Fiddleman

I have not eaten Mexican since pre op (10 months ago) and am wondering what is good to order? I used to really like their prawn dishes, but know I probably cannot eat the white sauce. Going to pass on rice and beans. Looking for flavorful suggestions that are healthy and sleeve friendly.

She has been so supportive in all things post op since I first wanted to have surgery. I could not have been successful without her. Soon it will be her turn to be a post op in July and my turn to support her.

It is still there. I say it needs legs and needs to walk away.

Sometimes it is a blessing (rave) and a curse (rant) to live with a gourmet chef wife as a post op. she really loves cooking and loves to share her masterpieces with others ( her love language). As a post op, there is a definite focus that is required to stay on plan and live that healthy and active lifestyle. It is so hard sometimes. For example, this morning it is a curse (rant) that she made some apple crisp dessert for her plant sale she is going to. It has layers of brown sugar crisp, cream cheese, apple pie filling, crumb top and caramel embellishments on top. Made from scratch of course. Oh how I want a piece! She even left some here for my brother while she is off at the event today. Going to stay strong though because I made it this far with being a good post op eater. Hard!! It is also a blessing (rave) that she can make gourmet healthy dishes. For example last night we had a chicken curry casserole that has chicken, cream of mushroom, Indian spices, chile pepper chopped broccoli and a few other ingredients. Typically, we used to eat that with rice and cheddar cheese on top. however, I now can eat about 1/3 a cup of this dish without the rice and cheese and get high Protein, good veggie serving and it is full of yummy Indian flavor. My wife and brother eat it with the rice and cheese. She is also very good at making other healthy gourmet dishes.

The results look very good in your post 69 day video. Did the surgeon tell you how long it would take for full sensitivity to return and for the scar to "disappear?" Also, does this impact your ability to perform functionally? I can imagine that if your upper thighs are still desensitized, then your night life would also be impacted. When did the surgeon say that you would be fully recovered and be able to turn on the heat during cardio and lifting?

Good advice, thanks. I have not considered cardio every day. Will look into single muscle isolation strength training, but I thought cross fit was giving me all the strength training needed. I have some dumbbells at home of various weights and some strength training DVDs so will see what can be done at home. It isn't really in my budget or schedule to join a gym like LA Fitness or 24 hour on top of cross fit costs. I have cardio equipment at home and have been using it 4 days a week. Will see about daily use. I do currently run a mile every morning and try to doit again after lunch to optimize the day. Would you consider this enough cardio on top of the 4 days of 5 k/ 10 k and HIIT I do weekly? I want to get real arm, chest and ab gains from lean muscle within my healthy BMI range. It is starting to show and I am getting compliments from the non-wife women in my family. they like to come over and feel my biceps / triceps and pects. I should charge them per squeeze. Lol.

I am really hoping some lifting gurus can shed some light on this topic. Anyone?

Check the standard BMI chart for your height and it will give you a healthy range.

It all depends on your focus and desire to eat and exercise according to WLS plan. You will find it will be easier and easier to be active as the months go by. 60% is average. I lost 100% or 180 lb during month 7 and am almost to month 10 now. Where there is a will there is a way as the saying goes. Keep your eye on the prize!

I tried doing a 10 k today, but just did not have the energy to go more then 5 k. I may be training too hard or not eating enough carbs. My training yesterday was really tough on my whole body with PT. Should I not run after an intense cross fit day and give my body extra rest days?

Take care Laura. Drink plenty of water. Delegate to the husband and kids while you are not feeling well.

This is very useful information. Thanks. I do tend to limit a workout to 1 hour for cardio and 30 minutes for strength training (WOD). Other 30 minutes with PT is warm up, cool down, stretching and technique training. It is not that I an unable to do more, but I have other things to do and try to make the most of the time available by seeking better efficiency. For example, working with a PT @ cross fit until I am knowledgeable and trained enough to be efficient on my own. I also rarely run @ steady state. I try and make each run different and challenging in order to get max gains. I may need to take more rest days for recovery. Not sure. That is part of the reason I am asking the question in this thread. I also know that sleeping well is vital to each work out, which I still struggle with. I am making it a habit of seeking out 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Still feel somewhat tired in the mornings, but that could be I need to eat more good carbs. Trying to increase them slowly to prevent storage of fat.

I currently lift and train hard 2x a week @ cross fit with PT (T, Th) which leaves me a little sore the following day for when I do cardio @ home. My cardio is currently M, W, F and S and consists of running for 30 min to 1 hour depending on routine (5k, 10k , HIIT). I am starting to wonder if I should back off on the cardio some and add more strength training days. My goal is to find a good healthy balance of weight lifting and cardio to remain fit with a nice athletic build. I do not want all the cardio from running to eat away at my muscle gains. Before I started to lift, running really leaned out my upper body, essentially eating a lot of my lean muscle. I was at goal, but hardly had any muscle in biceps, triceps, deltoids, lats and so on. Weight loss is done and I have been lifting consistently for 2 months in order to reshape body. It is working!! Long term lean muscle is going to help me keep at goal and give some flexibility with eating plan. I have put on 10 lb of lean muscle since starting cross fit training. I am thinking about replacing some cardio day with an @home strength training DVD like Bob Harper inside out or Jillian Michael ripped. Eventually I will increase cross fit days in a month or two, once I transition into open gym format instead of PT sessions. What are your thoughts about weight lifting versus cardio based on my thoughts above?

Is someone able to explain why or how a "reset" actually works? Why does eating shakes like a new post op " reset" us back to greater restriction? Enquiring minds want to know!!

Nothing happened today so I think the sleeve proved it is made of steel yet again! Thanks for your comments.

When did you decide to eat fruit again post op? For example, apples and bananas. I am almost 10 months post op and think it is time to start adding fruit as I have been maintaining for a few months now. I think fruit will help me fuel better for lifting and running. I used to really like fruit, but have "forgotten" my like for it as May 2012 was the last time I ate any fruit (1-2 months pre op). My diet includes fruits now as part of a green drink (71 different veggie and fruits). Let me know what you think.

You can find some good non biased feedback by reading reviews on Amazon. I use Amazon feedback system all the time when determining a suitable product among several competing products.

Laura - I get the sweet craves sometimes too. One trick that works for me is to have 1-2 Bariatric Advantage Caramel calcium chews. It may be a kind of cheesy response, but it helps and each chew is only about 15 calories. It does not need to be caramel; that is just a flavor I like. You can also see if chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, green tea or any of the other flavors work for you. I know Trader Joes sells these dark chocolate wedges in a small round tin. Each one is very rich and my wife loves them. You might consider these if you are craving chocolate, but do not want a lot of calories. I would say each wedge is about the size of two calcium chews in surface area and about 1/2 inch thick.

No, I do not eat back calories lost from exercise. No reason really, just don't. I keep calories burned separate from calories gained from food and do not attempt to balance my caloric checkbook. I eat to satisfaction. No more then that. If I did a really hard workout, I might have an extra shake or something, but only because my body says it needs fuel. I do not really track any longer and eat according to strategies I have learned during 1st 6 months. It is working well as to provide enough fuel to do aggressive training.

My hat is off to you. Excellent!

Thanks everyone. It was a small amount - 1 tbsp. No retching yet. Hope it stays that way.