Butterthebean

I started running 10 months ago. I did my first half marathon in April, and I'm doing a full in November...hopefully. I wish I could say it's as easy as running down the street, but I needed to put more into it than that. My body is banged up from years of being overweight, and I did not want to end up with a knee injury or PF like so many runners. So I spent some time learning good running form. This website is a very good, simple overview of the form I use and it works great to prevent injuries. I have one torn ACL and two torn meniscus and I run without any knee pain whatsoever.... http://goodformrunning.com/ Also, the C25K app is a tremendous help. Stands for couch to 5K. Download it on your phone, then hit start and do what it says. It will have you alternating between running and walking. And each week you'll do more running and less walking. There is a huge C25K thread in the fitness subforum that has many successful members. The great thing about C25K is you advance at your own pace. If you're not ready you can repeat a day...or a whole week. But as you move ahead you get better and better. I don't think I could have done it without the C25K. Why? Because I would have not seen the improvements from week to week. With the app, you know exactly how long you're running and each week it's slightly more. The last thing I'll say is...running shoes. Everyone will tell you to get fitted for a good set of running shoes. I say running shoes are about as critical for running as driving gloves are for driving. If you're form is correct, it doesn't matter what shoes you wear...within reason of course. Good luck.

I'm honestly the same way...especially running. I enjoy my oatmeal but when I add honey too it, I crashed and burned. I guess too much sugar. After the oatmeal, I barely eat any carbs the rest of the day unless I have a green shake. But I've done some 8-10 mile runs on nothing but scrambled eggs and cheese. According to the experts, you aren't supposed to be able to do that, but I actually do better. Keeping my body in a fat burning mode rather than a glucose burning mode, I actually feel and perform better. I just don't do well on alot of simple carbs and I've tried quite a few variations. We are all different, and our bodies react differently to different fuels.

........low carb zealots!!! Don't forget them.

One of the things I have/am learning to deal with in this whole crazy mess is my all or nothing metality that I've always had. I'd eat a biscuit (or 3) for Breakfast, and say why bother working out? It will barely even out that crappy breakfast I ate. Or I'd miss a workout, and say why bother working out tomorrow? It will only make up for yesterday. Nothing to be gained. But it would go on and on. And the farther away from a good day I got, the harder it was to go back. Now I'm learning it doesn't have to be that way. I can f**k up, and then jump right back on the wagon. I can miss a workout and it doesn't mean I need to eat pizza the next day. I don't need every day or even every week to be perfect. I just need to have more good days than bad. Put as many good days together in a row as I can. And keep pushing up hill inch by inch. That's how we get there....slowly, painfully...but we are getting there.

Yeah...I think I liked you better when you were sticking your blue tongue out at everybody in disdain.

Check out www.jeffgalloway.com He teaches a run/walk/run method for people who can't run the entire time. There is absolutely nothing wrong with not running continuously. I've done a couple half marathons, a couple of 10ks and a 5K. And I have seen people walking within the first 2 minutes of the start each and every time. It's perfectly acceptable, and you should feel no shame about it. You should embrace the distance, not the mode of propulsion. Your brother is obviously a runner. I guarantee he didn't start out running like he can now. And I can't speak for you, but I spent my whole life overweight. I didn't start running till I was 43 years old and I still weighed close to 300 lbs. So my body has been abused from all those years of carrying around that weight, and it's not conditioned to run like a deer all day and night. So running is a struggle, but I enjoy it. I'm getting better. And when I need to walk I do it and don't feel bad about it. The worse thing you can do as a runner is compare yourself to other runners, because there will always be faster, better runners than yourself. Forget them...just find peace in your own ability to move from here to there.

Bigcountryab and Tapsnap...we do have an "Agnostics/Atheists" subforum that you guys should post in. It doesn't get much traffic but there are some of us who like it, on the rare occasion when a post is made there. There is also a "Religious" forum which I believe this original post should have landed in. But as stated, the Lounge is kind of a free for all place so any topic is considered acceptable. But to everyone, if you want to talk religion or atheism with like minded individuals and not have it turn into a heated debate, then I suggest using those subforums.

It sounds like you are worried about something that hasn't even happened yet. You're speculating. If he wants you to lose faster...if you want to lose faster...then tell him to advise you on how to make those changes to accomodate that. He knows not everyone loses at the same magic rate. There are too many factors that contribute to slow weight loss, and not all of them are caused by you. Hormones are a big one! But regardless of that, I think you definitely need to appreciate what you've done so far. Do not stress over what MIGHT happen. Go in there like the adult and don't let him berate you. Let him help you. That's what he's there for. And don't quit going to him. He has the knowledge and experience to help you. And you have the strength and power to not let him bring you down. Good luck.

My new favorite pre workout meal is a half cup oatmeal with some chopped walnuts, and maybe a piece of sharp cheddar or 2. Good mix of carbs, fat and a little protein in the cheese. The oatmeal is about the only carby food I can eat pre workout, but it holds me well even on a long run. I never ate oatmeal before surgery, but I'm starting to like it. I tried adding the protein powder to it once and that didn't work out too well. Protein powder and hot water do not go well together.

Great job. You look fantastic.

Not a nurse....but I do work 12 hour shifts in a chemical plant so I'm on my feet and outside in the elements. I also switch back and forth each week from day shift to night shift 530-530. I took off the full 6 weeks because I had hernia repair while getting sleeved and my company doctor would not clear me to go back to work until they were confident I could lift 50 pounds....which is generally 6 weeks (especially after hernia repair). When I went back it was middle of June and outside it was flaming hot so I did struggle a bit, but not bad. Within 2 weeks of going back I felt terrific....100% better than before surgery.

You're the man Fiddle!!

Definitely. Could be acid reflux (which feels just like hunger after surgery) or it could be head hunger. Or maybe real hunger. But yes not uncommon and frankly I didn't feel any satisfaction until I started on real foods again. The liquids don't do much for you in terms of satiety. It's just something we all have to live with. It gets better.

I've read that you need a 1.5-2% incline on the treadmill to simulate running outside on level ground.

One of those things they kinda leave out of the brochure. Thankfully the sharting is only short term. But the constipation can be long term. It's difficult getting in enough Fiber until later when your capacity to eat increases.

If you go to TSA's website, they give exact details on what you can and cannot carry on, and how to carry it.

13. Don't expect your GI tract to work the same post surgery as it did before. Weird things will be happening. And under no circumstances should you trust a fart.

I just ran 6 miserable miles. I waited a bit late to get started. I've got a 10K this Saturday in San Antonio and I hope it goes better than today. Good news is I can go easy till then.

Uh...yeah. Venison chili is the best.

<uh....slowly, sheepishly raises hand> Yeah, that was me. 4 months in, I thought I knew it all. I thought I had it down cold. I figured "what else can happen?" I was cruising along like a battleship with no thought of slowing down. Until that day when my body decided to stop losing weight in spite of my wishes.....wow does that ever change your attitude. These days I take a little more flexible approach. I know what works for me, I don't always know what works for everyone else. More importantly, I know that my way isn't the only way. And I cringe when I read these new threads that sound just like I used to sound. I want to say "talk to me in 6-12 months." And then I tell myself....give it another 2 years, where will I be then? Makes me realize there is still more to learn....alot more. But like Paul, I'm not going to enable anyone, even though there is plenty of opportunity to do so. And you can see it coming a mile away....and you can understand where it's coming from. People are struggling....struggling with food addictions, fighting head hunger, frustrated by stalls, and forced to deal with feelings that were previously blunted with comfort eating. They really need relief. They need the comfort of an old friend who has been there for them for years....yes food. Everytime you read a post that says "when can I eat xxxx again?" Unless xxxx is a salad....but usually it's not. Remember the "when can I eat macaroni and cheese again" thread? Hell you can eat macaroni and cheese the day you get home from the hospital...purree it if you like, but why would you? Why would you want to go back to that life? I know I don't. Like Paul, I don't want anyone to go back to that life. But I realize that the more I bow up and scream it from the rooftops, the more likely some people are to turn a deaf ear, slink away into dark corner, and eat that bowl of macaroni and cheese and not listen to those of us who have been right where they are. I used to have a quote in my sig that said "why would you listen to the advice of someone who isn't where you want to be?" Well, maybe that quote is a little too stringent for me now. Afterall, some people are on a good path that will get them there. They learn, they keep an open mind, they are on the right track. But there are a few vets around here who ARE there...like Paul, like CLK...like several others. You know they found a way. They are definitely worth listening too. If you want to ignore their advice because they are not PC enough, or not sensitive enough to your feelings...you do so at your peril. I'd rather have my feelings hurt than be obese the rest of my life.