aroundhky

If you are wanting to build up the muscle and size of your arms to help with loose skin, triceps are probably a good place to start. Aside from deltoids, which is really shoulder muscle, and forearms, the triceps make up 2/3 of the muscle in your arms, and the bicep the other 1/3. You don't want to ignore the biceps, but the triceps is where you'll make the best gains as far is muscle buildup in your arms. There are many exercises for your triceps like Lissa said, the kickbacks and skull crushers are really good for the triceps and I've also found that dips and close grip bench press work really well for mine. As for the biceps, I agree with the curls and maybe vary the grips as both close grip and wide grip if using a bar, but dumbells are good too.

That is wild!

Muscle implants really exist? I've never heard of them. I'd like to have some for my calves. Fortunately, I've never had sleep apnea, so I have no insight there.

Looks like you're working hard. Some of those stalls are inevitable, just stick with what you are doing and the weight will start to drop again at some point. Not sure what your overall calories are, but some complex carbs (oats, brown rice, beans, etc) aren't bad and are good if you time them around your workouts. We all have our own sensitivity to carbs, just try and see what works for you. Not sure how often you are weighing, but I wouldn't weigh more than once a week, it will drive us crazy constantly watching the scale. Good luck and keep up the good work!

Biz...you sound like me. Never got sick, able to get in all of my protein and water in (except for the 2-3 days immediately after surgery) and nothing really bothers my stomoach. Your weight loss at your point is a little faster than mine was. I think you'll be fine, probably had a bit of initial muscle loss losing weight that quickly, but that will come back. Congrats on your progress!

Had my first drink probably 2 or 3 months after surgery and absolutely hit me faster and harder than it did before. So much so that I mostly abstain from it except on the rare occassion. Ease into it and see how your body reacts before diving into shots.

Walking right away (night of surgery). Was told light to moderate exercise at 2-6 weeks post-op. Released to do whatever I wanted after 6 weeks. I probably jumped the gun a little and did somewhat rigorous exercise and lifting around 4 weeks when I should've been scaling it back a notch or two. I was probably pretty lucky and with that said, you should stick with the plan that your Dr gave you. Shame on me! I wish you the best "tina"!

Hopefully it's muscle you are putting on. The calories seem a little high at first, but if you are training really hard or twice a day, those calories would probably be ok. There's just too many factors to consider like your age, fat intake, supplements (creatine?) etc. I know I've had stalls or periods to where I've put on a few pounds, yet clothes feel looser or can go one notch tighter on my belt, that shows yes, I've had muscle gain and some overall fat loss since last weigh. I'm not sure where you are on the fat percentage or how your genetics are, but one thing that I saw recently with myself was that I had gained 2 pounds, yet I was more vascular (veins in my arms sticking out more) and could just barely see the faintest outline of my abs, which hasn't happened since I was 19/20. So I know my body fat percentage is lower than it was at last weigh in, yet I'm 2 pounds heavier. So maybe look at something besides your tummy, since that's the last place us guys lose fat. How about your forearms? Do they look leaner? Can you see veins etc? Does your face/neck look leaner? That may not be the only way to tell, but if you can see these, chances are you've lost fat and your body is holding on to muscle, if not building muscle. Just a few ideas. I wish you the best and hope you break that stall soon!

The hair being closer together does make sense. The way I see it is like making a bunch of little ink dots (hair follicles) on an inflated balloon (our larger bodies). Deflate the balloon (lose weight) and all of the dots (hair follicles) on the balloon are more dense and closer together making it look like more dots? Maybe that's it, but it does make sense as to what your Dr said, as well as the testosterone issue.

It's probably always a good idea to limit caffeine, but I do sometimes go with the Rock Star Orange or Grape non-carbonated, low cal. i don't like coffee, so sometimes I find one of these drinks to get me going in the morning.

I haven't noticed any more attention. Maybe I'm just not seeing the looks or hearing comments, but I'm guessing it's going to take more than me losing weight to turn heads.

Been thinking about doing it for a while now. But the one right down the road from me closed, or maybe it moved, not sure what happened to them. Love doing power cleans.....really gets the heart pumping!

Yep, more cals and more carbs (especially some complex carbs about and hour before you workout). I love a banana or some low/no sugar oatmeal before I workout.

Love me some Butterball Turkey Polska Kielbasas! A good bit of salt as expected, but not as high on calories as hot dogs or regular brats. Also they are really low in fat and have about 25 grams of protein each. I usually eat them on a fork with a little mustard.

So sorry to hear that. He obviously wasn't there when you probably needed him most. I hope things improve on the romance side. Maybe channel that anger/negative energy towards exercise or something productive. Hang in there!

I got the Isolate/Lemonade, it's ok. It tastes ok. I like the isolate and they also make a lot of products that are Aspartame free. Doesn't mix all that well and can get foamy, so I mix mine in advance, then store it in the fridge until I drink it, by that time, the foam is gone.

Congrats, I know what ya mean! For me, I love that testosterone rush I get from lifting! I'm a bit addicted to it.

On days I lift weights/cardio my ratio is around 35% protein, 40% carbs (complex) and 25% fats (good kind). On days I don't workout it's more like 45/30/25. I basically raise my carbs on days I exercise. But everyone has their own unique situation and sensitivity to carbs.

Hang in there and stay the course. This happens when you add resistance training. You can add a cubic inch of muscle and lose a cubic inch of fat, and you will gain a slight bit of weight since muscle is more dense. But the main thing is, you are losing fat and I'm guessing that's the goal of most people on this board, if not all of them. If so, "body composition" (body fat %) is more important than a number on the scale. You're doing great!

I just got back from there myself. Stayed at Sea Isle, but went to Cape May some too. Also spent a day in Atlantic City. I took my protein and made shakes right before I went out to the beach. That would hold me for an hour or two. Then I snacked on protein bars, almonds, peanuts, etc until time to leave. Also took some bottled water, so a cooler would come in handy.

Cool! I'm in the Hickory area. You?

No, but kind of close. Northwestern NC here.

From my past experience in noticing other people's weight loss..... sometimes you just don't know how to say it or bring it up in fear of upsetting someone. What one person takes as a compliment, the other may take differently like "so you are saying I was fat before???" or something like that. So maybe people want to compliment you, but just don't know how to say it? For me, the people that have mentioned it, I try to just say thanks and I'm human, so I'm glad they noticed because I knew I was way overweight before. "Butterbean"... I'm guessing if you've lost 40+ pounds, they've noticed. : )

Protein, especially if you did resistance training. And you can get away with some carbs right after a really tough workout and it will actually help you recover....good time for carbs if you've been wanting them.

I had some slightly sagging skin a few months ago after the rapid weight loss, but I can't tell that I have any now. I think the muscle building back up and the skin (elasticity) meeting it halfway has helped me.