Fiddleman

Tally - thanks for that app tip. I don't know if it is just me or what, but -for the life of me - I cannot do a workout using aps on my phone or IPad. I need to use a DVD, a trainer, my own plan, but I find the idea of playing with a mobile app during a workout really distracting. Maybe I am just not in the habit of it. Don't know. That being said, I did download the "be your own gym" app and even paid for it. I have yet to use it, along with a few other fitness apps I have downloaded. need to get better at using those. I am more of a DVD person when it comes to interacting with a non live human being for my workouts. Here is what I am doing every week: Monday: push strength dumbbells (12-10-8-8x using 35-50 lb Per dumbbell) Tuesday: morning- Ab workout with PT roller and DVD training DVD. Afternoon - cross fit with my personal trainer Wednesday: leg strength dumbbells (12-10-8-8x using 40-55 lb per dumbbell) Thursday: morning - Ab workout with PT roller and DVD training DVD. Afternoon - cross fit with my personal trainer Friday: pull strength dumbbells (12-10-8-8x using 20-35 lb per dumbbell) Saturday: bob Harper " inside out " DVD. Good circuit exercises for full body @ 10-12 lb per dumbbell Sunday: wii fitness ( going to add - just picked up balance board and fitness games for cheap a gsale) I increase my weights by 5 lb almost every week. I did just get the "be your own gym" DVD set yesterday and am super psyched about working this into my fitness during the week, perhaps cycling on/off with my dumbbell strength training I do now. How can I integrate the "be your own gym" program? I need 3 x a week. Need some advice from others on this!!! I am going to master the " be your own gym" programs starting with beginner and moving up to advanced. These will really help my over all fitness for competing in cross fit. I am super excited about achieving elite fitness with this program as the instructor trained special ops for most of his career and this program is the same type of workout they use. Notice I am not doing cardio per say I stopped cardio about a month ago as it is a muscle eater. If i am going to do cardio, i am going to run 5 k or 10 k. i have some races coming up in the summer time which i want to do and am very well trained at running a 22 minute 5 k or 45 minute 10 k from lots and lots of daily running earlier in this year. now with cross fit, I try and bust out 6 minute miles and do run 1-2 miles before every workout at a slower speed to warmup before strength training. Besides the cross fit and circuit training give my target and max heart rate a good friendly hello for 30-60 minutes at a time. Cross fit WOD averages 30 minutes a session ( other 30 minutes is warmup, stretching and improving technique and trying 1-2 rep heavy weights) where circuit training is 1 hour. I do abide by the 1 hour rule per day. I just do not have much more time given a demanding job and family life. Now that it is summer, I am going for hikes on the weekend in my area and am thinking about participating in a hiking meet up group this year. Good chance to hike a lot and make some friends in the process.

That is really awesome. I have not heard of he term prone hold so had to google it. Now I see it is another term for plank position. You know you just completed an exercise that most healthy adults cannot do more than 30 seconds of. That's right!!! You did 10 x better!! So awesome.

I started at 360 which is not quite 375+, but defnately up there in the extra fat category. There was no way I could run at this weight, but agree with BTB: the elliptical is very good on the joints and knees when carrying a lot of weight like this. Honestly, I found daily walks to be supper effective at weight loss after surgery and something I could get better at one day at a time. Just getting out for 10 minutes after surgery is going to help you. Slowly you can add distance, time and speed. Slowly. Listen to your body. That is very important as it will naturally want to do more challenging stuff as the days go by.

Mmmm. Voodoo donuts. Love the name. Anti band and I are going to have to take a field trip to our local frost and have fun observing the weird donut creations they have. If I were eating donuts (has it been 13 months since the last?!?! Wow), I would be eating more of the standard apple fritters, but aim for super high quality stuff. Not the cheap imitations from sub standard donut shops (maybe Dunkin donut? Not sure they fall under this umbrella) or even grocery stores (eg albertsons, Safeway, etc). Top donuts all the way!!

Yes, it was interesting. I was on so much IV fluid that week that my weight was 20 lb higher then DOS. It took a couple weeks to return to ground zero weight. Anyways. Not meaning to hijack the thread Elaine. It is just something you want to keep on your radar for after surgery. I am super impressed by your viewpoints on this thread. It shows you are going to be of sound MIND for when the really hard stuff comes post op where your headspace is really messed with.

Bumping my thread to give it another chance.

I just placed an order for the Opt-men as a new vita pak to try. Previously, I have been on GNC Extreme Athlete vita pak for many months and do enjoy it. However, I want to try something new and many reviews say the Optimen are better then the GNC sport/athlete line of vita paks. I also have a short stint with Animal Pak, but stopped taking them after 2 days because of some negative side effects. I may come back to them again later as I have almost a full container left, but not now. Have any of you experience with Opti-men, especially if you are fairly active. I want to know how these will help me with Cross fit and general lifting or running. Thanks for your feedback.

By the way, how do you know if you (not you specifically, but a VSG person) are going to have a problem with the gallbladder? I have seen so many have kidney or gall bladder issues during my time on VST, I often wonder will I be next? I hope not, but do not know what are the precursors before an attack requiring hospitalization.

Oh Nicole! I am so sorry to hear about this. Take care and spend time recovering. We will miss you in the updates. Is there anything you need to help with your down time? We are here to support you.

Sliming is when you eat too much or too fast and you literally slime in your mouth with a thick mucous saliva. Kind of gross and uncomfortable. Not everyone experiences it, but when you do, you will know. I lost count of my own sliming it happened so often. I did not have trouble with eating too much, but often ate too fast especially during month 2 and 6. It is not a problem any longer nor has it really been a problem since month 5.

Love it!!

Also - have you tried out my chi running suggestions from a few weeks ago? Did they help? Also I can send you my Chi Running book if that will help. Just send me a PM where i can mail it to. I do not need it mine any longer. I have written a lot on Chi Running, so just search through my past posts for ample information bout relaxation and pain free running with regards to Chi Running technique.

I would be happy to help you out Amy with part of the cost of fitted running shoes. Just send me a PM of where I can send Paypal funds to. I am sure some others are willing to help out a fellow VST runner. I want anyone who wants to run not to see their motivation shot down because of lack of proper running shoes.

Silk light vanilla soy is really tasty with your protein shake mix. Lowin calori No need to drink nonfat milk again if you choose to take that path. Low calorie too at 70 calories with plenty of protein. I drank silk light vanilla soy until about month 7 where I stopped drinking all "milk" and instead get calcium exclusively from supplements. I do this as part of my Paleo diet.

Ok, feeling kind of corny I decided to take my usual favored water (in this case, pink lemonade Dasani ) and mix in 2 tbsp of vanilla bean coffee mate creamer and 2 tsp of Splenda. It is pretty tasty flavor and sort of like an Italian soda I suppose. You don't have to agree!! Thought I would share my adventures in mixology this afternoon as Friday slides into the weekend...

You just wait until a "young hottie" (think Angelina Jolie in my case) puts a catheter in you while you are awake, not once, but twice. True story. This experience of echo test may be quickly forgotten once you get the pleasure of waiting for time to pass while the catheter is navigated...

I wonder what they make the guys do? *gasp* pant less.... Seriously, this stress test was not on our plan. I feel like we are missing out on the fun.

Next I am going to try the coconut creamer with flavored water. At least that will mix better then the powdered vanilla creamer.

Totally! My mind is on weekend mode and a happy hour is calling...

Time to get moving Laura!! Before you know it, the hour will be over. One strategy the helps me be consistent about it every day is to put it on my calendar and only miss if I am physically sick. Otherwise, I am at my appointment every day. It is worth it and will be a habit soon for you. Takes about 3 weeks to form a new habit. Do it even when you don't feel like it. By the time you are warmed up, you will have little reason to not do it and it will be enjoyable. So go do it!!

That is quite a nice Cross fit session. I hope others follow your lead and we can create a thread that helps everyone out with ideas or helps solve individual blocking issues.