Fiddleman

Wow - that makes me in my low 20s!! I like that.

Yes, in fact I do as an amateur. I have been playing for about 27 years. Up until college I played mostly classical in orchestra and was a concert master. Starting in college, I switched to Irish fiddling and played in many jam sessions, a few paid gigs with a band. Now I mostly just play when there is time, not so much in the last few years. I hope to get back into it now that I have gained a lot of self motivation back after going through the metamorphoses of being a post op. someday I want to be a pop / rock violinist!!

You may want to wait just a little longer because of the fibrous nature of the apple meat and skin. Perhaps if you peel the skin off you would be OK at a little less then 3 months post op. Not sure. Many folks struggle on the skiing for a long time. I just tried it today and am almost 11 months post op.

Thanks all for the kind compliments. They make my day! Do not hesitate to send more.

I do mean 360. Thanks for pointing it out and now corrected.

Not really deliberate at all, was just a picture from lunch time. It was super hot over there in Rome, even in October. That is why I look like I am in pain for the camera. Lol.

Here are some before and after photos of me. Before (10-2011): 360 lb In Rome near the Colosseum. Surgery date (07-02-2012): 335 lb I started to lose weight in may 2012, 2 months before surgery. After (05-24-2013): 188 lb At home in the back yard. My lowest was 177 lb in February 2013. I have gained about 10 lb of lean muscle since then. "After" is still a work in progress as I am working on strength training over the summer months. No lose skin except for a little around the front of the stomach. It will probably go away by end of this summer.

Sure - I enjoy sharing the recipes with others because they are so tasty and healthy for us.

The Wendy's and Cosi's options look really good! Time to go exploit them.

I ate a whole apple split in two with almond butter for morning snack today. Skin and all. Just wanted to say it can be done. I felt a slight twinge in the GI tract afterwards, but overall, not too bad.

Have you heard of the Panera Bread "secret menu?" This was rolled out to all locations in January 2013. You just need to ask about it at the register as you will not find any of the items on the visible menu. All hidden menu item are " healthy" in the sense they are low carb, high protein and, in my opinion, very tasty. There are 6 options total and the portions are generally large enough for 3-4 meals as a VSG post op. You may need to wait a few months to be able to handle ingredients like spinach. Try it out!!

Hopefully everyone that has access to said images are 18 years or older because of the nature of them being "adult material." Otherwise, VST could get into trouble with various advocacy groups out there that try and protect children from improper access.

Sure - it was so tasty and good for us sleevers (given a person can manage everything in it).

Here is a yummy dinner we enjoyed tonight. Very fresh and no need for oven during summer time. 1 lb cooked jumbo shrimp (detailed and chopped) 1.5 medium avocado diced 2 med tomato seeded and chopped 1/4 cup red onion diced 1/4 cup cilantro chopped juice of 2 Limes (mix 1 tbsp olive oil) 1/2 piblamo pepper diced Salt and pepper to taste Combine all ingredients and serve. 5 servings Each serving has Calories: 220 Fat: 11 g Carb: 9 carb (4.2 gram fiber) Protein: 21.5 g Try it out! Let me know what you think.

Ouch!!!

Nope - not annoying Nicole. Thanks for posting. That is super exciting to read about your progress.

Still had trouble with back today (vertebrae bruise). Did a WOD (workout of day) with cross fit PT (personal trainer) today. We went down the list and then back up the list. 400 m sprint 120 lb squats 30 s side plank 2 min ghd Sit ups AMRAP 30 toe to bar 30 s side plank 2 min ghd Sit ups AMRAP 1 min full plank 90 lb farmer carry AMRAP=as many reps as possible. Every 4 minutes , no matter what I was doing, I had to stop and do 5 burpees. That was sort of a wham, This was so much HIIT!! I was so tired and breathing hard by 1/2 way up the list the my eyes were closed and I failed on the 2nd 2 min ghd situp AMRAP. Just could not get my body back up. Whew!! Anyways, I was unable to do the feet to toe pull ups so I modified them. Laid on my back and curled my feet up to my head using core strength only, except I could not do it. My spine would not bend. It was sad. Lol. I was not able to do the vups either as they hurt my back. Instead, I did ab mat sit ups . I could do these without back issues. My PT was nice about it. I said I did not mind working out if it caused superficial pain, but the bruised vertebrae pain was not something I could tolerate. It killed my form so she had me modify as stated above. I shared my transformation idea (see post from me started last week in vet forum) with my PT as I cooled down from the WOD. She thought it was a great idea all around. Psyches me that my PT bought into it. Sigh- when is this back issue going to get better? It still is a real pain in the vertebrae in the middle of the back. Arg!! It kind of sucks not being able to do back exercises like the toe to head or the vups. I could do everything else and, furthermore, have worked out hard since this injury every day since last Monday almost 2 weeks ago (not using back). Please send healing thoughts this way...

My center said we could drink before and after surgery, just not the immediate day before in order to have body ready for surgery. I like coffee now, a lot. Drink every day in the mornings.

You might also try a green drink like green essence (from Vitamin shoppe). These are really good at clearing up inflammation, heart burn and those kind of things. It does not need to be green essence, but should be a green drink with ingredients that help with alkalizing the cells in the blood (read: increase the PH levels). Here is a good article: http://thechalkboardmag.com/expert-advice-ph-miracle-alkalizing-green-juice