aroundhky

Looking great!

I think sometimes, often with good intentions, we all over-complicate things on occasion. This article really seems to be good about driving home the points of basic lifting and that you don't have to spend countless hours in the gym to reap great strength benefits. I know I'm looking forward to getting back to the basics and having a little extra time...hopefully cutting back to 4 workouts a week from 6. http://oakbrook.suntimes.com/2014/09/02/from-the-community-weekly-wellness-hard-work-on-basic-exercises-darien-mfc-sports-performance/

I didn't so much research it as I really just ran across that article by accident. I think what the author is trying to say is that you don't really HAVE TO do "isolation exercises" to hit muscles like the triceps when you can do body weight movements like dips that work triceps, shoulders and chest and pull ups for lats and biceps or deadlifts for almost every body muscle. I don't do any bicep curls, but they get worked a lot through my pull movements. I don't think there's anything wrong with doing a bunch of isolation exercises for every muscle, but if that's all someone does, they're not likely to get the results they're wanting. I may be wrong, but I'm guessing the reason the article was written is for someone that's not finding the time to lift 6-8 hours a week, when they can get just as good results, if not better, working out more efficiently with compound movements. If I ever lose more time for lifting, I truly feel I can do deadlifts and power clean & jerks each week and would be just fine with them as they are full body lifts. In the end, it really gets down to a person's goals and how much time they have to lift I guess.

Great job Ashley....looking great!!

I keep my carbs fairly low other than my first two meals after a work out. I keep my Protein faily high all time, but my first 2 meals after a work out, I'll cut the fats a little and increase the carbs in the form of oats, lots of veggies, Beans, quinoa, brown rice, etc. These 2 higher complex carb meals are usually lunch and dinner for me since I work out at noon. Then back to low carb snack at night and for Breakfast.....and low carb on Sundays as well since that's a rest day for this old man.

Agree and thanks for the post! To me, BMI is just more BS that some Dr's, insurance companies and govt agencies try to apply to people in a one size fits all kind of health assessment. Their intentions are good for the most part, but unfortunately, it's not that simple....way too many variables to take into account other than a number on a scale or chart to determine if someone is healthy. Currently, my body fat percentage is 17%, which for 41 years old is in the healthy/fit range. But my BMI is 29, which is at the top end of "overweight" and borderline "obese". So the BMI chart is holding my muscle mass against me as a negative.

Awesome job!!

Holy smokes! Congrats!

When a few months after the sleeve, a typical spring gust that used to end and dissipate when it made contact with my body, now nearly blows me of my feet and pushes me around. When this happened a few months after my sleeve, I think it was the first time the wind physically moved me since I was a teenager.

I'm not really sure what the instantgram is.....is there a link I can click on?

Welcome and wishing you the best!!

It happens, try not to panic like I did. Strength/muscle loss is inevitable during the rapid weight loss phase. But the loss can be reduced by getting in plenty of Protein and lifting during this phase. The first few months after the sleeve I lifted and tried to get in plenty of protein, but I still lost muscle and strength, but no where near the amount I would've lost had I not lifted. It is basically impossible to lose weight that fast and not lose strength, but if you keep lifting during this phase, it signals to your body that you need some muscle. So a higher ratio of the weight loss will be fat and less muscle loss. I got back to my original strength (deadlift and squat max) about 7+ months after my sleeve and I know there is no way I would've gotten back to it that fast, if at all, if I hadn't lifted the first few months after my surgery.

Thanks "crazz" and "back2barb"!

Even though I'm about 2 and a half years post op, I've been up and down the past year or so. But not the kind of up and down (mostly up) that I was before the sleeve. By up and down now I mean maybe 12-15 pounds, which seems to be related more to my workouts and muscle gain or loss for the most part. Not the 20-40 pounds like before the sleeve. I'm still very happy I went through getting the sleeve over 2 and a half years ago.....hope I can still say that 10-20 years from now. The first one I was almost at my heaviest....320-ish. The second one I was about around my lowest (low 220's I think) and the last one was a week ago in the mid 230's.

It felt awkward to me at first and I probably just plain didn't know what to say. The comments to me are almost always positive, so now I'll just smile and say thanks. I'm appreciative, since there's a lot worse things people could say to me.

Walked right after surgery and then starting light lifting about 3 weeks post op or so. But everyone is different. Whenever you are released to start more intense exercise, just make sure to ease into it and gradually build up. Your body will be a lot different (kind of like a kid in a growth spurt) and you'll need to learn how to handle it (your body) again. Congrats on your excitement and eagerness to exercise and I wish you the best!

"Angie" Like "KarenMartin" said.....the balloon reference....that's probably the best I've heard / read it. Great analogy! So my own personal goal has been to replace the air (fat cells) in the balloon with rocks (muscle), but I'll be honest and say it's probably more like semi-soft clay than rocks. I've been working core off and on for almost three years since my sleeve....mostly on with the exception of a few months back in the winter and early spring while nursing a slight back injury. It's slow progress and pretty hard work in the gym, but with deadlifts, power cleans, planks, captain's chairs and weighted crunches, I've managed to build up SOME muscle to fill in that balloon, though very slowly. At least enough to keep my skin fairly tight (see mildly inappropriate picture attached). But it does help demonstrate what I'm trying to explain, especially with my obliques...still working on the abs part. I did notice that when I took a few months off from my core work, my tummy got a little soft. Not flabby or loose, but the step right before flabby or loose. I know I could have a smaller waist if I didn't keep muscle around my core and mid-section, but it would come at the expense of some less tight skin or even some flab. So I'll keep my 34"-35" waist size the way it is, than drop to maybe a 32" by losing some muscle and getting softer in the mid-section. But it's all about one's goals, preference or what is the most important to the individual.

Really good post and article! Thank you! I struggled with the decision at first as well. At some point, I realized I was just spinning my wheels by working out, but not doing very well with my diet and nutrition and feeling hunger that could not and seemingly refused to be satiated. So I swallowed my pride, got the sleeve and stopped swallowing as much food and also learned even more about nutrition in the process. In November, it will be 3 years since I got the sleeve and still feel it is one of the best decisions (though one of the hardest decisions) of my life. I also hear quite a bit from women on here as the guy in the article states, and very little from guys. I'm not sure if it's just the ratio on here or some guys are like me and don't ask for directions when sometimes we need it. I do hear from guys some and it's usually a muscle kind of question and they are worried about losing it or not being able to gain it back after the sleeve. I help as much as I can about their questions on that, but I would also like to promote the overall health benefits of bariatric surgery and having a second chance on life. Guys.....getting the sleeve is not only going to increase your chances of living longer, but also add to your quality of life. So there's both qualitative and quantitative benefits......win win!

As the others stated, way too many variables to know for sure. I think it has helped with my lack of loose skin, but I dropped less than a 100 pounds from my highest weight, so a relatively low BMI (38-39) to other sleevers helps too. I do a lot of core work which may not help my waist size get really small (since I've built up abs and obliques to help fill in where the fat was on my belly), but it has helped me a lot with loose skin and I have virtually none of it. If I was a 45-50 BMI-er before, I would probably have loose skin regardless of my workouts.....it's pretty much impossible to add as much muscle mass as one can with fat tissue.

Congrats! Way to stick with it!