BigViffer

I remember looking into this in the beginning. If I remember correctly, you would have to take so many pills to hit a reasonable protein goal that it would be just as easy to eat something. Plus, you have to drink something when you take the pill.

It's very common. Many of us have been large or a long time that it has become part of our perceived identity. I still make a comment along te lines of "a big guy like me" and get funny looks from people that don't know what I looked like before. It takes a long time to make the adjustment; not only in our minds but in the minds of others. Their mental image of you hasn't caught up with the reality of it yet. On the flip side of it, in more rare cases, there are some that develop eating disorders. There was a Soup sandwich of a person on here a while ago that went crazy with the not eating and was reduced to skin and bones. Those are the ones that should have probably been better vetted or had more intense therapy before being approved. In your situation, just give them time. Smile and laugh it off and just ignore them.

http://www.barbellmedicine.com/nutrition/7-rules-to-optimize-protein-intake/ I am only posting this in The Guy's Room since we seem to be the ones most interested in strength gains and not "toning" (ugh). Adequate Protein intake is vital to this goal and this article sums up everything very nicely. I especially like how well the myth that you can only absorb so much protein at a time is addressed.

GENEPRO is shit. It's marketing hype. Basically BCAA. The only people I know who use it are women on this forum who don't like the flavor of whey. You can't get 30 grams of Protein from 15 grams of powder. They'll say it is some chemical magic that allows it to absorb as though it is 30 grams or some such BS though. Then they'll say their blood work came perfect and yadda yadda yadda... Go talk to as many lifters as possible and see if any of them use that crap. Sent from my phone. Please forgive brevity and spelling.

I am pushing 2 years out and gas pain is still a very real issue. It's not up in the shoulder, it is just like normal gas pains. The problem is that it is easier to get it now than prior to surgery. You don't have the fundus any longer to compact food in your stomach and then burp it out. Now we push those air bubbles through our digestive tract. The key here is to make sure that you are always chewing your food as much as possible. oh yeah... never gets old.

Unfortunately you have answered your question. Nothing is slaking your thirst because you are still thirsty! I know it is difficult in the beginning, and you may never regain your taste for water (I haven't yet). All you can do is keep sipping. Don't forget that broth and milk count towards your fluid intake. And you may need a little bit of sodium to help you retain some fluids as well.

Staggering your calories to "mix things up" or "trick your body" are just fad diets. You don't gain weight by the day nor lose it. It's a gradual decline or incline. You would have to mix things up by the week. And then you would only be teaching your body to hold on reserve on the lean weeks. This is why we had the surgery, to get away from the fad diets. Just stick to the plan your surgeon provided.

Woah woah woah... hold it right there... You mean to tell me you didn't eat tacos and fried chicken?! You listened to your surgeon and followed the plan then kicked ass losing weight and shrinking your waist?! That's just crazy! Seriously though, good on you for showing determination and not wasting this opportunity.

Holy sh!t, that's some serious weight loss in a short amount of time!

Went to the gym like normal today and it felt like I was having an off day. I have my deadlift up to 195 lbs, but today I only managed 185 lbs. On squats, I was only able to do 115 lbs. I started thinking to myself, " How pathetic is this? I can't even squat the weight that I have lost so far!" And then a rare thing happened. Another inner voice told me to get real and gain some perspective. "Dude, you couldn't even lift your left leg and your back would spasm whenever the wind would change directions before the surgery. Now you are bitching because you can't stand up with more than a 100 lbs on your back?! STFU and appreciate where you are!" I literally humbled myself. If I never make another gain in any of my lifts from this point forward, I am so much better off than I was before. I should be dancing a jig every morning. So next time you get frustrated in the gym, think back to where you were right before the surgery and hopefully gain some perspective like I just did.

I wanted to revisit this thread for one very good reason. In 6 months, I have gone from my "frustrating" 115 lbs to an honest 200 lbs squat! Baby steps every week, eating right, and actually using rest days have allowed me to hit my 200 lbs goal. My deadlift is up to 240 and I am cool with that, but when I made the 200 lb squat goal, I weighed 200 lbs. Now I weigh 213. Argh! The goal has moved on me!! Oh well, just have to keep working on it...

Just curious, are you on any BP meds? I was on them after surgery and I was told by everyone that I looked like the walking dead. When I talked to my surgeon, he said that I should immediately stop taking them as well as my metformin (blood sugar). Literally the next day I felt like a new man. Of course, if you are not on BP meds it could be something as simple as dehydration and you will need an IV bag of fluid to get you right. Then it will be a matter of keeping up your fluid intake no matter how hard it is.

Beautiful! Good job and keep up the hard work!

I think a better question is what do you want from your visits to the gym? Are you only looking to lose weight? If so, then you want to maintain your muscle mass and then exercise in a sustained cardio mode for 20-30 minutes. Maintaining muscle mass can be done with pilates, Zoomba, and just about anything that causes you to move your body weight. You won't build any muscle and you won't gain any muscle endurance, but you will maintain mass and gain respiratory endurance in those type of classes. Whether it is a treadmill, elliptical, strider, row machine, stationary bike, or whatever, the only thing that matters is keeping your heart rate in the cardio zone. For me, that is as little as 130+ bpm, for some it is much higher. If you aren't breathing hard and dying of thirst, you most likely aren't burning as many calories as you think. If you are only walking on the treadmill or leisurely pedaling on a bike, you are just a little better than your basal metabolic rate. Don't get me wrong, this is better than where we were before! Even doing this and keeping to your strict diet you will lose weight. On the flip side of this, if you have been killing it at the gym for the past month you may need a break. Take a week off and let your body heal and rebuild some of the muscle tissue. Then go back with renewed vigor. Me personally, I have put my old gym routine on here before. It shouldn't be hard to find, but it isn't really beginner friendly.

I mentioned it before, but I just want to reiterate: Be careful with "personal trainers". Some are just gym rats and meatheads that attended a seminar while others actually have an education. If the trainer has a background in physical therapy, then I would say go for it. If they have no significant credentials, be prepared for overly sore muscles, poor technique, and supplement sales pitches. Also, remember than all machines are isolation exercises. You will not be training your body in a real world method. Leg presses are good for those people that literally cannot perform the physical motion of a squat for any number of reasons. If you can get into a proper squat position with a broom stick across your back, then you are better off doing that than 50lbs on a leg press machine. Here is a great blog article about the squat: https://overld.me/2014/07/28/stop-the-press/ Near the end, the guy does mention that the press is still a valid exercise for the beginner or the advanced lifter. But it is a distant second to the squat.

@@FabFemale Damn! You look great!

Hey! We had the same starting weight! But you are taller than I and you beat my 1 year weight loss. I didn't hit my goal of 220 until about 15 months I think. Congrats!

I can't speak to curves or anything like that, but I wanted to chime in address the myth that light weights/high reps will do anything other than increase endurance at light weight. I could type it all out again, but it's easier to just post a link to one of the infinite articles detailing why there is no such thing as "toning": http://www.bodybuilding.com/content/the-myth-of-toning.html So to your point though; if you are wanting thick legs and glutes, there is only one thing you can do. Squats. Barbell, Kettlebell, or Dumbell... take your pick. But that is the defacto exercise for building all of the glutes and legs: Two things to point out in regards to that picture though. The high bar squat can only be done with very low weights or else you risk injury to the vertebra of the neck. You should have the bar on the traps, so if you aim for the low bar position in the beginning you will at least hit the correct high bar position or lower. The second thing to point out is her face is pointing up and that is just begging for neck pain. Look down about 6-8 feet in front of you then drive the hips up and not forward. Common misconception. Anyways, good luck developing the muscle/curves you want!

Ptotein cakes are real simple to make. One scoop of your favorite WHEY protein powder. Don't use any other kind but whey. They will suck! I personally recommend Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard just about any flavor or Protozyne Peanut Butter cookie powder. Add just enough soy based creamer to make a batter. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, not soda! Nuke that for about 25-30 seconds for a warm gooey lava cake. 40-45 seconds for a cupcake. I will also add a tablesppon of peanut butter before microwaving it and "ice" it with plain fage yogurt. The macros vary depending on what you make it with, but it will be at least 25 grams protein. There are tons of recipes scattered throughout this forum and on the web.

Honestly, I have protein bars so frequently that I never crave candy or candy bars. The protein bars completely satisfy that crave. And the protein cakes I make take care of the dessert cravings. It's been a saver for me for sure!

Man, I could have written this post. There are days where I am ravenous and others I don't even hit my calorie goal. If I am below my protein goal for the day, I just make a protein cake to hit that and call it a day.

Things could be worse. Everything could taste wonderful and sound awesome. These early days are the perfect time to get into the habit of eating out of necessity as opposed to eating because it just sounds good.

You guys do realize that you are going to have stretch marks and wrinkles after you shrink, right? Those scars are going to be the least of your worries. I gave up long ago worrying about them because of a car accident, but I actually think that makes it easier. The little bitty incisions from gastric surgery just blend in with my saggy skin and other scars.

Babbs - I wish I was handy, but alas I am not. I am exactly the opposite. I actually have the fear of screwing something up so badly that I would rather not do it. But I am also a tight-ass with money so I don't want to pay to have it done. So it just sits there unfinished. I hate that about myself! @@lilmelisa - funny you mention that. No, he and I were nothing alike. He was handy and could fix crap, but was terrible with picking up after himself and paying bills. And he drank himself to death. Don't worry, I am not the weak emotional type that gets weepy talking about it so you did not cause me pain.

Actually, I have to be honest. I hate dishes. With a passion. I would rather eat off paper plates and plastic flatware then let the dog clean the pans. Wife says no though. She hates cleaning the toilet, so it's a fair trade.