Fiddleman

I'll repeat what is in the essence of the replies above: if we all have the same probability of dying of some natural cause, I would rather live a shorter life full of personal joy rather then a longer life that lacks personal joy and meaning. That is just my opinion coming from a version 1.0 of my life full of misery brought on by head issues and obesity, not to mention comorbidities. Having VSG has not only given me a catalyst to find a meaningful life, but has also helped me enhance the life of others I interact with. Life is short. Choose to live a life full of meaning. We do not know the time and place that our time is up.

I know you will find something you really enjoy soon enough laura. I remember you saying you can spend hours kayaking. That sounds like it would be great for you if you have access to that on a regular basis. I think that is key. You need to enjoy what you are doing.

Not terrible Amy. Have fun!! Stretching and rolling after a run will help your legs feel better for running the next day. Listen to your body and you will know if consecutive run days is terrible for you or not.

My trainer gave me a great exercise for helping with deep squats yesterday. It is called the goblet sit. Interesting name, right? Essentially, you take a 15-25 lb weight (kettleball works best) and grasp it between your hands in front of your chest, with your arms folded so the weight is close to your chest. You then get into the squat position as deep as you can go and hold it for 1 minute. Repeat as many times as you want to. For example, I did a workout yesterday that included 1 minute wall sit, 1 minute plank hold and 1 minute goblet sit over 30 minutes without rest. This was after doing a heavy weight workout with real squats for 10 minutes. yikes. After the 8th iteration of the 30 minute workout, the burn in my quads was so intense. It really did feel like a hot burn. The plank exercise was actually a rest for my poor quads during this 30 minutes. See if the goblet sit can help you with those deeper squats. I have confidence it is going to help me. By the way, all 3 of these exercises can be done in the comfort of your own home.

LuckysMomma- thanks for the response to my question. I tend to agree with your comments on WW. It is a great structured environment to have both support and accountability from week to week. For these reasons alone, WW is a nice supplementation to the restriction aspects provided by WLS. I was successful at dropping weight in WW not because of following any one of their point based plans, but because I looked forward to the Saturday meetings and the rewards that came along with success. There is something motivating that pumps the weight loss feedback loop by seeing progress on the scale, writing it down in the little book and the getting a public validation of your efforts during the group meetings. The groups meetings were always very educational, much like the once a month WLS support meeting i attend now. I never did adhere to any of their point programs, but did find some WW foods I enjoyed and stuck to eating the same food day in and day out for 6 months combined with a fairly engaged exercise program. The down fall was that after 6 months, I got too confident about lost weight (90 lbs during one stint) and let go of the eating and exercise. That put the weight back on slowly, but surely. So, yes, I agree with your comments that you need to look at WW as a lifestyle where the program never ends. Couple that with WLS and I think you have a recipe for success as long as you throw out the point model and are making better food choices then the pre packaged meals and snacks that WW sells. I wholeheartedly recommend people attend some kind of support meeting, whether that is WW, your friends, a WLS group, etc. The shared time with others that are on your same journey is really beneficial towards long term success.

Love the huge bowl of fiber one you can eat for 200 calories.

Has anyone else gotten nauseous after taking bcaa drink following an intense workout (mine had lifting and body weight exercises)? Maybe I need to carb up more closer to start of workout? My stomach was empty post workout. I drank 14 g bcaa on wake this am and another 14 g bcaa before, during and after workout. Also had creatine and recovery shake at about the same time post workout. Just felt really sick to my stomach and had to lay down. Maybe it was just a reaction to the flavor and not the bcaa, per say. Every online info says bcaa is safe and more is better. Thoughts?

Have fun! What part of c25k are you on now?

That is true - I never snack or graze, but where to draw the line between those two troublemakers and eating planned meals every 3 hours? Isn't that snacking? Occasionally, I might have an extra 1 ounce of chicken (skewer or meatball) an hour after I eat. If I get hungry and i need to eat something I make sure it is lean protein or it is an energy square. I try and only eat carbs in the morning from my energy squares. Rest of the day is protein in some form. I have been known to put food in my mouth 7x a day. 7x...That is a lot of eating, but it only helps my metabolism. My trainer commented today during our time together that I am leaning out too much ( never heard that before, never ever) and she is going to continue to increase my weight so I do not lose muscle because there is very little fat left for the body to use as energy. While I probably will not increase quantity, I might switch to higher calorie protein sources and shoot for 2500+ calories a day. OMG, that seems like a lot of calories as a sleever, but my trainer specifically said I leaned out a ton in the last few weeks and I would not want to lean out any more. Weight is still 178, but body shape is really changing. Big chest and back, slim waist, strong arms and legs. To follow up on some of the counting comments above, I never count. Never have from the start. I just made a lot of changes in food selections and had some vague idea of how many carbs or proteins, but do not track. Never will either. Just not my style. I would rather just follow a bunch of self imposed rules. And keep things simple.

Hey laura - how has your treadmill been treating you? Are you having a good time doing the c25k? Hope all is well.

Wls4me - Thanks for sharing. That is really good to hear today was a better day for you. Are you really going every day? Wow, great commitment!

My stomach area (and Chest) is where I carried a lot of weight most of my life. I did lose a lot of weight 180 lb) fast ( 7 months) and the stomach is the only area where I have loose skin. Not a lot of skin (I can pinch about .5 inch), but enough for it to be annoying because it is hiding my strong core muscles and 6 pack. I am presently a little over 1 year post op. Maybe this will improve with time, maybe it will not. I look awesome in clothes and even look fairly good without clothes on except for the stomach region. Everywhere else is muscular. I am so looking forward to a TT so this can be fixed. I believe that lots of working out, running, doing core workouts, eating clean and drinking water like a race horse has contributed to skin almost being a non issue. Almost.

Your blerch picture got eaten.

Wls4me- are you feeling less sore today?

Awesome. That is great news. I started with PVC pipe, then moved to just a bar (45 lbs) and then started adding weight over time to improve my max 1 rep and to find my sustainable 70% max weight for sets. What I really like about cross fit is that it always gives me a chance to 1-up myself within a progression over time. For example, I started out at 125 lb deadlift several months ago and can now do 320 lb deadlift as max 2- rep. I really like the feeling and sound of dropping heavy weight at the end of a set whether the set contains 1 rep, 2 rep, 5 rep or 10 rep. One of the best tips I can give you is go slow enough in your cross fit sessions to maintain good form. There are a kabillion things to remember when you are new, but it becomes second nature after a while like driving a car. I am still considered new as a lifter, but am starting to get good form on the heavy compound lifts. Me, a lifter? Who knew. I was so weak just back in February and no upper body strength. zero, zilch, nada. Today, I am much stronger. I can do any body weight exercise, including pull-ups, and lift a lot of weight.

This is such an accurate portrayal. It hits home. Funny as hell.

Thanks everyone. I think it was the caused by low potassium. Since posting this thread, said mat thrashing episode has not repeated.

Specifically for stomach, there are some core specific exercises I do at cross fit 2 x a week, core workout 2x a week using roller with DVD trainer. Planks, pushup, Romanian dead lifts, ght sit ups are all examples of good core exercises. Mark answered a similar question yesterday with a list of good core foundation exercises. There are 100s of basic moves and uncountable variations. Yoga is also super for strengthening core if you are into that. I do so many different pushup and plank variations daily to help with core strength.

I bought this product today. It says to take intra workout, but I think I will just take a serving before and after the workout. How do you take it again?

Hi - be sure to: 1. Do a cross fit warm up 2. supplement with bcaas before and after 3. stretch before and after 4. If necessary, take an NSAID. If that is an issue, take a hot shower, etc. It will get better after a few weeks. Keep showing up and have fun!

Yup - I think that is because the stomach is mostly healed and the g juice starts flowing again to tell the brain about hunger. They call this the end of the honeymoon period for this reason. All the more important to work on eating issues as well as long term eating and fitness plans before hitting this month.

Oregon daisy - I eat the amount of protein I do to build lean muscle, lean out and eliminate hunger, in that order. I hear you on the kidney stones. However, I do try and drink water all day, every day to counter and negative consequences.