Forsythia

I had a trainer and she was brutal. A slave driving taskmistress. Because of her I dabble in kettlebells (I don't do a lot of fancy expert moves but a basic swing is a fabulous total body move that will make you struggle to sit to pee for days LOL!). I also like using a barbell to do deadlifts. Deadlifts really target the hamstrings. If you are interested in lifting weights, make sure to exercise opposing muscle groups to stay balanced. If you work on your chest, work on your back the same day. If you do biceps, don't forget your triceps. Hamstrings and quads. A lot of people will do ab work but not do low back work - so if you do crunches, do some planks to engage your low back. You don't need to do fancy moves, just make sure to do basic moves with the best form you can. You can always make things more challenging by lifting a heavier weight.

I'm in Chicago - reppin the NW side. Originally from NW IN (Michigan City). Hi!

Wow! I cannot get more in than 800 calories in at the most. I'm full all of the time. I'm a 4 day gym girl too. I do an hour on the treadmill increasing my incline every 5 minutes until I reach 15 incline and then I come back down and run my last 10 minutes. I also do the elliptical on hills increasing my every 10 minutes. I also do a lot of inner thigh and chest and back. I haven't started ab work. I plan to start abs on my 3 month anniversary. I lose a 1lb to 1.8lbs most weeks but last week was big. I also noticed before a big loss I gain a lb and loss tons of inches and then I see a loss. What is funny is that yesterday I could barely get above 700 calories in. And I worked out like a fiend too. I did get in a ton of protein though. I had a special 4th of July New York strip. LOL! I don't run. There would have to be a hoard of zombies chasing me for me to actually run. I do the elliptical as well. I like to mix it up between the treadmill and ellipitcal. My gym has a pool too. I am thinking of trying it. But emotionally it's a lot harder to be in a bathing suit than it is to be in compression leggings and a top on a treadmill. A bathing suit just puts everything out there. Plus my gym's pool faces a busy street where not just gym members can see me but random people walking by on the street. It's an emotional hurdle I'm going to have to get over. Because swimming burns mad calories and really tones up the muscles with zero strain on the joints.

I just box everything up and have leftovers. That saves me from having to buy a lean cuisine for work the next day. LOL!

You can add me. I'm adiggs2777 (real creative there with the first initial last name and birthdate. LOL)

Pretty much. Liquid in, liquid out! Poo isn't going to become more solid until you are on something more solid. As for too much or too fast.. sounds like you are sipping and being compliant.

The Atkins chocolate Chip granola are decent tasting. 200 calories 16g Protein and 3g net carbs. And you can pick them up at just about any grocery store.

Height, and also body composition - where you carry your weight. I'm also 5'5" last time I was in an 18 pant I was right around 240. Currently I am at 264 and in an 18/20 top, but hovering between a 22 and 24 in pants. I don't have a lot in the boob department, but a lot of weight around my tummy and hips.

I would say go ahead and try them. Can't hurt, especially if you are not getting all your Protein in. If you have more questions, talk to your NUT, he or she can clarify!

Someone asked about calories upthread. I'm 8 weeks out now. My NUT said I should be eating between 800 and 1200 calories daily. I try to get closer to the 1200 calories on work out days, less on the non work out days. So far this strategy has been working well, I seem to be consistently losing weight each week. Every other day I will lose a lb or two. I'm a four day a week work out kind of girl, totally based around my TV schedule (okay not in the summer but during the fall/winter/spring). Today I did 55 minutes of cardio - 30 minutes on the treadmill at 3mph at a 6% incline and then another 25 minutes on the recumbent bike. Then I went and did a lot of chest and back, with some legs and abs. I really burn a lot of calories on the cardio (and I tend to estimate the calories conservatively) so I need to eat some back lest I end up super crabby.

It'll get better. I was so elated when I could eat soft solids and get off the purees/liquids. Purees made me so crabby! It'll get better!

I have an old navy water bottle that holds 25 oz of liquid. I take this thing everywhere. It fits neatly in my backpack. Fits in all the water bottle slots on the equipment at the gym. It's convenient. My goal is to have 25 oz down by my lunch hour (12:30 - so by noon). That way I can drink the other 25 oz by the time I go to bed (10pm-ish). So that is 50 oz of water. Plus my two 11 oz protein shakes, that puts me at 72 oz of water a day. Sadly, I often fall short of this. I'm just not that thirsty. LOL. I'm going to have to have some kind of water challenge. Right now, at 11:49am CDT I have maybe 6 oz of water left in the bottle. I've already had one of my protein shakes. So I'm ahead of the game. I'm also re-introducing fiber to my diet. Initially, when I got out of the hospital I was doing fiber supplements in my water and metformin and well, lets just say that it was a gastrointestinal disaster. I would not wish that on my worst enemy. So on my surgeon's advise, he told me to stop taking the metformin (since my blood sugar was in the low 70s or 60s even when I was on it). I also stopped the fiber, since even off the metformin I was having the same explosive issues, as it were. But this week, I've opted to reintroduce the fiber slowly. Only one scoop in my water bottle for now. Next week, a little more, and the week after that, even more. Lastly, my in-laws are coming this weekend. I wonder if they will notice I've lost over 30 lbs? I hope so. My parent's did when I saw them last month. But then again I see my parents much more frequently than my in-laws (Don't get me wrong, they are lovely people, but they are in Iowa and my parents are much closer - only 60 miles away in NW Indiana) I also hope they don't drag me to Blues Fest. Chicago loves a summer festival. But festivals are full of people. I just want to go to the gym work out, and go on about my business without having my routine disorganized too much. But, it will be nice to see them, I just find socializing exhausting at times!

I never really was a thirsty person. Even before, I was hungry, but never very thirsty. I do have to make a conscious effort to get all the drinks in. But no one said everything was going to be easy. I'm almost done with my second 25 oz today though.

I'm down 36.5 lbs since the surgery. This morning I was under 270. Yay! I seem to be losing faster since I edged my way up near 1200 calories. I was very much stalled after that initial 30 lbs fell off. Once all the swelling and fluid came off, I was like.. What now? I think my body just said "look Andrea, give me some more to eat, especially since you insist on burning off at least 300 calories every other day at the gym." Guess the body knows what it wants. Since I go to the gym after work, its nice to have a little something in the tank so that I'm not so tired. I've been lucky in that I do not get nauseated if I go longer than four hours without food. But sometimes I think that trigger would be helpful, so that I remember to eat something. Half a lean cuisine, some cheese.. something. I have lunch at 12:30 (scheduled because my job sucks). I get off work at 5:30. If I'm lucky, I get to the gym by 7. So that half of a lean cuisine at 5pm is helpful. Speaking of the gym, I'm going to need new work out clothes. Everything I wear to the gym is too big - especially the tops. I think it would be most unfortunate if my pants fell down while on the treadmill. Gonna have to put out feelers for cheap cute but still plus size workout clothes that are not from Old Navy (because what they have on line is not that cute right now...)

Thank you McLuvin. Your name makes me giggle.

Oddly, I've always been okay with exercising. a decade ago I lost 70 lbs just exercising. But unfortunately I did not keep it up. I'd rather exercise than diet! You can get into a zone and just spend an hour or two on yourself and it's nice.

I do love to shop. I'm going to be doing a lot of TJ Maxx/Marshall's/Ross shopping until I get to goal!

I never had any pain, nausea or issues eating. I have been lucky in that regard. I had virtually no side effects at all. I didn't even have any pain after the first day or so after the surgery. I don't get sick from sweets or nauseated when I go for longer than 4-5 hours without eating. In all regards my post op experience has been ideal. I do realize that this is not necessarily the norm. A lot of people have some issues post op. I have yet to experience any hair loss but most people say that takes several months to begin. I am exactly 2 months post op as of this past Monday. Would I do it again? Yes, and I would go in a time machine and do it 10 years ago.

I don't even have big boobs, really, but yeah, I hate when they bounce! The Yoga tank definitely will be worn with a sports bra underneath!

Stopped in at Target after work yesterday. Got a couple of new things to work out in. A new sports bra - its reversible. Workout capris - not reversible, and a tank top with built in support - which is not enough support for my girls. LOL. The tank top is a bit snug in the tummy, but the sports bra fits perfectly and the capris fit nicely too. I'm gonna have to double up on the bra with the tank top. Both are a Target XXL, which is an 18/20. I'm much more certain I'm an 18/20 on top than I am on the bottom. Although some of my 24s are now loose. I'd be willing to bet I'm nearing 22 territory in the bum area I also got in the mail via Amazon, a protective armband for my phone (a Galaxy S5) so that I can lift weights without sticking my phone down my sweaty gross bra (because I cannot workout without my music at the gym. Gym music is universally horrible - unless you go in the morning and then they play classic rock or 80s. Most of the time its all "EDM/technofest/I just took a Molly, yo" when I go in there after work). The armband fits around my arm (yay), and is blue with a reflective strip around it in case I ever exercise outside (which if you knew me you would know that this is laughable since I generally do not do nature because there are critters and bugs and hair frizzing humidity). I plan on really working on my arms tonight. I am wearing this woven top today and the arms on it are tight. Everywhere else on the top fits nicely. But my arms are going to be a real challenge. It seems a disproportionate amount of fat decided to deposit itself in my tricep area. So the more I can do to firm up the muscle and tighten the skin the better. As much as I contemplate plastics in the future, in the present, I am of no financial means to afford them. So rather than worry about financing them, I am just going to hit my tris hard with kickbacks and dips and whatnot.

Congrats on joining the gym. I joined an LA Fitness in May, and yeah it was intimidating seeing all of the fit people. But everyone is in their own zone, and they really do not pay attention to you at all. But in looking closer there are lots of people.. older, younger, pregnant, super fit, just starting out and veterans. Yescobar, have a snack about 30 minutes before you go to the gym. Something with Protein and a bit of fat to keep you feeling full. Maybe some lunch meat like chicken or turkey, and a piece of string cheese. I also try to eat closer to 1200 calories on the days I work out, rather than eat less, I eat a bit more.

Maybe your tummy is shy!