Butterthebean

122 pounds since May 1st.

It is possible to suffer from Water intoxification but from what I've read it is very difficult to do. It usually happens to extreme endurance athletes who drink too much water and do not take in any electrolytes. Otherwise, maybe if you were in a water drinking contest or something. For me 64 ounces of water is not near enough. I was drinking 85-90 2 months post op and I was still dehydrated. I upped it to more like 120-145 and I feel much better.

I am going with my wife and her sister and husband. Ive done lots of day hikes but this will be my first overnighter. My wife is very experienced at doing this. She's been on some 10+ day wilderness trips. I will check out that book. The good news is my clothes don't take up as much room in the back pack as they used too.

What are those gray dots underneath everyone's avitar? I noticed people with more posts have more dots. What do they signify?

I think Doxieville is a dog trainer. Perhaps she can offer some tips on this. I crate trained mine plus we have a doggie door....never had a problem thankfully.

Meant to add, where you on any gall bladder medication prior to having problems?

Good luck.

I am a licensed massage therapist but I only do it part time, just a few hours a month. My wife is my most loyal client and she always insist I work her abdominal area for this very reason. It seems to promote "movement" for her. Myself, having a lot of belly fat, I never wanted to try it. Maybe someday I'll have a flat stomach and that will change.

Thanks for posting this. I love LL.

I wish I had some mountains. I'm doing bleachers at the local high school stadium to get ready for a hiking trip next spring in the grand canyon. But the ugliest mountain I ever saw was still better looking than these bleachers. I'm jealous.

Standing O.

You've lost 25 pounds in 4 weeks....you should be celebrating. Expecting to lose 40 pounds in a month is unrealistic. There is a link in my sig to an article about stalls. You should read it.

Check out the NSV post by TJMOM. She was using a wheelchair before surgery. Now she's walking and being active in only a few months. Taking the weight off helps tremendously.

All I know is it's very liberating telling everyone. I didn't advertise it much before surgery. But after the first month when I had lost 40 pounds people were noticing. And they are gonna ask how you lost the weight. They can't help themselves. As if there are multiple options. I always lead with the fact that people with 100 pounds or more to lose have virtually zero chance of taking it off and keeping it off, not through a lack of will power, but our physiology makes it nearly impossible. Losing 100 pounds is not like losing 20. They will counter with their best friends cousins daughters boyfriends dog trainer lost 300 pounds and looks great. Well, first of all, for every one of those, there are a thousand who fail. And secondly, he probably had surgery too and kept it a secret. The reason I had surgery in the first place is because one of my coworkers had bypass and was very open about it. He lost his weight and he didn't mind sharing his story with me or anyone else. Up to that point I never considered surgery because I thought I would have to keep it a secret. Once I realized that he had surgery and that all of my fellow coworkers really didn't think it was a big deal I realized that people really aren't as concerned with what we do as we think they are. They are too busy living their own lives. And even if a few think it's the easy way out.....so what? I have still lost the weight. I am healthier and they are still the same miserable people. I feel much better than I would if I was trying to keep a secret.

Reminds me of the time I had my wisdom teeth taken out. I came home and my mom was frying chicken for me. Thanks a lot. Couldn't eat it. Cookeeeez is right, people at the gym aren't sitting around thinking "she doesn't belong here," they are really just thinking about their own business. They usually work out regularly and have seen all manner of people come and go in the gym and they really don't care. But they are usually the ones who know what they are doing and are happy to share. They are just people who like to be healthy and appreciate your efforts to do the same.

Daisy, thanks for being one of the Vets who has stuck around on the forum to help others after you've gotten to goal. We all appreciate your efforts and experience. Plus you live in the coolest state.

I've been doing a lot of reading about circuit training and cross fit workouts lately. I really wanted to join a cross fit center but it was $100 for 2 classes per week. So I just came up with my own circuit I did at home. I started with 10 hard minutes on the elliptical. Basically sprinting by the end on 10/10 resistance and incline. Then.... 10 modified pull ups (cause I can't do real ones) 10 mountain climbers 5 barbell dead lifts with 135 pounds 10 crunches 10 pullovers with 35 pounds 10 dumbell curls 20 pounds Then run 200 yards Do that circuit 3 times with no rest. It took me 21 minutes, I should be able to do it quicker next time now that I know what I'm doing. I must say I was whipped. The best part is you can substitute any exercise. The key is no rest.

So I did another round of this today, but I added a couple of things to it. I did 10 hard minutes on the elliptical and then the following circuit 3 times.... 10 modified pull ups 10 crunches 10 push ups 5 dead lifts with 135 pounds 10 dumbell overhead presses 25 lbs 10 mountain climbers 10 pull overs 35 lbs 10 dumbell curls 20 lbs 200 yard run Adding those 2 exercises took my time up to 27 minutes. I literally wanted to vomit half way through. It was tuff. At the end though I felt really good. This is a great workout. Doesn't take long and you work your whole body....and it's infinitely adaptable.

The chia seeds have absolutely no flavor, but they do have a crunchy texture. They have many many reported benefits including aid digestion, prevent constipation, regulate blood sugar, slow down the absorption of carbs, help keep you hydrated longer, antioxidants and a few others I'm probably forgetting. If you google "benefits of chia seeds" you will get a list of all the things they do. To me it almost seems too good to be true. I only started taking them to prevent the constipation. They sure do that. But now I also like the texture they add to my shakes and pudding.

Green means friendly. Red....not so much.

I am so sorry to hear that. I only ask because I've been on ursodiol since surgery to prevent the gallstones, and I think I'm supposed to stay on it till I quit losing. I'm hoping this will prevent the gall bladder issues altogether, but I don't know.