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I do Body Pump 3x/week on top of running 4x/week, personal training, and yoga. I'm not quite a year out of surgery. I started at the gym a week after surgery, but didn't get going with weights until if lost quite a bit of my own weight. Body weight exercises alone exceeded most normal people's lifting limits at that stage. ???? A few months ago I made an appointment with the nutritionist at my surgeon's office because I suspected I was under-fueled for the burn I was getting, and I was right. She added two Snacks (100-200 calories each) to the three meals I was already eating. I know that my original lesson was that snacking is BAD, but it was the right solution to me to get all my needed fuel. For a 1000 calorie day, my goals are 75g Protein, 85g carbs, and 40g fat. She has to talk me down off the ledge on the carb goal, as I have such a reflexive fear of carbs. I signed up for a "pro" account on My Fitness Pal, which has the option to adjust your food goals based on your burn. So I have my goal set to 1000 calories, but if I burn 300 the app will add 300 to my day's target in the same proportion as the original target. I find this to be VERY helpful, though I rarely make it all the way up to 1000 net. Hope this helps!

I'll leave my desk at work, run down the stairs (6 floors) then run back up and get back to work. I've also been known to go running in the rain.

Good morning, Bariatric Pals! If you wear a pedometer of any kind, please consider signing up for the ASMBS (American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) "United We Step" campaign. It's a one-day event on 11/2 to "bring attention to the obesity epidemic in America, and encourage individuals to increase their daily physical activity." Their goal is for participants to collectively register 42 million steps, or the amount needed to circumnavigate the United States. Based on the number of people registered when I checked the website this morning, I think they're going to fall far short of this goal. But it's not too late to help! There are no registration fees, no fundraising required: nothing to do but report your steps. Learn more here: http://fundraise.asmbsfoundation.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=729

When I went into my 3-month post-surgery follow up appointment, the nurse asked me "... how have your moods been?" and I was all "WHY WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD?" while my husband snickered in the corner. I had become extremely emotionally sensitive in the weeks after surgery, much as you describe though not strictly related to exercise. She explained to me that there is a complicated relationship between estrogen and fat, and as you're burning / killing off fat cells the estrogen they've bonded with gets dumped into your system in large quantities and can mess with your emotions. It is the same reason why your menstrual cycle may go haywire for a bit. She said not to worry, it would pass, yadda yadda. And it did. It helped to understand the biological reason for it, though; made me feel less like I was losing my mind.

I'm nine months post-op, and I never lost hair either. I took crazy amounts of Biotin starting right after surgery, so my hair actually became thicker rather than thinner. I was extremely anxious about hair loss, and it turns out to have been a non-issue for me.

I ate a lot of salsa just after surgery. I didn't get any guidance on seeds, so I just threw my regular salsa in the blender and puréed it just to be safe. Quest chips are like Quest Protein bars... but chips. They are high protein and no/low carb, and the longer you go without eating any actual tortilla chips the more they start to taste "normal". Personally, I couldn't live without them.

I'm 9 months out and still get them occasionally, though not as much as I used to. They are so weird, because I can't really feel them coming. They're just suddenly gurgling up. The sound reminds me of creaking ropes on an old sailing ship, so I just make occasional pirate noises ("Arrr! Arrrr mateys!") and let it go. Totally normal, right?

I hated protein shakes too and was so glad that my surgeon didn't have us use them. I did drink isopure drinks when I was desperate for protein, though. They are a thinner consistency, like kool-aid, and may be easier for you to get down.

The first week I literally dreamt about food. They were the most boring dreams ever: just me eating a cheeseburger or a slice of pizza. It went away within a week or two. I also felt the call of McDonald's drive-thru at breakfast almost every morning on my way to work, no matter how full I was. I was bever really tempted to eat it or craved the taste, but the habit was so strong it surprised me. You CAN stay away from these temptations, and eventually you'll begin to have cravings for the kind of healthful foods you do eat. Then life is pretty good.

Also, I did my first big trip overseas at 10 weeks post op. I think for that one it was mainly protein bars, protein bars, and more protein bars. That one was also traveling with a large group of senior executives that I didn't know well, so the food situation was even more awkward than normal. It does get easier with both time and practice. Eventually you'll be able to eat more things and experiment (successfully) with local cuisines. It just takes time and patience.

I travel all over the world with my job, and always pack lots of food from home just to be safe. You never know what will be available where, and can have problems where you'd least expect it. The places you'd think would be safe and reliable aren't, and vice versa. I don't dump and I'm 9 months out from surgery, so I can probably tolerate things that not everyone can. But this is what I've brought with me for a trip to Sydney Australia this week. Portions are 1/day unless otherwise noted. * Protein bars (2/day) * nuts * crystal light single serving mixes (5/day) * dole fruit squish'ems * bear naked honey almond high protein granola * natures all organic fair trade dark chocolate strawberry pieces * natures all organic fair trade dark chocolate banana pieces * fruit and nut blend antioxidant fusion dried and unsulfured trail mix I will also find a grocery store right away and buy bananas, raspberries, blueberries, and greek yogurt if I can find them and if my hotel has a fridge. I eat these things for Breakfast and lunch, focusing my energy on finding a nice 4oz plain chicken breast for dinner. I find that if I tell the waitstaff that I am on an extremely restrictive diet and just want plain grilled chicken (or whatever) they have no problem accommodating me. Hope this helps!

This morning, I got to the 5:30am (UGH!) Body Pump class at the gym a bit later than normal. The only remaining open spot was in the very front of the class, about two feet away from the instructor, so I had a good view of myself in the massive mirror throughout the workout. I realized then that I haven't spent any time gazing at my reflection this year, and I couldn't believe how amazing I look. [if I do say so myself... ] I seriously can hardly recognize my own body when it's staring back at me. Even more amazing... about 20 minutes into the class, the woman next to me leaned over and said "...Amy!? Is that really you?!" It was the nutritionist who got me through all six of my monthly pre-op appointments. She left the clinic shortly after I had surgery and I haven't seen her since. This woman had a huge impact on the success I've had to date, and I am so grateful for her help and support. Even more incredible is the fact that just 8 months after surgery, I can work out right next to her and keep up at every step of the way. Sometimes, I hardly recognize my own life.

I hate to complain about such a wonderful problem to have, but I am SO TIRED of nothing fitting properly. Shirts I've worn once are too baggy. All my pants are saggy. And I'm in the nebulous zone between plus size and regular size where everything on one side of the line is too big and everything on the other side is too small. I remember that problem from when I transitioned from regular to plus size about 25 years ago, and I hated it then too. I desperately need to go shopping, but it's so hard to spend the money when I know everything I purchase will only work for such a short time. I don't have the patience to slog through the selection at my local goodwill for used items, and for some reason none of my usual online haunts have any sales going on. I've found that as I shrink, the territory covered by any given size is also shrinking, which makes it even harder to find the right fit at the right time. I could pull off a size 24 for many, many pounds, but I said hello and good-bye to 18 in a very short span. In the meantime, I've got 28 grocery bags of too-big clothes on the floor in my guest bedroom, waiting for my mom to claim them for her next garage sale.

Way to go, Karl!!

@@LoseItKacy, I agree with @@dhrguru. Your goal is 100% achievable. My starting weight was 305 eight months ago, and I'm just 35 pounds away from my goal of 145. I'm 5'4", and I also had RNY. My weight loss has definitely slowed down since the six-month mark, but I still expect to hit goal before the end of the year.

If you can lie on your tummy without pain, do it.

I'd also suggest checking your Iron levels and/or starting iron supplements. 8 weeks out was when I was having my period aaaaalll the time, and my iron levels got really low and I had no energy at all. The supplements perked me right up.

I cannot live without my Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt. My strong preference is for vanilla flavor with Bear Naked high-Protein / gluten free granola, raspberries, and blueberries. But just about any flavor will do, and I never pass a full day without one. I just came back from 2 weeks of overseas travel for business, and the days I couldn't find Greek yogurt were very bleak indeed. I also *have* to have Crystal Light lemonade. On this same trip, brought four boxes of single-serving lemonades. I ran out the day before I was scheduled to come home and was all "welp, time to go!". That last day was rough. Other common items in my pantry include Quest protein chips (especially the cheese flavor), and Quest Protein Bars only for emergencies. My freezer always has Sea Cuisine tortilla-crusted tilapia and raw chicken breasts to make into chicken salad as needed.

Mine was great, and I chose to do all of my pre-op appointments with her rather than others on the team because we had a great rapport and she was super-practical. I didn't follow any of her advice during the "supervised weight loss" phase leading up to surgery, but I was apparently listening and processing and remembering it all more than I thought, as it's been super helpful since surgery. I hear her voice in my head in the grocery store when I recognize the things she suggested, and gravitate towards them more often than not. I think she was absolutely critical to my success in the 7 months since surgery.

I added coffee back after about 3 months. The surgery team's guidance was to wait until I could routinely get in 100 oz of Water in a day. Also, they advise me to *subtract* the number of oz of coffee I drank from my total liquid intake for the day, to counteract the dehydration risk. So if I have 16 oz of coffee, I track that as -16oz of water. I have no idea how valid this is, but it makes me limit my total caffeine intake and I've had no issues for the past 4 months.