Jonathan Blue

You can feel the anticipation. I feel my heart beating on the inside of my chest as if it is trying to claw its way out. The sun begins to peak over the tops of the trees in a brilliant splash of reds and oranges. It's as if the very tops of the trees are on fire. The hanging fog begins to recede from its home on the top of the river. The air smells of Water. There is calm, there is quiet as I pull my goggles over my eyes and get ready to jump in. That was the scene on September 28, 2014, as 150 people jumped into the Ohio River to begin the Great Ohio River Swim. It is a 3/4 mile swim starting on the Ohio side of the river in Cincinnati, Ohio, then swimming across to the Kentucky side and back. I can honestly say this is one of the most memorable experiences I have had in my journey so far and one I will definitely never forget. There are many different reasons for doing the swim, each one as diverse as the swimmers themselves, But they all have the same goal... TO FINISH! To say that they have done something that few would dare, and even fewer have. Alright, so I know most of you are going "EWWWWWW!!! Good luck with the extra fingers and toes or say hi to the mutant catfish!" The truth is, that day, the water quality was perfect. I am pretty sure I did slap a catfish on the swim to the Kentucky side of the river. I cannot however say for sure that it was not a mutant, carried a weapon, knew karate, or loved pizza. My heart was pounding as I jumped into the water and found it surprisingly warmer than expected. The worst part of the day was waiting to start, clinging to the side of the Serpentine Wall like a crazed mountain climber. Before too long, the gun sounded and in a fury limbs and river water we were all off. I was trying desperately to keep from getting kicked with a foot while other swimmers were trying to swim over top of me. The first 100 yds. were absolute pandemonium. Then the group separated and things began to calm as every got into their stride. This was nothing like swimming laps in the pool like I had done in training. There was no turn around rest every 25 yds. like there was in the pool. So I would need to elongate my strokes and be sure to rest for just a second each time my arm moved forward. I made it a point to reduce the speed of my flutter kick to conserve energy for the swim ahead. I got into my rhythm and kept at it: "Stroke, kick, stroke, kick, stroke, breath, kick." And so on I went. I kept looking to my side to see where I was in relation to one of the two bridges that spanned the Ohio River where the swim was taking place. I was using it as a guide to determine where I was and how far downstream the current had so far carried me. I was right on track, but only half way to the turnaround and I was starting to feel tired. This is that point in every race where the mind starts playing tricks on you and asking why in the world you thought jumping into the freezing Ohio River on a Sunday morning, getting some diseased, and growing and extra toe was remotely a good idea. I could see the headlines now, BLOATED CARCASS FOUND WASHED ASHORE DOWN RIVER. It was at this time I pause for a second. "I AM NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT. THEY SAID I WAS CRAZY. THEY SAID I COULDN'T DO IT. I AM DOING THIS. I WILL DO THIS!" With that I put my head down and kept on the whole time humming that fun disco hit Stayin Alive. Kind of ironic really because doing this swim made me feel more alive than I had felt in some time. Before I knew it, I was turning around the buoy and with a swift kick to the guy trying to swim over me, I was off to the finish. I can honestly say that the longest 100 yds. of my life were the ones right before the finish. It seemed as though no matter how hard I saw I was just putting along. Finally with a last burst of energy I hit the ramp. I was trying so very hard not to fall once I reached the ramp. It was covered with algae and every all morning had been slipping on it I had been told. I lucked out and only stumbled before I was caught and steadied by a volunteer helping on the ramp. With a quick 50 ft. run I crossed the finish line relieved and completely beside myself over what I had just done. Looking back it still seems like an amazing dream. An adventure shared with no one other than my innermost desires. Thank God for pictures. I have the proof it actually happened, or I may not even believe it. I finished the swim in 16:52. I got 6th place in my age group out of thirteen swimmers. I placed 48th overall out of the 150 swimmers who participated. All in all it was an amazing race considering those that beat me were all members of swim teams. The kicker here is that I know I can do better. I WILL DO BETTER. Look out because next year I will be back. The Great Ohio River Swim was an amazing experience. I did far better than I could have ever imagined. The people organizing the race and all of the participants were very friendly and accommodating. My goodie bag included an awesome hat (Pictured Below), a swim cap, and various bits of marketing swag. I would highly recommend this race to any swimmer wanting to push themselves a little and reach beyond what they never thought possible. It is the experience of a lifetime and If you need a partner. I will happily train to swim with you.

I am just curious if anyone else has any fun or informative hospital stories. My experience had a few interesting moments and I am curious if anyone else wants to share theirs? For me, It was a fun catheter story lol. I am going to be a little forward with this post so hold on to your hats! The PCA came into my room the middle of my first full night in the hospital. She was wanting to fix my catheter. You see there is a clip the goes on the inside of your thigh the holds it in place so it doesn't get snagged on anything and yanked on. I don't know about you but I cringe just thinking about that. Anyway, they forgot to put one on when I was in surgery so the PCA came into my room to do this. This girl was a little on the special side I think. She lifts up my gown and grabs onto the tube to move it to the side, not the best feeling in the world really, and she slaps this clip onto my thigh. Shen then proceeds to start try to attach the tube to the clip. She is fiddling, fumbling, and tugging around for about 4 minutes and I am sitting there gown up looking at my wife all while shooting her looks like, "I feel like I should be buying her dinner first." I am starting to get a little annoyed though at this point. She then proceeds to say she can't figure it out and will need to get the nurse. So, with one hand on the tube, all up in the air, she casually uses her phone to call the nurse. We proceed to wait for another 6 minutes with her just hanging on, talking about her day to me, and seeing how my stay was going. I really think she could have just covered me back up and left me alone. Now the nurse comes in to explain to the PCA that she did it wrong and needed to clip it to the tube before she attached it to my thigh. Oh Brother! She it was fixed in a matter of seconds. All this tugging and awkwardness with my wife sitting right there. It was annoying at the time. By that point in my day I had been through too much to be embarrassed. It actually got fun the next few days when nursing students would come in to do evaluations seeing how awkward and hesitant they were trying to work around everything. I look back now and laugh about the experience though it was annoying at the time. I just wanted to sleep and I am getting all to familiar with my PCA. LOL so that is my funny story. What is yours?

That is so awesome that your doctors office wants to use you in that way. What a validation of all the hard work you have put in. I think one of the biggest things to share with people is your story. The facts and figures are easy to find and read. There are also plenty of doctors able to give out this information. What I would want to know are the personal stories about your journey and how you have been successful. Questions I would want to know of you if I was just looking into surgery are things like: What made you decide to do something as drastic as weight loss surgery? What was your surgical experience like? Any pain? How long in hospital? (I had lots of questions about the hospital stuff) What kinds of things did you do to get used to the diet? What kinds of exercise did you start with? What do you think were they keys to your success? All in all, I would want to know your story while still covering those topics. It is the personal nature that lets people bond with you and become more comfortable with the idea of surgery. Especially if they can find someone that they identify with. I am giving a lecture to my companies Young Professionals group about goal setting because several articles have been written internally about my weight loss success through surgery. I am focusing less on weight loss and more on how what I learned about goal setting through surgery and recovery aided my personal and professional goal setting for this new year. Most of all, the biggest piece of advice I can give is to just be yourself. People what to know you and identify with you. Ultimately, you are the one who will determine if an individual goes with a specific doctor. I know for my journey, the only reason I went with the doctor I did beyond insurance questions was because I worked with a lady who had successful bypass surgery with him. Her testimony and story is what inspired me to reach out to his group. I hope this helps a little bit. If you have any other questions or need help with anything else, please let me know. I am hoping to record my presentation and put it up on my blog later today or tomorrow. The link is under my signature. BEST OF LUCK!

The Protein will take time to work up to 80g. Don't expect to be hitting it until about the two month mark. The primary focus should be the Water. My doctor gave me a shot glass and said to plan on drinking one of those every 8 min. Your life revolves around putting liquid or food into your mouth so much so that you begin to hate food which I love. Food controlled my life in a negative way, now it is controlling it in a great way. This constant need to schedule your day around food does pass as you are able to take in a larger amount of food and you get more acclimated to your schedule. The big key is to do your best and continually be working towards those goal amounts. If there are any other questions you have or anything I can do to help you out, don't hesitate to let me know. I am here for you. Also check out my blog at the link below my signature for more information and help in motivating yourself through the next year of your amazing life. I am so excited for you. I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Words cannot describe what the last year of my life has been like, nor could I have fathomed just how drastically different my life would be. I knew things would be different, but nothing like this. I knew I would be healthy, but not this healthy. One year ago today at the exact time I am typing this, I was being wheeled back into an operating room for a surgery that would change my life forever. TODAY IS MY SURGIVERSARY!!! Today is the one year anniversary of the day I decided to take the leap, place a bet on me, and take my life back. My only regret in the last year is that I hadn't done it sooner. So what is different in 365 days? 1. My blood preassure went from 150/110 to 119/77. I'm no longer hypertensive! 2. I went from pre-diabetic with a blood sugar or 110 to free and clear with a blood sugar of 82. Perfect! 3. I went from 513 lbs. to 308 lbs. ABSOLUTLEY INCREDIBLE!!! All this in just a short year. On top of that I have gone from a sedentary mass who would eat Cookies all day and could barely make it up a flight of stairs to: 1. 1.Biking 28 miles for the Twisted Pretzel Ride in Germantown, Ohio 2. Swimming 3/4 of a mile in 16:52 and finishing 6th in my age group for the Great Ohio River Swim in Cincinnati, Ohio 3. Getting ready to run my first 5K! 4. Finishing my first semester of college with a 4.0. I am set to finish my Bachelors degree in a year! The sky is the limit and so much more is planned. This last year has been absolutely amazing. Words cannot even describe the changes and how I currently feel. I used to finish up my first night shift of the week and be crawling into my front door crying in the morning. Now I finish seven nights in a row while still holding a part time job; still having energy for a 3 hour workout in the end. Words cannot express that gratitude that I have for those that have joined me on my journey thus far. I know many of them begged, pleaded, threatened, and cried about my weight and I am hoping that today they are all singing a different tune. The best thing someone said to me was, "I feel like I have my best friend back!" I know this last year has been amazing, but now is no time to slack off. I still have a ton to accomplish as you all know. I hope everyone out there will continue to show the amazing love and support that they have as I continue on in this journey. It is because of you, that I am able to push through on those days when I am just not feeling it. THANK YOU ALL and HAPPY SURGIVERSARY TO ME!!!!!!!!

I think it matters more how you feel in it than how you look. If it makes you feel strong, empowered, and beautiful, then I say go for it! That is what this entire journey is about and if that is your goal, I have no doubt you will make it happen and you will rock it. Keep up the amazing work! I can't wait to hear about all of the other amazing things you will be doing as your journey progresses.

As the New Year approaches everyone begins assessing how they have done over the last year and what changes they will make going into the New Year. If you have had surgery in the last year, you have a lot to look back on: all of the changes, all of the pounds lost, and all of the amazing things you are doing now. If you are still trying to decide if the next year will be your year for surgery, I strongly hope that you read on. At the end of 2013 I was a guy who could barely get up out of a chair, someone who was scared to go down the stairs for fear of getting hurt, was hurting on a regular basis, and dreamed that there had to be more to life than wasting away on the couch. I sat in bed at night dreaming of doing all of the things I never thought I would ever be able to do. Then on November 4, 2013, I took the plunge. “But your surgery wasn’t in 2014?” you may say. True, but my journey truly began in 2014 as I has just finished recovering from surgery and was starting to piece my new life together. Over the last year I have seen my body change. I went from being over 530lbs down to a current weight of 310lbs. I still have plenty more to go, but not bad for a year of hard work. During the last year I walked a 5K and walked my first 10K, but that wasn’t good enough for me. I then bought a bike and began biking in events which culminated in a 30 mile ride at Bike MS Venture the Valley and a 38 mile ride at the Twisted Pretzel ride in Germantown, Ohio. Still it wasn’t good enough. I follow the biking up with a three quarter mile swim in the Ohio River. I swam from the Cincinnati side to the Kentucky side and back in under 17 min. I actually got 6th place in my age group if you can believe that, but it still wasn’t good enough. I could do more. I finished out my year by running my first ever 5K without stopping at the DAV 5K and attempted the Thanksgiving Day 10K with mixed results. I ran 4 of the six miles and learned some valuable lessons on nutrition and training. Looking back I have had an amazing and productive year. I have done some amazing things that only a year ago I was dreaming about. The problem for me is that with all of those amazing things, it is still not good enough. For me, every time I push myself, I want to find my absolute limit. The problem is that when I get to the end, I realize I could push harder, or go longer, or go faster. I have not yet found my body’s limit. That is just how amazing it is. So what do I do about it all? I PLAN 2015! In 2015 I plan on doing more 5K’s and local bike races, but the big events are simple. I will begin training to run the 15K at the Heart Mini followed by the half marathon at the Flying Pig. I then want to compete in my first triathlon. It is an Olympic triathlon in Cincinnati, Ohio. I plan on finishing out my year with a 2.4 mile swim in the Ohio River down in Louisville, Kentucky. I want to continue pushing those limits in 2015 and I have a sneaking suspicion I will still not find my limits. I strongly encourage you all as 2014 comes to a close to begin thinking about your journey over the last year. Yes there are plenty of other fun resolutions to make like reading more, learning a new language, or taking a chance on love, but for now I want you to concentrate on you and your weight loss. I want you to take inventory of the amazing things that have happened over the last year and all of the area where you feel like you have not pushed it to its limit. Make a list, make it tangible, hang it where you will constantly be reminded of the list. I just want you to ponder it for a couple days. Then you can move on to step two. Step two is where you begin making your goals and resolutions for the New Year. I want you to make sure that these are goals that you can accomplish with pushing yourself a little. I don’t want them to be too easy or too hard. If you need help with this, my door is always open, shoot me a line. I want you to think of all the things you have dreamed about doing but your weight has held you back from. Make a list of those things and begin knocking things off of the list. This could be things as simple as going down a flight of stairs without help like it was for me at the beginning of the year, or it could be to run a marathon. I do not know where you are in this journey, but you need to make your resolutions ones that are personal to you. If you are not passionate about the things you are trying to accomplish nothing will come of it. I have been working really hard to gain sponsors to help me reach my goals for the next year and for years to come. I got my first one for next year just this week and am super excited, but I am still going to push with my resolution to try and have three sponsors before the end of May. Remember when you are forming your resolutions that you follow the formula for SMART goals. Make sure they are: S – Specific – The more specific you are on the details of your goals the easier it is to monitor progress M – Measureable – You should be able to give a specific number to your goals (distance, time, reps, etc.) A – Attainable – These should be goals that are feasible to accomplish in a set time frame. R – Realistic – Being a goal you are both willing and able to work toward. T – Timely – Make sure your goals have a specific time frame. I hope this helps you begin thinking of what resolutions you will make with your own journey going into 2015. This last year has been truly amazing and I can’t wait to hear all the amazing stories from readers going through the next one. I strongly encourage all of you to share your resolutions in the comments below so the Bariatric Pal community can rally around and encourage you as your pursue a whole new level of awesome in 2015. I BELIEVE IN YOU! MAKE 2015 EPIC!

@lynziv It is called Waking Up From Heavyset Dreams on Blogspot. Here is a link: http://wakingupfromheavysetdreams.blogspot.com/

I had gastric bypass a year ago and am down 215lbs in that time. As far as pain go's, I wrote a great article for this sites WLS Magazine about Beating the Pain Game about how to handle your pain management while in the hospital. It will take a couple weeks to get back to feeling like yourself and probably a few more after that to get all of your energy back. The diet will be the thing that takes the most to get used to. You will need to schedule every aspect of your food each day and your life will revolve around getting your nutritional needs taken care of. This will be the case for a little while after surgery, but as you get used to your new life things will get easier and easier. In terms of meeting your goals, the biggest piece of advice I can give is to set goals for yourself and start moving as soon as you can. Getting moving will help you skyrocket your weight loss. I have some great articles on my blog about goal setting and even preparing for surgery. The link is under my signature below. Reaching out to this forum was a good move. Rely on the people here for help and advice. If there is anything I can do to help you out or any additional questions I can answer for you, please let me know. I am here for you and I want to see you succeed. I BELIEVE IN YOU!

As the New Year approaches everyone begins assessing how they have done over the last year and what changes they will make going into the New Year. If you have had surgery in the last year, you have a lot to look back on: all of the changes, all of the pounds lost, and all of the amazing things you are doing now. If you are still trying to decide if the next year will be your year for surgery, I strongly hope that you read on. As the New Year approaches everyone begins assessing how they have done over the last year and what changes they will make going into the New Year. If you have had surgery in the last year, you have a lot to look back on: all of the changes, all of the pounds lost, and all of the amazing things you are doing now. If you are still trying to decide if the next year will be your year for surgery, I strongly hope that you read on. At the end of 2013 I was a guy who could barely get up out of a chair, someone who was scared to go down the stairs for fear of getting hurt, was hurting on a regular basis, and dreamed that there had to be more to life than wasting away on the couch. I sat in bed at night dreaming of doing all of the things I never thought I would ever be able to do. Then on November 4, 2013, I took the plunge. “But your surgery wasn’t in 2014?” you may say. True, but my journey truly began in 2014 as I has just finished recovering from surgery and was starting to piece my new life together. Over the last year I have seen my body change. I went from being over 530lbs down to a current weight of 310lbs. I still have plenty more to go, but not bad for a year of hard work. During the last year I walked a 5K and walked my first 10K, but that wasn’t good enough for me. I then bought a bike and began biking in events which culminated in a 30 mile ride at Bike MS Venture the Valley and a 38 mile ride at the Twisted Pretzel ride in Germantown, Ohio. Still it wasn’t good enough. I follow the biking up with a three quarter mile swim in the Ohio River. I swam from the Cincinnati side to the Kentucky side and back in under 17 min. I actually got 6th place in my age group if you can believe that, but it still wasn’t good enough. I could do more. I finished out my year by running my first ever 5K without stopping at the DAV 5K and attempted the Thanksgiving Day 10K with mixed results. I ran 4 of the six miles and learned some valuable lessons on nutrition and training. Looking back I have had an amazing and productive year. I have done some amazing things that only a year ago I was dreaming about. The problem for me is that with all of those amazing things, it is still not good enough. For me, every time I push myself, I want to find my absolute limit. The problem is that when I get to the end, I realize I could push harder, or go longer, or go faster. I have not yet found my body’s limit. That is just how amazing it is. So what do I do about it all? I PLAN 2015! In 2015 I plan on doing more 5K’s and local bike races, but the big events are simple. I will begin training to run the 15K at the Heart Mini followed by the half marathon at the Flying Pig. I then want to compete in my first triathlon. It is an Olympic triathlon in Cincinnati, Ohio. I plan on finishing out my year with a 2.4 mile swim in the Ohio River down in Louisville, Kentucky. I want to continue pushing those limits in 2015 and I have a sneaking suspicion I will still not find my limits. I strongly encourage you all as 2014 comes to a close to begin thinking about your journey over the last year. Yes there are plenty of other fun resolutions to make like reading more, learning a new language, or taking a chance on love, but for now I want you to concentrate on you and your weight loss. I want you to take inventory of the amazing things that have happened over the last year and all of the area where you feel like you have not pushed it to its limit. Make a list, make it tangible, hang it where you will constantly be reminded of the list. I just want you to ponder it for a couple days. Then you can move on to step two. Step two is where you begin making your goals and resolutions for the New Year. I want you to make sure that these are goals that you can accomplish with pushing yourself a little. I don’t want them to be too easy or too hard. If you need help with this, my door is always open, shoot me a line. I want you to think of all the things you have dreamed about doing but your weight has held you back from. Make a list of those things and begin knocking things off of the list. This could be things as simple as going down a flight of stairs without help like it was for me at the beginning of the year, or it could be to run a marathon. I do not know where you are in this journey, but you need to make your resolutions ones that are personal to you. If you are not passionate about the things you are trying to accomplish nothing will come of it. I have been working really hard to gain sponsors to help me reach my goals for the next year and for years to come. I got my first one for next year just this week and am super excited, but I am still going to push with my resolution to try and have three sponsors before the end of May. Remember when you are forming your resolutions that you follow the formula for SMART goals. Make sure they are: S – Specific – The more specific you are on the details of your goals the easier it is to monitor progress M – Measureable – You should be able to give a specific number to your goals (distance, time, reps, etc.) A – Attainable – These should be goals that are feasible to accomplish in a set time frame. R – Realistic – Being a goal you are both willing and able to work toward. T – Timely – Make sure your goals have a specific time frame. I hope this helps you begin thinking of what resolutions you will make with your own journey going into 2015. This last year has been truly amazing and I can’t wait to hear all the amazing stories from readers going through the next one. I strongly encourage all of you to share your resolutions in the comments below so the Bariatric Pal community can rally around and encourage you as your pursue a whole new level of awesome in 2015. I BELIEVE IN YOU! MAKE 2015 EPIC!

@@bunsy Losing a family member is always difficult and running back to those things that ease stress and provide comfort are far to easy during such a trying time. When I geat really stressed out I still find myself craving sugar Cookies even a year after surgery. The biggest key to getting back on track is to stop beating youself up, pulling on your funderwear, and getting back to work. By this there are a few things I mean. Firstly, you can't beat yourself up for sliding and gaining some weight. We are all human and all make mistakes. I myself will admit that I did not do well with my diet at all during this holiday season and got a little out of control with the sweets. The key is to admit to the mistake and make the choice to change. Starting right now to start making those smart choices again. Take things one day at a time, or if necessary, one meal at a time, or one hour at a time. The other key here is to start moving again if you have not been. When you feel stressed, angry, or sad, the best way to combat these feelings without using food is with heavy exercise. Create new drugs for yourself. Another thing I would strongly suggest you do is create a list of all of the reasons that you are determining to go through surgery. Be sure to include all the hurt. I included things like a time a girl told me she wouldn't go to a school dance with me because I was too fat for her. This hurt will help give you strength and determination. I also would want you to make a list of all of the amazing things you will be doing but your weight has held you back from. Include some big thinking here. I strongly also urge you to check out my blog at the link below. There is a series of articles about how I prepared for surgery that I think you would benefit from a lot of that information. I believe in you! I know you will be able to get back on track, refocus, and get to surgery! If there is anything I can do to help or there is any other advice you need, please let me know. I am here for you. I want to see you succeed and reach your goals!

@Bandista I am thinking I may have to steal your idea about writing a goal letter to yourself. That is an absolutely amazing idea. That is one I will put into practice with my goals for the next year! Thank you for your support. To everyone: Thank you all so much for the kind words and support. Best of luck in reaching your goals in the coming year. I cannot wait to hear all of the success stories!

@@living55, The thing to keep in mind is that your body is still swollen and recovering from surgery even six weeks out. This can lead to slow results. You need to cut yourself some slack. You hit the nail on the head when you said you need to stop comparing yourself with others. We all go through our own journey that is unique to each of us. None of us lose weight the same way. The biggest piece of advice for kicking past this lull is to move more. Try walking a little further each day. I recommend getting a step and activity monitor such as a FitBit. It will be an amazing way to be sure you are constantly improving each day. The weight will come off in time if you put in the work. I started really dropping the pounds when I returned to my active job after the six week mark. Before this point my weight loss had me feeling the exact same way you are now. Realizing you are not alone and reaching out to this community was a good first step. The next will be put into action a lot of the things myself and others have suggested. If you do that I know you will do amazing and reach your goals in no time. I believe in you and know you can do it!

I agree with you there on the constantly asking about a number. At times when I am stalled I simply tell them I have not lost any weight, but I have lost a 1/2 in off of my waist, or I have gained a half inch of muscle on my bicep. I just simply give them a different number to talk about. It does not always work, but it is a start. On the stalls, I urge you to check out a post on my blog about Goal Setting: From the Mundane to the Insane. I think it will address your concerns a little better. It can be found at this link: wakingupfromheavysetdreams.blogspot.com/2014/11/mundane-to-insane-goal-setting-for.html I strongly urge you to check it out. There may even be some other articles you may find helpful. If there is anything else I can do to be of help or an encouragement to you, please let me know. I will do what I can for you. I know you will beat this plateau and move on to even more amazing things!

The first question I would ask is did you have milk on all of those days or was their dairy in the butternut squash soup? I had a problem starting a few weeks post-op and I found I had become slightly lactose intolerant. It went away after about the 6 month mark, but during that time I switched to almond milk for my Protein shakes and other dairy needs and it seemed to stop the cramping right away. I highly recommend giving it a try as a first thought. If this does not help let me know and I will do what I can to come up with some other possibilities. In the meantime, try the over the counter medication simethicone. It is the generic of GasX. It should help with the cramping and gas a little until you are able to get things under control. Best of luck and if there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know!

Check with your surgeon before starting any major exercise routine. I know you are anxious to get started, but you need to allow your body time to heal. The average time before most doctors will begin considering major workouts other than walking is around the six week mark. That is pretty standard. The biggest caution I can give you is to PROTECT YOUR ABS. That is where the most damage was done and the area that needs the most time to heal. When you do start working out again, take it easy and ease into anything involving your stomach muscles. Any time you feel a twinge or they feel sore take a break for the day and stick to walking. Give yourself a day or two to heal and then get back at it. Over time your muscles will heal and get strong and that's when you will be ready to really go to town. It sounds like you are pumped to do amazing things. If there is anything I can do to help you out along the way, don't hesitate to ask.

I am very sorry for your loss. Exercise can calm average emotional and mental stress, but what you are going through right now is massive. I would honestly recommend talking with your doctor and telling them what is going on and how you are feeling. Ask for help some sort of medication to get you over the hump and keep your stress level down to something you can manage. This is not a permanent solution, but one just to keep you to where you can handle everything you have going on until things have calmed down. I know some people have a negative stigma about using medication for this type of thing, but look at it like you did the surgery. It is a tool to put you in the position to be the most beneficial to yourself and others during such a hard time. When it comes to craving chocolate there are some good recipes out there, but in your situation, I know the feeling and nothing but the real thing will calm it down. It is here that I highly recommend Russel Stover's sugar free Chocolates. They do not have as many calories and you don't have to feel guilty about eating a ton of sugar. This is not a permanent solution, but sometimes the situation calls for just this. Your nutritionist and surgeon may disagree, but learning to cope in the real world is tough and this is just one way to begin getting yourself back on track. After a while you wont need it anymore. The last piece of advice is to stop beating yourself up about your weight loss and begin taking things one day at a time. You may even need to take it one morning or even one hour. Each time tell yourself I am going to go this long and eat right, then when you get there set another goal. Little by little you will find it affects you less. We all slip up. We all have times where our eating isn't perfect. The key is to just start fresh and take those baby steps. In the gym, maybe look into finding a way to box or if you have access to a heavy bag try punching something instead of perhaps running or walking. (I do not know what your current workouts are like) I recently started doing this while going through a more stressful and frustrating time and it did wonders to get out all of the anger and sadness. It was therapy. You did the right thing coming to the community for help. We are all here for you and want to see you succeed. On a personal note, if there is anything at all I can do, I am here for you and my contact information is under my signature. Don't hesitate to get in touch with me for anything. This is just a little bump in the road, one of those things that makes our journey unique. I know you will get back on track and continue doing amazing things. I BELIEVE IN YOU!

@@the_new_tamra http://wakingupfromheavysetdreams.blogspot.com/ There is the link. Good luck on your surgery. I know you will do great! be sure to message me if you have any other questions or if there is anything else I can do for you.