sawyer77

Stretching after you run is the most important. Think of it like a rubber band. If you have a warm rubber band, stretching it will be much better than stretching a cold rubber band. The first week of C25K in November was the hardest for me. I actually had to stop for two weeks because of shin splints. I did calf exercises and got back in gear. I have a few suggestions: -Find your nearest running store (Fleet Feet is my closest) and have them fit you for running shoes. They will know what to recommend after watching you walk/run. -If you're on facebook, "like" The Couch-To-5K Running Program page and Active.com -- they are a wealth of information right in your facebook feed. The Couch-to-5K Running Plan | Facebook Active.com | Facebook -Cross-train! Strength training (free weights and conditioning classes) and yoga helped me SO much in my running. Good luck! You can do this, I promise! If I can run, you can run!

The beginning is the hardest part! You can do it!

Thanks! Nothing like frustration to get you going! Heh. :bored:

AWESOME! :bored: So proud of you! 80 pounds in a year is AMAZING!

I've got LoseIt and SparkPeople, but I don't use them currently. I need to start journaling because I think it would help me immensely. I need it to be on my phone because otherwise I will forget to track it. Now that I'm ready to dive in, which app do you like AND USE? I need it to be one that I know folks have success with and can like enough to keep doing it. So, what iPhone apps do you all successfully use to lose?! :smile: BTW, I already use dailymile (online) and the RunKeeper app to track my fitness. Thanks in advance!

NOW we're talking! :thumbdown:

Thanks, MissyMS! Hahah, I'm not looking for fun! This is work! Heh.

I'm down three pounds total for the challenge, but what a grueling road! I certainly won't make my 10 pound goal, but it's okay. I am still going in the right direction. Did I hear someone say July 4th challenge?!?! Heh. :thumbdown:

I can't tell you how happy this makes me, Leigha! I was having a little fight with my band over who is doing all the work. I had to sit down and have a talk about how much work I'm doing, and how I want the credit for it! Heh. I heard that dismissive voice of "others" saying, "Well, she got the band. That's how she's losing the weight." So, instead of screaming, I wrote a poem. Heh. :thumbdown:

Leigha!!! This is so awesome! I'm SO glad for you! WOOOOOHOOOOO! :blushing:

I had to travel for work 4 weeks after my surgery. I packed my shaker bottle and Protein powder. I had a lot of soup and egg whites/cheese. Also, yogurt was aplenty at the Breakfast spread at the conference. I urge you to call your surgeon and ask advice regarding your menu for these days. They may give you some great tips, as well as telling you what you should eat vs. not eat.

Wonderful news! You're in my thoughts today!

My last fill was on Thursday (April 22), same as you, right? No, my fills are not under fluoro - I have to drink water afterwards and make sure it goes down. I have 5 ccs now. I hear everyone saying 8 months for restriction lately. Heh. AHHHHH! Still, I love my band. (I'll just love it even more in 4.5 months!)

Leigha and Karen, I hear you! Though I am only on my third fill, I am HUNGRY! I know I will need more fills (Fourth fill: May 20th, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!) I spent yesterday being stark, raving hungry! I ate egg whites, cheese, and turkey sausage at 10:30, ate some chicken at 11:30 and was barely able to make it to my cottage cheese at 2:30, and again was ravenous for yogurt at 5:30 and then AGAIN couldn't wait for dinner at 8:30. Man! I just keep telling myself I'm biding my time and that 27 pounds is an awesome amount in 13 weeks. It also helps that I keep having to pull up my new jeans because they're too loose.

Finally, I've lost two pounds! I was stalled since March 26th! Huzzah! Had my third fill yesterday. Feeling jazzed! I can do this. **WE** CAN DO THIS!

Yay, Karen! 6 months and a fill. w00t! Leigha, I'm glad things seem okay with your port. I just had my third fill today, and now have 5 ccs in my 10 cc band. The stinkin' scale at the office said I was 173 (mid-morning with clothes on), but home scale (always less than their scale) says 171, first thing in the AM and sans clothes. Anyway, even with their numbers, they're still very happy with my progress. 30%+ EBW lost in three months. Also, I asked two questions today. The first was about decaffeinated drinks. I drink 24 ounces of hot tea (decaf, splenda, skim milk) every day. I asked if I could count that as 24 ounces of water because it's not caffeine/dehydrating. Surgeon said yep, but don't drink 64 ounces of tea and consider myself watered for the day! Heh. Also, I've been losing hair. I'm getting plenty of protein, taking biotin. They said it's residual loss from the initial (three months ago) decrease in protein after surgery, when it was horrific to try to eat, drink, etc. I had about a week where I didn't eat much of anything. The surgeon also said the rapidity of the weight loss does it too. In my first 2.5 weeks (1 week pre-op and 1.5 weeks post), I lost 17 pounds. So that's pretty rapid, almost 7 pounds/week. Since then, it's been slow weight loss. Does this sound like your early three-month experiences?

I realized that I've neglected to answer your actual question! I only record my weight (in whole numbers) when I've had a loss. So: 1.5 weeks post-op: I had lost 16 pounds 3 weeks post-op: I had lost 17 pounds I'm really trying hard to not focus so much on the scale. It's very difficult. Because I will look and see that between 1.5 weeks post-op and now, 13 weeks post-op, I've lost 10 pounds and I get disheartened. I just have to remember this is a time for new beginnings, new learning, new health. I try to focus on that (and still track my pacing, too!) without getting frustrated. It's a challenge, but I've still lost 26 pounds and that makes me HAPPY! :smile:

My surgeon wants me to lose 50% of my EBW in the first year. So my goal (according to the surgeon) is to lose 40 pounds before January 2011. I've lost 26 and it's only April! I think I can lose 14 pounds before January! I have something important to tell you. I'm 13 weeks post-op today, and have lost an average of exactly two pounds a week. This is fantastic pace, and I'm thrilled. However, it hasn't always felt thrilling up to this point. I have had several stalls. I think I stall every two weeks and the stall lasts for two weeks! In this beginning period, before true band restriction, we're really lucky if we lose anything at all. I am working my butt off at the gym and running on the road. I am trying my hardest to make good food choices every step of the way. Until this morning, I hadn't lost anything since March 26th. So, go easy on yourself -- I KNOW you want to lose, I KNOW! But before you get several fills, it won't much be the band at all that's doing the work. It's all you, baby! You can do this! And I really do like to look at the percentage of my EBW. I started at 197, my doctor wants me at 122 but I have this 117 down as a preliminary goal just so I can look at my EBW as a round 80. I've lost 32.5% of my EBW (and 34.6% of my surgeon's listing of my EBW) and I'm only three months out from surgery! WOW. When you look at it like that, it's astounding. I go for my third fill tomorrow, and I CANNOT WAIT! Plateaus on the scale are no fun. I'm going on record with that!

Anne, That. Is. AWESOME! Congrats!

Trying to catch up with y'all! Leigha, glad you're getting the free fill! Will they unfill for free too, just in case? Like a hairdresser's client, go back right away and they fix? Heh. Oh, and your fat pic -- don't you love it! I love when people say I look like a different person, because I cringed at that person in the past, so I will take the compliment! Karen, hey -- I hear my voice in your post. I'm not as far along as you, but I'm tired of the stall! Fill on Thursday -- huzzah! Bobbie, how ya hangin' in? Anne, it's so good that you're getting used to waiting! ARRRGH, waiting is like the name of the game for me right now. I'm sick of seeing the same number on the scale. Denise, go you with the splurge! We need that once in a while. I hope things clear up with the BP issues. I am still giggling about the "hammered shit" comment. That's just awesome. Here's a pic I forgot to include in the last post. Me and my running buddy. We've done both 5Ks together, and plan to keep going!

So, I've not had a change in the scale since March 26th. Grr. I have my third fill on Thursday, so I'm hoping to see a change SOON. In times of struggle, I have to reach down/reach out to find something GOOD somewhere. So... NSV! Yesterday I ran my second 5K, and I beat my previous time. I felt so strong and powerful! My new record is 43:05, and I am so thrilled. I'm planning on a 5K every month to keep myself motivated and training. My next is May 8th. Three weeks! I also bought a bike yesterday (yay, tax refund!) so that I can commute to work (4 miles each way). My running buddy talked me into a 64.6 mile Bike-A-Thon in July also. Egads! Getting busy training NOW!