MamaMichelle

Looking grrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat sweetness!!! I bet your hubby is super happy........

I just started to watch this weeks episode of "The Biggest Loser" and last year's winner Ali had a starting weight of 234lbs and a final weight of 122lbs and she was totally muscular like my trainer, so maybe it is possible to get down lower than 160... Of course I don't have that small of a frame so who knows??

Last week I during my 1st meeting with my trainer she did the body fat pinch test, she took 3 readings each time on 6 parts of my body... Today she gave emailed me a printout with the results and it was very interesting!! Total Weight (on 9/10): 172 Total Lean Mass: 134 lbs (Lean Mass= Muscles, Bones, Organs and Water. An adult woman should have 90 to 110lbs of lean mass if inactive, more if she works out) Total Fat Mass: 38 lbs (Fat Mass= pounds of fat you are currently carrying) Total Body Fat Percentage: 22% (A reccomended body fat range for general fitness is 20%-30% for women, athletic fitness can be enhanced by by maintaining lower body fat levels about 17%-25%... Health can be compromised if a woman's body fat % drops under 14%. Your Goal Weight: 147lbs If you maintain the 134lbs of lean mass (or add more) you would only have 13lbs of fat making your body fat% only 8% which is virtually unattainable (unless you are Michael Phelps) and you would stop ovulating and risk other health problems. If we instead look at a Optimal body fat percentage of 17%-19% then your goal weight should be in the range of 163lbs - 167lbs. At 167lbs and 19% body fat you would have 32lbs of fat and 135lbs of lean mass. So basically she is saying I can't get under 163 without burning muscle or having my kidneys or bones removed?? I am seeing her on Thursday so I guess I will ask her to explain it more, she herself is my height and is 150lbs and a size 0 but I don't think I want to be as muscular as she is... Not sure what to think about all this, it's kind of a bummer but I guess because I got so heavy my bones and muscles had to grow to support all the weight and now I can't get back down to that low of a weight, but I guess if I can get into a size 4 or 6 and still be in the 160's I won't be complaining!?! Any thoughts?

We went to the Aventura Spa Palace on a 2nd Honeymoon... Our original honeymoon was booked there but hurricane Emily came through and we ended up in Jamica but we had already paid for the Mexican Rivera trip so we did that one a year later. The place was amazing and we booked a deal on Ebay through one of the members and got a discounted package price I think about 1,200 for 2 adults for 7days! It is adults only so if it is a family trip you can check out the Moon Palace (I think that's the name) but the great think about the Palace Resorts chain is you can travel to any of the other nearby resorts (there are 3 or 4) and use all the hotel services/eat for free etc as a guest of Palace resort.. It is amazing!

There are plenty of natural ways to cleanse out your system, if you drink 2cups of hot water mixed with a tablespoon of sea salt you will feel it working quickly so stay near the bathroom... I have also used the "Smooth Move" laxative tea, you drink a cup at night before bed and in the morning things will be moving more smoothly... lol hence the name!

My fill doctor says I am a star patient too, that getting the band isn't a guarantee someone will lose weight it takes work and the right mindset.. He also told me that losing the last 30 would be harder than losing the 1st 70 because you get to a point where just restricting your food/calories isn't going to keep the weight loss going because the less you weigh the less calories your body burn doing everyday things. This is when you have to start exercise to burn more than those calories you are eating each day. Possibly what he meant about the 60% is that is the number all of the stats published about the band say patients will lose... Again it seems that many patients don't want to push themselves over that 60% mark because they are satisfied enough with losing so much already or they don't want to commit to that type of exercise program. You have come so far sweetie, don't let anyone make you feel bad or discouraged, you will be as successful as you want to be... Don't stop now!!

Best of luck sweetie, enjoy the trip!! A few months from now you'll look back on your surgery day and think of how easy it all was and of course that it is the 1st day of the rest of your life!! Keep us updated once you arrive at the OCC!

As some of you may know I reached 75lbs lost this week, in celebration of reaching this milestone my super sweet and supportive husband surprised me by booking a spa day for me as well as dinner and a hotel room for us! We had a great time and I thought I'd share some pics!! Me at 75lbs lost: This is one of my milestone dresses, something I used to wear in my high school and college days: Oh and I took this pic when i was barely able to squeeze in that same dress about 4 months ago!

Good for you sweetie, I put myself on the pre-op diet WAAAAAY earlier than I had to and I found that doing the shakes and lean cuisines instead of eating out or drive thru food not only helped me lose more than was required before surgery but also saved me a TON of money!! If you are really determined then maybe try doing the pre-op plan for 2 or 3 days a week starting now and you might get to your savings goal (and pre-op weightloss goal) even sooner!!

Lol I know what you mean, I hated that it would say "That's Obese" after measuring my BMI... Now that I am just "Overweight" I guess it's not so bad!

I have never heard of that, lol but I'm not that skinny yet!! One day!

Thanks Rhonda, Congrats on losing 70lbs!! Feels great doesn't it?? I am far from skinny!! Though I am heavier on the bottom, my weight is pretty evenly distributed so my sizes have dropped pretty well! I guess it depends on what your start weight was (I started at 247lbs), how tall you are (I am 5'4) and how your body carries weight. You have done great, keep up the good work!

Many people don't tell their friends or extended family till AFTER getting banded, that way they don't have to concern their friends (not that there is anything for them to worry about with the OCC) once you are banded and then you tell them they might be more understanding!!

Here's a visual image of what dolittle is talking about: The 4cc and 10cc band (pretty much the same size opening when fully filled):

I haven't really worked out at all since early Aug because we were moving (and the scale knows it, lol) but our new house is 5 min from a big gym here in town and I wanted to start with a personal trainer. So I did some research and talked to friends who have trainers and I settled on a great one, she's expensive but known as one of the best trainers in Vegas and it's worth it to me! We met today for what I thought was just measurements, taking some "before" pictures but we did a series of fitness tests and she really kicked my butt! I have had trainers before and they always kind of became more like friends which made it hard for them to push me, or hard for me to feel like I need to push myself as hard and I know that's not going to happen here, she's not a drill sargent but I can already know that she is going to kick my butt!! P.S. As of my weigh in with her this morning I was 172lbs putting me a 75lbs lost!! That means I am 75% of the way to my goal, I can't wait to see if working with her gets me to my goal of losing 100lbs before the end of the year!

Glad that things went so well, I waited to tell my parents until about 2 weeks ago because I was so afraid they would judge me or think I took the easy way out (lol like the lap band is easy) and when I finally got the nerve to to tell them while they were helping us move into our new house and I was shocked that they were totally ok with it... I had lost 70lbs in 7 months since the last time they saw me at Christmas so they kind of figured something was up. I had also taped the Oprah show so I let them watch that to help them understand the band, the OCC and going to TJ further! Sadly like Cathy and others have said there are going to be those people who will never understand and will become jealous of your success... Just ignore them and focus on getting the results you want, that's the best revenge!!

My fill doc does more than just fills, he is a full service weight loss clinic he does weekly seminars about things like carbs his wife is a psycho-thearpist as well and nutritionist and offers help that way.. Anyways he offers that test for $50 and I am thinking of doing it!! I did it back when I was about 200lbs a few years back with a personal trainer and it said that my daily burn rate was 1300calories per day... I never knew that it could change with weight loss so I will be sure to go in for this test soon! Let us know how your test goes!

Hey Kimmie- I am kinda of in the same boat, I don't know if it has something to do with the 170's or that we have both lost a lot of weight so maybe our bodies are just playing catch up... I know it sucks hearing that, it also sucks seeing those numbers go up and down on the scale (I am right there with you)... I have really been slacking on the exercise since we moved so that (along with my reecent fill) is what I am hoping will kick start my weight loss to another 5-10lbs... Honestly I could be perfectly happy living the rest of my life at around 160-170lbs and a size 8/10 if I get smaller great, but I am done pressuring myself as long as I don't go back up (which is hard to do with the band) I will be fine!! Keep your chin up!! You ROCK sister...

Those a-ha moments are a big part of what makes the bands so worth it!! There are still times when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and can't believe that the person looking back is ME!! Keep up the good work!

Welcome back sweetie, you can get back on track!! Getting the first fill is a start, a band without a fill is almost like having no band at all and if we could lose weight on just will power we wouldn't need the band... Keep posting, on good days or bad days chances are someone has gone through what you're experiencing.... We are all here to help each other!!!

Great progress, you have that Princess Fergie look now... Super Glam!!

I love my cute little Mii character, I wish there was a way to post/share them with each other... Now when you get the Wii fit it actually adjusts the size of your character depending on your height/weight so I don't like how accuate that Mii looks (especially compared to my hubby and son who are both tall and thin) but it's ok I will get there!! Have fun getting fit!

That is exactly what I am thinking, I have seen some "after" pictures from bandsters whose ports look like some sort of growth sticking out of their body because they are so thin... So when I (hopefully) get to that point I will also have them place it under the muscle so it's less visable and then it will be back to normal. Not from what the doctor said, and honestly I haven't done much ab work at all so it's possible that lifiting boxes during moving made the sutures tear but I don't know. Well the OCC only covers revisions if you get all of your fills done there, and my last 2 have been done at my local fill center usa so I think that voids their policy for FREE revision. I think I can pay $500 to $700 at the OCC to get the port moved under the muscle and they would have to fully detach it so they can move it and then it would be reattached on both sides... Thanks Barb, I actually have a hair condition called Alopecia where hormones in your body tell your hair follicles to just let go of the hair at the root which gives you bald patches... When I was in middle school I had to wear a wig for 3 years because I lost all the hair on my entire body, arms, legs, eyelashes everywhere! It hasn't flared up except for a few little patches here and there (right on my hairline in the middle of my forhead you can see where it's missing) but either the surgery or the weight loss or just bad timing has caused it to flare up again and I am losing a lot of hair really fast, so far my dermatoligist says I have lost 1/4 of the hair on my head since last December, so that's not good but I will deal with it if it all goes away again. So anyways thanks for the compliment, I have spent the last 2-3 years growing it out so hopefully it stays around!!

Welcome Back Donna, so great your hubby is on board!! Just think by that trip in Feb when you've lost a bunch of weight you guys can look back and laugh that you ever had any doubts... (at least that's what my hubby and I do) Let us know when you confirm your date!!

Wow what a difference, you look thin even in vertical stripes!! Seriously though I can see your confidence and pride at what you've achieved and you deserve it!! Keep it up cutie!