Body battery makes it look like I'm dead

Thanks for  sharing that.. You look amazing.  I should also do a before picture with measurements. before I forget!

 So far I love this watch.   My biggest problem tho, is the same issue I had with the default fitbit band years ago.   The band causes a sort of allergic reaction on my skin and my skin breaks and forms scabs.   I'm about ready to strap this on my ankle to give my arms a break.  

I ordered a new strap from Nick Mankey but that's gonna take a while to arrive.  :(

Great transformation!!!

Similar story for me. I had to get surgery for diverticulitis when I was 57. Because I was obese (5'7" 240 lbs.) I had to get my heart and lungs tested before they would do the surgery. The testing of my lungs indicated that I had COPD. They told me I had the lung capacity of a person with one lung. My stress test for my heart did not look good so they had to do a catheterization, which indicated no blockage, but that I had a heart attack at some point. My bad cholesterol was very high and my good cholesterol was very low. My resting heart rate was in the high 80's. I survived the surgery but was told flat out that if I did not start exercising, lose weight, and quit smoking, that I would not be around much longer. They recommended walking.

I started walking every day but could only make it a mile at a slow pace before having to lay dawn for an hour and feeling like I was going to die. So I would lay down for an hour, recover a little, go back out for another mile, and repeat. after a few months I could walk about 3 miles at a normal pace and did not feel like I was going to die. I got a fitness tracker with a heart rate monitor and started monitoring my HR and tracking my calories. I set it to lose 1 lb. per week, logged my food, and damned if I didn't start losing about a lb. a week. In the first year I lost 57 lbs. and went from a size 40 waist to a 32 waist.

I started power walking at parks that had a lot of hills so I could get my HR into zone 5 for as long as I could take it. Later that year I had another stress test and ultra-sound done on my heart. They told me that my heart had actually healed itself from the heart attack (which is pretty rare), and that it probably was the intense cardio as the reason.

After a while it was hard to keep my heart rate in the higher zones just walking so I started adding some running into my power walks. After some time I made it to the point that I could run 5 miles (very slow pace), then someone on the MyFitnessPal forum challenged me to do a half marathon training plan. It was a 12 week plan and on the last day of the 12th week I ran 13.57 miles.

I am 63 now and have been maintaining my weight pretty good. My heart and lungs are healthy and strong, I cut my bad cholesterol in half and more than doubled my good cholesterol, and my resting heart rate is now in the high 50's.

Also started using electronic cigarettes' to quit smoking about 3 years ago, and have not smoked a cigarette since. And I was a 3 pack a day smoker.

It was hell getting here, but well worth the effort. And if I can do it, anyone can.

The band causes a sort of allergic reaction on my skin and my skin breaks and forms scabs.

In the first instance contact Garmin Support as they want to hear from anyone with this problem.

Secondly, how often do you remove the watch to clean underneath the band? I had this once because I neglected to clean and dry under the watch band for a couple of days. Now, after every shower or use, I remove the watch and clean and dry the skin and the watch before putting it back on.

Do you?

I have no fridge to mouth filter. 

Does anyone have a link where I can buy me one of these?

I take it off every day. I have to because of the irritation, my skin would scream if it could. I shower every day but I never washed the strap until today. I've only had the watch for 8 days. But I regularly have to reposition the watch an inch up and down my arm to alleviate things.  3 days ago I switched to my right arm.  After a 24 hour break I still could not put it back on my left, my skin is torn up.

I googled the problem on day one and it seems that I'm not the only one this happens to. Garmin knows this happens to some people. But other people's accounts of calling support does not inspire confidence that they'd be able to help, and I hate being on hold. Plus, I had the exact same experience with the fitbit 6-7 years ago.  I'm just gonna do what I did then, swap out the strap and move on.