BigViffer

What I find funny is that I haven't even been focusing on my arms. Chest, back, and shoulders are my main interests. But my arms are definitely showing the most change. WTF?! Sent from my phone, please forgive brevity and misspelling

According to my surgeon, no. If you adhere to the food plan given to you, you most likely wouldn't be able to do it anyway. According to my fitbit adjustment, I would have to eat around 3000 calories to break even and there just is no way I could physically eat that much unless it was lard fried bacon pastry puffs! That being said, After you hit your Protein goal for the day, you might want to focus on complex carbs for energy. Grape Nuts or bran flakes are good, prunes and apricots too. That will help keep you regular with such a dense protein diet.

Had a moment in the gym changing room where no one was around, so I thought I'd take an updated picture for this thread: Today was arm day and I was completely spent by this time. Guys, quick tip - when you think you are done, bust out the bands and go as fast as you can for as long as you can. That's how you finish a workout! Sent from my phone, please forgive brevity and misspelling

I know this video isn't new, but I saw it again today and I can't help but giggle at it: Come on, you know you feel this way sometimes still!

I'm right there with you. I didn't so much binge, as I had what I viewed as a "last meal". Hot sausage gravy over a fried in butter egg and 2 biscuits. I can still taste it if I think about it. I have not tried a biscuit nor any gravy yet, but I have tried bread. It clumps up so bad it is an awful sensation in my throat. I now have no desire to eat it again. Better to leave it as a fond memory.

Damn dude, you look awesome. Jealous of your results! Sent from my phone, please forgive brevity and misspelling

At your stage, I found that if I was tasting something that I had a preconceived idea of flavor, it was off or tasted wrong. Try getting something you have never tried before. I bought "weird" Soups and now I can't get enough of them. For example, my favorites are by Pacific; Cashew Carrot Ginger soup and Red Curry Lentil soup. Never tried either one so I had no idea what they would taste like. Tons of flavor and I couldn't say that they tasted wrong since they were new to me. Oh, and the lentil soup has protein! Add unflavored Protein powder to it and the curry hides it well.

I used to get cold sores relatively frequently as a teenage and young man. Mine were almost always related to the level of stress I was under at the time. But the older I get I have noticed a direct relationship between fucks-given and number of cold sores. So if you are currently stressed (which would be understandable), it could be the cause as well.

You should be able to find it at any grocery store. If you are looking for sugar free maple syrup, it's in the aisle with the pancakes. Torani syrup is in the coffee aisle. I know that Meijer, Kroger, and Walmart all stock them.

Just came across this and I am a regular Protein cake eater! Matter of fact, that is the only way I use the Protein Powder now. I don't like to drink it for some reason. I don't measure anything though, I go only by texture and I also only do it for 20 seconds. It comes out like a lava cake. My personal favorite is as follows: ProtiZyme - Peanut Butter Cookie 1 scoop http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/metabolic-nutrition-protizyme-peanut-butter-cookie-2-lb-powder/9m-1005 spoonful all natural peanut butter Dip a fork in baking soda and only what stays on the fork tines goes in. (I don't want it airy.) Hazelnut creamer. Just enough to make batter. Since I don't measure the peanut butter it's a trial and error thing at first. Now I can do it just about perfect each time. Stir all of that together in a coffee cup so that it is a thick batter. Like a brownie more than a cake. Microwave for 20-ish seconds. Comes out cake like on top and gooey inside. If I don't make that one, I almost exclusively use Gold Standard powders and they all taste great. Just change the creamer for whatever I think will pair with it best. I only use the peanut better in the recipe above though.

I have found that it gets better. I started a thread a while ago about the same subject. You should check it out and see if any of it resonates: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/343777-guys-room-is-everyone-else-overly-emotional-or-am-i-just-an-ae/

@@JamieLogical I found it humorous that after hearing avoid salt for 25 years my surgeon told me to start hitting the salt! But I don't like the taste of salty food anymore! Oh, I almost forgot... now that I no longer drink diet soda, my sodium intake is next to nothing. Well, comparatively speaking.

How strange, I have the exact opposite problem. I am coming up on my 1 year mark and I still struggle with hitting my Water goal. I am just not thirsty like I used to be. Hell, I used to drink 64 oz before lunch.

I currently have found MyFitnessPal has the best breakdown of the things I am tracking. The only thing I really don't like about it is there is no data export. FitBit has a data export, but it is purposefully exported in a fashion that is not friendly for those of us that keep a detailed database or spreadsheet. So I have to go into MFP reports and manually scrap the data for what I want to track. If I found another service or website that had kickass data export functionality I would jump on it in a heartbeat.

Man, I love peas. And pea Protein is a pretty darn good veggie source for those that can't tolerate whey.

This is a topic that is doubly funny to me. First point, I am one of those people that actually like fruitcake. But not the ones that people give out in the circular tins. A friends mother used to make them from scratch and thats when I learned what they were supposed to be. The store bought ones I swear have starburst and juju-B's scraped off a movie theater floor baked in them! But what is supposed to be in there are fruits that have been preserved with brandy! Hello! Much different than what we think of normally as fruitcake. And secondly, to your point about tastes changing... oh man have they ever. Pasta no longer taste good to me, nor does the texture feel pleasant. Which is a good thing! I tried it once and now I do not crave it. But what I found the most incredible is green Beans. I have hated green beans for over 25 years. I mean hated. You couldn't sneak a sliver into something without me tasting it. Time and time again my in-laws, parents, wife, and friends would see if they could sneak it past me, but as soon as it was in my mouth, I'd either gag or have to find a napkin to spit a mouthful of food out. Growing up, we were what my mom called "on a budget". As an adult now, I know that actually meant poor. We had a garden that had more square feet than my current house. The green bean section was easily half of that. So I'd get up and pick green beans... Then snap the green beans... Then mom would cook the green beans... Then we would eat the green beans on Monday... and Tuesday... And Wednesday.. And then we would pick more green beans! My hands would smell like green beans. They would be stained green. There would be little green bean giblets in my hair from snapping them... god I cannot express how much I hate green beans! But just a month ago I ordered a coconut curry chicken soup from a Thai place. Guess what was in it? A string bean, the skinny little brother to the green bean. Out of curiosity I tried a bite. And I didn't gag. So I ate the thing. It wasn't "good", but it wasn't repugnant. So I ate the rest for the nutritional benefit. Now I am not saying I am going to go on a green bean rampage, but I can now stomach them. (see what I did there?!)

Your stomach looks great! Mine is a mess... I'm betting it is because I am older and don't have the elasticity of you young pups!

No idea how I missed this thread. Hope everyone is doing well here in Dayton after the holiday meals! Sent from my phone, please forgive brevity and misspelling

@@diana89131 Damn! You make hitting goal look good! I don't think my change is as fantastic as yours. Congratulations!

My surgeon is the one who told me about this. I also told him that it just isn't possible for me to give up coffee, I love it too much. I had to do without it for two months and then slowly introduced it again. I don't have anything else caffeinated except an occasional iced tea. No coke nor any soda pop. Actually he said anything with bubbles, so that includes beer and champagne. The beer will be difficult because I like to enjoy one around my birthday. Sent from my phone, please forgive brevity and misspelling

Caffeine is absorbed into the body with the same receptors as Vitamin D. If you are drinking coffee and taking a Vitamin D supplement, you will not absorb the vitamin if the caffeine is present.

Isn't that the craziest thing?! There are days when I swear I am as fat as I ever was, I can just feel it. I tell you, our minds do crazy things to us.

Well it finally happened, I made it to my originally stated goal and the one that my surgeon also agreed upon. I've so looked forward to this that I had built it up in my mind as a momentous occasion that would be a auspicious event and streamers and confetti would rain down from the sky while a baptist church chorus sang hallelujah. Well that didn't happen. My stall before hitting goal had lasted 6 weeks and I thought for sure that would make the victory all the more sweeter, so I didn't mind the stall. I just kept on keeping on and working out. Then on the 22nd when I did my weekly weigh in it finally happened. 218 lbs, actually 2 lbs less than my goal. Know what I felt? Alright, cool. Then it hit me, "Wait a minute, that's under goal. Why aren't I whooping and hollering?!" I am at the weight I was before I met my wife, some say that I look better than I ever have. (the grey hair makes you look distinguished!) My health is better than it has been in a decade. And I personally feel better than anytime that I can remember. This is what I wanted, this is what I asked for help in achieving. So why am I not elated? I think it comes down to now that I know what I have accomplished, I think I know what I am capable of. I want more. I don't just want to be thinner and healthier. I want to be able to do the things I have never been able to do, even before I got fat. I want to be able to do a pull up. Just one. I want to have a chest and not any moobs. I want my wife to suck on her teeth and look at me like a piece of meat! So that's the new goal. I figure it took 308 days to get here, so I'll give myself another 308 to get there. So for posterity sake, here is the beginning and current pictures: Fat Paul circa May 2014 And healthy Paul 12-22-2015

@@Dub Thanks for the compliment! It's been hard work, but it is definitely paying dividends. And yes, I am liking the increase in overall health since losing so much weight!

There are going to be times when you are going to want fiber. I use shredded wheat or grape nuts in my homemade protein bars. It's all about maintaining a balance.