*Dean*

THAT LOOKS AWESOME!

Thanks M2G! Pre op I used to eat Greek yoghurt with a (large) handful of walnuts and honey. I'm thinking I might replace the walnuts with some granola and a SF syrup for the honey.

That's something I've worked on as well. Having lots of variations on how / when I train. So that when life (kids / work / everything else) gets in the way of training I have options at the ready.

Thanks friends!!

Stupid question (we don't really eat granola in Australia) do you chop the almonds?

I know from Crossfit I've lost about half of my strength with lifting weights. That will come back slowly. As far as actual fitness goes I feel great. I just got back from a camping trip and was doing 6k beach jogs most days. I think I'd smash the obby course - I might give it a go next time I'm out there!

We're almost twins with our numbers Shell. My start weight was 137.7kgs. This morning I was 96.5kgs.

Smok...........ing hot. You look fantastic.

You're a machine Mass. I love it.

I just got back from a couple of weeks of beach camping. I had a cool NSV that I wanted to share. The beach we were on was 3k long. So perfect for a 6km jog in the mornings. I find it easier to run on soft sand in my trainers, rather than bare feet. One morning I got caught by a wave coming in, I tried to dodge it, but got some water in my shoe. This caused some wet sand to gather up in my sock. I could feel it rubbing against my foot, but I didn't think it was a big deal so kept running. I took my shoe off back at camp and I had a massive blister, under the arch of my foot. It got a little infected so I went to the local Dr to get some antibiotics. Pre surgery I had no co morbidities, but my blood pressure had started to creep up. It wasn't at a level that I needed medication, but that was only around the corner. The doctor, who I'd never met before took my blood pressure, while I told him about my blister. My blood pressure was 105/60. The Dr said "Your blood pressure is nice and low, but I'd expect that from someone fit and who exercises regularly". I sat there while the nurse bandaged my foot feeling like I was going to explode with pride. I've had heaps of compliments from people that I know, including staff at my Dr's and my surgeon's office. This was different though. I didn't tell the Dr about my weight loss or surgery. It wasn't even a compliment really. It was just a comment from a Dr I didn't know. It made my day, so I thought I'd share. I hope you're all well, Deano

Hi Lars. Smashed in a couple of s'mores while we were away. I think I created a couple of monsters at our camp site! I agree with Fiddle. You can't cure an addictive personality. For me if anyone thinks they're 'cured' that's the first step on the slippery slope. It happened to me when I got to goal previously. I thought I'd slayed my food demons and had a killer exercise regime. All it took was a couple of things to debunk my exercise program (new job, shift work, twins birth) and my old ways came into play. For me now, I know I'll always have food issues or the potential to have food issues. I'm ok with that. I'd rather be aware than be ignorant and be potentially blind sided again. So it's something that I'm going to have to manage for the rest of my life.

Thanks Nic I wouldn't say amazingly well compared to some people, but I'm trying everyday.

Hey I've been away camping for a couple of weeks, but I thought I'd chime in on this one. I'm definitely of the school of thought that we're all food addicts. If we weren't, surely we could just put ourselves on a 800-1200 cal a day diet and do it without a VSG? To have surgery, with all it's associated risks (and costs), when a person could do it on their own (and keep it off) is just insanity. I think like a lot of others I've been replacing my food addiction with exercise. I don't believe I'm replacing one addiction with another, and here's my reasoning. To be diagnosed with an addiction you have to have - Loss of willpower (Food check / Exercise, I guess so) Harmful consequences (Food check / Exercise, no way) Unmanageable lifestyle (Food check / Exercise, no way. It's improving my lifestyle) Tolerance or escalation of use (Food check / Exercise, Nope. I'm at an optimal amount of training now. I don't see it escalating) Withdrawal Symptoms Upon Quitting (Previous diets - hell yes / Exercise. yep. I suffer withdrawals if I missing training sessions because of work etc) So I tick all the boxes for food addict. I tick 3 of 5 for Exercise. So I'm not addicted to exercise for my money. I like to think I've replaced an unhealthy addiction with a healthy FANATICISM. fanatic [fəˈnætɪk] n 1. a person whose enthusiasm or zeal for something is extreme or beyond normal limits 2. Informal a person devoted to a particular hobby or pastime; fan a jazz fanatic

I know there are heaps of gadgets out there for running, fitbit etc. With CrossFit fees, shoes etc I watch the budget on this stuff a bit. I like the idea of keeping running cheap - it can be free after all! I down loaded the 'endomondo' app to use post C25K and I'm really happy with it.

I agree BTB. The other thing I have to watch is over training. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. At times I think 'I've eaten well, plenty of sleep (etc etc), I should be on fire' Then I realise I'm over due a rest day. I take a day and then I'm jumping back out of the box!!

Say hello back! Have you heard from Lisa?

That's really impressive how you have two conversations at once!

I'd just say "yeah I'm cheating. Jealous much?"

I'm about10 meters from the surf as we speak!

Rub her nose in it. Works every time.

If it is the same guy and she has any questions, feel free to give her my number.

Aaaahhhh you said the 'L' word! *hides*