massindex

PdxMan and I have been posting under "Muscle Depletion?" in the Exercise forum about the tribulations of being sleeved and storing enough reserves to be effective at running. I've run 2 half marathons and without nutritional advise, I completed them but failed miserably with my times because I hit walls at around 7 miles. We are trying a bunch of things out and posting our results and would like as much additional input as we can get. There isn't a lot of information for WLS runners...

Oh wait...this is for women? Because I've been losing my hair for 35 years and it will only stop when it's gone...

My wife and I just did a 5K today, she after being sleeved only a month ago. She walked most of it with my son (next on the sleeve list) and I ran it but we all had a great time and the sunshine did wonders for our disposition.

All things are possible. I started out at 427 at my highest, 407 pre-surgery and I'm getting close to breaking the 200 lb barrier after 13 months. I finally moved my BMI into the "normal" range. It takes some work but I also am starting to stabize around the 200 lb mark.

An update... I worked on cardo loading, even though it was only a 5K and I noticed that I had much more energy. My time dropped to 26 minutes for the 3.1 miles which was a little longer than I hoped for and a lot less than I expected nased on my past two races. I got up early, eraly and prior to the race was able to comsume 2 bananas, a 1/2 serving of oatmeal, and some raisins and dried blueberries. The day before the race I got up to 241 carbs so I felt like I had enough reserves put away. This week will be telling. I'm going to focus on carbs as I complete my triathlon training, which is next week end in Palm Springs. I'll post again after the race.

I was denied on final approval after Cigna had tentatively approved it. I filed the appeal and it was denied also. I ended going the self-pay route in Mexico and never regretted it.

There are two answers for this. Medically, your nurse practitioner is correct. Emitionally, why go down that path? Alcohol is a slider with nothing but empty calories. No nutritrional value at all. I'm like you, 2 or 3 times a year I would socially drink. I think I waited a year and was almost to my goal weight before I allowed myself to have a drink. I didn't want allow anything between me and my goal. But I'm probably a little overboard of this .

First of all, don't be too afraid of stretching your stomach. It will eventually stretch some so instead of worrying about it, learn the proper foods to eat and stick with it. You've made a big investment in your life and that's the way to live long with it. As far as Protein, it was 6-7 weeks before I succeeded at getting all my protein via food. I looked for the highest protein per oz of foods I could, things like scallops, lobster, shrimp and eventually beef Jerky. Luckily, I love seafood. I went for 3-5 smaller meals per day just to get the protein. Protein shakes were pretty good for a while but eventually you have to move to more solid food. Good luck and don't be a stranger here. Nobody judges here.

I chopped mine up also but my wife is using the gummy vitamins. She is having great success with those.

I agree with Worm and BettyBoop. This is your chance to change things. Avoid ice cream at all costs. It's a slider...

You have to find something that will work. This is the most important thing. I couldn't handle water but I could handle water will MiO in it. So I bought a ton of the stuff. Also, I couldn't handle cold fluids so I went with room tempurature fluids and that seems to work. Whatever it is, you have to find it and make it yours.

Even 20 minutes on the bike will burn calories and speed up your metabolism. Keep it up. I'm up to 20 miles a day and I'd like to do a century ride before the end of the year.

My wife, who just had the surgery three weeks ago, reminds me that she is handling the recovery amazingly, which I agree.

I think men are probably more "it is what it is" in their approach. I think most women and men would agree that women are more open to expressing their feelings. I'm not so sure that the recovery process is handled better, just differently.

Typically it's the fat that causes dumping. And this can be any type of fat. I once had a chicken stock while on the road that had a lot of fat and it caused dumping.

Love Roberto's!!! And one chicken taco does the trick when you are back on regular foods!

Happens to us all at one time or another. It's the way we rebound from that defines who we are. Seriously, every time you feel yourself reaching for something bad, drink as much water as you can (i prefer the MiO enhancers for flavoring). The stomach swells and the hunger goes. Also, I find that going to sleep instead of watching TV keeps me from reaching for those bad things. Lastly, throw the crap out. Get pi**ed of and just throw it away. Bad habits succumb to temptation when the objects we desire are too close. Good luck and just remember, you are the one that makes this successful. Not the sleeve.

Don't get down on yourself. Sometimes it helps to set goals you once thought we were possible to achieve. I started with a couple of goals, running a hal marathon and doing a triathlon. I've done two of each in the last 3 months. My next goals are to do a marathon and, once I get to 180, to jump out of an airplane. The exercise required keeps me motivated and is making me feel better each and every time I force myself to get up at 5:00 am to swim the 2 miles a day I need to reach my goal. I agree with IowaAndy and say keep the faith. Anything is possible in time.

That's why we are here. It'll feel like a stone until it dissolves.

Welcome to the first few weeks of VSG. Get familiar with Gas-X strips . They pump you full of gas for the surgery and it seems to always go to the left shoulder/side. It will pass, like the gas...

I've been there and done that. It's pretty straight forward. When you go out (or they bring in), let them know that you are having some blood work drawn in a few days for your annual checkup and your on a liquid diet until until then. They won't get to much into the privacy matters during the process. Most people are respectful of HIPAA laws.

You should be fine. S**t happens. But I agree with KellyL and make a call to the office just to make sure they are aware. Your stomach will probably dissolve it.

You need to try and stay away from these types of carbs, initially, and concentrate on the protein. Its going to be really important for the first 6 months. The cheats, like white foods such as rice, pasta, bread, etc, are not changes to your lifestyle. Remember, you are doing this because you want to take back control of your life. (and it does get better...)

I encourage everyone to contribute there thoughts and experiences here. We are unique in what we are doing and certainly taxing what our bodies are capabile of given our modifications. I haven't been training as much as I should because my work takes me on the road quite a bit. I'm probably averaging 30-40 miles per week on the bike (often stationary), 10-15 miles on runs ((often treadmill) and 4-5 miles on swims. My times aren't as good as PdxMan but he is an inspiration to keep going. I'm looking forward to a quick 5K I have in 10 days and a sprint triathlon a week after that. Hopefully, this exchange of info will help me some.

PdxMan, that is good stuff. What did your carbo loading meals consist of the days prior to the race? I think you are right on about us being in new territory, by the way. Congratulations!