Butterthebean

I watched that series. What a great set of videos. I have got to be the worlds worst squatter. I want to do proper squats so badly but I have never been able to do them. I basically do a good morning with the bar, and I don't get anywhere close to parallel, much less below parallel. My knees come way forward and my weight end up on my toes. If I try to keep it on my heels I feel like I'm going to fall backwards. For one, I have zero glute strength and activation. But not sure how to fix it with the equipment I have. I have a squat rack and free weights but I do not have access to a glute/ham machine like they use in the video. Any thoughts?

Reading everyone's success stories here on VST always reinflates my tires. And if that doesn't work, reading the "regain" threads certainly does the trick.

I ran my half marathon yesterday. What a fantastic event. Had a great time and the feeling of accomplishment cannot be matched by anything the scale says. To me, this kind of thing is the big payoff after having VSG. The run was terrific. It was inside Davy Crockett National Forest. About half the miles were on dirt or gravel roads, which was no problem for me since I live in the country anyway. The run went very well although about mile 10 I got pretty fatigued. Cardio wise I was ok but my legs were letting me know that I am not yet a seasoned long distance runner. I was hoping for that second wind but it never came, until about the last 3/4 mile when I saw my wife standing on the side of the road. She had walked down to meet me and she jogged the last stretch in with me. That really lifted me up and made my day. The other thing that really motivated me was seeing all the "senior" runners participating and having fun. Many of which had no trouble finishing ahead of me. There was even a lady there who received an award for running her 100th marathon...and she was 69. I want that to be me someday. So now I'm thinking I need more training, but my next big goal is definitely the marathon. And since I love Oregon, I may make my first one the Portland Marathon next year. It's supposed to be a great choice for first timers. Either that or Honolulu!

Plus....4 pounds a week loss? That's awesome. Don't compare your loss to everyone else. Plenty of people lose slower than you. They are all over the place around here, you're just not seeing their posts. Your loss is fine, your expectations may be a bit off.

What are you eating if you're not eating your protein? It should be "protein, protein, protein"....then if there's room, the other stuff, but with more protein. You have to really commit to getting in the protein in those early months. Later on you'll be eating more balanced meals, but not yet.

The other fallacy is that you will never be able to eat more than 3 ounces in a sitting again, therefore the sleeve will forever prevent you from overeating. It may be true for some, but not for all of us. And by the time you get to that point you better have a "plan B" if your sleeve will hold more than half a mcnugget.

Congrats to you. We have a couple of long running "running" threads around here. The C25K thread and the Distance Runners thread. You should chime in on one of them, there are a quite a few runners lurking around here. Glad to have another one.

Plus one on the Vitamix. I have a recipe in my sig. It's better than juicing in my opinion because you get everything, not just the liquid extract. It's expensive, but it will be the last blender you ever buy.

You're dead right. There isn't much we can do about it except persevere. There is a link in my sig that talks about the inevitable stall. It explains why it happens. But there is no denying, it is just part of the package deal.

Happy to see all you May sleevers. I had my surgery May 10, 2012, so I'm a little over 11 months post op. My surgiversary is coming up fast. I've lost 180 pounds in that time, but more importantly I've basically started a whole new life. I feel and look better than I ever thought possible. My energy is through the roof, so is my love of life. It hasn't always been easy but it has ALWAYS been worth it. This time next year all of ya'll will be right there as well. Good luck to every one of you.

There's a link in my sig about the 3 week stall, it explains the what and why of it all. My goal was always 1 gram of protein for every 10 calories, so that put me at 40% of my daily calories from protein. I split the rest of my calories pretty evenly betwen carbs and fats but didn't worry about either, as long as I didn't eat any starches (cause they are evil). Now I eat much higher fats, maybe 50-55% of calories...mostly healthy fats. There is nothing inherently wrong with eating fats, and at the low calorie limits most sleevers are eating you're not likely to take in very many anyhow.

What you call obsessed I call paying attention to detail. It's a huge important step you're about to undertake. Being prepared mentally, as well as emotionally, is critical. I read something recently that talked about our brains are nothing more than goal seeking machines. Once we pick a goal, our subconscious does everything it can to focus in on every aspect that will make it possible to achieve. It's just a matter of picking a goal, and by picking I mean really committing...which you clearly have done. I wish you the best. It's my next step as well...but I'm just not ready yet. Maybe in 6 months.

Also...everyone should keep in mind that some days will just not be YOUR day. In running you're going to have good days and bad days. The good days feel like you could run forever. The bad days feel like you have concrete blocks on your feet. That's just the way it goes. I've talked to some very experienced runners who still experience this and none of them can really explain why it happens sometimes. I've had days where I was exhausted from work, but then had a great run. Other days where I was fully rested, hydrated and fueled...and everything should have been perfect, and still felt like crap. It's the nature of the beast. But as I go on, the bad days get fewer and fewer....that's progress.