Butterthebean

Puréed hot dogs are not bad with relish. But now puréed corn dogs.....that's the bomb diggity.

This is my first "this time of year." Haha. I've got another half coming up in June, and then my first full marathon is November. I went ahead and signed up for the RocknRoll San Antonio marathon. That should be a blast.

I still drink shakes 1 year post op. If you do frequent high intensity exercise, it's almost a necessity. You have a limited window to properly refuel your muscles after intense exercise and Protein Shakes are the most expedient way to get the fuel right to the muscle...that's what they're made for. So if you're that type of person who wants to do intense exercise, then I see no reason to give them up completely.

Good job. The better shape you're in the easier your recovery will be.

Fiddleman, if you want more calories, yes the Met-Rx meal replacement shake is pretty darn good and has the Protein plus a few more carbs than a typical shake. My wife drinks them and they are not bad at all. You could also try slathering some PB on those energy squares, I like them with PB2 but I get plenty of calories so I don't need the full fledged nut butters. Also, I have to disagree on the single muscle group isolation. Yes it can help you but only if you have the energy to add it in, I wouldn't replace anything you're doing with bicep curls. It will make you look good but for pure athletic performance I would stick with compound lifts, which as I understand it crossfit does this. Compound lifts are giving you the most bang for your buck. You would not, for instance, do leg extensions over squats, bicep curls over pull ups, ham string curls over deadlifts.....if you had limited time and energy to workout. And you did say you had limited time and energy. Just my opinion. I would say with your current program, the one thing I'd be trying to do is figure out is how to get in a little more nutrition. The ONLY thing I'd think about taking out is the HIIT running. You're pretty much doing HIIT with the crossfit. HIIT is highly intense and you're body can only stand so much of it. Perhaps reduce it to one session of HIIT running every other week.

I don't know but that sounds like an amazing deal. He could potentially be doing crossfit by August, as you say. If he goes twice a week the classes will be used up in 2 months. And yes, fueling our tiny sleeves for intense exercise is a challenge, but it's doable. Many people recommend some simple carbs right before a workout, but I prefer some fats like almonds. Afterward a good Protein shake helps the muscles recover from the workout.

It's amazing how much you feel that restriction as soon as you start on full solids. You will be full instantly. Untill then, yeah it's no fun. But it will be over very soon.

I think John said it better than I could, but I will add this....some people choose to abstain from certain unhealthy foods and drinks because they want to get to goal (quicker). Some keep those things in their life but on a limited and controlled basis. And some cannot because certain foods may trigger their desires for more unhealthy food. It's up to you to figure out which path you can handle. If you doctor tells you a certain food is forbidden for a certain amount of time, it's likely because he wants your sleeve to have the best chance of healing and for you to have the best chance of reaching goal.

I did in the past, but lately I've just been doing one shot shakes.

I use infinite labs whey Protein isolate but most brands of whey protein isolate are a good choice.

For those of you who have had or are having the 3 week stall, I found a great article that explains the reason why this happens. It's about plateau's in general, but it really sheds some light on the 3 week stall. It doesn't use that exact phrase, but you'll know it when you read it. The author uses the phrase," the inevitable stall"....here is the crux of it. "A "stall" a few weeks out is inevitable, and here's why. Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of Water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet. As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a saber tooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored." http://www.dsfacts.c...or-plateau.html

The 3 week stall is so common there should be a sub forum just for it. Really, almost everyone does it....then goes on to lose their weight and get to goal, so don't worry too much about it. There is a link in my sig to a good article explaining the whole situation.

I think its basically the same result. No sugar intake will help shrink the liver just the same whether its from steak and chicken or protein shakes. Sometimes I think part of the reasoning behind the liquid diet is just to get folks used to living on only liquids because the majority of us have to do that after surgery for a couple of weeks. I've given up trying to figure out why so many doctors have such different approaches.

It was that gravy business which I believe was started by.....oh who was it.....oh yeah....you. It was funny though. I personally don't like my gravy through a straw because the mashed potatoes always get stuck.

One trick my good friend uses....if you think you want something but know you're not hungry, ask yourself if you'd eat a boiled egg right then (or a cup of carrots or whatever is nutritious but not your favorite food). If the answer is yes, then call your own bluff and eat the boiled egg because you probably are hungry. It will fill you up without succumbing to cravings for unhealthy foods. Me....my goto is a handful of kale, 2 scoops of Protein powder and 12 ounces of Water in the blender. Totally filling and less than 150 calories.

You can google it. But it's basically 2 days full liquids, 1 day soft foods, 1 day ease back into normal foods. By the fifth day you're done.....those are the basics....there's a little more to it. But the purpose behind it can be to break a stall or just help kickstart us back into good habits after we've slid back into some old bad behaviors. Some say it will help bring back some restriction. It will in the sense that even a normal person can starve themselves for a few days and the stomach shrinks. It's not going to reverse months or years of overeating though. But it's a good way to break a cycle of bad eating behavior DISCLAIMER: For anyone reading this, I wouldn't recommend it for the newly sleeved. This is for people who are months down the line. If you've hit the 3 week stall this will not help. Plus you're likely still not on full foods yet anyway.

I see no reason why it won't work. As I said in that other thread, you still have the sleeve and you obviously know how to work it. A back to basics approach...back to the beginning...will certainly help you. I have even suggested before to other people that they try the 5 day pouch test just to kickstart things for you. Or there's a great plan in little miss divas boot camp thread somewhere. Either way, yes you can do it. Good luck. Remember, hydrate, protein, exercise. You can do it.

No rash for me. I don't think the rash is the norm.

The "no drinking from a straw" rule was one of those things put in for the 1 in 1000 person incapable of drinking from a straw without swallowing a lot of air first. It's a total CYA on the part of the doctors. They don't want to get sued because apparently in the past someone tried to sue a bariatric doctor and claimed their problem was caused by drinking from a straw....which is horse ****. Apparently it was the same person who poured hot coffee on her vagina and then sued McDonalds. Anyone who says they stretched their sleeve by drinking from a straw is either lying, or taking a total blind guess because really....how would they even know it was stretched....or it was caused by the straw?

I cannot post beneath you anymore. I can't have you looking down at me with that face.