I haven't really read anything about that around here, which is a little surprising. Exercise, exercise, excercise is all you read in the magazines these days, so it seems like the surgeons would tell everyone to get moving. I'm wondering if most bandsters start doing some kind of exercise, or if the band pretty much does the job all by itself?

Those who do exercise - do you feel it's made a difference in terms of speed of weight loss, excess skin, etc. Or does it mostly just make you feel better overall?

just wondering if anyone is planning on doing the Walk From Obesity?

http://www.walkfromobesity.com/index.php

Thanks for the heads-up on the Walk from Obesity site. I'm going to look into it now.

I had a real aversion to exercise before. In fact, it wasn't until I had lost about 70 lbs that I really exercised regularly. Even then it was forced upon me with physical therapy after they dislocated my hip during my gall bladder surgery. But once I started doing it I realized that it actually made me feel better. I had more energy and I lost a pant size from doing it even though I didn't lose any weight. (I think I put on some muscle-yes, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it)

I get up each morning before work and do my theraband and theraball exercises for therapy, then I get on my elliptical machine until my legs start shakin' and feeling like heavy jelly. So far I can go about 6 minutes (0.8 mile) which is great compared to the 1 minute I started at.

I did almost no exercise my first year...I get into doing a routine for a few days then stop...I was losing without, so I was lazy. But then the weight stopped coming off just by not eating as much.....and I started to gain. Now I'm starting to love exercise. I'm up to 125+ crunches a night, leg lifts, and other floor exercises. And then also get in an hour+ walk/jog every day. Now I'm really losing the weight again.

I have never exercised throughout all of this. I should though, I would probably finally hit goal. I'm not a good lap-band example!

I haven't lost any weight in over a month, even through a band adjustment. My husband just changed to first shift after working second shift for over eight years of marriage and ten years of knowing each other. Now that I see him every night, I asked him to walk with me. We've been walking 5-6 days/week ever since. Besides the great feeling I have that we get to see each other, we get to have private time during our walk where we can talk about personal issues that we used to save for the weekends.

As far as weight loss speed, I haven't noticed any change in that area. What I have noticed is that my clothes fit better and my leg muscles are tone. Now I need to work on upper body tone. For that I plan to go back to Curves, where I have a medical hold. Plus I feel so much better. I can get from point A to point B so much more ease. I walk faster and have much more energy. I've been taking stairs when I can too. Though I haven't measured lately, I think I've lost more inches. I need to figure out what I'll do about saggy skin such as under my arms. As Oprah, my arms keep waving, even though my hand isn't anymore.

As Oprah, my arms keep waving, even though my hand isn't anymore.

LOL, thats a great way of putting it. My arms defiently do that. The scar for an arm lift is pretty bad, and everytime I mention that might be something I want to have done, friends remind me how big the scar is. I have a friends wife who had it done an he says people ask her about her scars if she wears short sleeves. How rude! So even though she had it done to wear short sleeves, she still doesn't often because of the scars. They run from arm pit to elbow. What I do't understand is why they can't do something similiar to the tummy tuck. If I hold my arm up in the air, 95 percent of it looks good. I could handle a scar in my armpit...I mean if people are looking there they got more problems than me right?

I have been lifting some pretty heavy weights for my arms (for a gal) over the last year, and I defiently have some muscle there...I even make hubby feel them sometimes LOL. I admit I love driving along and flexing them and seeing the definition that is emerging. I just wish they didn't have a sack hanging from the bottom that is waving hello cruel world constantly.

There is a ton of information about exercise and you are absolutely right in it being very important to toning and weight loss. There is the quarterly (or at least it seems to go in quarter spurts) of a boot camp LBT style for exercise and weight loss. Plus there are exercise challenge threads around. There are also the Turtle Tribe and the Rabbit groups.... here are some threads you may want to check out.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=13508&highlight=exercise

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=17786&highlight=exercise

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=17295&highlight=exercise

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15076&highlight=exercise

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15356&highlight=exercise

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15282&highlight=exercise

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15547&highlight=exercise

There are lots of jazzercise classes in my area. A friend and I go about 6x a week. In the hour that we're there we do toning and strength training along with a great, fun cardio workout. There is a website to see if there are classes in your area.

http://jes.jazzercise.com/jes.dll?JCLS:Index:0

Generally, the classes are $20-40 for an unlimited month. And they are sooo fun! There is a wide age and physical fitness level of people in each class, so I don't feel embarrased if I can't do everything that they are doing just yet, but I'm getting there!

Kristin

Nope .........

I go to the club about 3 times a week. I do the circuit weights and walk and sometimes swim. It's made all the difference in the world to me. I feel better and am stronger and more flexible.

I think exercise makes a huge difference for me. I go to Curves 3 to 4 times a week and I love it. There are about 6 of us who go at a specific time and those who knew I had surgery have been a huge support for me. I feel like I have accomplished something when I walk out the door and it is a good feeling.

I can't figure out for the life of me why the other bandsters around me who've been banded as long or shorter than me have lost more than I have without exercising, and many without really watching what they eat. I've eaten very carefully and excercised hard every single day since I've been banded. It's my new quest to research and find out why and what makes a metabolism fast (besides more muscle). But I'm determined to get all this weight off - I just feel like I might be spinning my wheels the wrong way.

Not to use an excuse, but I have hypothyrodism. I think it makes any weightloss HARDER. At the gym yesterday when I logged into the machine it was my 453rd session. So exercise defiently isn't the reason the weight tends to come off slower for me. I eat around 1000-1200 calories...and tend to maintain at that. Just had a fill and I lost several pounds while doing the liquid thing. Yesterday I increased my calories a bit because I was feeling dizzy and was unable to finish my workout. Today....I show a .5 gain. I know I know probally water, but it just seems so freaking unfair. Pudding pie, have they checked your thyroid? It has alot to do with how your metablolism works. I really want to get my metabolism checked but haven't found anyone locally to do it.

Okay, I'm really weirded out now. In the last 4-5 days I've been eating terribly (well, terribly for me), and getting like 1,400 calories/day as opposed to the 800-1,000 I usually get. Here's the weird thing: I've lost like 3 pounds in the last 4 days. WHY does the weight come off when I up my calories? Does it have anything to do with upping my calories? Shouldn't my body HAVE to drop the weight on fewer calories? I mean, physics tells me that my body has no choice but to drop the weight. I don't understand this business.

Exercise is definitely an integral part to your weight loss. You'll certainly lose, in the beginning, due to difference in intake, however, your body will adjust to that intake eventually. Also, the tone of your body mass will show the difference. ie, more loose skin versus tighter, more toned skin. For me, personally, I can slack off the exercise and physically SEE and feel the difference in my body mass. Where my legs were more muscular when I was exercising more often will quickly become more flabbish and unsightly. Of course!! Exercise, exercise, exercise!!