JamieLogical

That's actually very common and something you need to be mindful of. For a 5k, you probably won't "burn out", but if you move on to longer distances, it can be an issue. Many longer racers will have "pacers". These are people who run a constant pace and if you have aspirations of completing the race in a specific time, you can just match their pace the whole way. They hold up a sign or have a special t-shit on or some way of indicating who they are and what pace they are keeping.

@@jess9395 Function above form! I try to wear as few articles of clothing as possible so there is less opportunity for chafing. A shirt introduces all sorts of new potential chafing!

Congrats! Onederland is right around the corner!

I admit I didn't read the study mentioned in the OP, but I am curious to know exactly how much of a calorie deficit the subjects of the study had. Were they truly "starving" in the sense that anorexics or people in impoverished environments are "starving" or were they merely creating a significant enough caloric deficit to lose weight? I would think the impact that true starvation would have on your metabolism could potentially be more drastic and permanent.

The "rule" is because some people allow the scale to make them crazy. Especially early on, the scale is a VERY poor indicator of progress and "success". Weight can fluctuate drastically from one hour to the next. Some people just can't handle seeing the scale not move or move up. If you can handle it and understand that the numbers aren't a reflection on your success, then go for it. If you are going to be emotionally affected by what the scale has to say, then just put it away somewhere and only get it out to weigh once a week or even once a month to track your basic trendline.

An 11 minute mile is nothing to sneeze at. I too had ambitions of running a sub 30-minute 5K, but gave that up long ago. I have embraced my slow running and opted to increase distance instead. Which I've obviously been pretty successful at!

Yeah, you will feel better once you can get more calories in. Fatigue was a major issue for me through my liquid and puree phases.

I was going to say, that if you have GERD, bypass or mini-bypass would be a better option. VSG has been known to cause GERD or increase the severity of GERD in people who already have it. Also, if you have that much damage to your esophagus from GERD, may surgeons wouldn't perform VSG on you.

When I have tracked my calories in the past (not tracking right now as I am maintaining fine without tracking), I literally weighed every ingredient in my home cooked meals, plugged them into a recipe calorie calculator, weighed the finished product, and weighed how much food I actually ate in order to get the correct percentage. I am SUPER anal when I track calories, which is exactly why I don't track them when I don't have to. I would waste half my life weighing, measuring, calculating, and entering!

Yeah, I really can't complain. Definitely lucked out when I stumbled across him!

My fatigue lasted until I got to soft foods. Once I did that, I was able to increase my calories enough to feel vaguely functional, plus I was through the bulk of the healing.

I hope you are right, but I have seen plenty of anecdotal evidence to the contrary on this site. The idea that there are people eating 1000 calories a day in maintenance is mind boggling to me. But, unless they are lying to us or themselves, there seem to be a lot of people in that boat. I was a "slow" loser, ate about 1400 calories a day through most of my weight loss phase, exercised intensely, and actually gained 7 pounds of muscle by the time I reached goal. Now, in maintenance, I can easily eat 1900-2000 calories a day and not gain. On the days I run, I eat more like 2400-2600 calories. I can't help but think that by losing more slowly, not drastically restricting my calories, and maintaining/building muscle, I was able to keep my metabolism normal/high. When I see people posting that they are gaining or have to restrict themselves to 900 or 1000 calories a day to not gain in maintenance, their stories also usually include having lost very quickly and not done much exercise. This is all anecdotal and not scientific, but I have been on these forums for about 2.5 years and read hundreds and hundreds of posts, and this is the trend I have observed. As for "starvation" mode, I do think it is a contributing factor for stalls. Especially in people who are doing a lot of exercise and not eating enough calories to sustain that level of activity. They are essentially adopting a form of anorexia, called "anorexia athletica" where they are creating a dangerously high calorie deficit through exercise.

So yeah... "hunger" for me now is "hanger". I turn into a total bit** when I have gone 3-4 hours without eating. I warned my new boyfriend about it, but he was totally unprepared for the reality when it actually happened. Any time I'm out with my mom all day, she carries Snacks for me in her purse and forces them on me at the first sign of hanger.

It sounds like you have given it a lot of thought and reached the conclusion that gives you the most peace of mind right now. That is the smart thing to do! You should make this choice for yourself and no one else. If surgery isn't right for you then you definitely shouldn't do it. It takes an enormous amount of dedication and commitment to be successful with WLS. If you can't commit to it fully, then you are right to not pursue it.

@@Babbs Yeah, I think there has definitely been some miscommunication in this thread, which probably hasn't helped the poor OP who had already received conflicting info. Hopefully the gist has managed to come across. There are exceptions to every rule and everyone has to find their own path. But, in general, for the highest chances of success: Drink your Water (at least 64 oz. a day) Get your Protein in (85-100 grams per day ideally) Take your Vitamins Keep carbs low (hopefully will come naturally from meeting protein goals) Eat enough calories to fuel your activity level (too few and you slow your metabolism) Stay active (whatever that means for you, get up and move your body regularly) Figure out what works for you! (our bodies are as unique as finger prints and while there are general guidelines to follow, only you can figure out what will work for you long term!)

Sounds like you are steadily progressing towards your surgery! The wait can be a pain, but you are making improvements that will continue to help you post-op as well. So just keep your eye on the prize!

Awesome to hear you've "rebooted" your weight loss. It sounds like you have already been doing a good job of keeping active and enjoying life. But sometimes it is good to get in a little routine with food and exercise to course correct when needed. Glad to have you back!

HAHAHAHAHA!! You realize you're disagreeing with a VERY successful WLS person who has lost beyond their excess weight AND has maintained it AND is running marathons, right? And losing weight is 80% diet and 20% exercise, know it all. I've seen people who have had surgery lose all their weight with no exercise at all. How do you explain that, professor? I think exercise is critical to weight loss and maintenance, so this person wasn't even disagreeing with me, just misinterpreting my posts I think? I just ran a full marathon on the 18th. Clearly I'm a big proponent of physical fitness! Nutrition is definitely where it's at for weight loss, because it's the best way to create a significant caloric deficit. But exercise is critical for keeping your metabolism up, preventing muscle loss, and I HIGHLY recommend it in maintenance for keeping your weight in check. And exercise can come in MANY forms. I like running. Some people like classes. Some people like fitness DVDs. Some people like team sports. Everyone needs to figure out what they enjoy, what they can keep up with, and what motivates them.

@ Hi there! Sounds like things are going really well in your life. What brings you back to the forums? How have you done with your weight loss and maintenance?

Well, we've been dating for over three months now and he knows about the surgery and everything. I told him soon after the Lasertron/foamies incident. Now every time we go to play Lasertron, we joke about it. Fortunately, I haven't had any foamies or thrown up again since then! However, I did run a marathon last weekend (the 18th) and he had to help me shower after, because I was helpless as a newborn. And he took care of me and got me food and everything after. Plus, I got HORRIBLY sunburned during the race and he helped with aloe and lotion and burn cream in the days after and put up with the peeling skin this past weekend. He's pretty great! I'm probably going to keep him.

@@thatmeanone Another one of my tidbits of wisdom that served me well in my weight loss phase is this. People are in a rush to lose weight quickly post-sleeve, because they have spent a lifetime dieting. But unlike a "diet", you will never be DONE with your sleeve. There is no need to sprint to the finish so you can return to your "normal" life. I promise you, no matter how frustrated you are with your "slow" loss in the moment, you will NOT be looking back two years from now thinking "if only I'd reached goal one month sooner". You will be enjoying your new active and healthy life, maintaining your goal weight and never looking back at all!

I definitely recommend an aisle seat, especially for the flight home, posy-op. You will want to get up and walk a little as often as possible on the flight.

A 5k doesn't really require any glycogen reserves. I would usually just eat one carb-heavy item the morning of (at least an hour before the race). I like Clif bars or multi-grain toast with Peanut Butter for my pre-run carbs. Also, you do want to try to get a good amount of Water in before the race. Bring a water bottle with you to the start and drink it right up until the start and then hand it over to whoever came to cheer you on to hang onto during the race. Just make sure you are doing little sips, instead of huge gulps right before the start. Don't want to have it all sloshing around!

@@Hadenough2 I eat a fair amount of sausage. Now I will eat pork sausage in maintenance, but in my weight loss phase I ate turkey, chicken, or poultry sausage.