Fiddleman

That is the right attitude Amy! Good luck.

I have been a big time Water flavored since surgery for several reasons. Mostly, plain room temp water is too "hard" it does not settle right even now at 1 year. My tap water is actually pretty good as far as purity is concerned. I have a little home measurement device that gives me the readings. I do not have access to ice water for the amount of water I drink daily. Seriously, I drink like a race horse - 1-1.5 gallons daily. Even more then my dog which I thought was a champion water drinker. Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when drinking some fruit infused water on a garden tour with my wife. The water had sliced oranges, lime and cucumber. It was really refreshing and tasty. I now have to get in a habit of flavoring my water this way because it will save so much money over buying water enhancers every week. I know others have already mentioned this to me a while back, but I finally tried it and love the taste. Question remains if there are any calories from drinking water flavored this way and how long does it take for infusion to do its magic? I like a good amount of flavor and not just a hint.

Not sure about that, but interesting question. Hopefully Mark or some with this knowledge will chime in. I do know that more is jot always better when it comes to supplementation and one should be careful about toxicity if there is a potential for it. BCAA are just the building blocks of protein, so do not know if it is possible to have too much of it unless there are negative effects on the kidneys like eating too much protein without not enough water. Not sure. Again, need the supplementation gurus to chime in on this.

Yes, I have iPad access also. However, I am unable to access on my android phone and get the permission denied error.

I measure my fat percentage using a nifty WW scale I picked up from Bed bath and beyond. It gives a ton of useful information, but I just track weight and fat percentage. Do not really care about bone density that it tells me except that I am in normal range for my frame, which I am. The best part is that is scale is really accurate. It is within .1 or .2 from the scale readings that my WLS center uses.

Maybe you are just going through a ripple in the post op progress. Not every day can be mountain tops. Sometimes there will be valleys to go through. It is pretty normal. The initial motivation and excitement of something new always begins to wane after it becomes routine. Or perhaps you are feeling like the experience now is not matching what you envisioned in your head for a while before surgery. Now is the time to double down and remember why you are doing it. There could be several reasons. Showing up is probably the most important step a person can take even when they do not "feel like it." Once you show up, warm up and start exercising, it gets better and you will be reminded why you like to exercise. Hope you feel better about running for your next run. Imagine the joy you will have when you graduate from the c25k program. You will have extra motivation ammunition in your pocket for the next challenge.

I've not had fusion 7 before but I like the protein matrix and BCAA listed on the ingredients list. Actually, the ingredients look a lot like synth 6, my current general protein powder of choice. If you like the flavor, consistency, etc, then it looks like a winner. See if you can order a sample or perhaps try an RTD before investing in a big tub for 50+ dollars. Let us know what you think.

Stay calm and carry on. You made the right choice.

Thanks for posting Chimera!

Per nectar comment, have you tried the sweet line? They have double cookie, chocolate truffle, vanilla bean and more. I think you might like them. I did not not like the fruity flavors much, especially the fuzzy navel.

There are different variations of planks. Doing them on the elbows is fine, but then the 2nd and 3rd exercises above cannot be done. Perhaps think of 2 and 3 as push up variations.

I think Amy is responding from perspective of new post op, as in less than 1 month post op. Her advice is sound if you consider that perspective. You and I are much further out and said advice would not help people like us. For the record, I usually slam my 10 oz water-based Protein shakes in 5-10 seconds. Makes no difference in how fast or slow that I drink them. Back to your original question... From my research and talking to different people about recovery shakes after workouts, men and women of average frame size can consume 40 g and 30 g, respectively, without having to worry about the body converting excess to stored fat. These are considered optimal thresholds to maximize uptake by your body. Your body can process about this amount of protein over 2-3 hours of time. It is bet to be aware of this in order to maximize results from time spent working out. If you play the fitness and nutrition game right, you can be in and out of your workout in 20-40 minutes with warmup and cool down, yet still make incredible gains in fat reduction, strength and lean muscle growth, Consuming an extra 10 g above those limits is questionable. Definitely more then that could either be a waste of money or lead to weight gain ( in a bad way). It is ideal to drink your recovery shake within 20 minutes of working out, but sometimes you can extend the window of opportunity with certain pre workout supplementation. It is questionable if pre work out claims of extending this window are true or not, but you are welcome to try. There are many pre workout drinks on the shelf. I like c4 and hyde, but have not tried jack3d yet. Maybe i will try original jack3d in the future (original formula) before they are gone from the shelves (darn FDA), but am already on another fat burner for cutting fat, so need to be careful. You can also consider taking creatine before and after a workout to help with getting nutrients to your muscles for repair. In the recovery shake, I mix the creatine powder of 10 g directly into the Blender Bottle. I have noted really good results from the use of creatine monohydrate after increasing the dose to 10 g (thanks again mark). Anecdotally, I always take 40 g of synth 6 after a workout for recovery shake. I also try and take 40 g whenever drinking a shake different from the recovery shake. My real food meals tend to be at noon and at 6 pm ( lunch and dinner, respectively). All my other meals (6am - Muscle milk whey, 9am - isopure, 3 pm - isopure, 9 pm - ON casein) tend to be shake or maybe Protein Bar. On m,w,f i have extra synth 6 shake at 10:30am (follows workout). On t, thur, i have extra synth 6 shake at 5 pm ( follows workout). Works well for me. You will want to put together your own plan based upon fitness levels and goals.

Yup - they are challenging exercises, yet extremely simple in execution. They really activate your core strength. I struggled at them too a few months ago. They key is to keep working at it whenever you get the chance. No matter how fit you are, there is always room for improvement and that philosophy will keep you motivated over time.

Agree, it was the super early part that was bugging me. Up at 3 am and ready for the day after going to sleep at 9:30pm. My ideal time for getting up is 5-5:30 am.

Update - I think the situation is improving and I did have a busted capillary last week. I swear I do not remember hitting it to cause it, but I do remember feeling invincible when dead lifting 300+ pounds this last week. During such a lift, there is extreme focus and everything else is blocked out. It is possible I did knock it during the weight training, but did not realize it. I have all sorts of small yellow bruises on my lower legs from working out ( they do not bother me). The spot enlarged a little until yesterday as a poster above predicted. Today, it is starting to fade in redness, no longer is giving off heat and is starting to brown and purple around the edges - a sign that is is turning into a bruise ( I think). It is still a little sensitive to touch, but not so much like last week. I think the worst is over. I did show it both to my MIL and SIL on Friday. They are both RN and have the knowledge to offer some guidance. My SIL actually said it would not help to go into the clinic ( where she works and where I see my PCP) because they would just send you home with a bruise diagnosis. So I am glad I did not spend an hour sitting in the clinic over the weekend.

A couple days ago I had a raised red spot on my right shin. Today I am noticing it is no longer raised, but the area is much larger. Anyone have an idea on this? First time I have got it, but did start reading about possible dermitology issues here: http://www.dermnetnz.org/site-age-specific/lower-leg.html Could this be caused by lifting? Or something else more health related? I have not gone in to get it checked out by the dermatologist because wanted to wait a couple days to see if it goes away. It is not really like a bruise, but more blood vessel related. It has gotten bigger since yesterday and a little tingly. It is sensitive to the touch ( as in ouch), but not really as painful when it started out raised a couple days ago. You medically minded folk might recognize what this is. Thanks.

Success!! The tryptophan helped me sleep through the night. I did get up 2 x to use the bathroom ( my own fault because i drink a lot of Water up until an hour before bed) but then was able to fall asleep immediately afterwards. I woke up feeling rested and ready for the day. I hope this continues! Again, I took 1 g tryptophan and 4 mg melatonin ( low dose). I have heard that you should be careful about how much melatonin to take because it is involved in the regulation of serotonin in the body. If anyone knows a good and effective dose of melatonin to take, please share. 4 mg of melatonin seems kind of low and it is part of this pill I take called power to sleep PM that also contains GABA, theanine, Passion flower, hops, and valerian extract, all ingredients which aid in relaxation and sleep. Maybe I should stop taking this product as it really does not keep me sleep all night and just go get a bottle of straight up melatonin to take with the tryptophan. Thoughts?

Swizzly - your HIIT ( high intensity interval training) description of 120 second intervals sounds good. As a reminder, high intensity means 80% of cardio target rate for your age and weight. Low intensity means 40% or perhaps less. You should be recovering during the low interval where your pulse and breathing lower to a comfortable level before hitting the next high intensity interval. 20 minutes is a good amount of time. HITT is hard on your body, in a good way, so do this type of training days no more then 1-2 x a week.

Swizzly- sorry for any confusion. I will work on making sure my fitness posts are readable by folks with different levels of experiences and background. Sometimes, it makes perfect sense to me in my head, but may not come out reading that way!! Something for me to work on. Anyways, back to the descriptions. 1) is definitely a straight up plank, but do hold it in a push up position if you can instead of on elbows. In other word, hands flat on the ground directly under your shoulders, straight body and on toes. For fun, you could vary it more by taking one foot off the ground. 2. and 3. Now that you have expressed confusion, I thought about this. These are not really planks, but rather push-up variations. Both start in a position position as described above in 1., but the execution of each rep is a little different. Instead of pumping up and down fast like a regular push-up, slow it down to controlled and very precise movements. For 2, lower yourself to slightly above the ground and hold for 5 seconds. Now push up back to starting position of push-up and hold in position for 5 seconds. That is 1 rep.start out with 10 and increase as your core and upper body strengthens. For 3, lower yourself to slightly above the ground counting slowly from 1 to 5. Instead of pausing as in 2, change directly seamlessly, and raise back to starting position over 5 seconds. The is 1 rep. Start out with 10 and increase as your core and upper body strengthens. The rep should be 1 continuous movement with no pausing as you slowly lower and slowly raise over the span of 10 seconds. These are going to challenge you. As you get stronger in the core and upper body, they will be a welcoming exercise to really build strength. And you can make them harder and more advanced in any number of ways such as slower reps, more reps, 1 legged or 1 armed. Is the more clear? Hope so!

I bought some tryptophan today to help with sleep when combined with a low dose of melatonin. The clerk at vitamin shoppe said 500-1000 mg of tryptophan combined with a low dose of melatonin should really help.

I gain 17 lbs, but you must be thinking about somebody else. I have read about a couple of people gaining 20+ after surgery IV fluids since I have been following VST in the last year.