Jann

Jazzy's family four months later! YAY! Mike, Dante and Joey look AMAZING!! 149 pounds of collective fat lost!!!! CONGRATULATIONS! Stephanie, you are a truly beautiful girl! Good luck in your journey as well! Stephanie's mom also showed that she really did think it through and researched it well. I have to say that's the first time I actually watched the surgery, facinating! Dr. O looked tired but he held his own and used facts to support his premise. These shows need to allow him more air time to make his points! Perhaps a seat at the Doctor's table on the show as an obesity specialist! Also, they, in my opinion, exaggerated the amounts eaten with lapband versus regular portioning for dramatic effect. I was really glad to see Dr. O. correct that! They also spoke in generalities, we all know each of us can eat differently. Some can eat bread, some rice, some spicy, some greasy, etc. Nice work folks! The band benefits, when used properly, speak for themselves! Jann

I would guess that you are not doing 10k in a half an hour unless you are doing 6 minute miles as it takes five miles to get to 10K on average. The fastest mile so far I've been able to manage is 12 minutes so 12 x 5 = 60 minutes to get 10K. Keep up the awesome work!!!!!!!!!!! Hope that helps, Jann

Yay! A new challenge. I just ordered a new pedo from Amazon. Omron with tracking software and a kiddy mitten string! Can't wait! Jann

I have gone to TJ and various other Mexican destinations for the past 15 years sometimes up to two or three times a year if I can get away from the business. I have NEVER come away sick in any way, shape or form. I drink bottled water as a rule, don't order ice in my drinks and eat food normally. Hope that helps, Jann

There is a huge violence problem in TJ right now. More than 4,000 people have been killed across the country this year as cartels battle for drug routes and lash back at President Calderon's national crackdown on organized crime. I would stay within the parameter set by OCC for safety if it were me and not stray. Jann

Four Facts About Fat We always talk about how we want to lose weight. But that's not really what we mean. When we talk about losing weight, we're really talking about losing fat, getting rid of the spare tire, turning the keg into a six-pack. It's about more than getting ready for swimsuit season or squeezing back into your "skinny" jeans, though. (More importantly, it's about having a healthy body fat amount so we don't put ourselves at risk for myriad diseases.) After all, our bodies need some fat. Fat is responsible for regulating our body temperature. It insulates our vital organs. It stores energy that our bodies draw on to function. Not to mention, everyone wants a few strategically placed curves, and you can't get them with just bone and muscle. So, what exactly is a healthy body fat amount? What is body fat percentage? It's simple enough. It's the amount of adipose tissue (body fat) we carry compared to our weight. A 160-pound person who is carrying 32 pounds of fat would be said to have 20 percent body fat. We all want to be working toward an ideal body fat percentage, staying in a range wherein we carry enough fat to feel and look healthy, but not so much that we develop the health issues associated with obesity: hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. So what are the ideal ranges, and what are the best ways to get rid of unwanted excess adipose tissue, aka body fat? Most organizations classify a healthy body fat percentage as 20 to 25 percent for women and 8 to 15 percent for men. Women who have over 30 percent body fat and men with over 25 percent are generally classified as obese. There can be some variations that are healthy. Athletes will tend to have less body fat, for example; however, below a point, low body fat can be as dangerous as high body fat. There are various ways to calculate body fat percentage, with varying degrees of accuracy and expense. Many clinics offer what they describe as the only truly accurate readings, derived from water-displacement, ultrasonic, or X-ray tests. Much simpler than that are many home body fat scales. While simple, they are fairly inaccurate. The best home device is an inexpensive and simple test using skinfold calipers. These calipers measure folds of skin at various parts of the body and provide an estimate of body fat percentage based on those measurements. Inaccurate or not, most trainers recommend using some sort of body fat calculation in addition to being weighed on a scale. For most of us, though, true accuracy isn't that important, just as long as we're sure that our body fat percentages are going down. We can starve ourselves and lose weight to reach that goal, but a lot of that loss will be muscle loss and won't give us the healthy look or feeling that most of us seek. Muscle burns fat. One reason we want to be so cognizant of our body fat loss, as opposed to mere weight loss, is because muscles burn calories, and if we lose muscle, it will make burning calories—and, by extension, fat—much more difficult. Because the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn—even when you're resting! So it's important to follow an exercise program that combines resistance activities, like weight lifting, that build muscle with aerobic cardio activities that burn calories. The really good news is that when you exercise, your body begins turning stored fat into glucose for fuel before it begins breaking down muscle for fuel. This is why high-level athletes can eat so much and still stay sleek. Take Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps's 12,000-calorie-a-day diet, for example. Because he has such a low percentage of body fat, he has to provide his body with enough fuel or his body will begin breaking down proteins in muscle, since it's pretty much out of body fat to go to for fuel. During newsletter chats and on the Message Boards, P90X® graduates often complain of an ammonia-like smell after working out. That smell is indicative of the protein breakdown that occurs when their new elite, low-fat bodies have begun tapping into muscle for fuel. It generally means that they need to start eating more to make it through the workouts—a problem most of us would love to have! Most of us aren't dealing with the problems of elite athletes trying to get enough fuel; we're just trying to get our bodies to approach that kind of shape. One popular exercise myth is that if we're trying to lose body fat, we should just do lots of cardio and sweat and burn fat, then build muscle later. That's a sort of "lose weight now, get in shape later" approach. There's some truth there. The more we exercise, the more calories we expend and the sooner our bodies tap into our fat stores for energy. But by building up muscle, in addition to doing cardio activity, we can burn a lot more calories, even while we're at rest, and maximize the calorie burn during cardio. Plus, when the stored fat begins to melt off, there will be lean, sexy muscle in its place. How diet affects body-fat composition. Something we've discussed before is the myth that dietary fat contributes to body fat. This is only half true. The fact is that body fat, or adipose tissue, comes from stored calories. Your body fat doesn't care whether the calories come from fat, protein, or carbs. Don't believe me? Try drinking a six-pack of fat-free beer every day—you'll have a pony keg under your shirt in no time. The term "beer belly" comes by it honestly, and beer doesn't have a gram of fat. Neither does soda, and it's one of the main culprits behind the obesity crisis. Fat does have more calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein, so it is wise to monitor the amount of fat in your diet, but if it's healthy fat, like the kind found in avocados, olive oil, fish, or nuts, there's no reason to exclude it from your diet. It is wise to avoid saturated and trans fats, but that has more to do with lipids in your blood, not the composition of adipose tissue. Can you target areas to burn body fat? There's a French proverb that says that sooner or later every woman must choose between her face and her bottom. What this means is that it's a myth that you can target one area of your body over another for fat loss. While we may mainly want to get rid of our guts or slim down our thighs, our bodies are largely democratic about where they take stored fat from—they take fat from all over. If you've seen Madonna lately, you can see the results of her latest workout regimen. She has incredibly low body fat, but her face has lost the fat as well, so that her bone structure is more prominent and has a more sunken appearance (although it looks like some cosmetic procedures have helped her fill it out somewhat). So if you ever see a product advertised that claims to burn fat off one part of your body and not others, it's over-promising. You can target muscle groups specifically, but fat burning is general. Any activity will go a long way toward reducing body fat percentage. And health professionals advise that even a modest decrease in body fat percentage will have extraordinary health benefits. So even if achieving your ideal supermodel weight seems impossibly far away, you can really increase your quality of life by making a few minor changes in your activity level and diet. Engaging in a comprehensive program which encompasses resistance training and aerobic exercise, as well as a healthy diet, is a great place to start. Here's to seeing less of us! Jann

Kimmy, sorry I missed this! Nice work!!!!!!!!! Jann

EXCELLENT POST! Thanks for that! Jann

Try doing a search under Five Day Pouch Test. I think that's what you are looking for. Jann

That is so awesome, Jude! From baby steps to "there's no stopping her now". The inches will melt off for sure! Hugs! and "Keep going...you are almost there!!" Jann

AMEN sister-friend! It's not a ramble it's a new direction. Warm hugs! Jann

Absolutely right. They fight and have fought for our freedoms. God Bless! Jann

Nice Shelby! I lost my pedo yesterday AGAIN. I have one left. I have the worst luck with them. Day before yesterday I thought I would get ahead of it and put it on the inside of my jeans. It didn't count one bloody step! It would be an understatement to say I was annoyed! hehe Jann

OMG! Look at you go! YAY Jude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jann

I don't think it's dangerous, no. I can't imagine choking on it because its whole goal is to escape. I have never been able to find anything to suggest it is damaging either and I have asked that question. It is for sure the band's version of a training tool! For me there's a minute's warning. My throat tightens and my eyes fill with tears. My hubby and I check the place out when we get there so we know where the bathroom is then sit in the general area just in case. Sliming can be a small amount and a couple of seconds or a huge amount and seem to last forever (probably in reality five or ten minutes). I've tried napkins but then I feel compelled to put that mess in my purse because I don't want to gross out the server. Jann

It's early days and you've been through a lot. I ached when I saw your pics, Doolittle. It will totally be worth it when the swelling goes down and you heal. Jann

In short, sliming happens when you eat too quickly, you do not chew enough or the food that you have eaten doesn't agree with your band. The esophogus creates a thick mucous substance to lubricate the food in an attempt to allow it to pass through the stoma (the opening to your stomach). In that the food can't make it's way down because of the blockage the mucous has nowhere to go but up if you get my drift. It is highly unpleasant but every single bandster out there will or has experience(d) it. For me papaya enzymes helps to neutralize sliming. PB or Productive Burp is the bandster version of vomiting. Sliming doesn't regurgitate food, PB'ing does. Hope that helps! Jann

That's some major shrinkage, girly! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jann

JUDE! You're back! YAY! Jann

I completely and totally agree. I don't do aggressive fills. I prefer that I have to have some degree of control over my body and what I put in it now that I'm so much better about it. Today I got excited about beet salad. I mean really! I don't crave or want burgers or fries or pizza anymore. I pass by Wendy's, KFC, Chinese Food, Tim Horton's, MacDonald's, etc., and drive the extra five or ten minutes to get to the store that has the tapioca wraps I want for my avocado wraps. It just really doesn't faze me in the slightest anymore. It's all about the quality of the foods I eat now. I read labels and I think about what I'm about to eat rather than just eating for the sake of eating. My skin is better, my health is better, I have a ton of energy and I look and feel better. I must be doing something right! Having said that, I'm not a born-again eater. If my hubby wants 'za or a burger, then so be it. I have what I want to replace that choice. If he wants it twice a week, that's a problem and I'm a nag about it! I like that I have some maneouverability when I eat and I don't have to PB or slime unless it is entirely my fault because I ate too fast or didn't chew enough rather than I was just too tight. I worry about getting enough natural nutrition for my body. I worry that if my fill is consistently tight I might have erosion and lose it forever in the worst case scenario. I worry that I'm too reliant on my band and I'm not learning as I go. If my band had to leave me forever tomorrow would I regain my weight loss and more because I didn't change my habits with self sufficiency? Everyone is different and everyone will approach their band differently. This is just my approach. Eventually I want the comfort of knowing that my band is there but the freedom of it being completely unfilled while I still make good decisions. That's when I will know I'm successful. I'm still learning and I will make mistakes but I'm comfortable now with this journey. Like the lady said, "It's a marathon not a sprint". Jann

OMG! I'm way overexcited for you, Denise! You are STUNNING! I love ya to death and I'm thrilled for your success. Hugs! Jann

Well, for 30 plus bucks I still think it was worth it even with it's flaws. Like I said, I worked up a pretty good sweat and burned 400 calories according to the software's calculation in 30 minutes. The Wii interactive technology is new and I think it's going to take some time for developers to get it right. Just my two cents. Jann

So good to see you back, Will T! I've missed your humour! Jann

Bahahahahaha -- here Kitty, Kitty ... RRRrrrrrrrrr Jann

Aw, thanks EVERYONE! Well, I would have blushed anyway because I'm not used to the attention. I've holed up in my office for the past ten or so years being a workaholic avoiding most people outside of my friends, family and work. I would totally commit to social events and then cancel last minute. It was pretty much guaranteed and people knew and expected that. Yes, he was younger! I put him in his early to mid 30's, casually dressed, good shoes and as I was passing he was fidgeting with his phone. He said something like "There is something wrong with my cell phone. It doesn't have your number in it" I could have some of those words mixed up. I was so shocked I awkwardly nodded, turned crimson and picked up the pace. hehe. I guess he thought I didn't hear him 'cause he directly asked for the number as I was bolting. To answer everybody else, after I got over the shock and into the car by myself (hubby wasn't back yet) my secret self had a wicked smile from ear to ear, absolutely! It was a really good feeling after the fact. In fact it was a rush! My husband would be horrified if he knew! OMG, there are so many changes in our lives with this WL, healthy eating, exercising, etc., that he's in sensory overload as it is. It's a very different life now in such a short amount of time. He's used to me always being home devoid of make-up, in my track suit avoiding all things social. Now, I wear make-up all the time, I love shopping and discovering new fashion and trends and I love being out of the house. It's a lot for him to take in and I always invite him to whatever it is I'm doing. I'm not looking to change my relationship with him just change the way we live in it. hehe. That is also a process. I have to accept that he has to want the change and not force it on him. It's a time game for sure. WL isn't just about physically losing weight. There's a ton of psychological and social aspects that pile in and need to be dealt with as well. People do treat you differently, without a doubt. I have noticed people look me right in the eye now, they are definitely more courteous, men open doors at malls and try to catch my eye, etc., I've been bumped from second class citizen to first class citizen without a doubt. (Does that make sense? Not first class as in superior just first class as in part of the group) I'm not invisible anymore. More importantly than any of that, people appear like they are actually paying attention to what I'm saying and somehow I've gained more credibility even though I haven't changed anything in what I say. It supports that fat is the last socially acceptable 'ism and that fat prejudice is alive and well unfortunately. Also, I was invited to be a key-note speaker at an important conference last Friday and I didn't decline! I'm actually going to do it. I'm going to get up in front of about 200 people and give a speech. OMG! Who would have thought? Part of me is scared stupid, part of me is secure because I know from what I speak and the last part of me is wondering what I'll wear! Go figure! Jann