indecision

Totally agree with Ginger on this one. Go to a bike shop that specializes in bikes. They will ask you the right questions and fit you to your needs well. I started with a mountain bike for off road trail riding and fell in love with biking. I now do the off road riding as well as road riding. I am totally hooked!

Thanks! Got my official time thins morning. 1:59:59.7! Under 2 hours. I will take it!

Yesterday I competed in my first duathalon. The format was 2 mile run 16 mile bike ride then another 2 mile run. The weather was brutal as we had 20 plus mile per hour winds and it poured rain for most of the race. Despite the weather I had fun and finished right at 2 hours. I think I would have been around 1 hour 45 minutes under normal conditions. I will be doing one of these again as i had a blast doing this!

I tell anyone who asks how I lost the weight. Mostly because I like to see the look on their face...I don't give 2 Sh#$s what people think. But that's just me...

I LOVE Mexican food. Sooo When I started the solids phase a single cheese enchilada was a very good friend of mine. That early out I was able to eat about 3/4 of one. Now I will eat one with a little refried beans.

Just remember it is a marathon and not a race. You will start to see the difference little by little. Your mind takes longer to catch up with your body. I know exactly how you feel but be patient!

That is great!! Way to go! Keep up the hard work!

Way to go! That is great!

I eat Pizza but not too often. I average about 1 time a month. I always stick to thin crust but that really is the only rule I have about pizza. I can usually eat about 1 slice and that is it. Even at 1 year out.

I wish I would have known I looked so damn good thin....HA Actually I wish I would have know just how much better I feel thin. I wish I would have known I love to do physical activities that I was unable to do before. I wish I would have known the energy that I would gain by losing the weight. Its unreal the amount of energy I have.

Love Pino's but have been drinking Malbec's lately! Give one of those a try! Very good stuff.

@@lcoll I have never stopped having the things I liked when appropriate during the journey. If I had done that I would have gone crazy!! I gave up beer and that is one of my true loves. I have not had a beer in over a year. Wine has helped me get over that though!! HA

Love me some wine. I had my first glass about 5 weeks out and have never looked back. I drink wine weekly.

Thanks!!!

I think that with either surgery you go with it is entirely up to you on wether or not it is successful. Many folks do not realize going into this just how much work you have to put in to be successful. If you are willing to follow the plan and work your tail off then you will de fine no matter what surgery you choose. Good luck to you!

Thanks @@cherbear33 and @@Andrew0929 !!!

I really started to see my energy level rise after about 3 months. Then at 6 months it went up a notch. At 6 months is when I really started to work out. Now that I am 12 months out my energy level is even more which I think has more to do with the working out at this point. So I would say it is a gradual increase over the 12 month period for sure.

Wow you look amazing! Congrats on your success.

@@justabill so far my furthest is 18 miles and this weekend I am bumping to 25 miles. So I am slowly getting to long distance riding. I have only worried with hydration up until now but know I need to start researching nutrition at this point as I keep bumping the miles. So really I am in the same boat of needing to figure this out. That is awesome you have done a half IM. I don't think I will ever try one of those to be honest. I am going to mostly keep with the riding and some running. My knees are wrecked from years of football and carrying the weight I carried so they would probably never allow for great distances running.

Thanks! The energy is unreal. I can do so many more things now that I could not do before.

I do not seem to be typical when it comes to this topic. For the first 10 months I did not go a week without at least losing a pound. Early on it was huge amounts and just tapered from there. After 10 months I have gone through weeks where I do not lose anything. I attribute this to the amount of time I am working out now as opposed to the earlier months. I am doing more weight training as well as long distance bike riding. It was nice to not experience the stalls like I have read on others because it helped keep me motivated. I am also one that weighs a few times a day to help keep myself in check.

@@kazzygal good luck to you and I am glad my story in some way may have helped you! @@HHHappy thanks!!

I really do like Dr Nick. I just felt very comfortable with him so that is why I went with him. I am sure Dr Kim is equally the same in that regard. My only regret is not doing it sooner and I have not had any troubles. If I wanted to say I did it would only be the trouble with the mind adjusting to the new me. It is still playing catch up at times. Other than that it has been an awesome journey! My energy level is through the roof these days! And thank you on the congrats!

Today is the 1 year anniversary of my surgery. It has been an amazing journey to say the least. I can tell you that I am not the same person I was a year ago and I am very happy about that fact. I did not have any complications thankfully and I would not change any of the experience whatsoever. Did I follow the plan to the T? Absolutely not. For the most part I stuck to the Protein first rule however I did and have enjoyed foods along the way that were not part of the plan. I have stuck to the no carbonation and no straw rules though. For the most part if I wanted or craved a food I ate it. I do still have restriction but it is not what it was in the early months. The amount of working out I do now though has me eating almost constantly. I don't ever feel hungry in the way I would in the past but I am able to sense when my body needs food. In 2007 I weighed in at 418 pounds. Before surgery during pre-op I weighed 362. This morning I weighed in at 208. I am literally half the man I use to be. SO 210 over all loss and 154 since surgery. I am not trying to lose any more weight but I am also not trying to stop losing at this point. I am content with whatever happens for now. If anyone has questions please let me know and I will be glad to answer!

That is really awesome! Congrats to you on this accomplishment!!