*Dean*

Would love to meet. I'll bring a couple along. That way, you can take your pick. Or be greedy!

Err, I've met you Kell. Must've been a typo. You meant 41, obviously.

Thanks. I was flattered when they PM'd me and asked, but now the newsletter is out it's a bit.......... umm naff

In any case it seems 'larger BMI' have their crew and 'smaller BMI' have their's. I started at 41. I think it's the 'mid BMIer's' that are left out in the cold and are victimised by everyone. Nobody understands us. We're not here or there! Whose with me?! Anyone? Hello .........

Whoops. F*cked up again!

I have a policy of not commenting on poisonous threads so I don't bump them.

I hope all of my American friends, their families and their friends are safe. Thoughts go out to those who are injured and worse. In the face of tragic events I have a (occupational) habit of focusing on the good. Stories of uninjured marathon runners, running from the finish line to the hospital to give blood made me feel good.

Surgery is a big deal. It's risky and for most procedures not reversible. Everyone (almost) wants to believe that their way is the best / only way. Her opinion is very subjective and biased. Her motivation for sharing it with you is a whole other story! All the best, Deano

THAT LOOKS AWESOME!

Thanks M2G! Pre op I used to eat Greek yoghurt with a (large) handful of walnuts and honey. I'm thinking I might replace the walnuts with some granola and a SF syrup for the honey.

I just got back from a couple of weeks of beach camping. I had a cool NSV that I wanted to share. The beach we were on was 3k long. So perfect for a 6km jog in the mornings. I find it easier to run on soft sand in my trainers, rather than bare feet. One morning I got caught by a wave coming in, I tried to dodge it, but got some water in my shoe. This caused some wet sand to gather up in my sock. I could feel it rubbing against my foot, but I didn't think it was a big deal so kept running. I took my shoe off back at camp and I had a massive blister, under the arch of my foot. It got a little infected so I went to the local Dr to get some antibiotics. Pre surgery I had no co morbidities, but my blood pressure had started to creep up. It wasn't at a level that I needed medication, but that was only around the corner. The doctor, who I'd never met before took my blood pressure, while I told him about my blister. My blood pressure was 105/60. The Dr said "Your blood pressure is nice and low, but I'd expect that from someone fit and who exercises regularly". I sat there while the nurse bandaged my foot feeling like I was going to explode with pride. I've had heaps of compliments from people that I know, including staff at my Dr's and my surgeon's office. This was different though. I didn't tell the Dr about my weight loss or surgery. It wasn't even a compliment really. It was just a comment from a Dr I didn't know. It made my day, so I thought I'd share. I hope you're all well, Deano

That's something I've worked on as well. Having lots of variations on how / when I train. So that when life (kids / work / everything else) gets in the way of training I have options at the ready.

Thanks friends!!

Stupid question (we don't really eat granola in Australia) do you chop the almonds?

I know from Crossfit I've lost about half of my strength with lifting weights. That will come back slowly. As far as actual fitness goes I feel great. I just got back from a camping trip and was doing 6k beach jogs most days. I think I'd smash the obby course - I might give it a go next time I'm out there!

We're almost twins with our numbers Shell. My start weight was 137.7kgs. This morning I was 96.5kgs.

Smok...........ing hot. You look fantastic.

You're a machine Mass. I love it.

Hi Lars. Smashed in a couple of s'mores while we were away. I think I created a couple of monsters at our camp site! I agree with Fiddle. You can't cure an addictive personality. For me if anyone thinks they're 'cured' that's the first step on the slippery slope. It happened to me when I got to goal previously. I thought I'd slayed my food demons and had a killer exercise regime. All it took was a couple of things to debunk my exercise program (new job, shift work, twins birth) and my old ways came into play. For me now, I know I'll always have food issues or the potential to have food issues. I'm ok with that. I'd rather be aware than be ignorant and be potentially blind sided again. So it's something that I'm going to have to manage for the rest of my life.

Thanks Nic I wouldn't say amazingly well compared to some people, but I'm trying everyday.

Hey I've been away camping for a couple of weeks, but I thought I'd chime in on this one. I'm definitely of the school of thought that we're all food addicts. If we weren't, surely we could just put ourselves on a 800-1200 cal a day diet and do it without a VSG? To have surgery, with all it's associated risks (and costs), when a person could do it on their own (and keep it off) is just insanity. I think like a lot of others I've been replacing my food addiction with exercise. I don't believe I'm replacing one addiction with another, and here's my reasoning. To be diagnosed with an addiction you have to have - Loss of willpower (Food check / Exercise, I guess so) Harmful consequences (Food check / Exercise, no way) Unmanageable lifestyle (Food check / Exercise, no way. It's improving my lifestyle) Tolerance or escalation of use (Food check / Exercise, Nope. I'm at an optimal amount of training now. I don't see it escalating) Withdrawal Symptoms Upon Quitting (Previous diets - hell yes / Exercise. yep. I suffer withdrawals if I missing training sessions because of work etc) So I tick all the boxes for food addict. I tick 3 of 5 for Exercise. So I'm not addicted to exercise for my money. I like to think I've replaced an unhealthy addiction with a healthy FANATICISM. fanatic [fəˈnætɪk] n 1. a person whose enthusiasm or zeal for something is extreme or beyond normal limits 2. Informal a person devoted to a particular hobby or pastime; fan a jazz fanatic

I know there are heaps of gadgets out there for running, fitbit etc. With CrossFit fees, shoes etc I watch the budget on this stuff a bit. I like the idea of keeping running cheap - it can be free after all! I down loaded the 'endomondo' app to use post C25K and I'm really happy with it.