Fiddleman

I would think some Benadryl would help with the itching.

Good job and great body around the stomach. Your sleeve has given you a toned stomach with no extra skin. Super jealous of the good toning around your core. What a wonderful outcome!

It is a bit like Christmas morning! You will be giving yourself such a nice Christmas gift that you can enjoy for the rest of your life. I wish the best for you on surgery day. Be sure to try and sleep tonight with all the excitement coming up tomorrow. Maybe take a helper sleeping pill to be fully rested in the morning.

I think it would be acceptable if you can stomache the taste and it is a high quality protein shot. Usually those shots are made with the cheaper collagen protein. If you want some protein shake suggestions, let us know. There are many good ones, some that are better then others depending on when you consume it (morning, post workout or evening).

When I was earlier post op, I would use a Packit bag for keeping my shakes and Protein meats in a cold and safe state for many hour. Here is a search result from Amazon of many different Packit styles: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=packit+cooler&sprefix=Packit+coo%2Caps%2C392 Just throw it in your freezer and it becomes a longer lasting frozen lunch bag overnight. It worked really well for me when taking protein Snacks to the theatre or a shake to the monthly support meeting. I do not use it so much any longer because now I always know how to find protein food snack or meal when I am out.

If you want my opinion over your doctors, which I do not recommend, I would say wait 6 weeks if you absolutely must have a very small amount. Otherwise, wait 6 months until you have a reasonable amount like 1/2 a glass or more. Alcohol may slow down your weight loss so it is best to not start drinking until after you have lost a lot of weight. And even then, it is still good to drink in light moderation because you will get tipsy much faster and the calories are not helping you. At least make sure you are drinking something you really enjoy or is high quality to offset any negative effects from the extra calories. I started at 6 months and finished weight loss at 7 months. I have 1-2 drinks a month and am 11 months post op.

A lot of us men are over 35 and it no longer works for us to do long cardio or eat like a bird to get that Athletic build of a 25 year old. Long cardio just does not work and actually may increase the dreaded fat layer over the abs due to stressing the body from caloric deficits. I have been looking around for exercises that are really good for us as our t levels naturally are decreasing. My diet is fine as is the supplementation I am on. Every time I run an hour and burn 1000+ calories, it seems like I lose some lean muscle that I worked hard to gain previously from lifting. It makes me think that cardio is much better for the WLS weight loss phase ( leaning out the fat) , but not for the maintain phase (building up the lean muscle). I am tempted to cut way back on running and increase exercises that combine cardio benefits with strength training from body weight or light weight (10 lb barbells) exercises. I will continue to use cross fit as my primary HIIT and strength training of choice. Cross fit is really helping me, but I only do it 2 days a week (Tuesday, Thursday). I have been running Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. I like to run and do about 10 k every running day, but it is not helping my desire to build a body like a boxer. Have any of you done any programs that specifically target men over 35? What are your thoughts? Women are welcome to respond, but be aware the answers should target specifically men over 35.

Honestly, I do not eat a lot of raw veggies at almost a year post op and probably should get better at it. My favorite veggies I do eat are kale, spinach, regulars salads and broccoli. Usually i only get a single serving of veggies in at my "dinner" meal. I do, however, drink a serving of green vibrance "green drink" every morning. It has so many different vegetables, fruits, herbs and probiotics (for healthy digestion). Have you considered a green drink supplement to fill in the missing gaps? I find it much easier and less expensive then trying to source all this stuff from actual vegetables, fruits and herbs. Tonic alchemy is another "green drink" I like, but it has been surprisingly hard to find in the last month or two. I do not think I could maintain healthy nutrient levels without the green drink because I am not eating the RDA recommended amounts in real fruits and vegetables. I will be checking vitamin based blood work soon. I have great energy levels every day and sleep well.

It probably can make a mean Cappuccino for that time in the morning when you weigh, but not quite awake yet!

What does your new scale do? Come on, spill the Beans...

There are a lot of hungry stomachs post op, including my own. A little tip I picked up is to wait 20 minutes, independent of your last eating time and recheck if you are still hungry. In the meanwhile, keep drinking water. As they say, thirst is often mistaken for hunger. I usually find a driving desire to eat something good ( fill in the blank) dissipates after 20 minutes or at least will be less of a nag. Hope this helps.

Sounds good Sarah! Eating lean protein also goes a long way to keeping hunger at bay and to avoid grazing.

As for low glycemic fruit consider an apple instead of a banana. This is a simple example, but very effective. A banana will cause a surge in insulin which causes undesirable fluctuations in hormones and energy levels. I found this out today after thinking that eating banana and almond nut butter was a well balanced snack for before working out. I lost a fair amount of energy during my cross fit WOD after eating two bananas a day with nut butter for the last couple weeks. Instead, I need to switch to 1/2 apple with almond nut butter and a cheese stick or a chicken skewer on the side. The apple has a lot of fiber and with the nut butter and chicken is a good set of macronutrient ratios that the body will understand how to convert into long lasting energy. This is just a simple example. Hope it helps.

That is great to hear your progress Nicole, really pushing yourself. Even though your scale is broken, I bet you can start to notice differences in the mirror or feel stronger, more muscular. For me, my body feels "the best" when I wake up in the morning and I just know something is changing, getting stronger or a little tighter on the measurements. Perhaps you feel this way also? We are nearing the end of phase 1 - " the lift off phase" ( see phase descriptions near the top of this thread). It is time to start thinking about the next phase, what you wish to accomplish at the end of phase 2 and how you will get here. Remember, you may not be feeling it yet! The next phase will probably be a breakthrough for all of us. We will really start to notice differences and our hard work will start to pay off. Keep on pushing everyone!! I know it is hard, but the results will be worth it.

Soon you be running a mile and then 5 k as easy as you breath air. You just wait and see. Just take one exercise session at a time, trying your best each time.

I am terrible with the wait-between-bites rule. My food goes down pretty fast. I slimed a lot in first few months; now, not so much. However, I still chow down pretty quickly. This is one rule I am probably not going to master, but it is working out be ok as I still eat the limited quantities of 3-5 oz of food per meal. Try and do better then I did and heed the advices others on his thread. There will be less sliming that way.

You will enjoy c25k after a while. The beginning will seem really hard. When you do start on it, do report your progress on Deans c25k thread. Lots of company there!

It took me about 3 weeks to recover and have enough energy to make it through a work day. Even after 3 days, I remember still being pretty tired. First week was in the hospital because of a couple complications. I have a desk job, but still didn't feel like sacrificing my health by returning too early. All is well now.

That is awesome you got your treadmill!! Great job Laura! Did you walk, jog or run for 20 minutes? Are you going to try out the c25k program?