Fluffnomore

I'm a singer. I made the mistake of taking a job about 10 days after surgery. It wasn't my best work but it was fine. I'm almost 8 weeks out and I've been working church jobs with no problems after that slightly rocky start. The worst part was breath support for the first week or so. I also had a hiatal hernia repair and that probably made it worse. At 6 weeks I was cleared to start lifting weights again. I will be honest and say I have started with lower weights, like 35-40 pounds. I could have done more but the point is working up slowly. Good luck!

Well, you and several other people have been a huge inspiration. I am hoping that I can do what you all do. I am still having a hard time believing that I am on the way. But that's another thread, I suppose.

Take an extension cord, in case your charger doesn't reach.

Or swimming? (If you're worried about weight bearing stuff... I'm sorry you had a rough weekend.

In addition to "never trust a fart" might I add that if you feel like you have to go? Walk very quickly and take care of that. Do not wait and see. (Don't run. Uh, don't ask…)

Here's my newsflash. Think about what kind of a drinker you are. In a most small groups, or at home, I have absolutely no trouble with "one and done" or even none. (I work in nonprofits, so I think we "socially" drink more than most professions. One of my board members just shot me a note about our meeting tonight telling me that he will remember a corkscrew this time. Yup.) However, if I get in the right kind of party situation..walking around, chatting, catching up, no repercussions from being unprofessional or people watching to see what I'm doing? I have discovered that I forget myself. So this may totally not apply to you but I would highly recommend that you give your individual habits and tendencies some thought before you imbibe, especially in public. For me, just knowing how the alcohol would affect me didn't prepare me for being on good behavior. I'd been doing so well that I relaxed way too much. This is the other side of whether you're ready. I was not, completely.

Skippy's friend Trippy over here is no help either. Then again I supposed if they all behaved, we wouldn't know each other.

This is an interesting (if slightly depressing) article: http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/Your-Fat-Has-a-Brain.html#

I like my family but move over. I'm coming too. I have no use for my husband and children right now.

The scale is good because, oh, let's look at meat. I had meatballs last night. I purchased them from the butcher. Before cooking (in the oven) they were 3.3 ounces. After cooking they were around 2.125 oz. I don't know for sure, but 4 oz of cooked chicken breast on the scale looks different to me than 1/2 cup of chicken breast. Maybe it's not, but I think it's more accurate if I weigh it. Somewhere buried I have a scale I bought from WW years ago. But recently I picked up a very simple one at the grocery store for about $5-7, when I couldn't find the first.

I use mynetdiary and there are plenty of options for tracking a teaspoon or a tablespoon. I also purchased a small scale and also try to weigh things. I'm pretty good at guessing at this point but certain things surprise me. I find it essential to track right now. I'm about 2 months out and the thing is, in general I am too overconfident about "knowing" what is 2 oz or 4 oz…so between the weighing and the tracking it is keeping me honest. When in doubt I round up. It's also helping me recognize and curb (or at least be honest about) my old behaviors. When I find myself thinking, "Oh, it's only a bite" or "I don't really need to add that" I know that in fact, I must. Maybe someday I will be able to stop being so diligent. I know for sure that yesterday I probably would have inadvertently mis-entered to the tune of about 200 calories too few if I had not double-checked with weighing my portions and catching myself being lazy about tracking. And let's say I put half a cup of something but don't eat it. I either leave it (rounding up) or I adjust later. It's not that big of a deal.

I'm so sorry to read of this and am sending all good thoughts to you. It doesn't seem fair.

Let us know how you're doing as soon as you can!

This is lovely!

Here is my true holiday party confession. I forgot who I was. Okay, who my stomach now is. Had a second glass of wine (danger Will Robinson.) Then someone ordered some flatbread pizzas, and I thought, "Genius! Good idea. This will soak up the alcohol." How many mistakes had I made thus far, people? Are you keeping count?? So then I had two small squares of the pizza, and felt the hiccups come on. And then mentally hit my hand to my forehead. I forgot that I enjoy chatting so much…and that I don't always pay attention. Can't do this, this way, anymore. But when I got home I dutifully calculated everything, and found that I was only a little over 1200 calories for the day. Since then, I have been more careful and other than an eye sprain from rolling my eyes at myself it's all good. HOWEVER, I think if I had not been in the habit of tracking I would have been either feeling like I had ruined everything, OR underestimating the damages. (1200 calories is 150% of what I should be eating daily, so it's significant.) And the entire overage was in stuff that has questionable nutritional value. So. Back on track, literally and figuratively. And a much better plan going into the next party. Nothing like getting cocky and then getting knocked down.

Brown Eyed Girl, are you tracking everything? I am only 2 months in but it is so important for accountability. Also, if I have a slip or a bad day, then at least I know exactly what it was. It also makes me less likely to give up going forward either that day or the next.

Lynda, this is such a highly personal decision. However, given that I was around your weight I can say that my surgeon felt the bypass was too drastic. I could lose up to 100 pounds and still be in the normal range, but ultimately my choices were between the lap band and the sleeve. I am happy with the sleeve.

Even the Paleoheads in my gym occasionally hit up carbs. Our head coach did a 24-hour fitness challenge that he capped off with beer and a Giordano's stuffed spinach pizza. (You're not from Chicago, so this may be meaningless to you.) After just two months of being Protein based with almost no carbs, I am thinking that I will transition to mostly Paleo. Then again, I'm not at the exercise point that I really know what my body will like best. As Butter said, it really is about eating clean. If you can use and not abuse the Zone or high protein bars, then I think they're as legit a substitute as a Protein shake. Add this to the list of sh&t you can smack me down for in another 6 months when I don't know everything anymore.

Inspiring! Love the pictures.

I didn't get anything in the hospital. I was in overnight; nothing the first day except swabs, and then the second day after my leak test they brought a cup with water and a medicine cup to measure out ounces. That's it. I went home around 12 that day.

This is great advice. Starting at a lower BMI as I did, I am all sorts of aware that the goal is not an arbitrary number. (I mean, if it was, my goal weight would be 125 or 135, with no regard to muscle strength/endurance.) One of our best trainers is a beast lifter, and right around my height, and weighs 160. I don't know if I want to take it that far, but it is really good to know. I'm so fortunate in my coaches. They had me working on a deadlift the other day, with 35 pounds. It was all form, and part of the "beast" workout (5 reps of 12 deadlift, followed by pull-ups, push-ups, box jumps, and we used our box philosophy of MTS liberally…modify that shit….) I can already see a difference in jump rope. I can't do a double under yet but the pounding at 39 fewer pounds is much more doable. Our coach has said repeatedly, it is 80% nutrition. I wonder if I had been able to sustain a high-Protein, lower-calorie diet, if I would have been approaching all of this differently. I will say that now that there is no room for it, getting rid of the junk has been easy enough. I would love to be in a place that I had to increase calories but I'm not in there enough yet to justify it. So appreciate your wisdom. What is the saying I remember? It's not that you accomplished it, it's that you had the courage to start. Without the surgery I would have probably become a very strong fat girl. With the surgery I might have a chance of becoming a very strong fit girl. I am just so impressed with your accomplishments and your attitude. Now that I'm approaching the area where I was in my more normal (but still obese) weight, I need to wage the war of attitude every day.

Back in baby's arms... So excited that I got back to my CrossFit box this week. On Thursday my coach had me do 5 x 500 row, with a minute rest between each; then we followed that with 50 sit ups and 50 squats, mostly to see how I would handle it. (The regular WoD included bench presses; not there yet.) Instead of waiting until Saturday to come back I went back in last night (Friday.) Saturdays at our gym-especially the first Saturday of the month- are usually workouts like Murph. But last night was Helen: 3x 400 m run, 21 kettle ball swings, 12 pull-ups. My heavy mod was 3x 500 row, 21 kettle ball swings (light weight), 12 ring rows. And I finished it in just under 15 minutes, LOL. (The elite athletes were clocking in around 7.) BUT I finished, and I kept my slow pace steady. Today I have that little bit of residual soreness but I feel good. Okay, my legs are reminding me that I haven't done a real squat in 6 weeks, and I feel my abs again…but nothing is killing me. I'm so happy to be back. I'm sorry for a post full of CF jargon, but there are few people IRL that I can share the excitement with.

Hooray! I am having a similar experience right now. So weird to feel like I'm in a "normal" size but that I'm nowhere near done. You look absolutely beautiful.

Four sizes is great! As long as you are pleased with your progress, keep doing what you are doing. If you want to step up the weight loss, do more... Now, I say this and I have NO idea what you're actually doing. But it is true that some people lose quickly and some lose slowly. As long as your percentage of weight lost is what you are comfortable with, it's all good. I have a friend who was sleeved in June and she has lost about 50 pounds. She is at the point where she doesn't want to go back to the surgeon's office for her 6 month appt because she feels that she gets crap about her "slow rate" of loss. Every pound between about 215 and her current 209 has been extremely hard-won and she has been very careful about what she eats and exercises 5 or 6 days a week. Longwinded way of saying we are all different and some people do not fit into a cookie cutter.

I felt almost completely better by day 8 or 9, but was tired for a couple of weeks. The pain was pretty much gone around day 3. Day 4 or 5 my body remembered how to swallow/drink just a touch more. It is a process, no matter how you look at it...