mngreeneyes

@@JamieLogical Thanks so much. That all makes lots of sense. I will try to incorporate your suggestions as I get to higher mileage. We start building our foundation on Monday so for the next month we run for time not distance, leading up to an hour by the end of May. I am super excited. Thanks for all your wisdom! pam

I had to wait nearly 6 months for all my boxes to be checked so I could have surgery. There were times when I thought it was going SO slowly. Then suddenly I had approval and two weeks later I was in the operating room and then waking up from surgery asking if they really did surgery! Focus on the journey, not the surgery. I found that when I focused on each step along the way instead of the end goal, time went faster. Every time I thought about how long it was until surgery, I would get frustrated about how long I still had to wait. When I focused on each new thing I was to learn to get ready, it was in much more manageable bites! You can do it! pam

@@rydersmama are you sure you have the correct shoes for your feet? I know that as a runner it makes all the difference to make sure that your shoes are made for your foot, i.e. high arch, no arch, low arch. pronate, neutral, suponate. If your shoes work with your foot instead of against it, it may alleviate much of the PF pain. I recommend going to a running/walking shoe store and having them look at your walking to determine if your shoes are right. Hope that helps. pam

I had my surgery the week before Thanksgiving. I discovered and was delighted to find that Swanson's chicken broth tastes an awful lot like stuffing. My mom always makes her stuffing with Swansons. It made watching everyone else eat Thanksgiving dinner more tolerable. pam

You are in maintenance right? I am still in my honeymoon period so I don't want to eat too much so that I stop losing. I also am concerned about getting enough Water if I eat more often and still follow the 30/30 rule with water. Thanks for the info. I will add that to my knowledge and see what the NUT says. pam PS. I am glad to hear that gu works. It doesn't upset your stomach or cause dumping?

I work a very sedentary job as well. I was out for 2 weeks and worked parttime for about a week after, mostly because I was on so few calories in addition to recovery that I would get extremely tired each day and need to go home while I could still safely drive. I had a very smooth recovery. I saved up extra time to make sure I had it if I needed it. pam PS. I dont' think you actually need to tell work what your surgery is, except for FMLA paperwork. I just told them I would be out for at least two weeks for surgery. Yes, they now have a pretty good idea why and I don't hesitate to tell people, but before surgery only a few VERY select people knew the full story.

I signed up for a super sprint (length - read very short) triathlon and now a marathon! I am running my first 5K on Saturday. I have walked several 5ks, but this is my first mostly running one. I am also barely into regular sized clothes, although I am only buying exercise clothes at this point. (I need to hit the consignment store or goodwill for anything else.) pam

Congratulations! pam

I have signed up for the Twin Cities Marathon! I know, I am insane! At the informational meeting last night for the group I am training with they were talking about gu and nutrition when on long runs. Besides the marathon, my longest training run should be about 20 miles/4 or so hours. I am still pretty well padded with energy reserves (fat) although I don't know where I will be in 6 months when I am actually doing these long runs. I suspect that I will need something to keep from bonking both on long runs and at the actual marathon. Gu's ingredients include: INGREDIENTS: Maltodextrin, Water, Fructose, Leucine, Sea Salt, Potassium Citrate, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Calcium Carbonate, Valine, Natural Flavor, Green Tea (Leaf) Extract (Contains Caffeine), Gellan Gum, Isoleucine, Sunflower Oil, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Potassium Sorbate (Preservative). To me that does not seem like a good choice for me post-op. Any other runners who run distances have any suggestions for long training runs? Also, I am going to talk to my NUT, but at the informational meeting they also talked about nutrition in general. About how many calories does one consume when training for something like this? I just upped my calories from 800 to 1000 because I had stalled while training 6 days a week for a 5k. I almost immediately started to lose again! How does one get enough calories on the small amount we can eat a meal? They also talked about eating carbs. I am on a low carb program and carbs were triggers for me. Thoughts? I have seen people on here talk about running long distances so I am pretty sure there is a way. Thanks for any and all experience and advice. pam

@@crazygoose - You are in our thoughts and prayers. Please let us know how you are doing. pam

@@OKCPirate - I just wish more men were open to learning about this instead of trying to tell us that its all in our heads. Sorry. My own dad and brothers do this to me. I am just being female and emotional. It can't possibly be as bad as I say. They are classic "mansplainers". Although there are some women who may be into the drama, I am not one of them and the vast majority of us just want to be left alone and believed when we try to explain. Hint for guys, listen to us when we try to explain our experiences. Engage ears and brain and disengage mouth. You can't fix it, but you can understand our concerns and help us feel safe. Telling us we are being too sensitive does not make us feel safe, even with you. OKCPirate - You have one lucky girlfriend. Someday I hope to find me someone as self-actualized as you! pam

@@OKCPirate - See, this is why I Love you! You are so self aware. Do you have sisters? Most guys with your level of awareness, IME, have sisters. This is all a part of the male privilege that we hear so much about lately, especially white male privilege. Not dogging guys here, but there are things that cannot be understood completely without having lived and this is one of them. Somehow there seems to be a large number, not all but a large number of men who believe that it is there right to comment and/or touch women's bodies because they are a man and we are women. This can go either way for saying nice things about a woman's body or negative things. The problem isn't the comments themselves, but the "right" and ownership the comments infer. Somehow it is a man's right to comment and a woman's responsibility to appreciate it. Those kinds of situations are a HUGE part of creating our fear. We tend to be smaller, which puts us at more risk especially to groups of men, but the fear of physical assaults isn't necessarily what we are concerned about. When someone feels like they have the right to comment on your body, or order you to smile, or touch you, it means that you are not in control of your own body. That is terrifying and you never know for sure where that person will stop. For some men, a comment is just a prelude to other things, especially if they get upset because you do not react the way they want you to based on their comment. It is amazing how fast what could be an innocent comment can turn ugly. This is what terrifies us. We never know if it will stop at just a comment, which is mostly harmless. Its the fear of what might happen next. Many of us would just rather be invisible than risk the attention of someone who feels they have the right to our bodies just because he is a male and we are females. Please take this is the spirit in which it is given. I, in no way, mean all guys, but because of many guys, we have to be wary of all guys since you can't tell by looking at someone if they are a threat or have any boundaries and if you are not on guard, it will be too late when you realize you found one of the many guys with out respect for our rights to our own bodies. Thank you OKCPirate for calling attention to this topic. Its a tough one to explain and understand. pam

Congrats on your progress. Keep it up. You look fantastic! pam

I hiccup. Although now that I know to eat slowly, I know when to stop before I reach that point. However on those meals where I forget and scarf down my food, the hiccups are my stop now or you will pay sign. pam

HOw exciting for all of you! Make sure to keep us posted so we can support you all throughout. I hope everything goes smoothly and you recover quickly. pam

WHOOOHOOO!! Great job! Yes, it will slow down. Yes it will stall, but enjoy the ride for the time being. One thing I loved and still value about my Protein shakes is the ease. I dont' have to think about what to eat. I am more than months out now and I still drink my shakes for Breakfast almost everyday because they are easy. Just hang on. You'll get to a new eating stage soon! pam

WHOOHOOO! So glad things are going so well for you. I also had a smooth recovery. Keep up the good work. best, pam

When I was younger, I did a bike tour a few weeks after returning from Europe. My "training" training for the bike ride? Climbing cathedrals and hiking in the Alps! I don't know that it was my best choice, but I managed to finish a century (100 miles, 1 day) while on the tour and could still ride the next day. Did I say I was MUCH younger then!?!?! pam

COngrats Elode. Good to have you back! Wishing you the best on your surgery. pam

We all start at different places on this journey. Some of us were active before we started our journey, but couldn't seem to lose and keep the weight off. Others weren't so active and couldn't seem to lose and keep the weight off. We all come to the same place for the same reason: we want to gain a tool that will help us live stronger, more vibrant, healthy lives. I know people from my support groups that could not have walked across the room before their surgery because of being out of shape, ill, injured, or whatever. All of them have made remarkable fitness strides, but some still can't walk without walkers, while others are running half marathons. My point is that it is all about improvement from where you were. I was walking 5ks regularly before I had surgery. Over the years I had also had a personal trainer. I tried really hard to lose the weight on my own, including exercising 2 hours a day, but I still weighed 280+ and had a BMI of 40+. I am close now to being able to run a 5k (3.1 miles), but I will never be fast. I am only out to prove to myself what I can do with the body I have at this time and place. When I first started running in January, I could barely run for even 1 minute and I was walking 3 mph. Over the past three months, I have improved to where this Monday I ran for 20 minutes straight totaling 1.5 miles! And I now can sustain a walk at 3.7-3.8 mph. (I can walk as fast as 4 mph, but I can't sustain it for very long). I could easily have quit when I couldn't run for a minute, but this journey is about making changes to improve our lives. No matter what changes you want to make, you have to start where you are. You can't start anywhere else. And then you grow and change from there. We all got to where we are/were somehow and now we are taking control of our futures. You have made and amazing start to taking control of your life with this class. This is about where you are in the journey and not anyone else. Keep working out on your own. For so many reasons, you will reap bigger benefits when you reach postop. You have nowhere but up to go from your first class. Follow through on it. Maybe this is just my issue, but pre surgery, I would plan to stick to an exercise/diet plan, but inevitably I would quit without completing it. The sense of accomplishment from making a goal (improving over the next 12 weeks) will be so valuable for your self image as you move from preop to postop. We all need that kind of validation no matter where we are in the journey. You can do it. The journey begins with a single step. Surgery was your first. This class is another one. pam

I am a huge fan of

I have a small note on my bathroom mirror from my youngest niece that she wrote to me a couple of years before my surgery. She was about 5 at the time. It simply says, "Pam, You are beautiful!" She is one of my most consistent walking buddies when I go to visit them and always has been. She is the one that when I say I am going for a walk. Does anyone want to join me? She is always willing. The only one more consistent is their dog, Sadie. pam

Stalls happen. Usually it means your body is adjusting to its new normal. Have you been measuring yourself? This is usually the time I notice the largest drop in clothes size and measurements. For example, I am just over 4 month out. I had lost 20 lbs both month one and two, and 15 lbs. in month 3. Month 4 I stalled for three weeks and "just" lost 5 lbs. All in one week. During that time, I lost 9 total inches from my body, compared with the 13 inches I lost during month 3! I also dropped another clothing size. In fact during month for 1 went from a 20W pants to an 18 (no W) and still only lost 5 lbs. I think sometimes we focus too much on the number on the scale and not enough on the health and wellness benefits we are also gaining. One of which is loss of fat. Just stick with the plan, get/keep moving, and you will notice the difference. pam

@@Commander I had never made it past the 20 minute run either until Monday night. I will admit that last night's run sucked. I dont' think I did enough to aid my recovery in between. I usually take a bath in epsom salts after my longer workouts, especially if they are back to back. I try not to go back to back, but sometimes its the only way to get it into my schedule. I didn't take a bath and I went to the chiropractor on Tuesday morning so I was a hurting unit when it came time to run last night. I feel much better today so I am confident that tomorrow's workout will be much better. pam