Fiddleman

Here are mine. Down 180 lb. I was sleeve 7-2-2012 and reached goal 2-28-2013.

Great job! Feels good to be closer to finish then start, doesn't it.

I ate a whole apple split in two with almond butter for morning snack today. Skin and all. Just wanted to say it can be done. I felt a slight twinge in the GI tract afterwards, but overall, not too bad.

The following is a copy of the cheese Cake Factory Thai Wrap appetizer for dinner tonight! I know you want some. Yummy!! Probably 1 wrap is enough for most. Some might like 1.5 or 2 depending on how far post op you are. At 10 months, I got through 1.5, but that was still a little too much. 1 would have been fine for me, but I enjoyed it too much.

Ha! My ellyptical makes a ton of noise, but it is also a dinosaur nearly 20 years old. It is time to send it out to pasture...

What treadmill are you interested in?

My wife, the gourmet chef, prepared it. She has really helped me eat healthy dinners as a post op! I could not have been successful with eating around dinner time without her mad iron-chef skills.

The post above yours asked if I knew about Secret Garden. Very much so, although has nothing to do with the original topic of this thread (my apologies!). Fiona is a violinist that belongs to the Celtic fusion group called Secret Garden (very popular in Europe). She is so relaxing to listen to and I aspire to play like her, really like her style of violin playing. Maybe I will eat some apple while listening to her music and bring the thread back on topic. http://www.amazon.com/The-Best-Secret-Garden-Millennium/dp/B0002IQIFQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1369455140&sr=8-5&keywords=Secret+garden

Muchas gracias everyone! I really appreciate validation of hard work. Yes, it is hard work but entirely worth it!! Some simple tips I can give newbies: Do not compromise Always have your eye focused on both short term and long term goals Be consistent Visit support groups often (especially VST) Be your own champion of motivation and success Find VST role models and be like them Follow your doctor guidelines Take your Vitamins and supplements every day. Learn what are the best kinds to take. Meet and exceed Water and Protein goals on a daily basis. sleep 7-8 hours a night. Feel rested. Do work on eating more as the months go by Do work on giving 110% to your workout plan, always challenge yourself at every workout. Applies when after month 5 or so. Let go of the superficial issues around losing weight. Do not stress about not dropping weight. There will be weeks that go by with no changes in scale weight or perhaps fitting clothes. Get used to the staircase of lose, stall, lose, stall and then ignore it. Believe in your success. This is key. Do not sabotage your success. Focus Find our exercise you really enjoy so you do not feel it is work. For me, it is running and cross fit. Learn as much as you can about your body and how different foods, supplements, drinks and exercises affect you. Always be asking yourself questions and search out the answers. Others on VST are an excellent resource, but also google is also your wise friend. These are just off the top of my head. I could keep writing these for pages, but you would get seriously bored.

Wow - that makes me in my low 20s!! I like that.

Yes, in fact I do as an amateur. I have been playing for about 27 years. Up until college I played mostly classical in orchestra and was a concert master. Starting in college, I switched to Irish fiddling and played in many jam sessions, a few paid gigs with a band. Now I mostly just play when there is time, not so much in the last few years. I hope to get back into it now that I have gained a lot of self motivation back after going through the metamorphoses of being a post op. someday I want to be a pop / rock violinist!!

You may want to wait just a little longer because of the fibrous nature of the apple meat and skin. Perhaps if you peel the skin off you would be OK at a little less then 3 months post op. Not sure. Many folks struggle on the skiing for a long time. I just tried it today and am almost 11 months post op.

Thanks all for the kind compliments. They make my day! Do not hesitate to send more.

I do mean 360. Thanks for pointing it out and now corrected.

Here is a yummy dinner we enjoyed tonight. Very fresh and no need for oven during summer time. 1 lb cooked jumbo shrimp (detailed and chopped) 1.5 medium avocado diced 2 med tomato seeded and chopped 1/4 cup red onion diced 1/4 cup cilantro chopped juice of 2 Limes (mix 1 tbsp olive oil) 1/2 piblamo pepper diced Salt and pepper to taste Combine all ingredients and serve. 5 servings Each serving has Calories: 220 Fat: 11 g Carb: 9 carb (4.2 gram fiber) Protein: 21.5 g Try it out! Let me know what you think.

Not really deliberate at all, was just a picture from lunch time. It was super hot over there in Rome, even in October. That is why I look like I am in pain for the camera. Lol.

Sure - I enjoy sharing the recipes with others because they are so tasty and healthy for us.

The Wendy's and Cosi's options look really good! Time to go exploit them.