M2G

Fiddle forgive me for not following exactly, but WHY are you running outside? Is there not a place to run indoors? I know many Crossfit places probably don't have an indoor track (my gym does have an indoor track) BUT what about running on a treadmill??? We rushed to put up Christmas lights before a big storm blew in and as we were outside for about 3 hours, the temps. kept dropping, I had a down jacket on, but only exercise pants on, (was wearing gloves, hat, etc.) but when I came in I was really freezing. My legs and cheeks were bright red and even after a hot shower I still could not get warm. I'm freezing all the time anyway (probably thanks to losing a couple of layers of fat) but I know that a lot of people post WLS spend a lot of time feeling cold...probably for the rest of their life. So why on earth are you deciding to be a cold weather runner? Doesn't seem like it's really worth it if you felt like you needed an inhaler. That doesn't seem like a good decision. Trust me I'm only saying this because I care not to be rude or anything.

GT, I really haven't lost anything since I started my pretty intense workout schedule in late Sept. and while it's frustrating, I *know* I am doing good things for my body by working out so much. I had 4 people tell me at the gym how great I look after about 5-6 weeks of doing this schedule. Gym clothing is when I *wish* I had plastics the most, because it's kind of hard to hide the bumps in tight gym clothing. I think part of the no loss is that I was doing 6:1 and part is just my body adjusting to working out so much. I believe my shape has changed even though the numbers on the scale aren't necessarily going down. Part of my "old" diet and exercise mentality was that if I ate "clean" and "worked out" then dammit I should see it on the scale. But I had to get rid of those old ways of thinking because when the scale DIDN'T provide me with a payoff, is when I would just say "well screw you scale, how about I eat ice cream and then we will agree!!??" So I had to shed my old thoughts about getting that payoff on the scale. YOU KNOW you are doing GOOD things by working out, it helps your muscles, your cardiovascular system and by gosh for me it clears the cobwebs in my brain. I do not ALWAYS enjoy the process of getting OUT there and exercising, but when it's OVER and I'm DONE... I NEVER REGRET any of it. I definitely think there is something to that "exercise high" that people talk about, it works for me and while I've never been "high" on anything in my life I definitely feel good after exercise. So keep doing your workouts and don't worry about the scale so much right now...I know that is easier SAID than DONE! I totally get that! Brown...you are doing awesome by working out and getting out there and moving. I totally used to do that too about treats, best way to get rid of them was to EAT THEM! Good for you for realizing that isn't the way to solve a treat problem. So glad Cheri is coming back...yay...happy dance!

Has anyone else tried this? I bought a block (cautiously...since I had never heard of it before) when it was on sale. I was pleasantly surprised by it. It has a little less calories that regular cream cheese and it has more Protein. It does have a different sort of flavor than regular cream cheese...maybe a bit of a tang to it? Hard to describe. Anyway, I went back and bought a bunch more while it was on sale. The funny thing was it is the store brand...and usually they make a store brand to compete with a name brand but I have search (at my store anyway) and not seen a "name brand" of this kind of cream cheese. I think that's kind of odd. Anyway, thought it was worth mentioning...

That is awesome GT. That kind of persistence will serve you well in many areas of your life!

Globe, 2 days a week I work out intensely for 2 hours (heavy weight training with a small group and a trainer for a solid hour and then spin...solid cardio for an hour) and while I've had to fast occasionally on a double workout day, I try not to. I think regular exercise and a fast day are fine but if you are working very hard, it's probably not a good idea to combine insanity and fasting... I'm so glad you had such a great day...what was your victory at work? (If you feel like sharing...)

Thanks GG! There is a reason that I pay her to torture...because I sure as heck wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't part of the "program!" She made us do these for a minute and a half, alternating sides. Believe me there was a LOT of grumbling, so round 2 she shortened it to 45 seconds. I'm a sore girl today!

Oh and for the women's one I had to put 10lbs LESS than what I weigh because when I put what I weigh in there, it gives me mostly women that are +10lbs MORE than what I weigh. Maybe try that...

http://mybodygalleryformen.com/ LOL....I'd like to say thanks but I put in my height and weight and no results found. WTF? So go on and put yourself in there. Seems if maybe men aren't as obsessed as we women are with this type of thing? Or maybe they just aren't as educated on the whole selfie thing?

http://mybodygalleryformen.com/

How can it possibly be Dec. 3rd already? HOW? So my challenge will be 180 miles. I hit 175 in Oct. and thought I could crank that out again in Nov. when in reality I fell about 10 miles short. So I'm going to reach again and try to get there. SO I'm at 14.6 for now. I'm thinking of joining you all over at the planking challenge but my trainer regularly makes us plank and if I'm being 100% honest I don't plank unless she makes us. Not only that but she doesn't just allow us to plank. There are pushup planks and we do crazy stuff all the time...in fact I would be happy to just plank and not move. But that's not good enough for her. She made us do these today (with a pushup ...just realized that the image didn't show a pushup...)

FYE...that is awesome! I love it! Laura, I'm glad you are feeling better...anytime you have those dark thoughts, go back and read what Kim just wrote. Beautiful!

This is a very interesting topic for sure! I'm truly sorry about your friend who is experiencing complications. That IS scary but it's also NOT your fault. This is a bit off-topic, but I subscribe to something called Nutrition Action Newsletter. It takes a hard look at what we eat, etc. and comes from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. http://cspinet.org/nah/index.htm Anyway an incredibly healthy woman wrote to the editor saying basically, "look you all promote healthy eating, exercising, etc. and I did ALL of that, I ate a super-healthy diet, I exercise, maintained my weight (which was like 125lbs or something) my whole adult life, and YET I still got cancer. I beat it and I'm so happy about that, but I just want you to know that even with doing ALL THE RIGHT THINGS doesn't protect you from having bad things happen to you." I'm totally paraphrasing, but it was definitely an eye-opener for me. Like Laura said...you get in the car and go to the grocery store and make it home. Somewhere, someone did NOT make it home and they did the EXACT same thing as you. Again, I'm so sorry about your friend and I'm hoping she will be like many of the other sleevers who experience a complication, that eventually they will get better, feel better, and get to that place where they are happy that they had this done. As for sharing...well, I'm quite open here, and in the bariatric community, but I would never be the one to "suggest" that someone have surgery. I wish that my own brother would look into it but I honestly can't make him do that. And I refuse to push him into "looking into" having any type of surgery. Being on this journey myself, I realize that everyone has to come to their own decisions, in their own time frame, and for their own reasons.

YAY, something that is 1. wrong and 2. fixable! That is great news!! Rest and recover and I'm hoping this is the last surgery you need for a very long time!

Wow, congratulations on all your hard work! Amazing journey well worth all the struggles, that is for sure. You should join us over in the Vet's Forum for people who are a year or more out from surgery. http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/694-gastric-sleeve-veterans-forum/

Hahah! It's actually comical. We are both changing sizes so fast my husband and I don't know whose clothes are whose anymore. Older son and I share an inseam. Younger son and I share a waist size. Husband and older son share a waist size. So offen we look at laundry and go, whose is this? One pair of jeans, we had NO idea. So I tried them on. Fit on waist, too short. Obviously it was my younger son's Laundry at my house is fraught with mystery haha! OMG that is so funny! We have the same problem with my almost 13yo DD, hubby is constantly confusing our stuff. I'm 5'6" and she is 5'4" and even though I've got a good solid 65lbs on her, she is wearing a M and I'm wearing a L. But that sometimes just doesn't help. We have nearly identical exercise pants and we are constantly searching through each others "things" to see if something was mixed up.

Oh my gosh, I soooooooo identify with that last statement. I really thought I had my head in the right place when we went up to my mom's last week. And she had the usual treats around (Cookies and ice cream and fudge!) oh my! Which I was able to resist. But then she made this huge batch of mixed nuts that she had put a honey glaze on. OMG...like fricken crack I tell you! And part of my brain said "nuts are ok, they have protein" but then the other more rational part said "yeah but you know how many fricken calories are in just a FEW nuts? and ones that have a sugar coating on them?" So she wasn't happy with they way they turned out. They were sticky. She finally moved them from the baking pan to a glass bowl. STILL not controlling myself, as they were just sitting there, too easy to grab 3 or 4 here and there throughout the day. Finally, on Thanksgiving, I told myself I was going to "stir" the nuts so that they could GO OUT on the table with the appetizers with my full intention being that they would get consumed by the 14 other guests and that I would NOT HAVE TO WORRY about the crack...er NUTS anymore. Wouldn't you know as I was stirring the sticky nuts, the whole bowl fell off the counter and shattered. It was such a wake up call for me. It was like I snapped out of the sugar coma and realized how addictive they were. And once they were all over the floor among the glass shards there was no where for them to go, except in the trash. I felt really bad about the bowl but my mom assured me it wasn't a favorite bowl or anything. It's slow and it sneaks up on you. Being "aware" and not letting your guard down is a big piece of advice I have for those of you who are still in the "easy to resist" category.

I paid a fitness sports guru $35 to do mine. He was working with my surgeon at the time and it was a few years ago when I was about 14 months post-op. He had a big fancy scale that you stepped on barefoot and had handles that you grabbed onto with bare hands. It sent a bio-impedance through my body and spit out a sheet of paper with information in regards to my weight, muscle mass, my Water mass, etc. It also calculated the amount of muscle I had in each arm, each leg, and my torso. It calculated my RMR to be at about 1,450 calories which I personally have found to be quite true. Anything much more than that for me = gain. As far as your metabolism, well, I can't answer that one for you. I will say that having WLS does *something* to us from a metabolic standpoint, but the science behind it, well, I'm not even sure that the "experts" can pinpoint exactly what changes. But I do know that I signed up for WLS with the idea that I would be eating LESS food for the rest of my life, so I can't really expect to eat a lot and NOT gain weight. I think it's probably worth finding someone who can give you an accurate reading. There are lots of places (AND LOTS OF WAYS) to calculate your RMR, but the short answer is that MFP, Livestrong, CC, SparkPeople, etc DO NOT factor in whether or not you've had WLS.

I find this to be true for me also. It was definitely more noticeable during the "losing" phase and people weren't used to seeing me as a smaller person. Then when things sort of leveled out at about 18 months, the compliments tend to fade away. I get one occasionally now from someone who hasn't seen me in a long time. Thankfully, I don't have to jump into a long diatribe about where I was, what I did to get where I am, and everything in between, because I just say thank you and move on. Mostly, people will say "wow, you look great" which could be my hair, my outfit, or my sparkling personality ...but usually the thinly veiled compliment IS in regards to my WEIGHT. I do suppose that it's possible that someone is complimenting me without being able to actually put their finger on WHY I look great, etc. but I think mostly they know I've lost weight, I know I've lost weight, and unless I choose to wander down the path and get into the specifics, it basically becomes a non-issue.

That sounds good, and totally agree about the number of posts being pretty much irrelevant. Brown you are doing good! Cathy you also. I think even if you hit a fast day with 600, 700, 800 calories that really does count ...because you are restricting what you eat. It may not fit the 5:2 but we also don't eat 2000 calories on a feast day so overall we are eating less, calorically speaking. I think I hit just about 600 yesterday for my fast day. But more importantly, I did it, managed to not snack or graze, which is always my downfall. Happy Belated Birthday to Steve! Coops, I would have eaten cake too and enjoyed it! Hope he had a good bday.

Good luck today Niki!

Oh sorry about mentioning...er...those things...which I won't mention again! I'm sitting right about 200cals and it's almost 3pm so that is GOOD. I haven't a CLUE about dinner yet, maybe pork chops and green beans. yes, that will do. MsSkinny...sorry about the chocolate...I HATE it when I do that kind of thing...but it does happen to all of us...at least you've got it all figured out. Chimera...yep yep yep, never take for granted our health. NEVER! I'm so sorry about your support group friend I am hoping she pulls through this. Another person agreeing about the Vets forum and agreeing that it *should* be a year before you can post there. I used to like Butter's title for his profile, something along the lines The Longer I'm Here the Less I Know...ha ha ha! I know it goes against what we are saying here but everyone thinks they get the sleeve and they have this thing ALL FIGURED OUT, (I'm including myself in this too) and then we realize, oh sh*t this isn't going to fix everything...and I'm on this journey, for well, for FRICKING LIFE! Ha ha ha. It's a slow burn...the realization that the journey doesn't end just because you get your weight to start with a 1, or your jeans in single digits, or your goal weight. Bah. It's the ever-elusive oasis in the desert...maybe when we reach _______ we can relax ...when the reality is totally different. Sorry got on a tangent there...just wanted to pop back in and say the girls "squish" session is over with, and the tech accidentally punched me in the chin...she was so apologetic and worried...I'm like lady, listen the punch in the chin is nothing compared to the squish..lol

Oh glad he gets to take 3 weeks off at Christmas, you and the kids are really going to LOVE that! YAY! Yes, yes, yes, I see so much of that chatter that where we are isn't "good enough" there is so much chasing of a number, a pant size, etc. which is all fine and good and I get that I really do, but just being happy with how much you have accomplished is a great feeling. Good for you!

Okay, I just realized that I rarely ever look at what else is being posted in our little 5:2 world, so thus have missed quite a lot. I usually just have enough time to stay up on the ole How was your 5:2 today thread...lol. FYE, that bike ride looks like a LOT of crazy fun! Woo hoo! Sarsar, you figured out out to post pics...and that one of you planking...awesome. We did some wicked planks last week just before turkey day, my trainer is a big fan of planking...while me, notsomuch. Looking good there though...nice form! I'm not working out today but rather will resume tomorrow with my normal crazy schedule.

So I just have to declare... I AM FASTING TODAY!!! It's long overdue and much needed. I did get on the scale to discover that YAY I did NOT gain weight in the last week (or rather I should say it was in my "range" of what I deem acceptable...I refuse to be one of the people who record my weight down to the .2 of a lb, etc. I know that works for some but not for me...) Anyway, I am going to RESIST the donuts and cupcakes that are currently sitting on my kitchen counter. THEY WILL DO ME NO GOOD. Just puttin that out there... Oh and one last thing...having my annual mammogram done today...so I will be fasting, freezing, and getting the girls squished...never fun but oh so necessary.

GT...I worried about the same thing, that working out intensely as I do that it would slow down my weight loss and I will say this. I started taking the women & weights class 2 days a week at the end of Sept. On days that I do women & weights (Tues/Thurs) I also go and do spin for an hour, so I do an hour of intense weight lifting and then spin. About 5 weeks into this schedule, I had 4 different people who only *know* me from the gym compliment me on how good I was looking etc. So I took that to mean that even though the scale doesn't reflect my hard work, that my shape is actually changing for the better. I will also admit that ever since the last week in Oct. I've only managed to do either a NOTHING schedule (for about 10 days at the end of Oct. I didn't fast at all) or a 6:1 and NEVER seem to be able to get back to my earlier fire on the 5:2. So part of the reason the scale hasn't moved is ME, and I think the other part is what you are worried about. But exercise makes me FEEL good, clears the cobwebs, and I know it's good for me, so regardless of what the scale shows me, I'm not going to quit. Good luck with the intensity stuff. I don't know anything about it...is it a video series?