Tag: Lifestyle

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Spring Into Fitness Week – Day 1

Spring into fitness week

Spring into fitness week

Well I threatened to do a week of fitness to tune up for Spring and I am really just going to run it off the cuff. The idea is that I will come up with a few short posts, well fairly short for me anyway, and give you a chance to look forward towards Summer and start your outdoor or at least your transition to outdoor fitness now.

Oh, and it is snowing in Calgary this week so I may be being overly opimistic about Spring,

I want to let you think about what this season is about and ask you some questions that you can think about as the week and next few months goes.

Partners and Troublemakers

First I want you to look at the people around you and the people that you may need. You need a support system and people to lean on and help yourself. At home my wife works out regularly and she also eats really really well. This helps me a lot. There is a real feeling of fitness as a lifestyle and working out as a way of life in my house and she if really careful with what she eats and feeds the rest of the family (thanks so much Michelle).

I know that I have it good. What are the people in your life like? Do they see the benefits of eating well and exercising? Do they have a vision of how they want to feel and experience things in life? If this is a problem for you it is easy enough in the Spring to join a running club, biking or hiking club, or even fitness classes so that you can meet like minded people. Don’t be shy and don’t be lonely becasue it will only hurt you.

Troublemakers on the other hand are difficult. If you have people around that are negative, eat badly, let there fitness go then you need to insulate yourself. Let these people know how excited you are to make changes or more changes in your life and when you see results show them, don’t be bragging or anything but show them what is happening and don’t expect any congratulations in return, you can help them in this part of your life more than they can help you.

If you are struggling or having trouble you can always lean on the people that are living the same way as you, the people in the clubs you have joined or in blog comments on the fitness blog or other messageboards.

Remember that no matter how excited or how let down you feel over the next few weeks these problems are just small daily emotions. Work through them and the next 8 or 12 weeks will be a great and exciting journey.

Enough for today, have a great day and post what you think below in the comments on this topic.

Categories
General Weight Loss Tips

Lap Band Surgery

The Lap Band system is an adjustable gastric banding system that restricts the amount of food your stomach can hold at one time. This means that you can lose wait gradually and keep that weight off. This system works without any stomach cutting or stapling and is easily adjustable. You will feel full sooner and stay full for a longer period of time, allowing you to become a healthy person and stay healthy for many years to come.

What is Lap Band Surgery?

Lap Band surgery is less invasive than others surgeries such as stomach cutting and stomach stapling, and it is 10 times safer than other gastric surgeries like gastric bypass and gastric sleeves. It also has fewer risks and the recovery time is generally faster than other surgeries associated with weight loss. In a typical Lap Band surgery, the patient is put under general anesthesia and the system is placed during a laparoscopic procedure. Long, thin instruments are used to put the system into place through a small amount of tiny incisions. The surgery generally takes about an hour to perform and is done often on an outpatient basis. The system in implanted around the top part of the stomach, very much like a belt. A small access port is placed underneath the skin on your abdomen, which is connected to the system by a tube. Adjustments are made through this access port, most frequently during the first year the system is in place, by adding or removing a saline solution to achieve optimal weight loss. After the surgery is complete, you can expect to recover and be back to your daily routine after about a week’s time.

Who is a Candidate For This Surgery?

Only your doctor or surgeon can give you a complete evaluation to determine if the Lap Band system is right for you, but there are some qualifications to determine if you may be a candidate for this surgery. If you are 18 years old or over and at least 100 pounds overweight, you may qualify. You must be prepared to make major changes to your lifestyle and eating habits, and you must not be pregnant or drink alcohol in excess. If you do become pregnant after having the procedure done, your Lap Band can be adjusted while you are pregnant and changed back afterwards. If you have been overweight for more than 5 years and your previous attempts at losing weight have only shown short-term success, you may also qualify for surgery. You must also currently be healthy enough to recover from minimally invasive surgery. There are some factors that may cause you to not be a candidate, such as ulcers, heart or lung disease, portal hypertension, cirrhosis of the liver, alcohol or drug addiction, or certain other factors that your doctor will determine.

Benefits and Risks of This Type of Surgery

The benefits for this surgery are great and for most cases outweigh the risks. You will be able to take control of your weight and increase your health, allowing you to perform all the functions of daily life. However, just like all major surgeries, there are certain risks involved that you need to be aware of. One of the risks that every candidate for this procedure needs to know about is death. Although there were no deaths recorded in the US study, it is possible and can occur during or after the surgery. A tear in the stomach can also occur during or after the procedure, which can lead to the need for additional surgery. This happened in 1 percent of the patients studied. Age and excess weight can increase the risks for complications of surgery. There are also risks associated with medications used in the procedure and negative body responses to foreign material. Patients may also experience complications after the procedure is completed, such as nausea and vomiting, regurgitation, and band slippage. Most of these complications are not serious but may require hospitalization or additional operations. Studies have shown, however, that this system contains fewer risks than other gastric surgeries to treat obesity.

Average Weight Loss to Expect

The amount of weight you will lose with this surgery varies from patient to patient. The amount lost depends on several factors, and you need to be dedicated to your new lifestyle. Weight should be lost gradually, and sometimes a loss of two to three pounds a week can be attained, although the usual results show a loss of 1 pound per week during the first year after having the procedure done. Losing weight too quickly can be dangerous and may lead to other health problems. Studies have shown that patients typically lose weight at a greater rate during the first year the implant is in place.

Studies Done on This Surgery

Three peer review studies were conducted in the United States showing the results and effectiveness of this procedure. All three studies have shown that the amount of weight lost with the system is generally equal to that of gastric bypass surgery while incurring less risks and complications. The amount of time needed for recovery was significantly less than that of gastric bypass surgery, and it is up to 10 times safer than other procedures used to treat obesity. This system is the least invasive surgical procedure available to treat obesity, and the duration of hospital stay is dramatically shorter than other options. It is the only adjustable and reversible procedure to treat obesity. One study of 99 patients showed that after one year, there was an average loss of 44.4 percent of excess body weight. After surgery, patients were able to return to their normal activities in approximately seven days.

A detailed description of the lap band procedure and how it works can be found at the free encyclopedia, Wikipedia, located here.

Categories
General Weight Loss Tips

It’s Time

I gave myself three weeks to get over not eating sugar by allowing myself to eat pretty much what I want in the amount that I wanted. What did I discover? I can still eat a lot of calories even when sugar isn’t involved. But I already knew that and I bet you did too.

What else? white bread + real butter is crack. For real, I love bread with butter, just as much as I love a good brownie- if not more. I think.

So while I love that I’m not eating sugar, not eating it alone won’t tackle this excess weight. And that is kind of the point. I’ve been having serious conversations with myself lately in the form of:

  • How am I going to lose this weight?
  • What am I willing to sacrifice/change in order to make it happen?
  • Am I ready? (thanks to Roni for that one)
  • Why is weight my struggle?
  • And finally: WHY do I want to lose weight?

A lot of you comment/email me and mention how honest and candid I am, and I really try to keep that in my blog. I try to be as real and as honest with what I’m dealing with as possible (without totally embarrassing myself or my family) and I want to be more of that. Why?

Because I think there is a certain level of denial that goes into being a fat person. There are things I tell myself to make it okay. And why shouldn’t I? I have to function in this world, and to constantly be “woah is me” about my weight can be a waste of time. Besides, who wants to hear it? I’ve realized that few people in life care as much about my weight as I do.

I make an effort in my real life to not put myself down about my weight. I don’t play the “I’m so fat” “I have no willpower” “I’ll never be thin” “I’m off the wagon–again” card with anyone. I used to, in college, but I’m too old for that now. Nor do I praise those who seem to be effortlessly thin.

I say this all to say: denial is a big word. It’s huge, and it means something different to everyone. So I’m asking myself lately to really dig deep:

What am I telling myself to make this lifestyle okay?

How do I justify sabotage?

How do I explain eating four thousand calories in a day?

I don’t have immediate, easy, or uncomplicated answers for these questions. I’m not even sure there is one answer to them. What I do know is this: I sabotage myself out of fear. Fear of greatness. Fear of accomplishment. Fear of what other people will think. Fear that bad things will happen once I lose weight.

Illogical fear, that right now, I cannot explain. Remember that episode of Seinfeld where George says to his therapist :”God would never let me be successful; he’d kill me first. He’d never let me be happy.” Therapist: “I thought you didn’t believe in God?” George: “I do for the bad things.” It’s as crazy as that. For some reason I believe that I’m not worth caring for myself on that level. And as I type this, I know that is very silly and in my case George’s God would be me.

This is what I came up with:

How am I going to lose my excess weight? According to those often debated BMI charts I need to weigh somewhere between 108-145 lbs. The 108 made me laugh. I have no interest in weighing 108 lbs. I haven’t weighed that since I was in 4th grade. This means that I need to lose 160 pounds to be in a normal weight range for my body.

And according to the basal metabolic calculators I need to eat (at my current weight) about 1,700 calories a day with 5-6 days of exercise a week to lose a minimum of two pounds a week. And those are the mathematics of it all. I’ve discussed this here before.

But how do I make this happen? The answer leads me to…

What am I willing to sacrifice/change in order to lose weight? This is a good question and one that I’ve avoided answering for a long time. Making my weight loss a priority rather than an option is one mental shift I need to change. I want to lose weight, that is a given, but I’m not willing to do it by eating foods I don’t love, that is also a given. But what I have to understand and implement in my life is that I don’t need so much food to be a healthy, functioning adult. I don’t have to eat 100 calorie packs of popcorn for lunch to be thin. I don’t have to skip meals, drink diet soda, eat frozen meals or drink meal replacement shakes to lose weight.

But I do have to plan. I do have to be prepared. I do have to compromise and stop believing that I deserve to eat so much food instead of feeling pain. That is something that I need to come to terms with.

My next answer touches on the Am I ready? question. Am I ready to plan my meals out the day before? Am I ready to stop bringing trigger foods into the house? Am I ready to make dinner even if it’s easier to order pizza? Am I ready to take care of myself on days when it’s hard to get out of bed? Am I ready to choose the smaller portion? Am I ready not to give in to any desire to overeat? Am I ready to take the time to count calories? Am I ready to keep a journal? Am I ready to become a healthier person? Am I ready to believe I deserve to become this person? Am I ready to exercise even when I’m tired or too busy?

Up until now…I don’t think I was ready. I know I wasn’t ready, or I’d be there. I would have done this. I wanted it to be easy. I wanted to eat whatever I wanted in the amounts that I wanted and still be thin. I wanted to make few changes if any at all. I wanted to rely on a diet or a program to change me. I wanted to just buy the book, or the exercise dvd or the gym membership. I wanted the results, but I did not want to change my actions the get them.

Why do I want to lose 160+ pounds?

I truly, truly want to know what it’s like not to be fat. Not to feel overweight, not to squeeze my thighs into chairs. I want to know what it feels like to make this happen.

I want to be accepted into a health care plan. Right now, I would be denied and I couldn’t afford it. I’ve tried.

I want to get pregnant and not be fearful. I don’t want to be fat and pregnant. I don’t want to worry about a c-section, or being a high risk pregnancy. I don’t want to be exposed on the table in front of people at this weight. The thought is absolutely terrifying.

I want to be a better wife. My husband deserves a healthy wife- long term. He deserves to not worry about me having a stroke, cancer or heart attack when I’m in my 50’s.

I want to be able to run for three miles without having to stop and walk. Or having my feet go numb.

I want to go to the doctor and not have the weight talk. I want to go to the doctor and not have everything be about my weight. Like the time I had an ingrown toenail and the nurse practitioner was convinced it was because I was pre-diabetic. I wasn’t, I just needed the toenail removed.

So there you have it. I’ll be back tomorrow. It’s time to make this happen…