Edit: Thinking about this challenge some more, it should be opened to everyone. I originally thought about it being tackled only after weight loss because it would not seem good to have such a transformation challenge interfere with weight loss. However, now I think anyone should be able to do it even to help with weight loss, as long as you are able to physically and mentally rise to the challenge. I will let you define what this criteria means to you, but I would think it excludes those that are less then 2 months post op. I would probably not attempt it until 5 months post op, but that is just my opinion.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transformation is something that may interest some veterans who are done with the weight loss phase of VSG. Losing weight is the beginning of the transformation process to become a beacon of health and radiant energy for yourself and those around you.

I am really a big fan of both transformation programs that the Phillip brothers have spearheaded.

In 1999, bill Phillip created the much revered Body-for-life program that is 12 weeks of intense transformation. Some have trouble extending their success of the 12 week program to the rest of their life, possibly because they jumped in too fast or did not have the mental and physical strength to continue after 12 weeks.

That is where his brother Shawn Phillips came along more recently and created the Strength-for-life program. This program focuses more on developing habits of strength in all areas of physical and mental health. The results gained from exiting the 12 week strength-for-life will be foundational for the rest of your life.

The strength-for-life program includes a base camp phase that is 12 days long. It is important to do this base camp phase before starting the 12 week program in order to set your body up for success. During this time, you focus on rebooting your body.

Essentially,

1. Eat lean, clean and green

2. Drink Water in abundance (no alcohol, sugary drinks, energy drinks, etc, just water)

3. sleep at least 7-8 hours of restful sleep a night

4. Have an attitude of gratitude

5. Recharge with the base camp training plan

As VSG post op, we know how to eat and how to drink water. Try and keep the Protein as lean as possible. Drink as much water as you can, but do not drink the energy or sports drinks ( too much sugar). sleeping restfully will lower the cortisol levels and help the body detox.

The base camp training plan is essentially Training 3 days a week with body weight movements. Do 3 sets of 3 different exercises, pausing for 30 seconds between each set.

Monday: 15-20 reps of push-ups. 3 sets.

Wednesday: 15-20 air squats or lunges. 3 sets.

Friday: 12-15 ab crunches. 3 sets.

If you slip on any of the 5 principles listed above, start over. It is important to get thought the 12 days successfully before moving onto the 12 week transformation. You may see some weight loss and or lean muscle gain during this short reboot. However, the real change will occur over the next 12 weeks.

Here is where I would like to propose a transformation challenge. The challenge will be 12 weeks long and success is defined by achieving a set of clearly defined goals. Make sure the goals are as personal as possible and link them to your feelings.

Create 2 physical goals and one inner strength goal.

For me, I am :

37 years old

5'11"

188 lbs pre transformation (as of yesterday)

Married with no children, a dog, 3 cats and currently provide a place for my brother.

Physical goals:

I will lose 15 pounds of fat, gain 5 pounds of lean muscle and lose 2 inches around my waist by September 1st. I have high energy and soaring confidence.

Mental/emotional goal:

I will have positive energy to share with my wife and brother. We enjoy 1 family activity a week that is not centered around the tv. I will read 2 leadership books and hire a business coach to strengthen my career by September 1st.

Be sure to measure along the way:

Weight

Body fat percentage

Resting heart rate

Blood pressure

Cholesterol

Other

Take weekly photos : front, back and from each profile. Shoot the photos in the same position and location, wearing the same clothes. At the end of the 12 weeks, you will literally be able to see the transformation from week to week.

During the transformation, consider the following eating guidelines:

1. Shoot for macronutrient balance, eating lean protein first.

2. Eat 5-6 x a day, keeping each meal small.

3. Avoid sugar and alcohol

4. Eat your Omega 3s. These really help with inflammation.

5. Get more Vitamin d either as a supplement or being in the sun

6. Eat organically

During the transformation, consider the following strength training guidelines:

1. Monday - Upper body push (chest, shoulders, triceps and biceps)

2. Tuesday- HIIT and abs

3. Wednesday- lower body / legs ( quads, hamstrings and calves)

4. Thursday - upper body pull (back, rear delts, triceps, biceps)

5. Friday - HIIT and abs

6.saturday - circuit (strength, stamina, stretch)

7. Day off - recover and rejuvenate

Train strong and not long.

1. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday should last 33 minutes to 44 minutes

2. Tuesday and Thursday HIIT would be 20 minutes

3. Saturday circuit should be 20 minutes followed by 8-12 minutes of stretching

The strength workouts should be no longer then 4 sets:

Set 1: 12 reps

Set 2: 10 reps

Set 3: 8 reps

Set 4: 8+ reps

For example,

I will be using a pair of dumbbells at home to complete the strength training

Try and be very focused during the strength training. It is the focus that is going to help the most with achieving the transformation. Be progressive and increase the weight from week to week. Make every rep count. Make them super high quality.

HIIT training is far more effective then long cardio training at steady state.

1. Start with 3 minute warm up

2. First interval is 60 seconds at high intensity

3. Second interval is 60 seconds at lower intensity (catch your breath)

4. Repeat 2) and 3) for 18 minutes. No more.

5. Cool down for 2 minutes

For example,

I will be using cross fit training with a PT to complete the HIIT workouts.

On the 7th day, it is a rest day both nutritionally and physically. If you want to eat more calories or have that treat, this is the day to do it before diving into the next week. Each week should be programmatically the same, but should also increase in intensity.

It is important to keep a diary of your training during this 12 week challenge. This will help you with keeping on the program and motivation.

After the 12 week transformation challenge, you will be in a position of strength to set new goals and achieve them.

Good luck everyone!

Yea emergency. I had pain for 5 1/2 hrs and they said it caused acute pancreatitis.

Thanks Fiddle' date=' I think I'm good. No pain just bummed. But hopefully I'll get to go home in the morning. Maybe I can walk during my recovery time. I'll talk to the surgeon in the morning.[/quote']

Sorry Nicole well now at least you don't have to suffer another attack.

By the way' date=' how do you know if you (not you specifically, but a VSG person) are going to have a problem with the gallbladder? I have seen so many have kidney or gall bladder issues during my time on VST, I often wonder will I be next? I hope not, but do not know what are the precursors before an attack requiring hospitalization.[/quote']

I just saw this, sorry. I first felt nauseous, then pain in upper gastric area. It was like no pain I've ever felt. It took me about 2 hours to realize it was probably the gallbladder. This happened 3 more times within a month. Wednesday, it lasted so long and Vicodin did not make it go away. I figured it was probably emergency time.

When you have an attack, you'll know! It's horrible pain. Like something is twisting your organs! I think it's more common with women though so maybe you're safe!

No, not small potatoes at all. I am just trying to offer any advice that might help you break through your wall you are up against and have been fighting for a while. I hope other vets chime in because they have good advice, especially if they are long term vets like you. Thanks for being an inspiration to all us us newer vets - fighting the good fight every day. I do wish you success in your progress and will try and help if I can. So we know how often to send care packages to you, how long is your current deployment to?

Thank you, I know you and others are offering the best advice you can, it just gets so ... disheartening. I'm now doing some diet *brokenhearted sigh* I heard another sleever mention, a fasting diet - normal day/fast day/normal day/fast day etc. On fast days you eat less than 600 cals, on either day carbs are still a minimum. We'll see.

This deployment may last a year.

Fiddle - could you give me some suggestions as to what kind of lifting set to do? Right now I do several machines: one where I sit, grip 2 handles and push away from my chest. That one I do 40 pounds, 3 sets of 12. Another I sit and instead of pushing the handles away, I push them up. That one I do 24 pounds, 3 sets of 12. Another I sit, thread my shins under a pad and thrust upward, that one is 50 pounds, 3 sets of 12. I also take a 15 lb weight, hold it in both hands behind my head, and lift, 3 sets of 20, to work the triceps. All of this I do in a single session and by the next night I'm pretty sore. I also do calf raises, 3 sets of 20, in that session. These weights are so heavy for me, that by the final 3 reps I'm grunting and struggling not to break form.

What can I be doing differently?

Well guys and gals' date=' I'm out! I'm currently laying in a hospital bed. Just got my gallbladder removed this SUCKS! I'll be back though![/quote']

Oh no! I wish u a speedy recovery. Was this a sudden thing? Well, at least it's over and done with. It seems like a lot of people end up having their gall bladder removed after vsg. Mine was removed during the surgery. Take care!

Yea emergency. I had pain for 5 1/2 hrs and they said it caused acute pancreatitis.

Thanks Fiddle' date=' I think I'm good. No pain just bummed. But hopefully I'll get to go home in the morning. Maybe I can walk during my recovery time. I'll talk to the surgeon in the morning.[/quote']

Oops! Should've read the entire thread

Globetrotter- I am out most of the day (at a support meeting currently here in Seattle for Swedish), but will write down my thoughts tonight.

You're lucky Danyelle! My doc told me it needed to go but I didn't listen to her. I've learned my lesson haha!

Globetrotter- let me first state that I am in an active state of finding out what works for effective strength training. There are a lot of very experienced lifters on this site that have years and years of working experience, where some used to be professional body builders or trainers. For this reason, I hope they will stand up and offer some good leadership around effective strength training for all of us who are fairly new to it all.

As stated in the original thread above, I have 3 days a week where I am strength training. I never use machines. First reason is I do not own any at home and do not have a gym membership. however, I do take personal training at a cross fit gym. Second, and more importantly, machines takes away the balance, focus and strength required for effective strength training, I use dumbbells and body weight exercise. Currently, my strength training at home is done using Bowflex adjustable dumbbells and strength training / HIIT cardio done at cross fit is a mixture of body weight exercises and barbell lifts in an intense circuit. A good WOD performance should take every bit of strength, breath and focus you have.

You asked about rotation so I will focus on my dumbbell-based strength training rather then my cross fit sessions. Cross fit tends to be completely random every session so cannot talk about rotation except when it comes to warmup of body weight exercises. My rotations for each day are fairly basic and can each be completed in 20-30 minutes. I do the same rotations from week to week, but increase the intensity by increasing the weight +5 lb and paying attention to maximum focus and proper form.

Push day

Dumbbell bench press

Dumbbell flys

Dumbbell side raises

Dumbbell triceps kickbacks

Dumbbell biceps curls

Pull day

One arm dumbbell rows

Dumbbell pullovers

Reverse dumbbell flys

Lying dumbbell triceps extensions

Dumbbell biceps curls

Leg day

Dumbbell squats

Dumbbell step lunges

Dumbbell straight leg dead lifts

Dumbbell sumo squats

Dumbbell single leg calf raises

My sets look like 12-10-8-8+ for each exercise in a rotation where there might be 1-2 additional drop sets. I keep track of rest between sets, planned weight / reps, target intensity level, actual weight / reps and actual intensity level. Tracking this information helps with measurable progress and helps me make changes as they are needed.

The intensity and focus of each set builds as the set reps drop and set weight increases. Intensity must come from your focus and not just from heavier weights delivered from a machine. That is why dumbbells are much more effective then machines when seeking true intensity, but dumbbell exercises do tend to not map onto functional movements very well. Body weight exercises are much more effective then dumbbells because they do map onto functional movements and, hence, tend to be safer with less prone to joint injury.

Hope this helps.

You're lucky Danyelle! My doc told me it needed to go but I didn't listen to her. I've learned my lesson haha!

Nicole - how are you doing tonight? Hope you are starting to feel better.

At least the GB is gone now thank goodness. It will get better very soon.

Thanks guys! I think my nerves have awoken and I'm in pain! But I am happy the gallbladder is gone and over with. I'm going to do some walking today to get rid of this gas stuck in my shoulder! I hope I feel better by Tuesday because I'm signed up for a CPR class. I have so much to do because I'm starting nursing school in August.

You know it's funny, all I've wanted for the past few months was a break. Time to sleep, a break from motherhood, and to be able to relax. Now my kids are in Austin with my mom and I'm forced to relax. I suck at relaxing and I miss my babies terribly! Haha!

Nicolanz - hope you are doing better! Had my gall bladder out several years ago and life without it has been a GOOD thing! Hope it is for you too!

Hey this is the start of my 4th week of this challenge! Wow! I am very impressed with myself that I have not quit by now! Ha! Never never have stayed with an exercise program - this long...especially something as difficult as this Jillian Michaels Body Revolution program is! (I am starting to sweat just typing the name!)

My diet has been very clean and I feel fantastic. It might be my imagination, but I appear have toned and defined arms! (As always, the butt is lagging behind...pun intended!)

Have only lost 4.6 lbs over these weeks, but I feel more toned and I think I look smaller. Frankly, if the scale never moved again, but I could wear smaller clothes, that would be fine with me. (Desperately trying to focus on how great I feel vs. the little weight I am losing for how hard I am working out!)

Also trying to slowly increase my calories and increase protein. This whole thing is a fun mental game.

Hey this is the start of my 4th week of this challenge! Wow! I am very impressed with myself that I have not quit by now! Ha! Never never have stayed with an exercise program - this long...especially something as difficult as this Jillian Michaels Body Revolution program is! (I am starting to sweat just typing the name!)

My diet has been very clean and I feel fantastic. It might be my imagination' date=' but I appear have toned and defined arms! (As always, the butt is lagging behind...pun intended!)

Have only lost 4.6 lbs over these weeks, but I feel more toned and I think I look smaller. Frankly, if the scale never moved again, but I could wear smaller clothes, that would be fine with me. (Desperately trying to focus on how great I feel vs. the little weight I am losing for how hard I am working out!)

Also trying to slowly increase my calories and increase Protein. This whole thing is a fun mental game.[/quote']

Hoosier - Such a positive praise report!! Thank you for sharing. I hope the rest of the team can come join us again once they are feeling better. It sounds like strength building is really working out for you. Congratulations! Becoming stronger is just as much a mental game, if not more, as it is a physical game. The scale will not really move much during these 12 weeks. I am expecting it to move no more then 10 lb, but I also expect body fat percentage to keep dropping. Do you know what body fat percentage improvements you have made since starting this 12 week challenge?