Fiddleman

Honestly, I do not eat a lot of raw veggies at almost a year post op and probably should get better at it. My favorite veggies I do eat are kale, spinach, regulars salads and broccoli. Usually i only get a single serving of veggies in at my "dinner" meal. I do, however, drink a serving of green vibrance "green drink" every morning. It has so many different vegetables, fruits, herbs and probiotics (for healthy digestion). Have you considered a green drink supplement to fill in the missing gaps? I find it much easier and less expensive then trying to source all this stuff from actual vegetables, fruits and herbs. Tonic alchemy is another "green drink" I like, but it has been surprisingly hard to find in the last month or two. I do not think I could maintain healthy nutrient levels without the green drink because I am not eating the RDA recommended amounts in real fruits and vegetables. I will be checking vitamin based blood work soon. I have great energy levels every day and sleep well.

It probably can make a mean Cappuccino for that time in the morning when you weigh, but not quite awake yet!

What does your new scale do? Come on, spill the Beans...

Sounds good Sarah! Eating lean protein also goes a long way to keeping hunger at bay and to avoid grazing.

There are a lot of hungry stomachs post op, including my own. A little tip I picked up is to wait 20 minutes, independent of your last eating time and recheck if you are still hungry. In the meanwhile, keep drinking water. As they say, thirst is often mistaken for hunger. I usually find a driving desire to eat something good ( fill in the blank) dissipates after 20 minutes or at least will be less of a nag. Hope this helps.

As for low glycemic fruit consider an apple instead of a banana. This is a simple example, but very effective. A banana will cause a surge in insulin which causes undesirable fluctuations in hormones and energy levels. I found this out today after thinking that eating banana and almond nut butter was a well balanced snack for before working out. I lost a fair amount of energy during my cross fit WOD after eating two bananas a day with nut butter for the last couple weeks. Instead, I need to switch to 1/2 apple with almond nut butter and a cheese stick or a chicken skewer on the side. The apple has a lot of fiber and with the nut butter and chicken is a good set of macronutrient ratios that the body will understand how to convert into long lasting energy. This is just a simple example. Hope it helps.

That is great to hear your progress Nicole, really pushing yourself. Even though your scale is broken, I bet you can start to notice differences in the mirror or feel stronger, more muscular. For me, my body feels "the best" when I wake up in the morning and I just know something is changing, getting stronger or a little tighter on the measurements. Perhaps you feel this way also? We are nearing the end of phase 1 - " the lift off phase" ( see phase descriptions near the top of this thread). It is time to start thinking about the next phase, what you wish to accomplish at the end of phase 2 and how you will get here. Remember, you may not be feeling it yet! The next phase will probably be a breakthrough for all of us. We will really start to notice differences and our hard work will start to pay off. Keep on pushing everyone!! I know it is hard, but the results will be worth it.

Soon you be running a mile and then 5 k as easy as you breath air. You just wait and see. Just take one exercise session at a time, trying your best each time.

I am terrible with the wait-between-bites rule. My food goes down pretty fast. I slimed a lot in first few months; now, not so much. However, I still chow down pretty quickly. This is one rule I am probably not going to master, but it is working out be ok as I still eat the limited quantities of 3-5 oz of food per meal. Try and do better then I did and heed the advices others on his thread. There will be less sliming that way.

You will enjoy c25k after a while. The beginning will seem really hard. When you do start on it, do report your progress on Deans c25k thread. Lots of company there!

It took me about 3 weeks to recover and have enough energy to make it through a work day. Even after 3 days, I remember still being pretty tired. First week was in the hospital because of a couple complications. I have a desk job, but still didn't feel like sacrificing my health by returning too early. All is well now.

That is awesome you got your treadmill!! Great job Laura! Did you walk, jog or run for 20 minutes? Are you going to try out the c25k program?

How is "blowing it" eating a protein bar? Seriously!! You will be fine...

Great job dean. You are looking really fit!

OK - so I have been thinking about how to increase Protein up to the sweet spot of eating 1.5 g per 1 lb body weight. For me that is about 240 g protein a day. I get about 150 now and am eating 6 x s day heavily focused on 25-40 g protein a meal. Sometimes I sneak in an extra meal for 7 meals a day. My weight is slightly dropping about 3 lbs a week on this eating plan and lean muscle mass is increasing, but would definitely grow slightly if eating TDEE + 200 calories. The big100 bars have 28-32 oz g protein per bar and about 400 calories each. It would be a way to also get calories closer to TDEE. Drinking 2 scoops instead of 1 scoop will help get 40-50 g protein per shake. I never thought it would be so hard to eat enough. It might also help to eat smaller meals every waking hour (instead of every 3 hours). Let's see, assuming awake for 15 hours then that works out to be 3 meals of 40 g (either big 100 bars or higher calorie shakes that are 32 oz or higher) and 9 meals of 15 g equaling 120 g + 130 g = 250 g of protein. That works out to be 250 x 4 cal/g = 1000 cal. Another 1200 calories would be split between good fats and carbs. Not sure how to play it out yet. I think I am going to need some help with figuring how to eat 240 g protein daily with also eating the right amount of good carb and fats to total around 2300 calories. My goal is to build up my body so want to eat about 2300 calories a day or 200 calories more then my TDEE of 2100. I do workout 6 x a week. 3 days of intense lifting for about 45 minutes, 2 days of cross fit for an hour and 1 day of circuit training for 1 hour. The last day contains "easy" exercise that is not intense. This is complicated and expensive. Phew. Help?

Gleaned it from a rep at Vitamin Shoppe.

After losing weight, I have noticed the little brown wooden chairs are kiddie size and uber uncomfortable for both the bum and the lower back. Oy! A coffee drink should come with a massage coupon. I am sitting in one of their kiddie size chairs today because my internet went out at home and I need an internet connection to do my work. These chairs need to be replaced! Rant out...

Today, I found out men can digest 40 g of Protein per serving. News to me. I always thought it was 30 g for both men and women. Women are still advised to max out at 30 g. Men and women should not go over these limits or risk storing the extra protein as fat. Time to start doubling up the protein scoops to hit 40 g per dose. We want to achieve 1-1.5 g gram of protein per lean body mass to build up muscle after reaching goal. Before goal, it is better to achieve 1 g protein per lean body mass to prevent wasting of muscle.