Butterthebean

I think mine had a jump from 12 minutes to 20 minutes. I found that extreme and ended up altering it into 2 10 minute runs with a 30 second rest. After doing that twice I was able to get on program. In my opinion you should never repeat a day until you've failed at that day. Give it a shot. You might surprise yourself. The worst that can happen is you will only make 6-7 minutes and you'll know how much you need to improve. As for running in the cold......move to Florida? Best I got. Seriously, spoil yourself with some great winter running gear. For me, hands and ears are the 2 biggest things I need to keep warm. I can actually wear shorts into the mid 30s. Once I start running my legs do not feel cold, but my hands....oye!

Way more valid than a lot of the points being made in this thread. I have a good friend who lives there and loves it. On some island I believe.

Be patient globe. Building muscle on 650 calories a day is very difficult. The world is full of testosterone laden boys who struggle to build muscle on 4 times that many calories.....without that testosterone it's gonna be harder for you. And with so few calories it will be most difficult indeed. As far as weight loss, I think no one around here understands better than you that calories in vs calories out is not the whole story. You know your body better than anyone here, so I'm sure you know 2 weeks is not enough time to see big results. Great bodies are built over the long haul. Give it time my friend.

Indeed I do fiddle.

Great job everyone. I know this is a tough month. Just keep ticking away at those goals and you'll come out of this holiday season feeling very good about yourself. So far I'm up to 58.8 miles running and 5200 meters swimming.

Ouch!!!! Yes the swelling will definitely be your indicator. Easy does it. And know that you will likely over do it again if you forget this lesson.

Well walking for sure. My first activity after that was cycling and elliptical. Easy going at first of course. After the 6 weeks I started some very light weights, and gradually increased the intensity and duration as I felt I could.

That's great to hear. Yes the drains feel very strange coming out. My wife took one of mine out here at home.

This is where I got mine. http://www.makemeheal.com/mmh/product/compression_garments/male/index.vm

I had quite a bit to lose and I wore one. It really helps with exercise as PDXman says. But there's no evidence to suggest they will help lessen the loose skin.

I'd wait as he said. Then ease back in slowly. Don't let your enthusiasm cause you to over do it right away. Remember you've just had major surgery. But if you build your way back up slowly you'll be able to increase the intensity of your exercise soon enough.

Done.

Cowgirl....I started back by walking. Alot. And I hate walking. It seems like the biggest waste of time. But I made myself do it starting at about 1 month post op. I quickly worked up to 5-6 miles a day. At 7 weeks I started mixing in some light jogging. 2 weeks later I started swimming. I think the swimming did alot to loosen me up and get the upper body muscles working in ways they haven't worked before. Honestly I still haven't begun lifting weights again. It does make me nervous. The worst part is that feeling of being in less than peak fitness when you first start back. There's no way around it. You just gotta tough it out. But I've been amazed at how fast my fitness has come back. After just 3 weeks released for full exercise my running is 90% back to where it was. And I'm swimming an hour at a time. Your fitness will come back very quickly and you have to trust that if you make it through those first couple of weeks the exercise will start to feel good again.

This is a tough month for the fitness challenge. Makes me realize why so many people make new years resolutions to exercise. Hopefully we can all just hang on the rest of this month, then explode into the new year. All these holiday festivities definitely make it hard...not to mention the naked snow shoveling.

Fiddle.... I think the second paragraph in that link says it all....what works best for one person will not be best for another. I've tried upping my carbs more than once to fuel my workouts... Only to bonk more and have less energy. So for me it's Paleo. I think my body really has responded well to being fat adapted. The zone diet would be too many carbs for me. But for someone not so insulin resistant they might thrive on it. As for the zone bars....I used to eat them pre surgery. They were like candy bars to me. I could eat a whole box. I think they go against the principle of both of the diets....which is eating clean. But sometimes we just get caught out and about and we need some calories right? I've been keeping a shaker bottle with some Protein powder in my car. If I need some protein quick I just buy a bottle of Water and make a shake. I do eat the Quest bars from time to time but I try to limit them. They have more protein and more Fiber than the zone bars, and don't taste quite so good....so I don't crave more. I say if you want to try zone give it a shot. Give it a few weeks and see how it goes. I don't think I'd recommend zone for anyone still losing.

Got it. So for me, the oatmeal, crackers, peanutbutter, bagel...and even the fruit can be to high on the glycemic index. They are obviously better than white bread and mashed potatoes and gravy....but in terms of the effect on blood sugar they are similar. They will spike my blood sugar just enough to cause an insulin spike which leaves me shaky, hungry and weak in about 2 hours. I like all those foods, but really have to limit them. I eat more fats than carbs....almonds, olives, avocados, cheese....they keep my insulin level a lot more stable. If you are insulin resistant then these foods might be causing your issues.

Looking good GG.

How many carbs do you eat a day and are they high glycemic or low? I only ask because I am insulin resistant and if I eat alot of high glycemic carbs I have the same issues. I really need to keep mine low and what I do eat needs to be low glycemic vegetable and fibrous fruits. That way my insulin stays even and level.

That sounds awful. I feel terribly bad for you...but at the same time...now I want cake!!!

Wow RJ....so so sorry. I have nothing helpful to offer...other than well wishes and all the good vibes I can muster. I hope things turn around for you very soon.

Alright fitness freaks. The month is almost half over. Who's on pace to reach their goal? Who's behind and needs some encouragement? Just because you've fallen behind.... don't quit. Revise your goal if you must. Make a commitment to push hard from here till the end of the month. It's not that long. Don't give up. There is never going to be a better time to start living a healthy life than right now.

Knee extensions and lunges.

Sounds normal. Your blood sugar is not low at 102, but your body is going through sugar (carb) withdrawal it sounds like. If you ate a high carb diet before, likely you adapted well to fueling your body on glucose all the time. Most obese people fall into this category. Now you're body is being forced to switch over to burning fat for fuel, it's an uncomfortable process. If you've ever bonked during exercise...it's the same thing. However, the good news is your body will adapt to this new fuel very quickly and you'll feel so much better. In fact you'll likely feel better than before because you'll have way more energy without needing to feed it every 2-3 hours. Just hang in there past this phase.

It is quiet. I've got a half marathon coming up next weekend. Looking forward to that. Did my last long training run yesterday. Oh and yes I'm running the half marathon in my vibrams.

After 2-1/2 months I've still got some weird sensations. I've got some super sensitive areas right next to some numb areas. It's weird.