Ava324

I've heard of people using Protein powder as creamer. I haven't tried it, but it's a genius idea. I don't have a hard time at the grocery store, but I have to avert my eyes from certain billboards. Fried chicken has never been my thing, I rarely ever had it, but since having surgery, I can't stand to see a Popeye's (I don't think I've even been to a Popeye's before!!) or a Raising Canes (definitely had my share!) billboard. I have to look away, because I'll crave it so badly. Raising Canes' colors are red and orange, and seeing a red car can trigger a craving. Haven't touched it since starting pre-op diet, and I won't ever. Never ever.

Is this you??? I can't imagine ever being able to do that! I've been to 6 or so classes, and it's already benefited me a lot. Not sure how much I like it, but I'm sticking with it. I don't particularly enjoy the class during, but I feel great after, I'm breathing better, and my posture is improving. My neighborhood Anytime Fitness offers a class, and they're waving the fees for personal training clients like me. But it's only offered at 6:15 AM Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hard to get myself there and to work for 8. ><

What a transformation! Congrats.

On Wednesday, my local support group had a guest scholarly and published speaker. He had all sorts of degrees in kinesiology and muscle synthesis. He's a big fitness science nerd, and he owns a gym here called Exercise Science. He threw around big words and sited countless studies. So here were his main points.. Muscle strength and growth is the most important thing for fitness. Blah blah metabolic, hormonal, and skeletal benefits. It's the "fountain of youth". If you compare a young control group to an older group of swimmers, an older group of runners, an older group of tennis players, and an older group of weight lifters, the weight lifting group's muscle biopsies are identical to the young folk. High intensity resistance training is the most efficient and effective way to strengthen muscle. Cause as much micro-trauma to the tissue as you can and then rest to build muscle. His goal for his clients is to get them to their strongest genetic potential. Intensity and required resting periods vary for individuals, but he made ball park recommendations. High intensity means you leave the gym walking as if you have cerebral palsy. You shouldn't be able to lift your arms. You go at it so hard, you should reach that point with only a 30 minute workout. Soreness is unrelated to whether you're sufficiently rested or not. The only way you know if you've rested sufficiently is if the next time, you're stronger. Rest means no muscle stimulus. No moderate or even light resistance training in between. No endurance activities in between. No jogging, no swimming, no yoga. People who rest for a full week have better muscle growth/strength improvement than people who train twice a week. Combining this method with a ketogenic diet is ideal for weight loss. Not a single person in my support group was exercising the "right way". So what? I like my early morning 3 mile walk. It seems to help me with stress and starts my day off on a good foot. I like Couch to 5K. Half-way through! I like working out with weights 4 times a week. I'm motivated as hell. Yoga is improving my flexibility, breathing and posture. Let's just say his method is measurably and scientifically backed up and proven to yield the best fitness results. Screw it? Do you forget the science? Do you stick with what's "working" for you, even if it's not actually working so well? Despite my efforts to reverse the trend, my fat free mass (according the BIA scale at the doc's office) continues to drop. From 128lbs before surgery now down to 104lbs. There are weeks where according to that a-hole scale, my fat% is increasing. I haven't gotten stronger. According to him, the science says my efforts are misguided and are in vain, I'm not shredding or resting enough, and his method would actually be effective. I plan to stick with what I'm doing anyway. I'm open to increasing my intensity, but I'm not giving up my other activities. I could try decreasing my gym training to 3xs a week, but no less, and I wouldn't be happy about it.

Those look yummy and easy peasy! Thanks for posting the recipe. I wonder if Walden Farm's chocolate syrup will hold up in place of the honey. Also, I see Dr. Lavin did your surgery. Me too!

You look great!! Congrats! I'm about to shift focus at the gym and will try to go higher intensity. Despite starting with resistance training as soon as I was cleared and despite working with a PT for the past 4 months, I don't feel much stronger, and my muscles haven't responded how I'd like them to. My take away is really that the muscle loss would have been sooo much worse if I hadn't gotten in a routine so early. I have more definition, but I think that's just from the weightloss, exposing my muscles better. Not brave enough for a bicep flex pic yet. Too much sag. >< I like your fleur de lis containers . Louisiana girl here too. Lol.

I haven't noticed any of my shakes have a bad smell, but it's a totally different story if I let a dirty blender bottle sit for 6 hours before cleaning it. Gag!

I looove C25K. You will too, since you already recognize your inner runner. I never dreamed I'd enjoy it and look forward to it like I do. What I do can barely be called running though. Lol. I'm super super slow. Once I finish the app, I think I'll start it over and focus on speed. I have had minor knee and hip pain. I jog on pavement, and I think it's just regular impact ache. I don't think I'm hurting myself. It'll just take some time to get used to it, and the ache doesn't last more than a day or so. I'm trying out some actual running shoes tonight (Brooks Glycerin 11), and we'll see if that helps. I signed up for a 2mi. run/walk on July 26th. I'll do what I can and will surely walk a lot of it. Just getting my feet wet. There's a nighttime 3K in mid-August that I hope to jog the whole way for. Also the specialty shoe shop I went to has a meetup every Monday and Wednesday for a run/walk at a nearby park. I hope to do a couple of those before the August race. I say go ahead and sign up! If you try out one of the cakes, let me know how you like it. And thanks for the icon compliment. Willow's actually a ragdoll, so she has siamese (or birman?) heritage. She's annoyingly affectionate and cries to be pet constantly.

Congrats on meeting your goal!

Enjoy C25K! I'm in Week 4 and loving it. Next time you have a hankering for cake, whip up one of these: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2010/04/that-takes-cake.html. I made a variation of sweet potato cake, crunched the numbers and for each 1oz slice, it came out to: 4.25 grams protein, 70 cals, 2.5 carbs, and 4.5 grams fat. Since you didn't like whipped cream, you could top with Walden Farms calorie-free caramel sauce. Yum!

Serious kudos for posting this! It sounds like you're in a very good place, recognizing the bad habits and working out the plan to correct them (keeping a log). That self evaluation is key. Keep it up, and hope to see you around on here! It definitely helps me with accountability and inspiration. Same with my local support group.

I don't have any tattoos YET. I'm getting a white ink one on the inside of my wrist when I reach my goal. 27 more lbs to go. Just the outline in white, no shading.

Congratulations, Lyn!

Awe, I'm really touched! Thanks for the sweet and supportive words. It's so motivational. I'm glad to share the motivation as well.

Definitely treat yourself to some shopping. Shopping feels so good now. Like cross-addiction good. I go to Goodwill a couple times a month so I have more temp wardrobe options. I JUST threw out the last of my 26/28 panties yesterday. They'd become very loose shorts. lol! I still haven't figured out these new underwear sizes. Mine had come strictly from Cacique for years.

FitBit Zip ordered! Thanks for the inspiration. I really think it will help me stay active on a regular basis, no just in bursts. The sleeve'll definitely bring about change in you, but I'm also discovering more about myself. I didn't realize how goal oriented I am. Like, not finishing C25K isn't an option. Gonna happen. The Fire Dash sounds intense. I can't wrap my brain around feeling fit enough for obstacles. You've got guts! I found my run on this site: http://www.runningintheusa.com/Race/. Hope there's some good stuff in your area!

Oh, how I look forward to these days. I miss fruit and lowfat cheese is less than delish.

Super congrats!!! Any celebration plans for when you meet your personal goal? I know what you mean about not realizing the condition you were in until you were out of it. So glad to hear you're enjoying the new life and the new you.

This! It's definitely fascinating. I weigh twice a day, log the morning post-bathroom & post-shower weight, and I compulsively do it before bed, and I try to predict what the next morning will be. It's fun. Fluctuations don't bother me, and stalls motivate me. I had said I'll go to once a week once I reach my goal (28 more to go!), but I'm doubtful. My aunt tried dissuading me, saying that daily weighing is an unhealthy obsession. I take my Vitamins every day. I'm not obsessed with taking vitamins. Lol. It's just part of my routine and works for me. I'll stop when and if it stops being fascinating, fun, and motivational.

Thanks everyone!! I really feel like a new me, which is part of why I went with the flower/growth metaphor. I suffered with exhaustion, migraines, insulin resistance, PCOS, high BP, and depression. No more! I feel lighter in every way.

I've been a social smoker, but nothing regular. Since surgery I switched to e-cigs. I was actually getting more nicotine than before, which is a big no-no. Apparently because of an increased ulcer risk. I use nicotine-free "juice" now.

On top of doing your C25K routine, you walked 4 more miles? That's super impressive!! Like, seriously. Especially in the morning. I find that I have a real energy problem in the morning, if I try working out. I guess because I haven't yet gotten the calories in. I finished Day 3 of Week 2 this morning, and during the last jog of it, I found it hard to even keep lifting my legs. I had to lay down for a bit when I got home. I definitely should have had my morning shake before. I feel much better now. I'm glad your doc and the nurse are giving you such positive feedback and a straight forward plan! It's nice to hear the experts affirm that that's a clear losing rate difference between 600 and 800 cals, and I feel better about what I'm doing. The dietitian at my clinic actually had the sleeve done in mid-November, and that's so helpful. She hosted our support group meeting on Wednesday, and I learned that I've actually lost more than her. So that makes me feel pretty freaking successful. Lol! You may have said before, but which pedometer do you use? I'm thinking of getting the FitBit Zip. Other than the time I set aside for exercise, I'm still very sedentary. I could use another layer of motivation and a daily activity goal. Also, I signed up for my first Run. July 26th, and I think I'll be in Week 5 then. I'll try to jog for as much as I can.

You're doing a great job Ava324!!! Oops, sorry I missed this. Thanks! I officially hit the 100 mark yesterday, and I'm freaking thrilled. So what if it was at 6.5 months, not 6 months exactly.

I'm an avid thrift store shopper, especially since I've been going through sizes so quickly. My local Goodwill has a Plus Size rack, which made shopping so convenient before. That's the only place I looked. Now that I can shop in the "regular" sections, I see that there are tons of plus size items wrongly mixed in. Ugh! Can't believe I was missing out on so much. When I come across these items, I pull them and re-hang them in the plus size section. Gotta look out for each other.

I was sleeved 12/10/14, and yesterday I officially was down 100lbs. So freaking ecstatic!! In 11lbs, I'll have a "normal" BMI. 17lbs after that, I'll be at my goal. omg