BigViffer

Right?! I am having to work my ass off just to make gains. I just bought fractional plates because I just can't make the 5 lbs jumps anymore.

Thank you for the reference, but I would like to clarify that is merely a weight lifting guide and not a training guide. That routine was really good for keeping what muscle I had and losing fat. Once I started actually building muscle, I transitioned to actual training. Much more regimented and less variety. Lots of tracking and log maintaining. Lots of reading, attending lectures, and eventually one on one coaching led me strength training. (Notice I said a coach and not a trainer) I've mentioned it before, but there was little interest in actual weight training on this board. Many men just want to look good after being fat for so long (I get it) and women think they will "bulk up" which is total BS and cannot happen without serious effort and questionable supplements.

In my experience, NUT's are nothing more than smoothie recipe repositories and product pushers. Very little education or just very lazy. The ones I had to deal with didn't bother to pay attention to files that clearly show a food allergy when they were making their recipe pamphlets to pass out to patients. But if I wanted to buy a bag or pouch of product, she had every sales pitch and marketing blurb memorized. Any NUT that requires you to use a specific brand of a product is shady as hell and needs their @ss handed to them IMO.

Change your habits. This surgery is more than just eating less, it's about learning how to eat. "On the go" is just an excuse to eat convenient food. Plan ahead and prepare foods that can be eaten on the go. If you can't make a change in your lifestyle, you are going to have a struggle the rest of your life. Second thing - no one can motivate you to succeed long term. That comes from personal dedication.

Chuck that Genepro in the trash. It is snake oil and a worthless protein. Stick with a tried and true whey protein that doesn't have a recent lawsuit loss. Optimum Nutrions Gold Standard is my go-to powder. I don't make shakes though, I make protein cakes. Scoop of protein powder, baking powder, and coffee creamer. 30-45 seconds in the microwave and done.

Pretty normal at your stage to still have loose stool. Cherish it now, because soon it will be constipation. And no, that is not dumping. You'll know if you experience dumping syndrome. It feels awful.

Also, the prevalence of soy protein in many products has been linked to moobs. I don't know how true it is, but I also don't buy soy supplements. I avaoid them because of their low bioavalabilty in regards to muscle recovery post lifting.

Beeswax will not dry skin/lips. I cannot say for sure if pure paraffin will or not. But I can say that Veaseline or any petroleum product (like jelly) will cause some drying. Lanolin is of course good, but if you are just looking for an everyday chapstick, Beeswax is the way to go.

I am coming up on 3 years, I am no where near the eating machine I was prior. I literally would be stuffed and thinking about the next meal. I didn't want to "let down" my wife by not taking seconds or having something at my in-laws because they made something for me. Now I no longer have to bother faking interest, I'll just say that I have to save my calories or I over full from something prior to getting there. Works out well for me since everyone knows I had the sleeve.

For the past week I have been ill, typical ear, throat, & nose stuff. The main diet recommended for these time is usually soup. I lived on ramen, chicken noodle, and an assortment of Pacifc brand soup cartons. I went over my daily calories every damn day and my protein was abysmally low. Easily only a third of my normal intake. And I was starving the entire time. Carbs break down easily and quickly. Therefore you get hungry again much quicker. I normally have to remind myself to eat when I am busy because the dense protein satiates us longer.And the fact that the soups main volume is water, the carbs that were there we not even in sufficient quantity to keep me full for longer than 30 minutes. Oh, here is a tip for when you get to the part post-op where you want to know how to eat soup since you shouldn't mix liquids and solids. When you are sick and no one is around, drink the broth first. When all that is left is the solids, eat that.

No social media. Can't stand it. I see my wife and kids noses buried in it every evening. I pretty much think it will be the downfall of society. Sent from my phone. Please forgive brevity and spelling.

@BuffaloBill The best questions to ask yourself are: What are you wanting to get out of going to the gym? Are you wanting weight loss, pretty looking muscles, or strength? There is a difference between all of those food/activity plans. You cannot have more than one goal at a time. Sure you can try, but you will only make meager gains (or losses) if you divide your focus. In my case, the weights I was lifting were pretty low because I was so weak, but it was necessary to try and maintain as much muscle mass as possible since that is what burns the fat. And fat loss was the goal the first year. During weight loss, 80 grams of protein is sufficient. Attack the cardio while you can. Carbs are not your enemy contrary to what many say on here. Just make sure they are complex. That is good fuel for cardio work. The second year I went for pretty muscles. Just like so many of us, it was almost intoxicating looking so good after being fat for so long. But I found that what I really wanted was strength. The strength to do things that previously would send me to the doctor. So now I eat what would probably be a boring diet in many peoples opinion. I really don't care what I am eating as long as it fulfills my nutritional needs. The weightlifting is fascinating. I always thought lifters were meatheads. The books I am reading are being written by doctors and mechanical engineers and people far more intelligent than I. I am to the point that I eat 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day. But it is pretty damn clean. The only problem is that I cannot eat enough to break into a larger lift class. oh well, 1st world problems! So back to your original question In order to lose weight or burn fat, you have to be in a caloric deficit. That means that you are burning more that you are taking in on AVERAGE. Not daily, but more like weekly. A good estimate of the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) for the average male is 1500 calories. That is why we call the first year post op the honeymoon phase. Over the course of a week, the daily caloric intake is usually far below that so you lose weight. You surgeon probably made a big to-do about maintaining muscle mass during the first year. That is most likely what is happening right now. The existing muscle is living up to it's potential. Now in order to increase the potential of muscles, we need to grow new muscle tissue. In order to do that, we must stress the muscle and cause many micro tears that heal stronger and bigger than before. In order to heal back bigger and stronger, you need quality proteins (meats and whey are best - do NOT use GenPRO, it is snake oil) and a caloric SURPPLUS. You cannot create new tissue out of nothing, you must have the building blocks available. Fat is not converted to protein, only energy. So it can fuel your activity but it cannot build new musle tissue. Fat is the most dense energy source for the body, then protein, and lastly carbs. That is why carbs are great for pre-workout. They give us the enegery to complete the workout. Protein will be used as an energy source before fat since it is easier to metabolize. Fat is the last thing your body turns to for fuel. This is why you want to focus on the weight loss the first year. After you reach your goal weight, you will be able to eat more than 1500 calories and the excess will go towards making more muscle tissue. Weight loss doesn't happen overnight and neither will a strong body. Focus on long term goals for the best chance of success. Slow and steady is the way to win this "race". Incremental gains should be your goal. It's not just your muscles you need to be worried about. They WILL atrophy in the beginning. You WILL lose muscle mass and strength. There is nothing you can do about that. Accept it; but set yourself up for success later. You will also need to focus on calcium and vitamin D and increasing bone density. Your legs should be good since by nature of being overweight they had to become strong to carry us. Unless you have arthritis like me and then it can become an issue. TLDR - My advice is to lose all the weight you can during the first year. I cannot stress that enough - my advice. Do what you feel is right after talking to your surgeon/doctor. I wouldn't be trying for 1200 calories at 2 month post op. Establish the eating habits that will last you the rest of your life.

PArdon my slow wittedness, I am sick and puny right now. Who am I supposed be addressing in regards to retaining/gaining muscle mass? Approach is different depending on the person.

Gotta say I'm jealous @JerseyJules. You don't seem to have any of the excess skin that plagues many of us.

Damn dude, I am over two years out and that sounds good even now!

Actually, it would probably be quite the opposite. They would either be completely disinterested and apathetic, pushing their products, or preaching "muscle confusion" to keep you coming back over and over to line their pockets. Regardless of the personal trainer, I hope you started lifting weights.

Wait... are you serious?! What does he consider heavy? And what lifts is he referring to? Even attempting to perform a squat, deadlift, overhead press, or bench press 1 month post op is insane IMO. Jesus, they just went through the abdominal wall!

What a coincidence, I am somewhat of a bean counter myself. Spreadsheets all damned day. I took two weeks off and in hindsight I wish I had taken 3. The first week you are home, you are going to have a pain ball and a drain. Your follow up appointment is usually a week post op. You will not want to go back before that just because of the stuff hanging off you. After those are removed, barring any minor complications you could probably go back then. But you will be a zombie. I remember the day after I had the pain ball removed, I actually fainted like a dame in a old black & white movie. Not fun at all. I also had a hematoma which was nasty. Nothing serious, just gross. I was on blood pressure medicine at the time and man can that stuff make you feel like crap if you no longer need it. With our reduced caloric intake, a significant drop in sodium intake happens as well. With that, BP comes down. Add the BP medicine to it and it plummets. Bathroom trips will be frequent, whether to sit there straining for naught or to once again pee because of the hopeful fluid consumption. If you can afford to take the two weeks off, I heartily recommend it. I cannot comment on waitressing though. But if you are the least bit lightheaded after 2 weeks of a lounging and then a desk job, being on your feet will be tough. The good thing though is that you will be getting lots of walking in once you are ready to go back to work.

Don't set expectations on weight loss and time losing. You will only set yourself up for misery. The thing you want to mentally prepare for is the "pain". No I don't mean the physical discomfort, that is a different level for everyone. I mean the mental anguish that you will inevitably go through. Unreasonable crying and emotional outburst are completely normal and very common. Be prepared to be very difficult to be around. Have your husband prepare to take the brunt of your attacks. Let him know what to say before it happens. We men are generally "fixers" and don't quite get the need to just say something without wanting to fix it. All that being said, you will lose a lot the first month. Then you will stall. Then you will think something is wrong because you are basically starving and working your @ss off but nothing is happening, etc... And it will be slow for you since you are only 210 SW. You are going to have to think of this as a long term process. You just won't get the instant gratification we all say we aren't expecting but deep down we just know that there is a greek god(dess) hiding under our fat.

Not really, all we did in there is lie about how many boobies we touched.

Literally the best thing I have ever read on this forum. Bar none.

Allow me to quote myself: I am a heavy coffee drinker. Coffee, not latte, mochaccino, espresso or any foofy coffee beverage. I like those once in a blue moon, but not as my every day vice. I remember my first cup of coffee post op at about week 2. It was maybe 2 fluid ounces. Pure bliss though. Now I am back at about a pot or two a day.

Tink is always kicking @ss and taking names!

@CowgirlJane - I tried OH as well, but that platform is just awful. Very difficult to navigate and then Guy's section was literally a weekly weigh in. This place of course has a more traditional forum layout. It seems like the majority of vets that have stuck around or pop in from time to time are either not active, failing or struggling and trying to get back on track, or batshit crazy and looking for attention. Me personally I am a creature of habit and check all my forums in the morning. This place is like that car accident in the lane next to you. You can't help but look.

Unbelievable. Just utterly amazing. Good Lord, I look haggard with only 2 children. Sent from my phone. Please forgive brevity and spelling.