aroundhky

Peanut Butter..........I partake almost every evening for my nighttime snack..........love it! Not sure if I'm supposed to eat it that often, but I do. I prefer the natural peanut butters and also like the almond butter too.........but only if it's on sale.......quite expensive.

I'll be two years out this coming November, still haven't gotten to goal weight. Just 2 pounds away ......... must .......... get ............ to ........... goal ........... Seriously, it's not all that terribly important to me since I've reached all of the other goals I wanted from the sleeve. But being this close......it still would be nice to get there. I want to get there, but it's not a deal breaker for me.

I have to change mine up every once in a while as far as routine and types of lifts. My muscles adjust and get used to them, so I have to wake them the heck up by showing them something new.....and they usually respond favorably. At the moment......here's my routine. Mondays Lower Body lifting with emphasis on hamstrings -Deadlifts -Straight leg deadlifts -Light deep squats that are light enough to NOT hit my quads (I do them on Thurs), but enough weight to when I get deep, my hamstrings/glutes have to work to get my legs back to parellel with the ground. Tuesdays Upper Body lifting with emphasis on shoulders,triceps and chest. Also cardio for active recovery. -Military press -Shrugs -Upright rows -dips -Skull crushers -Incline dumbbell presses -Sprints or stadium stairs. If too sore from previous day, I'll just walk or jog for about a mile or two. Wednesdays Core and explosive lifts. These lifts also give me a good cardio session. I go very light weight, but fast/explosive. -Power clean & jerk OR snatches -High pulls -Planks -Captains chairs -Sit ups with weights Thursdays Lower body with emphasis on quads -Squats -Front squats -Hack squat or leg press Fridays Upper body with emphasis on upper back/lats. Also cardio for active recovery. -Pull ups/weighted pull ups -Bent over t-bar rows OR dumbbell rows -Cable rear delt flies -Seated rows -Sprints or stadium stairs. If too sore from previous day, I'll just walk or jog for about a mile or two. Saturdays -Just stay active with yard work, chores or playing with kids, etc. -Makeup day for previous week or upcoming week if I had/have to miss a day due to work or appointments (rare) Sundays -Rest

And quite an impressive picture it is Laura!!!

Cardio is good and like the name suggests....it benefits your heart. So some cardio will always be beneficial. I also second what many posters are saying........it's better to add in weight training as well. Especially if you're one of those interested in aiding loose skin issues, physique, that kind of thing. And it (muscle) also helps to burn calories when you're resting....so many good benefits from lifting. If you're not familiar with lifting, a trainer would be very beneficial.....especially early on until you get some experience with resistance training and how to perform the different lifts. Just make sure to get a trainer that is a good fit for you and knows about your bariatric surgery history. Good luck and keep us posted!

I think it has helped me some. However, building muscles can only do so much towards helping with saggy skin issues. Large amounts of extra skin may be too much for a lifting program to really make a difference. But if it's just a minor problem, lifting can definitely help ease the amount of loose skin or maybe even eliminate it. If you try it, just be patient and stick to a lifting program and hopefully you'll see a differeance in a few months. Good luck!

Interesting article in regards to BMI charts...... http://news.yahoo.com/bmi-best-8-steps-healthiest-weight-op-ed-154110381.html

Lots of good carbs in this dish....which I fix about once a week. Lean sirloin, brown rice, broccoli and quinoa with organic teriyaki...but light on the sauce. Just enough to give it some flavor.

Broccoli....with a side of broccoli......topped with just a dash of broccoli. I love broccoli! Yeah, the long grain or brown rice is good too or sweet taters!

Haha! At first really dry and weird, but I like the oral fixation it helps me to get through by the longest chewing of the oats.

Casein is a Protein I use a lot at night since it's slow release. I've had good results from it and I think "Fiddleman" on here uses it as well. As I'm sure others do on here too. I've not heard any complaints. As for Creatine.....I've used it off an on, but I'm not 100% educated on it. What I know is this..... 1) Drink even more Water than the typical sleever as it redirects some water to muscles to help you get that extra rep or two and for repair afterwards. So you still want plenty of water left for vital organs and bodily functions. 2) You normally want to use it in the morning or after a workout and some people say that it needs to be taken with some carbs. I think I read that one member on here "Mark!" takes it before a workout too and I think he's had good results. 3) After taking it for a week or two, you will put on a couple of pounds.....but this will be water weight. Since you are consuming more water and retaining a little more, it's natural to put on a couple of pounds of water weight. But as quick as it makes the scales go up, it can make them go down too once you're off of creatine for a week or two.

What kind of lifts are you doing? Have you met goal weight....or still losing?

Isereno.....i had mine tested back in the Spring at a local university. They have an obesity/health center there and have three different methods of testing and i did all three including the water submersion one......which was quite interesting. The fee for all of it was $30. I plan to do it BEFORE the holidays.

And at 37/38%....I was in the gym pretty often.......but in the kitchen more often.

You can be strong again! Fiddle..........I was way over 25% a couple of years ago. I think at one point I was 37/38%.

Looking at the picture of the ladies..........I think the 25%-35% range women where pretty hot!! Just my 2 cents......

I would take it and puree that bacon! Mmmmmm......liquid bacon! Seriously, the smell of bacon nearly gives me "blood flow" to certain parts of my body! Love it!!! I would hate to have to smell that right after the sleeve and not be able to partake. I feel for ya GBFree!

Congrats...........looking great!!

That's good stuff "Hoosier"! Thank you!

That's a good question....my guess is not for long. Actually, I've never heard of anyone less than 4%. I'm sure it's happened, just haven't heard of that. I really don't think our bodies could function properly (if at all) that low.

Fiddle......just be careful with some of that and make sure to read up on the ingredients. If you can......can you save that energy stuff (caffeine, etc), for when you absolutely cannot get going? Sometimes half of the battle is getting to the gym and getting started, then once you're into it, the exercise and blood pumping will be enough of a stimulant to get you going and to focus. Just hoping you can at least cut back a little on the stimulants and only use them when you absolutely have to.....if at all. You're doing well bud and I'd hate to see you use stuff that may have some bad side effects or even lead to serious illness or consequences. Laura.......may I ask what happened to him? Heart attack? Overdose?

I agree that exercise can only do some much for weight loss and/or fat loss directly. To be honest, I wonder how much it actually raises ones metabolic rate. I think it does........some........but not as much as we think. Just a hunch and I have no science to back that up. However, indirectly, for me.....I think it helps a lot. When I exercise, I do feel physically tired afterwards......for a short time. But my mood, hormones, whatever are elevated and I feel great mentally the rest of the day! And when I feel that great, I do a much better job eating healthy. I could easily down 2000-2500 calories on a day that I don't exercise or days that I feel down in the dumps about something. Call it emotional eating or whatever, but for me, I can and often do, eat a lot more on days that I don't exercise, though I know I shouldn't. So while I'm not sure I get a lot of fat burn from my exercises, or even cardio for that matter, I think it does still help me (indirectly) to eat better the rest of the day, which in turn helps me to lose weight or improve my body composition. But maybe that's just me..........

Maybe.............. I am really thinking about it. But I'm getting close by strictly watching what I eat, just a couple of pounds now to go. I'm getting closer by eating less cals (hungry a lot) and not lifting quite as much and doing a little more cardio instead. Just want to hurry and get there so that I can settle in to my ideal (for muscle/strength) weight.

Congrats on the sleeve! How often and for how long are you fasting?