Welcome to December, April Bandits! We've made it through the November holidays and managed to keep up our exercise, now here's to December. We can do it!

We're holding steady with our challenge for the month and looking forward to stepping up the challenge in January. The December goals are as follows:

(1) Complete 17 or more exercise sessions (counting only one session per day, if you're the type to do more!);

(2) To count, each session must be at least 35 minutes in duration; and

(3) Consume at least 64 oz of Water (or whatever your personal goal for water intake is) at least 6 days a week.

We can do it! December is such a challenge in itself, but let's stay focused to meet our weight loss goals despite the extra temptations. Exercise will help us with that.

And we're off!

Roberta, did your doctor speculate as to why your band was empty?

April Bandits December Challenge: FOURTEEN days of exercise completed

Roberta, did your doctor speculate as to why your band was empty?

No he didn't, and I was so happy to have restriction that I didn't ask. Time will tell if I have a leak.:faint: She did the usual steps of looking in my chart to see how much I had in my band; and then withdrawing that amount and adding the additional .25 cc. I don't even want to think about where that saline went. Naturally I am requesting all future fills be given by him!:nervous

Roberta

Back to the gym this morning............I hurt after not having been in a week................also, I fell on a concrete floor while shoping with my DIL in Sac.............we were in a big warehouse looking at granite counter tops and I tripped over a big metal "thing".......almost knocked my teeth out, but didn't.............just fell on both knees - both kneecaps are "black and blue".....I'm a klutz..........lucky I didn't do any more damage!

Having my Portland gang over for Hanukah tonight..............too tired after the trip to make "latkies" (potatoe pancakes) and so bought some frozen ones at Trader Joe's (just pop them into the oven)..............my son is not going to be happy!

Planning on the gym tomorrow morning again.

Have a happy/healthy holiday.

December

1 - 1 hour NIA

2- 1 hour NIA

3 -

4 - 1 hour NIA/1 hour strength training

5 - walk back and forth to breakfast approx 1 hour

6 - off to my 1 hour NIA class - talked 2 friends into joining my gym and so have partners in my NIA class

7 - 1 hour walk to breakfast (approx)

8 - 1 hour NIA (posted in advance - meeting friends so no excuses!)

9 - 1 hour NIA (on my way over to the gym!!!)

10 -

11 - 1 hour NIA

12 -

13 - 1 hour NIA (planned - done!)

14

15 - 1 hour NIA

16

17

18

19

20 - 1 hour walk

21

22 - 1 hour NIA

23 - 1 hour NIA (planned)

Betty--hope you are ok!! Falling is no fun! Enjoy your celebration!

Roberta--wow!! I wonder where the saline went too! Hope you do great with this fill.

Julie--hang in there, we all have times that it just isn't happening fast enough!

Judi--I was opening this to ask Roberta the same question, when I saw you had already done so!!! Great minds and all that!!!

Susan--what's going on?? Haven't seen you in awhile, I have been running and playing catch up. I finished all my shopping, and have been helping my Mom and my MIL....too much!

I have been to Curves the last several days steady---I know I had better be a little proactive here!!! I am also eating all the wrong things--my MIL keeps making us fudge and peanut brittle. I made some too---but I gave it away, well so did she, she gave it to me!!! Damn her! Oh well, I will get the surge of energy following the holidays. It will all get going again....not going to stress too much at this point. I may or may not make Onederland by 01/01/07....but I will make it none the less!

Oh yeah--in addition to Curves, I have managed 2 walks, and shoveled not just my own walks and driveway but 2 neighbors as well!!! And we are due more snow tomorrow!

Ok ladies---I am going to turn off the Christmas lights, and head to bed! Have a great weekend!!!

Kat

Betty, that is not cool! :faint:

You take it easy and heal. I am so sorry.

I didn't really hurt myself "that bad":faint: ...............just embarrased and have 2 big "black and blue" marks on my knees....................., but

Thanks for the concern! Because I'm in such great shape!!!!!, I just picked myself up and "ran off". Sure would not have happened before April! Again, thank you band.

Had a wonderful eve with the family..........I'm so blessed..........happy, healthy kids/grandkids. Have a lot of leftovers - going to pack them up and bring them to the kids today - that old "sickness" is not gone - partially gone, but not forgotten..................I guess the band is not a cure all for what is in our heads......................off to the gym this thinner, healthier grammy goes...................can you believe, I actually look forward to it. I'm back to my NIA class (4 times a week) and walking twice a week and will add some other classes again next week - I have not done my "marathon" Mondays and Fridays (I add a 1/2 hour Core class and an hour of strength training) since I started all this traveling the past month..............as everyone else in the world will do on the 1st..................I "promise" to go to the gym (?????) times a week.................only this year "I will" actually do it - with your wonderful help!

Roberta: That is a relief to find out you were EMPTY! (Explains a lot, huh?) NOW the fun begins!!

I spent two days in SLC. It was gorgeous, but way too cold for me. The only exercise I did was a brisk walk in 15 degrees to see all the lights in the downtown area. The bits of ice and snow on the ground made me too nervous to run (I know you are laughing, Dawn). BUT, last night logged 4.5 miles in a t-shirt, scarf, and mittens back here at home. I'm halfway through this decade, headed to the 50's!!! (WANT IT SOOO BAD!!!)

Yesterday I saw a woman at the market who was in a wheelchair. She recently had a foot amputated from diabetes complications. My heart just broke for her. I felt guilty that I had the band and she did not; I also realized that could be me in 20 or 30 years if the gaining trend continued. Instead, I can run! I feel very blessed.

Happy holidays everyone! Even if it is not a holiday, we can celebrate and be grateful for this tremendous gift we share.

Happy Chanu-Kwanza-Solsti-Rama-Mas !!!

April Bandits December Challenge: FIFTEEN days of exercise completed

Hello all, sorry for not posting, I am here in Atlanta now, it is calm weather here and I have been walking my niece to the park every day. Was trying to hide the fact I have had surgery from my family here but had to tell them lst couple of days as it is pretty obvious...........I guess I am too tightly filled but would rather wait till I get back home to NZ!!!!

Love you all and thinking about you this Xmas,someone has wireless on this street so I am a happy participant...........hehehe!!!!:girl_hug:

T'was the Night before............................

Wishing a Merry Christmas to all............................

Our family is a mixture of religons - we've finished with Hanukah and will now celebrate Christmas.............we have the best of all worlds and traditions from each to pass down to our grandkids!

Alan and I managed to get our walk in this morning - it was raining but we just bundled up, pulled up our hoods and went.............

Boo..............we do have to count our blessings of good health.........and this band of ours is the "culpret" that makes it all possible...........without it, I surely know that I was definately on my way to a life as a diabetic or heart patient............hopefully this will help me "bypass" that possibility.......I sure know my chances for a healthy old age are sure a lot greater today than they were before April 2006. Where is SLC?

Roberta..............how are you doing with the new fill?

I am up 3 lbs this past month...............holiday's are not easy! Those old habits creep back in..............and all the travel has not helped.............just too many parties and too many "good cheer liquids"

Gotta get thru tomorrow and a party on Tues and New Year's eve............then just like the rest of the world - hit it on the 2nd! Still trying to decide if I want to just stay around this weight or continue down a bit..............I'm comfortable here, but not quite satisfied??? I've been able to maintain (well, sort of - excluding the holiday season) and I'm 67 and I'm a size 14......................and I look very presentable.........am I talking myself into this?..............I continue to go back and forth in my mind..............it's a lot easier to just say..............ok, you're here, it's easy, I'll just stay here..................but...................I think I really do want to get a bit more off because the old bod will feel better even with 10, 15, 20 or so more pounds off the knees and ankles!:help: What do you think?........................I think - yep, Betty...........you can do it..........keep at it - go for a bit more!

December

1 - 1 hour NIA

2- 1 hour NIA

3 -

4 - 1 hour NIA/1 hour strength training

5 - walk back and forth to breakfast approx 1 hour

6 - off to my 1 hour NIA class - talked 2 friends into joining my gym and so have partners in my NIA class

7 - 1 hour walk to breakfast (approx)

8 - 1 hour NIA (posted in advance - meeting friends so no excuses!)

9 - 1 hour NIA (on my way over to the gym!!!)

10 -

11 - 1 hour NIA

12 -

13 - 1 hour NIA (planned - done!)

14

15 - 1 hour NIA

16

17

18

19

20 - 1 hour walk

21

22 - 1 hour NIA

23 - 1 hour NIA

24 - 1 hour walk to breakfast

Betty, your fall sounds just awful but I'm so glad you've already lost so much weight that you were able to catch yourself and not break any bones. It's a victory, no? I'm glad you're on the mend.

I just have a second to write because I'm at home with my family and it's Christmas night, but I did want to check in and say I've been keeping up with the exercise even while on vacation. I walked 35 minutes (largely up major hills) for the last 3 days and I ran 2 miles this morning on my step mother's treadmill. I'm looking forward to getting back home and having some time to get back on my regular schedule, but I'm doing ok for it being vacation. Don't know what my weight is, but I'll worry about that when I get home. I'm pretty sure I'm not gaining and that's all I can ask for this moment.

My uncle is a bariatric surgeon (he didn't do my surgery -- I actually didn't even know he did bands, I thought he was exclusively bypass) and I saw him today for the first time in a year. He's not the most tactful chap and his questions were uncomfortable, but I'm pretty happy with how I handled them, so that's that. It's one of the things I was worried about this season -- one of the stresses of coming home, and I'm glad it's behind me.

Take care all. Check in with you soon.

Julie

Julie..............wow, what a family you come from................plastic surgeons, bariatric surgeons, lawyers (we have a few dentists, engineers, cpa's, physical therapists.............peons!)!!!!!!!! I can feel the pressure you are feeling!

I have been watching you....................you are one away from the 6 workouts per week we "contracted" for....................I got distracted by all my trips....................you are again, my idle! Next month, we'll do it again.................hopefully, I can keep up with you????

Hi everyone, for some strange reason I haven't been getting any notifications from Lapbandtalk. I figured everyone was away, but I decided to check in and was I surprised to see so many posts.

Betty: what a tumble you took on those knees. I did that to myself three years in a row and ended up needing surgery on my right knee. So glad to hear that you didn't do any damage!

I am extremely tight, and having trouble eating just about everything. I even have to be careful how fast I drink my fluids. I notice that I feel a little shaky at times, probably due to the reduced volume of food I'm intaking. All in all, I think this is just what I needed. A bit of a "wake-up call" for me. I think I was eating too much at one time, and not eating small enough bites. As to what happened with that previous fill....I don't know what to think. I had been anxious for a few days thinking that I'd wake up and that this fill would be gone too indicating a leak. So far everything seems fine. Thanks everyone for checking on me.

Roberta

SLC is the airport code for Salt Lake City in Utah. Might be in Florida in two weeks, but the trip I am dreading is Indianapolis in February. (I thought Utah was cold!)

With the weight-loss I have noticed I get cold more easily.

Betty: I think you will keep losing anyway. None of us are going to quit exercising. And with a healthy level of restriction, our bodies should just melt to the size that they are meant to be.

Roberta: I don't think we get notices for every post.

Amourette: Yeah!

Julie: Families! They give us the greatest joy, but can also bring us the most stress! Congrats on passing the inquiry AND on working out through it all!!

Bluehill: Happy EVERYDAY!!!

Oh, SUSAN...Eficka, how are you?

Keep it up, Kat!

NEW YEAR COMING!!! Let's all push to the finish line of this month. DOn't wait until January.

I receive one notice of a new post, and then no more until I visit the site again. So if I miss one...I miss 'em all!

Has been a difficult holiday, my best friend has been dealing with her Father dying. They have removed all but comfort meds now, and she has been by his side for the last few days. This is pretty ironic I am telling you. For many years, he worked for a company who provides look-alikes. He was a look alike for Gerald Ford, and I just heard he died today. So I had her boys and their families, and she and her DH join us as they could for Christmas, and tried to spend time with her at the hospital. She has a sister, but she and I are much closer. She sat with me the night my Grandma passed...we have been through a lot together. Please remember her in your prayers.

Besides that, Christmas was good, the grandbabies were great fun! We bought my 2 yr. old granddaughter one of the Radio Flyer bouncing/rocking horses--which we left unwrapped under the tree. Good thing since it took us awhile to build the "some assembly required" thing!!! She come in, screeched in excitement, climbed on, and refused to get off!!! She opened a few things from atop the horse...and was a happy camper. Eventually everyone else opened up all of theirs, and she was still rocking and bouncing away--finally her curiosity got the best of her, and she come down to see what was in the other packages---but it was a good 2 1/2 hours later!!! And my 10 month old grandson, attempted to make his Christmas dinner out of wrapping paper---he ate every bit he could get his hands on!

We spent some time sledding today--my legs are already sore!

Tomorrow, we are splitting wood....fun fun fun!!!

I might get this challenge done. My eating is horrid---I am gaining as opposed to losing. I am actually looking forward to the New Year, and the regaining control! WOW!! Me???

Hope everyone is doing well. Will check in in the next few days!

Hugs to all!!!

Kat