Fiddleman

180 total lost so far from my heaviest. Started at 360 in May 2012 (335 in July 2nd 2012- day of surgery), down to 178 in February ( month 7) and now back at 188 today. No loose skin really which I believe came from running and strength training after month 5. I am thinking about using some fat burner advertised in men's fitness to try and get the muscles to show more definition. Other photos from recent VST posters are motivating me to get muscle definition, maybe I should eat above my TDEE (still eating 400-500 cal under my TDEE of 2150). I just don't want to put on weight that is not lean muscle. It takes ALOT of work to even eat the calories I eat daily now (1400-1700) when focusing on lean meat and veggies with some good carbs and fats.

Good for you Laura!! I am glad that you are doing the exercise. You will get a blast of endorphins and feel great (once you really crank up the intensity). Cheers!

It took me a while to convince myself to do shirtless photos this morning. Hope they are not too scary (should I use he "no no"for men product????). Lol. What the heck - now I am committed. No turning back I am working on getting more toned almost every day even if the photos are not very indicative of it - I swear!! It s slow progress though. That is why I wanted to start this challenge in order to help everyone (including myself) get motivated about getting strong. Need some motivation from others! Some validation that I am not breaking mirrors with these photos!! How are you guys doing this week so far?

Yup - I never said they would be cheap. Lol. Quite the opposite. Mine is an older model named C954, but has help up really well since I have been running on it quite consistently in last 5 months. Very solid machine, but not a lot of bells and whistles like some of the new models. Someday, I will get a new model, maybe next year. I am a Craig's list guy when it comes to buying exercise equipment from all those people who hang clothes on it.

I used Advocare catalyst product before every workout. It is a good chain of amino acids and always helps with giving me the required energetic response for a good workout. It has seven amino acids in it (google or look up catalyst on Amazon). Love this product and it was recommended by my Cross fit PT along with 2-4 g of fish oils daily. I use creatine (5g) after strength training. Not sure how well or long term this is working so far, but think it helps with harder muscles. I also use some pre workout drinks like c4 and no-explode (3 week cycles). For me, the pre workout drinks help, but I really think catalyst works well as it feels like a more natural boost during heavy lifting or HIIT exercises. A good Multivitamin and Protein shake also helps with better performance during workouts. I currently use GNC extreme athlete vitapak in morning and Amplified Wheybolic 60 for recovery shake every day.

Hey team - here is a beginning shot at the start of my transformation program. Weight: 188 lb Body fat %: 17 Height 5'11" For my accountability, I will try and get photos taken at the beginning of each phase as described above. [removed photos- going to take better photos] My goals are listed above, but from a vanity perspective I am after an athletic build: triangle upper body, well defined abs, arms, chest and back.

Lol- yup, MFP always said I was near death with my low calories, low carb and low fat diet so stopped using MFP after that. Besides I am not really a tracker. I like to keep post op things ultra simple as life is complicated as is. Stopped tracking after month 1 and never looked back. All turned out fine in the end.

Agree ^^^^^ Especially since you are on acid blockers already (PPI). Are you using prilosec? If not, you may want to mention this to your doctor as another PPI to try.

I found any and all water was really hard to drink post op. Fortunately, water became easy to drink again at month 7. In the meanwhile, water enhancers are your friend. Repeat after me: mio, desani, Crystal light, etc. Stock up. Find flavors you like. For me, Desani was the only water enhancer I could drink day after day without side effects like acid in the throat.

The best way to get quick results in 20 minutes is to use a suppository like ducolax. Bombs away... Once you are past the initial blast (ha!), there are many daily remedies you can take like Fiber, green drinks, chia seed, miralax, mom, Probiotics, etc. I would avoid mom as it has and always will forever taste like cow dung. No joke. Lol!

My wife and i had a wonderful light fresh spring roll meal this evening for dinner at home. Very tasty and healthy. This is more for post ops that are further along because carbs are approximately 9 carb / 35 cal per rice wrap. If you want to eliminate carbs completely as low carb post op, use a lettuce wrap instead of a rice wrap. Wrap filling Ingredients: poblano pepper Thinly sliced cucumber Shredded carrot 3 prawns, large shrimp or chicken Thai basil leaf Cilantro For post ops, Wrap 1/4 cup of ingredients into a Thai rice wrap, fresh Thai spring roll o lettuce wrap ( if you want to cut carbs). Add 2 tbsp Peanut Butter sauce for dipping wrap into. Peanut butter wrap ingredients: light coconut milk, lime juice, Fish sauce, brown sugar, Thai chili paste The following is my wife's portion for dinner. I had 2 wraps with 2 tbsp peanut butter sauce. It has a little kick. Yummy!! Enjoy! Let us know if you like it.

It is very good, to die for!! I am such a slave to good Thai or Indian food.

After you lose a substantial amount of weight, bones start appearing here and there, some you have never seen before. what is the most interesting bone surprise for you as a post op? For me, it is probably the sternum. I cannot get over the weird dome shaped bone in the middle of my chest. Lol.

What kind do you want get? I do like Precor and have always been a Precor fanboy. However, after spending a week with the latest commercial life fitness treadmill (built in hd tv, heart rate bars, smooth belt, complex sport 5k and 10k programs, etc), I now want one of them: http://www.lifefitness.com/commercial/cardio/treadmills/elevation-series/discover-se-treadmill It was such a smooth run. Sigh...one can dream. I need to win he lottery to finance my new fitness hobbies. Have fun looking for a treadmill!!

I have a collection of Bob Harper DVDs! Aren't we the pair. Lol. I have all the biggest loser DVD (very helpful 5-7 years go), a cardio DVD, a weight lifting DVD (never really got into this one), a yoga DVD (need to spend more time on this) and a strength training DVD (my current focus with Bob - loving it mixed in with my other workouts). Love his style of training. I am sure it is very complimentary to Jillian. The cool part is a lot of these are cheap from TJ Max, Ross and other discount stores.

I do not think there is any "real deal" answer except minimize use during the healing phase of first 6 weeks. Some doctors say no caffeine ever where others do not have any hard limitations on caffeine (my doctor). I waited until week 6 to have coffee and started out on expresso shots. I advanced onto cappucinos, then cups of coffee and now have no issue or concerns drinking grande or 16 oz latte. I have even had the occasional iced vente during hot 80 degree weather. My max is usually 2 cups of coffee a day just because I do not feel I need more. I have a caffeine stimulant in my daily Vitamin pak and also have the occasional 5 hour energy. I mostly drink coffee because of the taste rather than the stimulation, but the pick me up is also nice. Hope this helps. I know it is not quite the real deal answer you are looking for. You will find a lot of post ops like to drink coffee.

I like to eat red peppers, Costco steak strips and babybel cheese when I have an urge to eat a small snack in between planned meals. Also sliced turkey meat from costco is good, 1-2 ounces only. I do not think they will be "easier" to eat except for the baby bel or the sliced turkey meat. Sometimes protein bars like pure protein become a goto snack, but I try and limit myself to only eating those when planning to, not because I am hungry. They are not the best choice because of higher calories versus "full" feeling.