mikeross

So I have been going back and fourth between the elliptical and stair master for my cardio workouts. I usually go for about 30-40 minutes and burn about 450-600 calories, do HIIT a couple times a week as well. Today I thought I was going to go for a long slow cardio session on the sit down bike. I was a little taken back at how hard it kicked my arse and to top it off, according to the machine, I burned a lot less calories.

Is the machine just plain wrong? I thought because of how hard I felt I was working compared to the usual elliptical training I would have burned more calories.

So should I continue to change it up or just stick to the elliptical which according to the machine burns more calories? I know that the calorie counters on these machines are always way off but they are both the same brand so I would assume they should give similar "off" numbers.

Would love some opinions... thanks.

Slider foods;

Pretty much anything that tastes good

haha so true....

Weird cause a green salad fills me up like I just ate the whole Thanksgiving turkey. We are all different I guess.

I can eat upwards of ten loose cups of salad... about 100g worth. chicken it the food that fills me up quickly. Its odd that I can eat about 4-5oz of sirloin but only a few bites of chicken.< /p>

Slider foods, to weight loss surgery patients, are soft simple processed carbohydrates of little or no nutritional value that slide right through the stomach without providing nutrition or satiation. Crackers, chips, pretzels, Cookies, cakes, candy, etc

That's true for the most part but my biggest slider food is a mixed green salad.

MY biggest pet peeve on VST, apart from people spelling lose incorrectly (one o, ONE!!) are the humblebraggers. Urgh, it's like jr high bathroom all over again, where a thin girl loudly proclaims herself to be fat and then waits to hear the chorus of "no you're not, you are SO PRETTY!" Our VST version is the humblebragger who talks about being unable to stop losing weight and oh how worried they are! Does anyone know how I can go about cramming in some calories! Then, come to find out, the person is living off of like, a few ounces of Protein a day while exercising so duh of course they are still losing weight, and when they get sound advice from posters they have an answer for how that can't work for them. that's when you realize they were just looking for pats and admiration, not help. I've been on VST for 3 years now and I have seen this more than a few times. Who knows, if I ever get skinny maybe I will indulge in a little of it myself but in the mean time, *eye roll*.

lol, I literally see it on a daily basis.

I had a 2 week diet but cheated everyday... Not proud of the fact but my surgery went perfectly. Almost 4 months out with no issues. You should be happy that you only got 2 days. I have heard of a few surgeons that require no preop diet.

Gotta get your body fat percentage to at least 25% or lower and focus on your incline and flat bench pressing... more so incline to build your upper chest. Stay away from decline chest for a little while. I feel decline bench might add to the man boob look. As of lately I have been incorporating decline bench into my chest day workout but I have also lost most of my man boobs. Make sure to alternate between dumbbells and barbells during your chest workouts.

Your gonna need to watch your diet, get lost of Protein in, step up the cardio and work the chest pretty hard.

I like to finish my chest/shoulders/tricep workout days by completely exhausting my chest on a chest fly machine. I do about 80% of my 10rep max and really try and focus on contracting my chest. I find lowering the weight allows me to get that mind muscle connection better. I do about 2 sets taking each set to failure and also incorporate a drop set for each set. When I reach failure I quickly drop the weight by about 50% and continue pushing out reps until my chest feels like its going to fall apart lol. I have seen some amazing gains in the last 3 months... a lot though has to do with the drop in body fat/weight.

I don't see anything wrong if you stay at a walking pace. I was walking around my block 1 week postop. At 3 weeks I was hitting the elliptical pretty hard.

I had it bad the first month... so bad I was this close to going to the ER. Anyways, I have found many ways to keep regular but now almost 4 months post op I just eat a salad a day along with a fiber one bar... I have a BM almost daily... very regular now with no pain whatsoever. Its been almost 3 months with no Constipation issues.

I can't eat anything else if I'm eating chicken. I eat plenty of grilled chicken but can not get down more than 3oz at a time. Its the hardest food for me to eat a decent quantity of and I consider my sleeve to be pretty large. I was told I have a 32f bougie but I can eat a pretty decent amount of certain foods.

Its crazy how much the quantity of what I can consume changes from food to food. I can barely fit in 4-5 bites of chicken but can eat a huge bowl of salad... or two tacos in one sitting lol.

I'm gonna try get a picture posted of the average size salad I eat... A half cup for me would be like 2 big bites right?

Yup it is a lot.. slider food for me. That\s ten loose cups of salad... gonna measure tonight but for sure its 85 grams worth every time.

The nutrition facts at the back say 1 serving size is 1.5 cups or 85g. That 1.5 cups has to be compressed salad into 1.5 cups because 85g is 8-10 loose filled cups or about 3 hand fulls out of the bag.

6 carbs for 2 tbsp @ 45 calories. I usually put on between 1/2 and 1 tbsp.

2 tbsp are 45cal, thats pretty good if the dressing is tasty. Hoping my local store has this in stock. I though I used a little amount of dressing on my salads but you have me beat. Do you even taste the dressing with 1/2 tbsp lol. I use about 2 tbsp dressing for a pretty large salad. I weight my salad to 85g which doesnt sound like a lot but its probably about 10 cups worth.

How many carbs per serving? Is a serving size a table spoon?

I mix a dry pack of hidden valley ranch mix with greek yogurt... taste great.

No candy for me but I do chew gum on occasion. I am always in ketosis and it causes me to have some pretty bad breath... it also leaves a metallic taste in my mouth. With that said I always keep a pack of gum in the car just in case I am going to be in a meeting or talking closely with someone.

Gum is bad for you because of the empty calories and each piece has a few carbs. I make sure if I have 2 pieces of gum that day that I include those macros into my fitness pal so I dont go over what I am allowed daily.

Another reason for not chewing gum, so I have read, is the possibility of swallowing it. I am not a child... I dont swallow my gum lol.

Candy is just a " no no" because its empty calories and its not something you should be eating if your trying to lose. I see no issues eating candy in moderation if your at goal weight and maintaining.

I love working out alone but workout with a friend on "push days" (chest, shoulders,triceps). He knows when I need him to step in and help me complete the rep. You should be lifting at a certain rep range to hit failure on your last rep or 2. With that said, If your doing reps up to 10, with the proper weight you should hit failure at around rep 9 or 10... your trainer should be counting and know when to jump in without you saying anything.

Over time you will learn your limits and can workout alone to the point where your hitting failure on your sets. I only have to use a partner of chest days and thats every other chest day. Its every other "push day" because 1 day I use dumb bells and not worry about going to failure cause I can just drop them on the floor. I use a partner on chest days that I am useing bar bells.

started walking around the block 1 weeks after surgery. By week 3 I was starting pretty intense cardio sessions on the treadmill. ! month post op I started lifting weights in moderation weight wise. By about week 6 I was lifting heavy weights to failure with no restrictions workout or food wise.

Take it easy the first month... your body will tell you when its ready.

I'm not the guy to ask lol. I have never watch the amount of fat I eat. I figured if my Protein, carbs, Fiber and daily calories where met, combined with how little I was eating, that the amount of fat would be at an acceptable level. I have been on somewhat of a Keto diet for the last couple months. I figured with so much carb restriction its ok to up the fats a little. I would estimate my fat intake to be below 30g per day which is still more than half whats recommended on a regular diet for a guy.

I can't stand the taste of fat free or low fat items. I choose top sirloin and chicken breast, both pretty lean, as my main Protein choice along with whey isolate. I eat at least 1 big bowl of salad a day and add 2 table spoons of dressing. A decent amount of my daily fat intake comes from the salad dressings I use. They are not low carb or fat free but they do have relatively low calories compared to most. A whopping 8g of fat though per tablespoon. I use anywhere from 2-4 daily depending on how much salad I eat.

I use a powdered creamer for my coffee. It has only 1g of fat per heaping tablespoon. I also have a small collection of Torani syrups I use to change the flavor in my coffee up a little... also add it to greek yogurt. If your staying below your daily macro requirements I dont see any harm in adding a fresh full fat creamer, although I assume that's a lot of added calories for just a little fresh cream that can easily be substituted with some powdered creamer.

If you can stand the taste of the low fat products by all means... I stay away because I hate the aftertaste and can still maintain my macros while eating full fat foods.

A paleo diet sounds awesome, although I dont like the no grains or dairy most paleo diets restrict. I think the less processed the better. I eat regular meat but my chicken breast and all veggies are organic.

What types of dressing are you using?

I have been eating 1-2 salads a day as a snack since about 3 months out. Its kinda a slider food for me... I can eat a huge bowl.

Im gonna check out subway tomorrow... they have a nice spread of veggies.

You should try some Kraft asian sesame salad dressing... taste amazing.

Cardio has helped me get smaller while weight training is reshaping my body.

If I had only been doing cardio I would be a smaller version of my past self... Same shape just smaller.

Weight training makes a huge difference. Once I hit goal I am going to stop the cardio sessions and focus more on lifting.

I usually mix my Protein Shakes with only 4oz of water... Just enough Water to make the powder drinkable. I am able to drink my entire shake (30g of protein) in about 6 gulps.

Just updated my ticker... Hit plenty of stalls along the way and the weight loss is slowing down.

Where can you buy Quest bars for 1.60 each?

I have about 60lbs to get to goal and it seems like 90% of that weight is in my stomach and love handles. Its so frustrating because my arms, chest, shoulders and legs look great (been lifting weights since week 3) but my stomach is still pretty big and sticks out slightly more then my chest.

wow good job... you are seriously tiny now lol.

Give us noobs some tips. Whats your daily diet looking like. How many cal/carbs/protein.

thanks