Fiddleman

I do not know about you, but my sleep quality has tanked since being active with fitness every day. I would say sleeping quality has become a Really big issue since December 2012. I stopped caring about trying to achieve a decent sleep a few months ago, even though I have consistently gone through the motions daily by getting to bed early enough to ensure 8-9 hours. Yet I have not slept soundly, have not achieved a good state of REM state and definitely have not felt rested the following day. I have tried melatonin (up to 10 ml!) and many other herbs at different times to help with getting a decent sleep. I have no problem falling asleep; it is staying asleep and also also sleeping deeply that eludes me. Night after night. Sigh... Last night I tried a GABA supplement (stronger than theaanine) for creating a strong enough ripple in my mind to initiate decent size alpha waves for deep sleep. Finally slept the whole night, feel really rested this morning and remember my all-night dream with clarity. However, I am just concerned that taking GABA supplementation will create an imbalance (a different one then I had before) that could mess with other things like emotions. I want to be able to consistently hit deep sleep to help my body recover from hard fitness routines and also to not feel emotionally tired all the time. Is it time for me to go to the doctor and get a prescription for something hat will knock me ou every night?

Read about all the great benefits that come from sufficient Vitamin d in your diet: http://www.muscleforlife.com/vitamin-d-benefits/ Amazing! I happen to take 5000 IU daily and have been doing so for the past 8 years (pre dates WLS).

I want to purchase a green superfood powder as a supplement and have narrowed my search to two choices: 1. Boku superfood 2. Amazing Grass Green Superfood Both appear to be outstanding products based upon the research I have done. Which would you buy and why? Do you have any other alternatives that are in the same class as these two that you would recommend? I am not really at a place in my life where I can go mix up my own version of superfood ( not enough time nor the desire) so will be purchasing one. I have used superfood powders in the past, but they were not good enough for me to continue on them. I do not otherwise eat very many veggies in my post op diet so I consider a superfood powder as a good alternative to getting veggies and fruit back into my diet without adding tons of calories ( a goal) or the increasing effort to go track down the equivalent veggies and prepare them for the meals for eating. That's just me and what my eating style has become post op.

I've been using Intelliskin for the last year or so. One of the better post op purchases I have made (in fact, I have 2). However, I have used it so much that it needs to be replaced soon, starting to get frayed.

I usually carb up with steel oats and some fiber one a couple hours before working out. A strange thing happens though. I start to sweat, a lot, for about 2-3 min. It is like I had been running for 10 minutes after starting from cold. Maybe it is a Vegas nerve thing. I notice some ringing in the ears is a bit more pronounced than usual (I have a constant tinnitus) Anyone else experience this? Not really a problem, but strange to see how worked up my body gets over the carbs. Maybe it is converting them into energy really fast. Ha!

Why would I want to stop?

Hi globe - welcome back! Good point about relation between clean eating and carb loading. Caffeine does it to me too, but that is expected because of it being a stimulant.

What about sugar levels? Curious because I have never had any issue with sugar levels. This usually only happens after heavy carbs(good carbs, mind you).

Are there any real differences between the following cardio and weight training scenarios: 1. Cardio before Breakfast, weight training after dinner (typically does not fit my schedule) 2. Cardio mid morning, weight training mid afternoon (at least 4 hour separation, usually 5-6 hours) 3. Cardio after weight training mid afternoon (5-10 min separation). Personally, I have found that cardio mid morning and weight training mid afternoon with light cardio after weight training works the best for me. If I try to do intense cardio after training, I sometimes get cramps in the legs or lack the energy to complete it. What have you found works for you if wanting to do both cardio and training on same day?

There are so many threads that demonize carbs with regards to WLS post op diet. Carbs are not evil. There are two different types of carbs: the "good carbs" and the "bad" carbs. Good carbs are those that are of lower glycemic index and have a high Fiber content. Bad carbs are those that are mostly sugars. Some good carbs are fibrous fruits (apple, green banana, etc), steel oats, fibrous veggies (brocolli) and fiber Cereal. Some bad carbs we are all familiar with: candy, ice cream, donuts, etc. The fiber that is a part of good carbs help regulate fat oxidation (good bacteria in the stomach produce enzymes which break down fat to be used as energy) and the digestion process (fixes "lazy bowel" syndrome, constipation, etc). Finally good carbs are a direct source of energy for exercise (it is said low carbs may lead to 30% reduction in endurance energy during a training session), daily activities and neurological firing. Low carb diets almost always lead to brain fog, tiredness, etc. So before discounting carbs, consider all the benefits that come with including them as part of a balanced post op diet. A good balance is 50% Protein, 30% carbs and 20% fat. MFP works wonders for being able to track and target the daily carb goals.

You gave a good thing going! Congratulations. I am a bit of a zombie when I rise at 5:30am and the only thought on my mind if caffeine before starting work at 6 am. I have found that a morning 5 k around 9:30 am is really helpful in prepping the body and mind for the remainder of the work day. Then my regular workout is from 4 pm-5pm. Two a day is working out and I have found it pretty easy to lose a few lbs and tone up in days by doing this. There are times on monday when I look at my body and think, you are going soft, especially if I ate too many calories over the weekend or had a drink. So push I do and usually by wed or Thur, I am happy with body. It has becomes fairly standard to manipulate the body comp in just a few days. One of the benefits of being at goal.

Olive garden, right? Those bread sticks... Seriously, I think bread before the main course is definitely a way to fill up fast. I just say no to bread before main course, but do like my fiber one and steel oats daily before working out.

Just thought I would share an interesting observation from this last week. Usually, I am not a machine user (excluding treadmill for sprinting on) and prefer body weight workouts. However, I was a tad bit mentally fatigued and wanted to do about an hour of elliptical and not have to think too hard. A good focused workout usually requires the mind to be focused and a good response from the CNS. My philosophy that day was I would rather do something then nothing. So I put in my age and weight and do a hill program with some tough resistance. I did my hour and it says 1200 calories. I worked it pretty well and had puddles of sweat to prove it. I also wore my fancy heart rate monitor, including the chest strap making sure everything was calibrated before starting. After reading 1200, I look down at my watch and it says 640 calories. Man, that is a really large error margin. And it is a commercial precor model, albeit a pretty old model (90s I think). I trust my polar heart rate monitor much more than the machine since I have started using it, but was still a little put off by the discrepancy. Maybe I am in much better shape in terms of heart rate and max vox2 than the machine thought I was with respect to the programming in it given age and height; remember, it does not have a hr sensor. No wonder I had trouble losing weight in the past when using this elliptical machine at home with a not so clean diet (many years ago, before VSG). I had always thought I was burning twice as many calories as I really did. I do not have a problem with diet today (thanks to VSG post op), but I did back then and always tried to burn a lot of calories to offset the calories from my junky diet. Maybe this story and information will help someone.

I would say that the machine that has the best hr sensor wins. Those without heart rate sensors are only as good as the standard calorie calculator that is configurable with age and weight. Not accurate at all for the individual, but acceptable for the average. We are not average people!

I used to have 1-2 drinks a month following 6 months. Then I just lost interest in it. The buzz is over fast and I do not really like the taste, so why bother? However, I have recently discovered angry orchard. Still only 1-2 a month, but taste is at least good. Too bad they are 200 calories a bottle. Sometimes I like a cold frosty one on a hot summer day.

I did a round of p90 x and enjoyed it. However, I like body weight workouts even more and, in my opinion, produce better results if you stick with it and keep good form. Check out "you are your own gym" or "efx" with mark Lauren. Good stuff. Or there is always cross fit!

What are your favorite aspects of running? For me, I enjoy: 1. The heat that radiates from core and chest after about 10 minutes. Like sitting in a Sauna. 2. How good my body feels after training. After glow usually lasts about 2 hours for me. 3. Some aches and pains get fixed, especially in my back. This happens if I am relaxed in bother upper and lower body when running, but keeping a strong core and arms at side, as if on rails. It is like a massage and hardly feels like running. Nothing kills a run faster (distracting) than tight traps or tight calves/quads. 4. Breaking a new 5 k or 10 k personal time. 5. Get to listen to my running tunes pumping! Running is a really good form of cardio that doesn't tax the nervous system too much and cause mental burnout. It is fairly easy to do and not complex, but burns a lot of calories (average 100-200 every 10 min depending on intensity). How do you like to train for your running? For me, there are several ways that I like to train on my running days (non strength days, 3-4 days a week): 1. 5 k or 10 k for time. Ran a 45 min 10 k last night and kept my hr between 148 and 152. I typically do not run for more than an hour because of training pace. 2. Tiered sprints. I like to do 6.5 for a min, 7.5 for a min and 8.5 for a min, rinse, repeat until tired. I typically can do this for between 20-30 min. Hr between 140-160. 3. Sprinting on level - 30 s @ 12.5 mph, rest 30 s, repeat for 10 minutes. Hr > 160 (drop to 150 during rest). I like this training because it is uber effective and very short. 4. Sprinting on incline - 30 s @ 9.5 mph on 6%, rest 30, repeat for 10 m. Hr > 160. I like this training because it is uber effective and very short. 5. Max vo2 training - 1 min max @ 160 hr, 3 rounds of 5 min @ 80%, 6 rounds of 3 min @ 100% / 1 min rest, rest 2 min, 5 rounds of 2 min @ 100% / 1 min rest. This is a hard running workout for me to complete without running out of steam.50% of the time I have struggled to finish last segment. Massive caloric burn on this one. And because it is such a shock on the muscles, it continues the gift of burning calories for a long time. Typically before running, I will do a 10 min 6 mph warmup jog and then 5 min dynamic stretches. Typically after running, I will do 20 - 30 min of elliptical at moderate intensity (135-145 hr) and then 10 min stretching. Please share info about your running passion.

I like using the under armour and nike brands. I have a couple med shirts and underwear that I purchased from sports authority 6-8 months back. They help you "feel lighter" when working out with less movement of skin, etc.

I do a lot of body weight exercises, which forces good posture in the back. Yoga helps. t squats work really well to correct the upper back scapula issues, shoulders and connecting muscles. Taking the kinks out of the spine with a foam rollar feels really good. Also stretching backwards over a chair or couch helps. It is not easy. 2 years since I have reached goal and I am still working on the back muscle inflammation resulting from serious spine issues in a way where it is not constantly uncomfortable. However, I am happy to say I have made lots of improvement where my back is starting to have the natural muscular curvature of a healthy male. There are so many small supporting muscles in the back the require strengthening for all the muscular systems in the back to balance out. Another trick I discovered: This may sound a little quirky, but it also like to stand in a stairway with two rales, stretch my arms out in a y above my head and lean into the stairwell, letting gravity collapse my spine downward. This stretches and cracks everything in my back from gravity. Oh, but it works so well. My problems may be worse than yours because I have two sections of my spine that have degenerated, causing discs to mingle and mangle. Even though I am 38 my dr said I have a spine of a 60 year old. For a while, was hoping these issues would heal, but it looks like that is not going to happen. I have a lot of inflammation daily that I try and manage. I try and self treat when ever I can to relieve the discomfort doing some kind of stretch or another throughout the day. Anyone know of a perm way to fix this type of degeneration in the spine? My PCP said essentially he can help manage symptoms, but wasn't mentioning anything about surgery except last ditch effort. I found NSAIDs do not really help as much as I had hoped they would so stopped taking them a few months back; it is better to just self adjust and get rid of the misalignment that causes pain. I am pretty resourceful in this way.

The hardest part for me has not been with eating at all, but in dealing with body posture issues after losing the weight. Being obese for a good part of your life creates nuances in body posturing that are hard to correct. It gets better over time though, the more you work on it.

The real question is when can you buy it off Amazon now that it is legal here in WA. Everything can be found on Amazon so why not? All those prime memberships will go into overdrive.

sure, the shirt is made by Intelliskin and about $100. Amazing shirt. I have two, It has worked well and I don't need them any longer for correcting posture. However, I still like using them during workouts because it makes for good compression and keeps reminding me to depress the scapula, relax the traps and more. While my posture is pretty good now and my upper back relaxed, the residual spinal degeneration is still there at the apex points. Not much I can do about that (or is there?), but having a good posture makes it more tolerable without pain meds (it has been months since my last NSAID). I hope the shirt helps your mom.

Coffee does it every morning for me. I also try and eat high fiber when I can. They don't call coffee a stimulant for nothing, but sometimes it takes 2-3 cups.

That is a very true statement about losing the focus during the third year. It has been happening to me a bit lately. While I try and eat as I have during year 2 (very clean), a lot of carb snacks are sneaking in. And I am not talking about uber bad carbs, but like some extra fiber one here, some bare naked granola there and a ritz cracker over there. Pita chips are getting to me also. I really like those Stacy pita chips and can munch them on and off during the day if not careful. No dessert type stuff though or candy. No weight gain because I exercise every day, but don't like at how I am gravitating towards snacking without a second thought. It is almost impulse and automatic and seems to pick up when I am under a lot of work stress (which has been more often than I like recently). I need to double down on my commitment towards a healthy diet to support optimal exercise before this snacking gets the best of me. I just do not say no to temptation as well as I used to before year 3. Maybe I am getting tired of it...

Try also to get a 4-1 carb to protein ratio after the workout. Your body needs these carbs to assimilate the protein properly.