aroundhky

Ahhh..... now let's all have a group hug! Crystal, I'm still a little new to this, but I think you'll find most, if not all of the people here friendly and helpful. Pdxman is one of them and is very successful, so I know I sure like to hear what he has to say. Good luck with the weight loss and I know you'll do very well!

Losing slowly is always best for muscle retention. Getting plenty of protein in along with amino acids like glutamine helps retain muscle too. Can you tell that you've lost muscle/strength? I know I sure did the first month or so and it worried me because I worked really hard in the past for the muscle gains. But I've really started to gain a lot of that back the past couple of months and my weight loss has slowed, so I'm maintaining/gaining muscle. I think that a good chunk of that quick weight loss initially for me was fat. As for hair, I was fairly bald to begin with, so I haven't really noticed any hair loss yet. : P

Greeneyedgirl....I can see if you are getting a personal trainer for motivation purposes, but if it's just to learn to exercise, maybe take in the opportunity to learn about different types of movements and exercises and save money and judgment from "jerks" and/or "jerkettes" like that. I've learned a lot through the process and I've really enjoyed doing research on my own and learning by trial and error. So if it's a technical thing in regards to exercise, would you be interested in learning about these on your own? I think I speak for most all of us on this forum that we will be more than happy to help, answer Qs and give you feedback on things we've tried. I would say first, outline your exercise goals, second, research and get started. Just make sure to ease into them at first if your body is not used to the exercises. The last thing we want is to jump right in and get injured or so sore that we don't want to go to the gym anymore. Also, Youtube is a good resource to learn how to perform certain movements or exercises. Also, here is a good link if you are wanting to learn about resistance training and the movements/lifts involved. Good luck and give us some feeback on how the personal training sessions are going or if you attempt to workout on your own.

Emily...are you sure it's all muscle soreness? Could it be some joint pain too? I would go see a Dr or specifially an orthopedist or related Dr if it continues. The ribs could be from working your core some, what exercises did you do before this started?

"Emlefe" brings up a good point about magnesium, cant hurt to have it checked. For me, I don't mind a little soreness soon after a workout, it confirms the muscle groups that I targeted were hit pretty hard, which I like. But that lasting soreness or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) can be very frustrating and delay the time that you get back into the gym, which we don't want. I'm certainly not a Dr, Nut or Personal Trainer, but BCAA's (Branch Chain Amino Acids) can play a role in muscle recovery. Below is an interesting article on BCAAs and DOMS that can be informative about muscle soreness and other benefits of BCAAs. But if the soreness continues, I would surely get my magnesium levels checked and/or see a doctor. Also, you mentioned Protein, I always make sure to get some protein in right after a workout, it helps to start the muscle healing/toning/building process after the workout. http://blog.bodybuil...crush-cortisol/

Thanks "KingOx"!! I think I may give it a try and ease into it when i start by taking a little less than the recommended dose and see how I feel. "Vsg021412"...... I don't see any reason why women can't take it. It's mostly to help open up/relax those blood vessels and give you energy for a great workout. Not sure, but it might even have some caffeine in it. There's no growth hormone or testosterone or illegal substances like that in it. My guess is that women that take it right before a workout and are hopefully able to give that workout more effort. Women just don't have the same hormones that guys have, so I wouldn't worry about getting "bulked up" if I were a woman. "KingOx".....would you agree?

Sorry to hear that. Can you specify? Are you able to eat a lot more now than in the first year?

I've not thrown up at all and it's been close to 5 months. Even coming out of surgery and anesthesia (which I normally do). I've not found anything that my stomach doesn't tolerate. No complaints on this topic for me.

I'm getting close to 5 months as well and I take in around 1600 cals a day when I'm lifting heavily and slightly more complex carbs (before and after lifting). On days I just do cardio, I'm closer to 1200 cals a day with less carbs. I don't even lose a pound a week, probably averages to maybe 1/2 pound a week. But I'm also gaining back a lot of my muscle and just about back to my pre surgery strength. I am also having no problem getting in my protein and probably get at least 80-90 grams a day and usually at least one protein shake a day.

"King", I've heard of this and thought about getting it for my pre-workout supplement. I've heard that it makes your skin feel like it has a warm or burning sensation. Do you get that from Jack3D? I'm not sure it's bad if it does and I don't know what causes it for the people who do get it. Could just be a Niacin flush. If that's all that it is, I may try it myself. Would really like some more feedback as far as any possible side effects that you've noticed. I may just take the plunge. Thanks!

I started eating teaspoons of peanut butter the 2nd week and it was ok with my Dr. Has protein and since I started getting hungry the 2nd week, just a teaspoon of it helped satisfy me. Just make sure not to drink with it. It was tempting for me since peanut butter makes me so thirsty. But I didn't give in and 5-10 minutes after I eat it, the thrist goes away.

St. Louis Sarah.... have your clothes gotten any looser the past 2 months during your stall? I'm a little similar as far as the weight loss being slow the past few months and I had my surgery around the same time as you. I've really hit the weights with some heavy lifting the past three months, my pounds are very slow to drop, yet my clothes keep getting looser. The reason I asked is that I see that you've been doing CrossFit which mostly uses your body weight for lifting, which will add a good deal of muscle. I do CrossFit type of training about 2 days a week in addition to my weightlifting. So if you are still losing inches, I wouldn't worry too much about it due to you adding muscle, at some point, muscle and strength will plateau a little, and you will probably lose some more weight. As for the carbs, just keep an eye on them and not go too crazy with them. Consuming them around your workout is fine and will actually help you pre and post workout. Other than that, you might want to keep them to a minimum. Also consider what the others on here mentioned like logging your food intake and not drinking with meals. If you are feeling better, that's great and try to focus on the good things while sticking with what you're supposed to do. Hang in there, it's more mental than anything.

That's a very interesting question and makes me wonder too. I think when my testosterone is low more than anything it makes me feel sluggish and maybe a little down. I can tell that a hard lifting session at the gym makes it increase and I do feel a little more aggressive, but in a good way. Like there's a little more pep in my step. I think that's one of the reasons I'm addicted to lifting heavy, it really makes me feel a lot better. I sure could use less fat on my body, but I'm getting there slowly. If it causes my testosterone to increase, that's an added bonus as far as I'm concerned.

I heard that it increases appetite too. I'm not sure about that and can't tell that it increases mine. Sometimes when it's time for me to go to the gym, if I am really sleepy or sluggish, I'll have a 5 hour energy shot of it an hour before the gym. I maybe do that twice a week. The main reason I limit caffeine is for my blood pressure. I am now off my meds and I'd like to stay that way.

"3lilrams" I hope your dr has cleared you for weights since you are doing squats, personally, I love doing them, especially front squats! Here's (see link) what I've been doing the past 3 weeks for fat burning. I've not really been doing it long enough to see any really noticeable results, but I have seen a couple of veins showing up in my forearms. : P Just make sure you ease into it, especially since you're only a month post op. http://www.simplyshredded.com/fit-with-hiit-science-is-dropping-the-hammer-on-endless-bouts-of-steady-state-cardio.html

My "full" doesn't feel like it used to either. Just a feeling of discomfort, which I can feel coming on earlier now and stop before I feel that discomfort. I also often get the nose sniffles as well. With that said, it seems that sometimes the type of food I eat gives me a different "full" feeling. It's weird, not sure if anyone else on here has experienced this. Ex: If I eat some chicken, then brocolli, then a little brown rice, it feels a lot different than say when I eat chicken, green Beans and top it off with Peanut Butter (I know, gross to some of you). : P Not sure what that's all about, but feels like a slight difference in being full/satisfied.

Congrats Lilee, you look great!!!

Golden............. you look great! Was very inspiring to read that!

Gotta say I'm the same way. It's been quite rigid the last couple of months, like it's trying to bust out of the skin or something! Damned thing wakes me up in the middle of the night a lot too......... poor wife has to pay the price for that at times.

Welcome and congrats!

Good point "ouroborous"! I weighed at the gym today and I was right at 250, about 4 pounds heavier than a week ago. But the past 2 weeks I have been lifting especially heavy and also remembered that I started a creatine cycle (which adds water weight to muscles). But now my pants are more loose than they were a week or two ago when I weighed less. It seems the measuring tape is a better indicator of progress. I know when I come off the creatine, that I will drop 6-8 pounds, but I only weigh myself about once every 1-2 weeks. That water weight is quite significant.

If you can't do free weight squats, the leg press is probably the next best thing, just be careful and watch out for spinal compression. Also, like "Blackberryjuice" stated, those front squats are really nice, and you can probably do those with a smith machine as well, though I haven't tried them that way. Unfortunetly, muscles will only grow (add mass) and get stronger when we push them to failure. Which especially with legs, are not all that fun. Here's a good article that hits a bit on this and motivates me to TRY and push out that last rep. http://www.musclehack.com/targeted-hypertrophy-training-tht/