Butterthebean

I found the biggest little bridge in the area that had a sidewalk that was safe to run on, and I ran up and down that thing till puking became a viable option...then I quit.....fun.

I'm far from an elite athlete...but I'm running 4-7 miles several days a week....and on the other days I still workout hard. Does that count? I'm 6'2" and I'm training for a half marathon in April. I'm constantly breaking down my muscles fibers with exercise and they need to be rebuilt regularly, plus I need to eat ample carbohydrates to fuel my long workouts. The only way I'm going to do that with the sleeve is to supplement my food with protein shakes. I think this is just another one of those rules the experts throw out there to prevent you from living on protein bars and potato chips. The reason we all get such varied advice is because everyone's circumstances are so varied. There is no one approach that is ideal for everyone. Again, I think food should be the first choice whenever feasible. But it's not enough in every circumstance.

Funny...I told everyone. But it's like they all forgot I had surgery. I never heard one negative word about surgery. But everyday people ask me about my diet, or my workouts....and they are constantly wanting weight loss advice or telling me that "Monday" they are gonna start eating better and going to the gym. So basically, I've become like a poster child for weight loss. Telling or not telling about the surgery wouldn't change that.....so, just saying...get ready for that. And don't think people aren't going to ask you about your weight loss. They can't help themselves. They are going to say..."You look great." Followed by "how much have you lost?"...and then the ever obvious "how did you do it?" "Magic beans" is the only anser I have ever given that didn't get a look of disappointment.

Exactly John and Laura. When you're on limited calories like we are....a good quality Protein shake can be very beneficial, especially right after an intense workout. But I don't feel the same way about protein bars in general...most are not worth eating. Too many people are content to use them to get in their protein when there are better alternatives.

I meant to add...with proper nutrition and hydration you'll have all the energy you need to workout. At first it may be tough, but once you get going you get more energetic every week.

I think the main affect they have is to raise heart rate and blood pressure, correct? But working out also does that, so to me taking pills while you workout would be redundant. You want to burn fat while working out, so you need to tap into those fat reserves....you don't want artificial stimulants fueling your workout and leaving the body fat untouched. That's my thoughts anyway.

For my distance running friends...since this thread started out about gels, here's a great article about healthy substitutes to keep your body fueled during a long run. http://www.trailrunnermag.com/health/race-day-nutrition/article/325-no-more-gels

I've never had one go bad but I've had the in the fridge 3-4 days with no problems.

I felt like crap those first 3-4 days. And for probably 10 days even taking a shower wore me out. But by the end of the 3rd week I was chainsawing down trees. Seriously, and that was in spite of the fact that I had hernia repair. Foolish, I know. But I felt so good. It helped that I was getting all my protein and water in very early on. I think that plays a huge factor in how good you're going to feel.

I'm not sure why on Earth they would be banned for WLS paitents, but from a fitness point of view, they are about the biggest waste of time you can do in the gym. If you want to work your core (and we all should) there are so many better ways to do it. As Gmanbat stated, kettleball work is great for this. Also, hanging knee raises are very effective for the whole abdominal wall, planks (both facing down and either side) are great for the posterior chain and obliques. These exercises work the core as it was meant to be worked...as a unit. Crunches are the wrist curls of core workout exercises. They are an isolation exercise at best, barely working half your abdominals. And as previously stated, the muscles they work are going to be the last muscles any of us every see.

I have the same issues Grace. I started working shift work 8 years ago and promptly gained 125 lbs during that time. On night shift I'd eat all night. Eating keeps you awake, and it's natural to develop that habit of eating high glycemic foods when you're sleep deprived. It's still a battle for me now. I want to eat, even though I'm not hungry. A systems check at that point usually tells me I'm tired. It explains why so many people get cravings at night. The best thing to do, as you said, is get more sleep. If you can't, at least stop to ask yourself if you really need food or is this just your body's way of trying to wake up. Cuddos to you for recognizing one aspect of head hunger when it's staring you in the face. Some people never realize it.

You deserve to treat yourself, that's for sure. I don't know what I'm going to do. I already bought myself a Harley for hitting the 150 lb lost mark....not sure what I should do to top that.

Never tried it but if you add a little water to rehydrate the PB2 I'm sure it will come out fine.

Hey PDXman. Some questions....do you carry your homemade gel on runs, and if so what do you put it in? Little ziplock bag? Also, doesn't caffeine restrict capillaries and raise BP and HR or do I have that backwards? Lastly, was your back injury related to all those miles you were running or was it something else? I know you have got to be anxious to get back to running....I took off 5 days and nearly went crazy. Glad to see you posting over here.

I must be the only one here who didn't need to supplement my B12. Lucky I guess.

Well, first of all your capacity for food is going to increase but that doesn't mean you should eat more. You do not need to eat until you are full or in pain. I have a large capacity too....which means I use an accurate scale and weigh my food to the proper serving size, eat that and no more. Surprisingly, while not usually full, I realize I'm also not hungry afterwards. It sounds like you are using the "eyeball" method of food measuring. I doubt any of us are very good at that or we wouldn't be here. After using a good food scale for a few months you will get good at eyeballing it...but since you do have a larger capacity your best bet is to continue to use the scale indefinitely, at least some of the time. I'm 9 months out and I still use mine everyday. Some foods I make often enough I don't need to weigh anymore....but I still do occasionally to make sure I haven't slowly increased my amounts. Our perception of what we are eating rarely matches with reality...especially in those of us who needed WLS. Don't rely on your feelings of fullness to tell you when to stop eating. For some of us, that is part of the reason we are here...definitely for me. I must have killed mine eating all those pizzas in my former life.

I love guacamole and chipotles guac is good. My wife makes it the same way except spicy. If you don't wanna make it, Wholly Guacamole is some very good stuff and comes in 100 calorie packets. We buy it at Walmart.

Yes, 7 weeks.....33lbs....almost 5 pounds a week.....very good.