BigViffer

It's been almost a month on my new regiment. I don't feel any significant strength increase, but I do believe I'm seeing a physical response. I'm going to keep doing it before I pass judgement. Sent from my phone, please forgive brevity and misspelling

I never could get into the Protein shakes. However, once I discovered Protein powder cakes I consistently hit my protein goals. There are several recipes out there, and many on here as well. It's just your favorite protein powder, some non-dairy liquid coffee creamer, and some baking powder. I also added natual Peanut Butter or bran to change it up. Either more protein or added Fiber being the goal. Also, if you don't already, learn to love fish. Tuna from a pouch or can is great as are the bags of frozen whitefish filets. Bake them and you have a protein dense low calorie dinner.

We have both of of those flavors, but I think it's from Starkist and Bumblee. I particularly like the Thai Chili and garlic one.

Excellent point! I have blood work done every year as part of my physical, have for years. In the first year after my surgery it was more frequent of course, but I will have to continue getting it done every year.

That is a guideline yes, but it is by no means the definitive answer. It might work just fine for the OP in the beginning too. That is unless she can't have too much potassium because of interactions with blood pressure meds. Or she can't have Vitamin K because of warfarin use. Or she has gout and it interacts with something in a multivitamin... See where I am going? For most people, a simple multivitamin will be fine. Me personally? I need more B12 and Vitamin D but less Iron because of my arthritis medicine. Once she has blood work done, she can have a custom vitamin plan established.

There isn't going to be a list that tells you everything you need because it will vary from person to person as well as where you are post surgery. When you get your blood work results periodically, that will be the list you'll need to go by. Sent from my phone, please forgive brevity and misspelling

We did this just last night. My wife has an air fryer and she made mozzarella sticks with pork rind "breading".

@@Sharon1964 - I'm more of a Stud Protein bar now instead of the muffin!

You had a hematoma. That black blood is just dead blood cells that did not get absorbed back into your body. lol, I had to wear a maxi-pad taped to my stomach I was bleeding so much. So I was bloated and swollen, moody from hormones, and I was wearing a maxi-pad while walking around the house in stretchy comfy pants.. I was totally a woman for a couple days.

Just found this thread, and it's so cute! Everyone has these happy and uplifting lyrics! However, I'm over here like: Of course the bolded text is also what I have for my signature line, so this is nothing new. There are more lyrics to the song, but those excerpts are the ones that have resonated with me for 20 years.

Here is a few threads/posts that may help you: This thread is very much applicable to your question: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/370974-post-sleeve-working-out/ Once you have ramped up after several months of gym use, this thread may be of some use: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/361768-by-request-bigviffer-workout-routine/

I think from the neck down I look a lot better, but there is no denying that I look old in the face. I've also noticed that even though I did not have any issue with hair loss, my has silvered drastically this past year. Don't know if it is related or coincidence.

@@GMP - Here you go: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/431-the-guys’-room/ @ - It will take a while, but the one piece of advice that I hope anyone reading my posts takes to heart is this: Leave your ego in the locker room. Too often we men get in a weight room and we become focused on the numbers and not the results. 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. 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. Weight loss doesn't happen overnight and neither will a strong body. Focus on long term goals for the best chance of success.

lol, 2 weeks?! Man I was lucky to even be awake at the end of the workday and I have an office job! Like it was said above, it all depends on the individual. Me personally, I had to get my medications straightened before going back to the gym. I am happy to report that I am off everything except my arthritic medicine and that is down to once a day. But if you are on BP meds, you are going to feel like absolute crap because it will lower your BP below normal. I started back at the gym 6 weeks after surgery. And like you I thought I could do weights. Needless to say, I wasn't eating enough to give me any real energy. I know it's not manly, but stick to walking and stationary bike for the beginning. Not only are you going to be low energy, but the Protein you are taking in should be dedicated to healing and repairing tissue from the surgery, not building muscle. When you divide your total protein intake between healing and trying to build, you slow down your healing process and you won't be making any serious gains. Walking, biking, and maybe the elliptical will help prevent atrophy, but they won't build. Give it a few months. This isn't a race. This is the rest of your life. So while getting in the gym now may feel like working to a goal, it is really about making it a habit. Come hang out in the Guy's Room, check out a few of the threads there. We try to build each other up and there may be some competition, but it's not against each other. Not to say my posts are gospel, but you may find some of the information useful in the threads I started over there.

@@KMA0910 - I don't need to take any pictures or do any video to address some of your concerns/thoughts. Women are of course welcome on this thread. More often than not I post workout related topics here because I tend to think of my routine as more male oriented. That's not to say a woman couldn't or shouldn't do any of them, they just don't seem to be as interested in my chosen routine. You said you do the elliptical first, I don't like doing cardio before weights. When I do cardio, I attack the machine and by the time I am done I am usually wobbly legged and fairly spent. That doesn't leave much energy or proper weight lifting. A decent 10 minute warm up on the elliptical or around the walking track is enough to get the blood pumping. Exaggerated movements help loosen limbs and stretch muscles when you are walking too. As for your choice of exercises after your cardio work, again I am not a fan of the leg press nor the ab machines. Too much isolation is the problem. Using a broom handle something similar to go across the back of your shoulders for an unweighted squat is a better use of the posterior chain than the leg press machine. And as for your abs, the roman chair or a Pilates ball will activate more of your core muscles than the ab machine. One thing that I wish I could pass onto other people who may be new to the gym, I know the fear of looking ignorant and I realize it is daunting. But don't let potential embarrassment hold you back from bettering yourself. Many of us let that happen once we got fat and then it just snowballs and starts affecting other things. The more I talk about this stuff, the more I really do thing this may be a worthwhile endeavor.

Oh, my gym is usually pretty empty. I have free reign most of the time. During the day, it's the seniors there and they stick to the isolation machines for the most part and I won't touch those. Sent from my phone, please forgive brevity and misspelling

On your first point, you never had gastric surgery before either and that is a heck of a lot more serious than taking a laxative! A laxative basically pulls Water into the large intestine to help soften the stool. That is the most basic explanation.The only issue with those is if you are not getting enough fluids in. So you are right to be reticent about them given our situations. They are safe, provided you are getting enough water throughout the day. The second point, whether you believe it or not, the powder benefiber truly is tasteless as they insist. There is a reason that powder is the most popular method of Fiber supplement. Also, most pills cannot delivery as much fiber as a powder, it's a matter of volume. If they were to make a pill with the same volume of fiber as the powder, it would be so dense that we would not be able to break it down to get the benefit of the fiber. And the third point, I hate to say it but you need to talk to your surgeon for a couple reasons. First and foremost you paid for it. Make them do their job. Second of all, you need to have any and all complications and issues logged in your file. If something were to come up and your surgeon says that you never told him about it, insurance could legally deny coverage of the treatment for you not holding up to your end of the bargain so to speak. Follow up appointments are closely monitored by my insurance, I cannot say if that is true of all. If you feel you may need skin removal in the future, you could be denied because of lack of perceived effort on your part at least on paper. As much as you may not like hearing the above, it is unfortunately necessary for some people to hear it.

Ugh, that stuff tasted horrible! It was far too strong for me. I only say no because of the taste, not the ingredients though.

That was my thought as well. Post them on here for anyone interested. Besides, I'm sure my legions of fans and fawning groupies would love it!

See, that is the one thing that will bother me the most. I definitely don't want to be seen as the poser that hangs in the gym for vanity's sake. However, I believe most of the people in my gym would see it for what it is intended. But that thought would be in the back of my head for sure.

That's what I was thinking, something very much like my last workout post, but instead of images from the internet I would take pictures of the exact exercise I am talking about.

I was talking to my wife about my workout routine and she was complaining about not knowing how to do certain things properly. But our schedules differ most of the time so she jokingly said that I should take pictures. I thought it funny at first and especially vain, but the more that I thought about it the more it started sounding like a good idea. I admit that it will feel very arrogant and shallow to take pictures of me working out, but it might possibly be helpful. What say you guys? Do you think it is vain and egotistical or do you think it is a good idea?

Measure. Measurements of my arms, legs, waist... Anything and everything every Monday when I weigh in. It would have been a great data series to plot. Sent from my phone, please forgive brevity and misspelling

You aren't giving the forum much to go on, but I understand posting from a mobile device is a PITA. So I will answer your question as if you are a freshly sleeved patient. Dizziness can be a symptom of low blood pressure. If you are on any sort of blood pressure medicine, you need get a blood pressure cuff and start tracking it. If you turn out to be like me, you will be taken off all BP meds, told to increase your salt intake (no shit, first time in my life I was told that!), and seriously increase your Fluid intake. Another possible cause could be hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Again, if you are freshly sleeved you are not taking in the amount of fuel that your body needs in the beginning. I used to check my blood sugar levels even though I was off my diabetes medicine and my sugar was shockingly low. Whatever the cause, I recommend you talk to your surgeon so that it can be put into your file.

I'm just glad someone finally came out and said the truth about childbirth. They always say how beautiful it is and perfectly natural blah blah blah.. I've always thought it was like The Exorcist; but instead of Linda Blair sitting up and puking, it's your vagina. Leave it to you to be the one to describe it as honestly!