mark!

Really liked this post man. Training and eating like an athlete. Don't wanna be normal. Want to eat clean, lift big, and get big the good way with solid mass instead of flab. Gonna make this gift work and make it work well.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/muscle-growth-and-pos-workout-nutrition.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16679981 Links for references.

Carbs force protein and glycogen (water) in to the muscles, it's always a good idea to get some form of fast acting carbs right after a workout to get the protein moving quicker with the insulin spike to help repair the muscles faster. The quicker you can eat after a big lifting day, the better. If you're just doing some light lifting or cardio, there's really no need unless you really have issues with doms.

I really really have to bite my tongue sometimes here. I see people posting crap all the time, don't wanna work out, don't wanna eat right, don't wanna do this or that, I mean come on seriously? Laziness and inability to control eating habits got 90% of us here, yet we're still going to b***h and moan when we've been given this 2nd chance at life. Buck up, put in the work, do what you know you have to do and have success.

Hot ass bath with epsom salt. Contrast showers work wonders after a squat day or a meet for me. Only supplement I took was L-Glutamine for doms, but anything with electrolytes will help. Magnesium, potassium all will do the trick.

No no, it's all good man, that's what I'm here for, love chiming in where I can. When I started, jeez 15 years ago, makes me feel old, it wasn't easy to grasp each concept, but after years of being around experts and studying, it got easier. Just ease in to things at first, give it some time.

I've never seen a pill with more protein content than 3g per serving. Popping 20 pills doesn't seem like an easier way to get protein in. What problem are you having with shakes?

Negatory my good man, negatory. I'm saying if your heart rate is peaking that early, and if you're doing sustained cardio for 25 minutes with your heart rate at or near that level, it's not good. If you're doing intervals, and your heart rate PEAKS at 180, and then drops down when you switch to a slower interval, and goes up then down etc over and over and over again, that's fine. However, if you're working out with that high of a heart rate for 25 minutes, you're burning up carbs and glucose/glycogen stores. Burning up glycogen leads to a catabolic state, in other words converting muscle to energy, a bad state to be in. What's your heart rate saying half way through? Also, try another machine. Even before the workout, just get on one and put your hands on the heart rate monitor, a lot of times they don't even have to be on to read your HR, or try to read your HR at least, they're not always accurate. Slow and steady maintained cardio is perceived as being the best cardio state for fat loss. There's little to no chance of burning muscle for fat. You ever see a bodybuilder run? These guys are rocket scientists when it comes to their bodies. They don't run. They walk at a high incline. And if you're already doing cardio for 25 minutes (my hats off to you sir, I'd die of boredom) then you're better off chugging along at a slower state right now until your body can adjust and you can build up your heart. The heart is a muscle, you don't jump under the bar trying to squat 405lbs, you'd likely die a horrible squishy death, you start with the bar, and then add weight slowly as you progress. The heart is the same way. In muscle form, it's no different, only much, much more important. If you tear a bicep by over doing it, you're out 6-8 weeks. If you hurt your heart by over doing it, you may never have to worry about cardio again.

I haven't read everyone's responses, but I can say there are WAY too many can'ts in that post. You've gotta stop trying, and start doing when it comes to putting in the time to workout and drop weight. Too many excuses will only lead to a life of running in circles with little progress.

My heart rate doing hill sprints (no sissy baby hill sprints, all out balls to the wall legs going to die hill sprints) gets up to 170-180 from time to time. When I'm on the elliptical, I cannot get my heart rate above 150 it seems, even doing 11-12 MPH on that damn thing. On the treadmill when sprinting at 9 no incline it'll get up to around 180 doing intervals, which isn't an issue, but if it's peaking 180 and staying at 180, it could potentially lead to an issue, plus you're likely burning ZERO fat calories while doing a work out at that sustained heart rate. Ever look at the treadmill and see the heart rate zones? A lot of people call BS, and those zones on the treadmill very well may be BS FOR YOU, but the science behind those zones is fact. Working out with a heart rate too high will be anaerobic and will burn off glucose instead of fat calories, pretty much negating your workout if you want to lose fat.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say VSG isn't the reason so many marriages end up in divorce, it's VST that does it. Electronics, ruining marriages and friendships since the day they were created.

This is where my goals come in to play. Anytime I'm tempted to eat junk, or trying something that isn't going to fit in to my calorie/carb/protein requirements for the day, I think about my long term goal. I think about how much it's going to set me back, how long I'm going to have to run on the treadmill to burn a stupid chocolate egg, for what? 20 seconds of good taste? I'll take my chicken or tuna and Protein. It's hard at first, but once you do it enough times it becomes 2nd nature, and I've no longer had the urge for sugary junk. My family, well part of them has been welcoming to the new healthy eating, my wifes parents still ask if I can eat this and that, and 90% of the time, it's junk. My 9 year old is on this health kick, lifting weights with me and running, working out constantly and he's been making great progress. He has confidence issues but since he's started working out, those who diminished greatly. But their grand parents don't respect HIS wishes of wanting to eat better food while with them and they always end up feeding him crap and candy, which in reality what kid isn't going to partake? I know I did as a kid. I look at my father in law, he had bypass surgery several years ago, and has put on all the weight plus some. My mother in law isn't large necessarily, but she has all kinds of food allergies, and continues to eat those foods that make her sick time and time again. Their idea of a fun evening is sitting around the TV. It's really frustrating to say the least.

A lot of people take recovery as a misconception from stretching. The stomach still swells a lot, so after surgery the swelling goes down, slowly, thus opening up for more food over time. Everyones recovery is different. I've never opened up a human stomach, but there have been numerous pig and deer stomachs I've cut open, and damn those things are tough. I find it'd be very, very hard to make it burst from over eating since the natural reaction is going to be just to throw it right back up. There are numerous doctors who have laughed at the question of bursting, but then again there are obviously some who take it very seriously.

These can also be done standing up.

It doesn't matter if say, one person gets approved with a BMI of 40+ when it comes to what your insurance company requires, and the coverage your employer elects to include in the plan. There was a friend who's insurance company didn't even look at BMI unless there was an existing condition, it was a necessity to have a co-morbidity WITH a BMI of over 40 for him. Without the existing condition, he would not have met insurance/employer requirements. He was diagnosed with sleep apnea, so he was approved. I would look through your insurance paperwork, or call your HR to get the information as sometimes when dealing with the insurance company, one person will say yes, the other will say no. Not trying to be the bearer of bad news, but each company sets their own restrictions, company as in the company you are employed by.

I have only read where the anxiety and such gets much worse AFTER surgery, but nothing about it causing any issues such as that.

Yup, still some swelling going on. At 2 weeks, I was sipping very small mouthfuls of water or I'd get the feeling you're getting. Think 1/4 mouthfuls, if you're thirsty you just have to train yourself smaller sips more frequently. I'm part camel and always drinking water, so it was hard at first, but once that swelling goes down everything goes back to normal in terms of water drinking.

The gas in the hospital doesn't hurt me. Gas afterwards sucked, had to take GasX quite often. It wasn't constant, but it was enough to notice.

Any kind of potatoes really jacked me up. I have only found 2 things so far that have hurt me eating them, potatoes and beef. If there's a Duncan Donuts around, there's gotta be a grocery store nearby, pick up some microwavable bowls, and some cream of something soup, you're good to go.

I have absolutely no idea why you can't, are you sure she didn't advise after you're fully recovered to not use protein shakes as a protein source? I'd have to eat 10.5 ounces of chicken to get my 90g of protein, just physically impossible during liquid and pureed food stages, or 12 ounces of beef. I think the average for protein consumption during the early stages is around 60 grams. Mine are high because I'm wanting to focus half of my journey on muscle mass retention AND weight loss.

You have to rely on Protein shakes and powders if you can handle them. In the early stages, it's too hard to try to get protein in with foods.

Your experience has been the same as mine for sure. The only place I've gone in to and felt the clerk knows something about what they're selling is Vitamin Shoppe and Max Muscle. GNC has been nothing but a headache for me. Their prices are way over inflated, and their reps..well...they just don't know much except what they're reading off a brochure each week. Fidster, if you're not worried about any Water retention, or some slight weigh gain, creatine monohydrate would serve you well, however there's a school of thought of "cycling" it, starting with a low dose, then building up, then after a few weeks cycling off and staying off for a week or so. I never really paid attention to cycling it, however I didn't take it every single day, my creatine levels and kidney function tests at the Dr. never revealed any issues. During my last trip in to Max Muscle to pick up my Protein, the clerk threw THESE at me and asked me to try them for a month and report back my findings and such. So far, I haven't noticed much, but again, my taking of creatine is a bit sporadic. My veins in my biceps do come out a lot more during workouts, meaning there is some volumization taking place. Another one that I've read tons of great reviews about is V12 Turbo. It's more of a pre workout with creatine in it. Honestly, my overall best personal opinion on creatine is monohydrate is as good as it gets. There are a lot of sales gimmicks here and there for creatine this, creatine that, but monohydrate has a strong proven track record. Once I'm done with this bottle from MM, I MAY try the V12, other than that, I'm going back to the cheap 'ol school, old faithful mincronized monohydrate creatine. If you don't wanna click the links, prices are as follows... 1000 grams of minronized monohydrate from bb.com is $28. 200 servings. .14 cents per serving. V-12 is $36 for 50 servings. .72 cents per serving. Max Muscle Kre Alkalyn is I think $35 for 60 servings. .59 cents per serving. Price wise, health wise, absorption, monohydrate is the way to go. You may notice I've spoken negatively about bodybuilding.com in the past, the forums that is. There is too much "bro-science" out there on that site. Some of the guys are legit, and have great advice, but far too many pre-pubescent 13 year olds have found their way there and pollute the good information 1000 times over. The store however, has the best prices on quality supplements, and they aren't trying to push their brand, they have every major brand on the market, and always have good deals and fast shipping.

Be careful with calcium intake too, the main culprit for stones and most common ones are calcium stones. A large part comes from high calcium (mainly dairy) intake and lack of water through the system. If your diet is heavy in calcium, it's imperative to get in enough water to offset the calcium build up through your body. No worries, we're learning and making changes. If the pain persists, I'd definitely look in to it though, better safe than sorry.

There is an extremely unlikely chance that you have taken in enough protein to actually have any negative effects on your kidney function. Too many people believe things that simply are not true, and start spreading junk information regarding them. You're drinking 4 cups of water a day, That's 32 US ounces, I believe the common ground is 64 ounces of water a day for a sedentary lifestyle. Yes, there have been people with diminished kidney function, who had a pre existing condition who relate protein to kidney issues, however there is very limited scientific data supporting the two are related. 100g of protein is nothing to be concerned about, lack of water however, is like walking on a tight rope across the atlantic.