btrieger

I called it bull because I don't want to see it deter anyone from walking. When I am looking for an excuse to not do something and that is more often than it should be; I get into the mindset like, "ah, it won't help me in the long run. Why bother?" By "in shape" I was speaking in broad terms. Meaning below a BMI of 25. The only thing these billions of people have in common is that they all walk. No matter how long you've been walking, it will always burn calories. It will be less as you lose weight and as your metabolism improves but it will always burn calories. If you are consistent with walking and with your calorie consumption, your weight loss will slow down but it will persist. Eventually you will reach your weight goal. It just may not be as fast as some would like.

I was thinking, "Hi, I'm Bruce, why wait?" :ohmy: Sorry. I'm naughty

I walk an hour a day, 7 days a week at a comfortable pace; have only cut my food intake down a little and am losing 3-4 pounds a week. If you like gadgets you can get a cheap pedometer to record how many steps you take every day and set goals. Or go all out and spend $100 or so on a Garmin Forerunner which tells you how fast you are moving and how far you've traveled. That stuff about whistling wind and walking not keeping you fit in the long run is bull and a deterrent to some people looking for an excuse not to walk! There are billions, yes billions of people in this world that are in great shape and have never done a strenuous work out in their lives.

You're on! That study sounds like a bunch of crap. I'll be looking for you in November of 2011. :ohmy:

Losing weight is all about diet and exercise. I see a lot of talk here about diet but absolutely nothing about exercise. You don't have to starve yourself, just eat sensibly and go out and walk every day. It's no fun but it gets easier every day.

Get the info on Bodybugg here: Enroll in bodybugg You may have to create an account on Apex to view that. Do it, it's free.

The display came with mine. I hardly ever look at it. It's really kind of useless unless you are going to be away from your computer for days at a time and care what is going on.

This isn't the dark ages any more. We have modern science. There is no need to claim a god or gods is responsible for everything that happens. Grow up!! I'd rather have somebody in office that has their own morals and doesn't rely on fictional characters in a 2,000 year old fairy tale. And if we can't have that, I'll settle for the lesser of two evils, the candidate that isn't as zealous as the other. That candidate will never be Sarah Palin. I also feel that she isn't much of a mother because she let her teenage daughter get knocked-up. That being said, I not a liberal. I am a libertarian. Libertarian Party | Smaller Government | Lower Taxes | More Freedom

Bought my Bodybugg online for $205 at the end of September and it has helped me lose a lot of weight. I'm not even banded yet and am dropping 3-4 pounds a week. Counting calories never made much sense to me. It all makes sense now that I know how many calories I am burning as well.

The 3 to 6 month waiting period is usually referred to as a "supervised diet". It's a time when the doctor can evaluate how well you do prior to being banded and ensure that you are a good candidate. I agree that if the doctor expects or requires the patient to lose weight during the supervised diet period then he should make this clear and not string somebody that can't or won't lose weight along. The decision to have lapband surgery is a big decision. You should be ready to alter your lifestyle prior to making the decision. As we've all read thousands of times, "the lapband is a tool" and you have to be willing to make some sacrifices if you expect it to work. Nobody said that these sacrifices don't start until after surgery or your first fill. The surgeons would be doing nobody a favor if they proceeded with the surgery on a patient they don't think will succeed. I may be being a little judgmental but I don't want to come across unsupportive. We can all empathize with somebody that has gained weight even during a diet but that doesn't mean we have to attack the doctor who is probably looking out for the patient's best interest.

I agree wholeheartedly with LC. If you aren't willing to lose a couple of pounds the old-fashioned way; what is there to make the surgeon think you will follow the rules once banded? When it fails and you don't lose any weight or even worse, gain weight after being banded by him; it is a black mark against him. Nothing moralistic about it. The band is a tool. If you can't lose weight on your own, maybe by-pass is a better idea. I'm down 41 lbs since my initial consultation 2 months ago and I am not killing myself. I cut my portions a little and am walking for 45 minutes to an hour a day at a comfortable pace.

My surgeon never gave me a number. He just said that at 365 lbs my liver would be huge and that I should try and lose weight prior to surgery. At the rate I'm going and with any liquid diet that may be required, I should be down 75 lbs when I finally have my surgery.

I've got Aetna and the make you wait 3 months. My first consult was September 18, 2009. I have my last on January 6, 2009 and at that time the paperwork will be submitted to the insurance company.

Jacqui and Mimi, You are a inspirations to everyone! Any goal can be reached if you work for it.

Not a she, but don't fret. You aren't the first tricked by my moobs :thumbup: I have about 2 months until banding and have been looking high and low for the failure information. There are plenty of great success stories hear but I want the whole thing. So I know what I am getting myself into. Most of the failures I have found are because people weren't ready to change their lives. They thought the band was some kind of magical thing that made the weight fall off automatically. I am ready, I have the right mindset and am working hard prior to surgery so I won't have as far to go. To answer your original question, I think you should set your sights at 157. You can probably get to 145 in time if try really want it and work for it. I'll race you. I'm shooting for 170, a number I haven't seen since my military days 20+ years ago. PS. On the bright side I haven't found any deaths "directly caused" by the lapband.

Don't judge yourself or your goal based on what is posted here! The people that lost a lot of weight are proud to tell you how much they lost and post it. While the others are either not as proud or perhaps a little ashamed. Haven't you noticed the lack of failure stories here when you know there are many? I plan to be one of the proud ones and hopefully you will be too!

If the doctor is not honest with the insurance company, what makes you think he will be any more honest with you. Good luck!

The amount of weight you lose corresponds with the number of calories you burn minus the calories you consume. It is simple math. If you are consuming 14,000 calories a week and only burning 20,000 then you are going to only lose 1 - 2 pounds a week. To speed up the process you're either going to have to burn more; consume less or both. I use the bodybugg to tell me how many calories I am burning and chart everything I eat to know what I am consuming.

Have you considered replacing the ice cream with frozen yogurt? It has only a fraction of the saturated fat. I can't tell the difference but a few people don't think it taste as good as ice cream.

Get a Bodybugg! It measures your calorie output and you enter everything you eat into the web page. It calculate the difference for you. It is working great for me and I am not even banded yet. I am eating about 2,000 calories a day and burning about 4,000 by just walking an hour a day. I am dropping 3 to 4 pounds a week. Counting how many calories I was eating never made sense because I had no clear idea of how many I was burning. Besides that, the Bodybugg is a gadget and as men, we love gadgets. :thumbup:

Also, the doctor will want you to document how many calories you are eating every day and that is easy if you are already entering them for the Bodybugg.

Check out the Bodybugg. It is working wonders for me. I've dropped 37 pounds in 2 months just making sure I burn 1500 more calories than I consume. The Bodybugg tells you what you are burning and you enter what you are eating on their site to calculate how you consume. I honestly have not been hungry. I basically am eating all of the same stuff but have cut portions by about 25% and am walking for about an hour a day at a comfortable pace.

I've lost 37 pounds in the last 2 months and have not been banded yet or gone crazy with diet and exercise. I started at 365 and could probably have dropped close to 100 by now if I worked my butt off and dieted. It all depends on how much you weigh, what gender you are, what type of food you eat and a few other variables. The heaviest people on "The Biggest Loser" drop 60+ pounds in a month and it doesn't seem to be hurting them. In perusing these boards for a couple of months I've calculated the average loss here is 2 lbs a week. That is also what my surgeon said the average was. So, I am guessing the 2 lbs thing is probably for real.

If you found a doctor that will perform it if you are under 500, have you considered trying to lose 50 pounds? If you are fairly active then you may just need to alter your diet slightly. You can eat the same thing, just cut the portions by 25% and see what happens.

Bodybugg's are not sold in stores. You get them from 24 Hour Fitness or BODYBUGG :: WELCOME. I haven't heard of a coupon.