Chimera

Swizzly do you ever read Mark's Daily Apple? it is a primal site with lots of great recipes, stories, and info (primal is similar to Paleo but allows dairy) I must have my extra sharp cheese on occasion as well as my latte's and Greek yogurt Here is a link - this is where the recipe for those fat guacamole devils came from btw (devils eggs with yolks mixed with avocado - yay for healthy fats). I also really like his take on fitness - it makes sense. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz2Z3ZQVymy

I would ask my Doc for their opinion on how long to wait on exercise post surgery - I was really run down for a long time after my own (had complications though) I do think it takes about 8 weeks for things to really heal up - Crossfit sessions could be a bit too much early out. I would walk to start, and focus on healing and getting fluids in.

I didn't start to move around much until 9 months post vsg - started with Water aerobics twice a week. I know nutrition is responsible for 80% of WL - I am finding that working on my long walks, enjoying my new gym membership, etc. are helping me build strength and flexibility in a big way. I am trying to get away from the mindset of exercise as a means to lose more weight - but rather use it as a tool to be able to do more things that I could not do when I was almost 320 lbs. I still have to make myself go exercise, but it is a bit better these days. We enjoyed a family hike yesterday and there is no way in heck I would have been able to participate in this prior to losing the weight that I have. I have terrible arthritis in my ankles, knees and hips and am working towards building up strength so that I am not as hindered by it. This has become the new goal - fitness so that I can live a better life. A few weeks ago while driving through the parking lot at our small local mall I saw a woman who was in her 70's struggling with opening the door at the local Barnes & Noble - she honestly did not have the upper body strength to pull it open...I want to be strong enough to do the things I want to do!

heh sounds like carb detox - its hell at first, but it gets waaay better - I feel ill now when I eat the way I used to before surgery.

Just want to chime in regarding the inspiration in this thread - we will all get there! My losses are harder to come by these days and I am very much looking forward to next week when our houseguests return home and there are no more cookies, or hamburger buns, or bread in my normally safe, bad-carb free home. They go down waaaay to easily after that first year - my hubby who is also sleeved has lost his mind I guess...he is at goal and can seemingly eat anything and not gain. I also had a fright seeing my sister-in-law last week - who was the inspiration for my husband and I to have WL surgery in the first place. She had a RNY and is 3.5 years out, after a very stressful spring with her job, she had gained back 35 lbs of the 165 she had lost. Over a weeks camping, she had a personal stash of packages of golden Oreo's, those giant containers of goldfish crackers, chips, juice, and bags of dried fruits, including coconut (when I looked at the bags nutrition content and how her dear husband, who is heavier than he has ever been could not seem to stop eating from it - not good.) I am worried that she will gain more back - she has a weakness for sweet carbs This felt like the cautionary tale, the wake-up call - for me to be careful, and mindful, and to keep on working on things that are healthy habits. It is so freaking hard some days...

I was just going to recommend BCAA's too Fiddle they work wonders! and hope your wife is recovering well from her surgery.

Wow I guess I don't see these threads - maybe because I am post op and read mainly threads on fitness and nutrition, and friends updates. There are a lot of folks in the world who are angry and bitter - maybe WLS will improve their outlook

My surgeon used a 40 on my husband and myself - the larger the bougie, the fewer the complications. We have terrific restriction, he hit goal in less than a year and I am 80% there - so far so good.

I suppose they have to go by statistics - remember you can do anything you want to do - this surgery will change you - big time. I am 48, 5'3" and I plan on losing every ounce of my EW. This is a post from another WL board (OH) - one of my favorite folks Elina_7. She offers some wise advise:

Congratulations! Good to hear that are on the mend after surgery. You might not have noticed that this board is May 2012 surgery folks, so it is a tad more quite as folks are 1 yr + out than May 2013 - which is your actual surgery month Best of luck.

I hope you are feeling well - I am a bit nervous about Mexico as well but it sounds as though many folks have had great success with those docs - I have a bit to go until I stabilize so I have plenty of time to consider all the options. I always wonder how much the extra skin weighs - it has got to be at least 10 lbs on each of my thighs.

There's scads of folks here and on other bariatric boards who have reached and surpassed goal. I am at 80% right now - and while my Doc says that I am a super success statistically - I am going for my own goal which is 100% EWL - perhaps even more once that milestone is achieved, I will reassess at that time. Not everyone will lose all of their weight within the 'magic' year - or even the magic 24 months post surgery. Remember that the surgery is a tool - just keep doing what you are supposed to and you will get there.

I would call that smart! Plan what you eat and eat what you plan - seems like a roadmap to success if you ask me

I track - use MFP and I also use these little paper journals from my doctors office. As Feedyoureye says above - tracking is important - at support group meetings it comes up often. Tracking one's intake is the single biggest factor in successful weight loss and maintenance according to statistics.

Being the chef and gardener she is I am sure she could tear it up making delicious tasty soups

Made a tasty soup today - gonna call it West Coast Penicillin used fat free organic beef broth, couple packs of chicken breasts, sweet onions, scallions, carrots, celery, cabbage, zucchini, fresh parsley, garlic, basil. oregano and let it simmer for hours. Used forks to shred the chicken in the pot. it is very yummy - I tried it with very little of the broth, mostly the soft chicken and veggies and I am very full after about 1/3 cup. I wish I would have made this for right after surgery - could use an immersion blender to just liquefy the meat and veggies. I will freeze the soup - woohoo for a new taste that is healthy, full of protein, and easy.

I was a weepy mess when I read it as well - I am so glad you enjoyed it. It is hard work to learn to love one's body, at least I know it is for me.

Atkins induction - I did Atkins 72' - trying for as low carb as possible 0-20g a day. Clear liquids the day before surgery. I guess my liver was sleek and tiny lol.

Did you use your incentive spirometer continually?

If the bands are too long for any of your particular exercises just wind each end around your hands - my trainer hipped me to that one

I know you eat Paleo Fidd, I cant remember if eggs are okay - they are for Primal, but I know Paleo eliminates dairy.

My quick and easy go to's for feeling full fast are turkey meatballs and hard boiled eggs. I have no idea why but consuming a single hardboiled egg is like eating a full-on Thanksgiving dinner for me in terms of feeling full - its like eating a cannon ball lol. I love nuts and cheeses, but they get a bit slidery for me and I think they can hinder my losses - so I need to watch it with those two favorites. These are awesome if you have not tried them - the fabulous Fat Guacamole Devil! http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fat-guacamole-devils/#axzz2VjmPA477

I have seen a lot of vsg vets around on the web post about ways to increase caloric intake and many folks go for quality and caloric density as it is a challenge with quantity, which is fairly obvious considering our restrictive procedure. High quality cheeses, nuts, and bacon seem to be popular choices - as well as avocados, nut butters, etc. If you like your protein drinks, adding more liquid calories could be easier than denser forms of food if you simply stuffed to the gills all the time. There are a lot of protein drinks out there with much higher calories than the one I drink (Premier) - this could help.

I've tried most brands of Greek yogurt and I have to admit the very first time I tried a Chobani - the texture totally freaked me out. After surgery we got a lot of Fage 2% - and now my store carries the Dannon Light & Fit which is yummy, and a bit less calories than the others. You can also mix in sugar free Jello and pudding mixes into the yogurt for a change - some are quite tasty. All in all I do think it can be an acquired taste - I know it has worked out that way for me, I hated it at first and now they are my go-to snack/dessert when I want something sweet.

I have watched every minute of all 14 season of The Biggest Loser. There are some pretty intresting findings from the study. When Science Met The Biggest Loser http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2013/01/23/when-science-met-the-biggest-loser By Yoni Freedhoff January 23, 2013 Yoni Freedhoff It's NBC's Monday night television juggernaut and the guilty pleasure of over 7 million viewers. Now in its 14th season, The Biggest Loser is a an industry unto itself, with a 2009 estimate by the New York Times pegging its worth at $100 million in annual revenue. Viewers tuning in week after week can watch as Americans with severe obesity are routinely yelled at, exercised until they vomit, injured, weighed nearly naked on a giant scale, and seemingly taught that the numbers on that scale measure not only their weight, but also their self-worth and represent the only true value of their health and success. [see Are You Exercising for the Right Reasons?] Consequent perhaps to the show's immense popularity and polarizing approach, The Biggest Loser has led to the publication of a number of peer-reviewed medical studies that look at its impact on both the participants and the viewers. Their results are anything but pretty. Two studies have been conducted that examine how watching The Biggest Loser affects viewers' attitudes towards those with obesity. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the apparent tenor of the show—that obesity is a consequence of personal laziness and gluttony—the first study, published in the journal Obesity, showed that watching even a single episode of The Biggest Loser led viewers to dramatically increase their own hateful and negative biases towards those with obesity. [see How to Spot and Stop Bullying] This result may be explicable on the basis of the second study, published in the journal Health Communication, which found that watching The Biggest Loser led viewers to be much more likely to believe that weight is well within an individual's locus of personal control. And, of course, that message echoes the show's­—that if you just want it badly enough, you can make it happen.The corollary is that if you don't make it happen, you must simply be lazy, which in turn may explain the increase seen in viewers' weight biases. [see We're Not Fat Because We're Lazy] Interestingly, those same viewers who, consequent to the show, might attribute being overweight to laziness, were reported to be less inclined (go figure) to want to exercise or expect it to be enjoyable after watching a 7.5 minute workout on the show, according to a study published this month in the American Journal of Health Behavior. "People are screaming and crying and throwing up, and if you’re not a regular exerciser you might think this is what exercise is—that it’s this horrible experience where you have to push yourself to the extremes and the limits, which is completely wrong," said the study's lead author Tanya Berry of the University of Alberta. And what of the participants? Will being on The Biggest Loser change their lives forever? According to a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the answer is yes, but perhaps for the worse. The researchers, including the show's own Robert Huizenga, looked at the metabolisms of participants following the completion of their first seven months with The Biggest Loser. As expected, due to weight loss and an effect broadly referred to as "metabolic adaptation," the participants' burned fewer calories at rest following their massive weight losses. What wasn't expected was the the magnitude of that decrease; researchers found that participants metabolisms slowed by an average of 504 more calories than would have been expected simply as a consequence of losing weight. In other words, participants' metabolisms slowed down to a much greater degree than was predicted. In turn, this suggests that the show's approach to weight loss may have risks unto itself and led the researchers to state: "Unfortunately, fat free mass preservation did not prevent the slowing of metabolic rate during active weight loss, which may predispose to weight regain unless the participants maintain high levels of physical activity or significant caloric restriction." This may explain why, when I interviewed three alumni of the TV show, they reported that 85 to 90 percent of participants regain most, if not all, of the weight that they lose, and that those who keep it off are generally the participants who have turned their losses into careers as personal trainers or motivational speakers. Ultimately the current state of the evidence on the phenomenon known as The Biggest Loser is far from flattering. It suggests that the show may be detrimental to both viewers and participants in that its combination of derision, personal blame, and extremes of exercise and dieting fuel societal weight bias while simultaneously discouraging people from exercising. Meanwhile, for participants, it seems to disproportionately slow down their metabolisms to the point where they're burning a full meal fewer calories than would be expected by their losses. [see Why We're So Fat: What's Behind the Latest Obesity Rates] If you're a regular viewer here's my suggestion. Instead of spending two hours a week watching The Biggest Loser, why not use that same amount of time to ensure you pack your lunch for work each and every day and take three 20-minute walks a week with a friend or a loved one. No doubt the impact of those behaviors will be far more valuable and positive to your mental and physical well-being than watching a show that science suggests may be doing more harm than good. [see 7 Mind-Blowing Benefits of Exercise] Yoni Freedhoff, MD, is an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Ottawa, where he's the founder and medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute—dedicated to non-surgical weight management since 2004. Dr. Freedhoff sounds off daily on his award-winning blog, Weighty Matters, and is also easily reachable on Twitter. Dr. Freedhoff's latest book Why Diets Fail and How to Make Yours Work will be published by Random House’s Crown/Harmony in 2014.