Fiddleman

Thank you all for your thoutful responses. I think this question really does start to shine the light in uncharted territory so I hope everyone can continue to offer their anecdotal experiences or research when it becomes available. This information will help future sleeve maintainers.

I lost 180 lb from essentially 360 to 180 in about 7 months. I am at 1 year post op now. Here is what my workouts have been over the months: Month 1-4: walking and elliptical Month 5-7: lots of running, started minimal lifting. Helped me reach goal, but also made me skin and bones in upper body. Others, be careful about too much cardio and impact on muscle. Month 8-12: cross fit 2x a week, body weight exercises ( eg paleo fitness) 3x a week. Upper body is now powerful from lots of functional body weight exercises. I do some core work as it is integrated with cross fit and full body weight exercises. However, I am thinking of adding two dedicated core workouts during the week, probably on the same day as cross fit but in the morning where cross fit is late afternoon. This might make all the difference. Then again, it might not if the skin is going to be an issue. It it not a huge amount of skin and does not hang. The best way to describe is that it is a small mound that is covering my abs. Tight on the side of my stomach area and on the small of the back. Diet is ultra clean and I am on good supplementation stacks. Started taking creatine hydro daily after taking creatine mono was not really working ( wore off if not consistent with it because essentially just pumps muscle with water). Also Mono is harder for the body to absorb then hydro. Take optimen Multivitamin and amino acids (catalyst before and recovery shake after). Eating as much Protein as I can, about 170 g a day. My goal is to try and eat 7 x a day with about 40 g for at least 3 of the meals (shakes). The other meals tend to be between 25-30 g. I take casein at night and that seems to really have good results overnight. Overall, I like the progress made in the last 4 months to get stronger and build a more athletic physique. However, the stomach is still a problem are for me. I would like to tighten it and pop those abs! Thanks for any suggestions you have.

You can do it Amy!

I know:) it is not in me to shame anyone. Speaking of MIA, where has globe trotter been? She was very active for 2 months and then, poof, she is gone. I hope she is doing well.

By the way, sir, you are an astounding role model and success. Thanks for shining the light ahead on the path for others. That is amazing to drop that amount of weight.

Public shaming? Oh, that is going to be fun. Just kidding! Now go run before you are given a scarlet S for slacker on your coat.

Get going on that treadmill! Treat yourself to something nice ( not food related) afterwards as a reward.

Thanks for the bump and the nod towards bodybuilder site. I may just need to do that. I also like gathering information from cross fit sites and mags like men's fitness and men's health. Any other mags that are really good for filling out the knowledge base that would be useful? I am not really into the hard core lifting mags (sorry, mark!), but more into the functional body weight exercises, some lifting as it pertains to cross fit and Paleo nutrition. Hate to say one of my cross addictions is supplementation now as a post op in order to get the most out of my workouts and general fitness. Maybe it is good. Maybe it is bad. However, it is definitely rough on my wallet. I am starting to really home in on a stack that is working well for my needs, but am always looking for ways to improve.

Thanks for the responses folks. All are very helpful in my own decision making and I am sure for others as well. Do you have any more thoughts on this subject, especially if you have an fringe ideas? I am looking for some more esoteric thoughts on the matter that might be a little different from mainstream thinking that have worked functionally for you long term. Statistical Outliers in anecdotal experiences, if you may. The most informed decisions can be made by analysis of a wide range of alternatives.

Excellent job! Words of wisdom for the newer folks?

It is hard to answer this question for yourself until you start eating solids. I can tell you some common experiences. 1. Hiccups 2. Burps 3. Runny nose 4. All of the above. Most of the time I have 1 and 2 but on occasion have 3. If you do not heed he body signals you might end up with slimes and/or a very uncomfortable feeling in the chest. Eating slow, as in 20 minutes, the proper quantity and chewing well will minimize the chance of sliming or uncomfortable feeling.

Before After

Bigger news??

I know! Isn't that whole 60% statistic a sham and scare tactic? Personally, I think the doctors should set concrete goals rather than say something vague like "you will lose 60% of you excess weight." Whatever. Go for 100% folks and don't buy into anything less than what YOU want.

No worries Laura.... You are welcome in an thread of mine.

Amanda - you seem to have a very good head around what you want in your body at goal weight. I think this applies to guys also. Instead of BMI, maybe we should be thinking in terms of body type like Matthew mcconaughey (for me who is not so interested in being ultra bulky)) or Dwayne Johnson ("the rock") or perhaps even Hugh Jackman ("wolverine" - good write up on his lifestyle, diet and workouts in men's fitness this last month). They all have worked hard to reach high levels of athletic body compositions. However, I bet they are all in the overweight section of the BMI chart for heir height. This would be ok with me as long as I can get to this physique without adding on body fat.

Thanks Belladone- I do sense your frustration to be living in a body that does not feel like your own. All those memories of being healthy and super fit. It is hard. Not having been in that position myself, I can offer sympathy but not empathy. However, I can say this : continue to use those images and experiences as a driving motivator, especially when it gets tough because of life circumstances, stalls, you name it. It sounds like you have your hands full day in and day out with responsibility and am glad you see the need to take some time out for yourself. Can you do 30 minutes a day? That might be manageable. When you have those Images and experiences in your mind, it is like a program for your subconscious to line up circumstances in your life to make it a reality. Keep referring back to them and perhaps identify with them in an affirmative way to help you move towards the goal. Block out the distractions in your mind (that little nagging voice) and focus on the images for that was a reality for you not too long ago. There is no reason it cannot be a reality again.

Oh not to mention every designer cuts their clothes e to a different size even though they all have the same number on their tags. Go figure!! Speaking of scales, we just bought the WW body composition scale for my wife as she starts out the journey. It is cool in that it gives body fat %, bone density, BMI etc for several users. It is also very close in readings to what the fancy hospital scale tells us. Yay! I am going to get on it once a week just to keep up with where my stats are at. The only thing it does not do is make a Cappuccino . Lol.