aroundhky

Congrats! You probably need a cigarette!

If you are wanting to build up the muscle and size of your arms to help with loose skin, triceps are probably a good place to start. Aside from deltoids, which is really shoulder muscle, and forearms, the triceps make up 2/3 of the muscle in your arms, and the bicep the other 1/3. You don't want to ignore the biceps, but the triceps is where you'll make the best gains as far is muscle buildup in your arms. There are many exercises for your triceps like Lissa said, the kickbacks and skull crushers are really good for the triceps and I've also found that dips and close grip bench press work really well for mine. As for the biceps, I agree with the curls and maybe vary the grips as both close grip and wide grip if using a bar, but dumbells are good too.

That is wild!

Muscle implants really exist? I've never heard of them. I'd like to have some for my calves. Fortunately, I've never had sleep apnea, so I have no insight there.

I was very fortunate and was in basically no pain from the beginning. Slight soreness for a day or two but that's it. I started walking a little at a time as soon as 2 hours out of the recovery room. I think it was on day 3 post op or so that I walked half a mile at one time. The next day I walked a mile and a half at one time.....though a bit slow. I never threw up nor had any problems with food other than getting my protein in the first two days. The worst part of the whole thing was having that catheter removed. After that, it was a breeze and I felt normal about a week or week and a half post op.

Looks like you're working hard. Some of those stalls are inevitable, just stick with what you are doing and the weight will start to drop again at some point. Not sure what your overall calories are, but some complex carbs (oats, brown rice, beans, etc) aren't bad and are good if you time them around your workouts. We all have our own sensitivity to carbs, just try and see what works for you. Not sure how often you are weighing, but I wouldn't weigh more than once a week, it will drive us crazy constantly watching the scale. Good luck and keep up the good work!

Biz...you sound like me. Never got sick, able to get in all of my protein and water in (except for the 2-3 days immediately after surgery) and nothing really bothers my stomoach. Your weight loss at your point is a little faster than mine was. I think you'll be fine, probably had a bit of initial muscle loss losing weight that quickly, but that will come back. Congrats on your progress!

Had my first drink probably 2 or 3 months after surgery and absolutely hit me faster and harder than it did before. So much so that I mostly abstain from it except on the rare occassion. Ease into it and see how your body reacts before diving into shots.

Hickory, NC area here

Walking right away (night of surgery). Was told light to moderate exercise at 2-6 weeks post-op. Released to do whatever I wanted after 6 weeks. I probably jumped the gun a little and did somewhat rigorous exercise and lifting around 4 weeks when I should've been scaling it back a notch or two. I was probably pretty lucky and with that said, you should stick with the plan that your Dr gave you. Shame on me! I wish you the best "tina"!

I was able to eat a whole sandwich or turkey brat at 2 1/2 months. I think I'm able to hold a good bit more food than most with this surgery....frustrates me a bit.

Hopefully it's muscle you are putting on. The calories seem a little high at first, but if you are training really hard or twice a day, those calories would probably be ok. There's just too many factors to consider like your age, fat intake, supplements (creatine?) etc. I know I've had stalls or periods to where I've put on a few pounds, yet clothes feel looser or can go one notch tighter on my belt, that shows yes, I've had muscle gain and some overall fat loss since last weigh. I'm not sure where you are on the fat percentage or how your genetics are, but one thing that I saw recently with myself was that I had gained 2 pounds, yet I was more vascular (veins in my arms sticking out more) and could just barely see the faintest outline of my abs, which hasn't happened since I was 19/20. So I know my body fat percentage is lower than it was at last weigh in, yet I'm 2 pounds heavier. So maybe look at something besides your tummy, since that's the last place us guys lose fat. How about your forearms? Do they look leaner? Can you see veins etc? Does your face/neck look leaner? That may not be the only way to tell, but if you can see these, chances are you've lost fat and your body is holding on to muscle, if not building muscle. Just a few ideas. I wish you the best and hope you break that stall soon!

The hair being closer together does make sense. The way I see it is like making a bunch of little ink dots (hair follicles) on an inflated balloon (our larger bodies). Deflate the balloon (lose weight) and all of the dots (hair follicles) on the balloon are more dense and closer together making it look like more dots? Maybe that's it, but it does make sense as to what your Dr said, as well as the testosterone issue.

It's probably always a good idea to limit caffeine, but I do sometimes go with the Rock Star Orange or Grape non-carbonated, low cal. i don't like coffee, so sometimes I find one of these drinks to get me going in the morning.

I haven't noticed any more attention. Maybe I'm just not seeing the looks or hearing comments, but I'm guessing it's going to take more than me losing weight to turn heads.