious cycling cloud. Good job. I love this thread. You all are amazing. Thanks for all the encouragement.

BG, I'm sure you'll find more bruises... Tomorrow when you wake up and feel like you were hit by a truck you'll feel today's fall. Add to it a nasty wedding reception hangover, you'll be a mess! The GF has a hybrid that she bought before I seriously took to road biking. She's insisting on staying on it this year but will buy a road bike next year. GET HELMETS EVERYONE. It's only your brain you're protecting. Lecture over.

BG I'll tell you, club riding is really motivating. You also meet some great people and learn more about the sport. Check it out! I love a good, "I made an ass of myself" story! Yours qualifies to be sure.

Lee Don't discount the older ladies. The have some fire in them yet.

Cheri, Don't try to cover your kink up now. It's too late. We all know that you are a Golden Shower Princess! I'd be surprised if anyone who reads this thread is offended. We scared them off a long time ago! Don't you worry, you freak.

Wasa I'm really not looking for a fight, and I KNOW your heart is in the right place, but I find this ODD. It is as if you are taking on the fight of the SMO, because you want to be super sympathtic. Truely as a SMO person at one time, I'd prefer you leave that seat empty so I could spill over into it. SMO want to be treated normal, not as "special" and not ignored. You get props for having an "aha" moment, realizing there is a difference in how the world treats the SMO, and I'll give you props for reclaiming the language and using the word "fatties"...but I get the impression that you want to be a one woman team to avenge the wrongs society has done agains SMOs. Bless your heart. But the cautionary side of that is gaining the trust of a SMO, and going down the "I've not been there, but I feel your pain" road with a stranger on the plane might not be recieved like you expect it should. I expect I'm not communicating this clearly, but I'm giving it a shot.

Comfort bikes are also called beach bikes. They are often single speed, you sit upright...like the bike style of the 1950s. At least that's what I call a comfort bike. There are lots of different styles of bikes now. If you are interested in riding, go to the local Bike Shop (BS) and see what they offer. You might be surprised! And don't let the sporty boys intimidate you, typically they love riding so much they'll be happy to help get you on the road.

Babygirl OMG! What a horrible way to start the day!!! I'm happy you weren't more seriously hurt, but boo hoo about your bike. That just stinks. You'll be up and rolling along again soon. I'm sure. As for our weekend rides, the GF has decided that she won't be able to do more than 15 miles today, we are scheduled to ride with a group tomorrow 28. I think BOO, I want to do at least 20! But I don't say that. Yesterday's ride challenged her more than she expected. Challenged me too. We were riding this crappy trail, had lots of weeds and crossed many intersections, not my idea of fun but comfortable for her. When it ended we got in the road, where I was happier but not good for her. At one point we had to ride a very busy road 4 lanes...again, not horrible for me, but really stretched her. Overall yesterday was great. So, today I'll let her set the pace. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. We've been having a great time all together though. Now it's time for homework. Oi.

We did 21 miles today! Woo hoo. There will be more tomorrow and Sunday.

Bicycling Street Smarts - Table of Contents Hey all, this book is on line and is a good read for anyone who may ride a bike on the street. Bookmark it! The laws pertain to the state of Ohio, each state will have their own laws but the common sense parts are well worth reading.

Could have been worse...but it was a great time. If I was drinking it would have been horrible. I kept it around 1600 calories, mostly due to some dessert, but you know a person is going to eat dessert every once in a while. Today was good. I'm going to have a good weekend too. Thanks for asking.