mngreeneyes

The best answer I have ever heard on this question is "whatever gets you to move consistently". It should be something you enjoy and will do consistently. There is no one correct exercise regime. I am a runner. I am also a swimmer, but I haven't been able to get motivated to swim much lately so for now I just run mostly and do some strength training. I started about a year ago with the Couch to 5k program. (google it or get the app.) If you can walk for 30 minutes without difficulty you can do the program. I still set no land speed records, but I have run a 10 mile race as well as numerous 5ks. I have a 5k coming up in a weekish. I am also schedule for 2 10 mile races and 2 half marathons between now and October. This is what works for me. I am hooked on running. Even in the cold winters in MN, I run outside! Find your bliss and stick with it. It will serve you well! pam

I started running 1 month after surgery. I used the couch 2 5K program. Its great. I ran a 10 mile race this fall at 10 months post op. I am scheduled to run 2 5Ks, 2 10 milers, and 2 half marathons in 2017. I am now 13 months out from surgery. In the time since I started this journey and espoecially since I started running, I have found @@JamieLogical to be an amazing source of information and encouragement. She has written some really well thought out posts about running and exercise. She is more than 2 years post op now and has run a marathon (I believe). This is one of the best posts I have seen about running as a bariathlete. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/363681-beginners-guide-to-running-for-the-obese/ It doesn't appear that Jamie is on here much nowadays, but if you search for her you can see her wealth of knowledgeable posts. Good luck! pam

I am 13 months out from RNY surgery. My surgeon has had me on VItron C since before surgery. It is Iron plus C so it is easier to absorb. I haven't had any issues with my iron levels although I did lose a bunch of hair but that doesn't seem to be related. pam

I walked for the first month and then was cleared for anything else. I started the couch to 5K as soon as I was cleared. pam

Well, What a year this has been! Life has flown this past year, especially the last few months, but I made it to one year. I couldn't be happier with how the last year has gone. In the last 12 months I have, lost nearly 105 pounds, 5 pants sizes almost 6, some hair, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and GERD. I have gained confidence, energy, and health. I have finished the Couch to 5K program, run several 5Ks, completed a super sprint triathlon in under an hour, run a 10 mile race in 2 hours and 16 minutes, and traveled to Montana for a "working" vacation including running a saw mill, herding cattle and horses, fighting a wildfire, and running every morning before work! My life isn't perfect. I am still single, no dates, still working a job I need to get out of, still obese (according to my BMI), but only obese. I have an apron and hanging skin in all the usual places. My hair got noticeably thinner, but its coming back. I still have about 5 more pounds to the overweight BMI category and 35 to my goal and I am still losing slowly. But here's the most important thing of all, I feel better, stronger, healthier than I ever remember feeling in my life and I wouldn't trade it for the world. This journey has had ups and downs, but there have definitely been more ups than downs. What are my plans for year two? Well, I have already signed up for three 5ks, a 10k, a 10 mile, and 2 half marathons. I am hoping to do a sprint triathlon as well. I want to get my 5k time down to 30 minutes or less and continue to be active and injury free. I plan to lose those last 35 pounds and do whatever else tickles my fancy! I am working on the different job. To everyone out there who might be struggling, know that it gets better. To all the vets who have been such great support this past year+, thank you from the bottom of my much healthier heart! To everyone, in the immortal words of Dori, "Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming." I mean that both in terms of the journey itself and in terms of getting moving however you can. Exercise has been an amazing and valuable part of my journey. I know we can't all run, but we can all move somehow. I promise all those fabulous endocrines are worth the effort! Enjoy the journey. pam

I decided that it was time to get a new headshot for work. I'll let you guess which one is which. Sadly the before photo )from 4 years ago) wasn't quite at my biggest. I don't think I completely realized how big I was. I can't believe that is me! Its even worse because I acknowledged that photo was me big because I saw it every day, but until I just put them side by side, I didn't quite get it. Look how much bigger my eyes look! I am just in awe of my changes. Now I am just waiting for my hair to grow back in! Sitting at 99 pounds gone and running a 10 mile race next week, LIFE IS GOOD! pam

In Minnesota they don't take it away, they just clip the corner so only one is valid. The clipped corner means that you have to have a second piece of paper for it to be valid. I am hoping to get a new job soon and need to move so I am waiting for that before I change my license. It is also expiring on my birthday in December so I guess even without the job I'll be getting a new one! pam I'll keep an eye out for them. You missed Tuesday's clothing exchange. Next time, probably April, why not combine free shopping with a visit to NY? No matter what you wear or where you wear it, you're still tops. NY sounds lovely! I'll keep that in mind! LOL pam

That was a fluke. I only have so much clothes right now and I needed something that I could wear with comfortable shoes and wasn't too warm! It just happened to be red. My sis in law will take new photos this weekend in other colors I am sure. I'll post when I get them!

I got mine yesterday. I believe in herd immunity. I also work at a university. That stuff spreads like wildfire through our students, faculty, and staff when it gets started so the more I can do to prevent it, the better. pam

I had the funniest thing happen related to this the other day. I was at a work function and someone commented on how I was getting too skinny. That person knew about my surgery and was paying me a compliment. One of my coworkers who also knows about my surgery quickly came to my defense thinking that the compliment was actually an insult and didn't want me to feel bad so she said, Pam has been working very hard to lose weight and is doing great. I had to let her know that I appreciated the defense, but it was a compliment! I have the best coworkers! pam

@@Raynbolite My experience was that it snuck up on me. I had surgery in November. It wasn't till July that I really noticed I was colder. I noticed it in the reduction of AC over the summer. It was our hottest July on record or close and I spent about half what I did last year on AC. Last summer I would sit in my livingroom with the window AC full blast in the bedroom right next to me and still be sweating. This summer I rarely set my AC above a 5 out of 10 and wasn't sweaty anywhere in my apartment! I also slept under blankets (light ones) all summer! I am a little concerned about making it through a Minnesota winter, but I can always put more clothes on. Sweating is so unattractive! pam

You know how the cliche goes about knowing something like the back of your hand? I wish I had taken photos of my hands and feet because I think they look very different, but because I have no photos, I can't prove it to myself! I do know that the dimples on my knuckles are gone, and my hands don't look like my hands! (I have gone down 3 ring sizes since November!) pam

When I graduated from high school I was a size 13 and thought I was fat. Now 26 years later, I am in a size 14 pants and I couldn't be more thrilled. 99 pounds gone and healthier than I was in high school. just over 2 weeks until I run a 10 mile race! (my first - although last weekend I ran more than 11 miles) Happier and more self confident than ever. I even started teaching again this week. (I left teaching 9 years ago, not related to my weight, but...the time was right and I am now teaching ESL once a week. Can't believe how much I missed it.) I'm not sure I would have had the confidence or energy to try teaching after working a full day if I had even thought about it a year ago. I even interviewed last week on the phone for a more teaching focused position. I am just waiting to hear if I am being asked back for a second interview. Getting the job would mean moving 150+ miles to a small town, albeit near where I graduated from high school, and essentially starting over. The thought thrills me! I've stayed in the job I have now for 4 years, about 2 longer than I should have, because it was safe, but now... Is this all related to my WLS? No, but do I have the confidence and energy to even pursue these big dreams because of the surgery? Yes, most definitely. pam

@@laceemouse "They" started telling me I was fat at the age of 6 when the pediatrician put me on a diet (severely restrictive caloric intake) and had me lose 20 pounds. I did it, but at the time that was 1/3 of my weight. I was never a little skinny girl, but I was active and energetic, but with a healthy appetite. Enter the beginning of my issues with self image and food! I often wonder how my life would have been different if we had been given different advice from my pediatrician. Maybe more focus on healthy foods and portion sizes and being healthy rather than restricting calories and losing weight. I remember actually being told that my mom and I would get along better if I lost weight! I'm not sure how that tracked, especially since Mom had undiagnosed depression that caused her sometime violent outbursts. Talk about a huge weight to push on to a six year old. "If you lose weight, mom won't get so angry." or in a child's you are making mom mad because your fat so its all your fault. YIKES! I had several points in my life where I had the same attitude "I'll never be skinny, why bother?" I am just now realizing all the things I had given up because of my weight, energy, confidence levels. I am having a blast picking and choosing what and who I add back to my life now. pam

@@gowalking I think that is the key. I am willing to do things that I might not have considered before because now I have more energy and confidence. In my case, I also had some healing emotionally to do, especially in the area of teaching. I think I had some degree of PTSD from my last teaching job and it took 9 years for me to get past that enough to realize that I can teach without being a classroom/high school teacher. I don't know that I will ever go back there, but college academic success uses my gifts without the other craziness that drove me from teaching in the first place. Was I able to heal the PTSD wounds because I had gotten past my other issues due to WLS, very possibly. I don't care why at the moment, but I am super excited about where I seem to be headed now. pam

@@KristenLe I actually have a picture on my fridge of about 15 years ago, the last time I was below 200 pounds as my inspiration from before surgery. The sad thing is that now I weigh more than then, but am smaller! I love the meme! pam

@@JamieLogical I haven't had any problems with mine, but they haven't been used a lot on concrete. I used them more often when I was at my parents house and was mostly on gravel roads with ice and snow covering, but they make a huge difference there. Oh, and I have the run kind. I got them for Christmas from my nieces and nephew. pam

@@JamieLogical Okay. Can I just say that the Four Seasons Challenge sounds amazing?!?!? We have a run series here that I have done for a couple of years as 5ks, but mostly walked. This year I ran the 5Ks for the first time! There are 7 races and you choose at least 4. One was 2 weekends ago and I set a PR. I ran a 35:41 5k. slower than a mud fence, but speedy for me! I have one more in 2016, which will be on my 45th birthday in December! The races all have a variety of lengths available and I am thinking that next year I will try longer ones at each. The first one is in April and it is sponsored by the Pediatric Hospital for the University I work for. There is a 10 mile option so I am planning to do that. Then there is a half marathon in August that is the half marathon for our local Team World Vision team. I am not sure I want to tackle the time commitment of the full marathon, but either way that is not going to happen until 2018 at the earliest. There is a race in early June that is a part of the series that one of my running buddies really likes to do, but its a hilly course and half marathon length so I might try to talk her out of it and pick a different one! The one 10 days ago is only a 5k, but it involves beer so I might need to do that one again! Then the Reindeer Run in December would get me 4. We get a nice quarter zip jacket, but no fancy medals. I am jealous of your fancy bling! Aside from the series I am already signed up for the Resolution Run on January 1 through our local running store. I have done a New Year's Day run for the last 4 or 5 years. This is the first time with the particular run, but I am excited. I highly recommend Yaktrax. They are amazing for running on ice and snow. I am in Minnesota so I know what you mean about winter running. I also have issues with the cold and humidity. I was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma while in undergrad in the 90s. The only times this year with my increase in running it has been a problem is when it was really smokey from the forest fires out west, really humid in the summer, and REALLY cold in the winter. I have albuterol from my doctor for those occasions. It helps immensely. I take it 30 minutes before a run and I have limited if any problems. Of course you always have to listen to your body and slow down as needed. Once I get past my 10 miler in October, I start training for the Resolution Run in January. I want to get faster! My goal is to get under 30 minutes for the 5k! I see lots of speedwork and hills in my future! Then I start training for the 10 mile in April and then the half in August! I have my next year kind of planned don't I!?! Sounds like you need to get the boyfriend either hooked on running too or onto a bicycle to ride with you for your long runs! That's easy for me to say as I am single, but those that run together stay together?!?! Congrats again, pam

@@JamieLogical You are amazing! WTG!! WHen I do my 10 mile race on the 9th, I will definitely be channeling my inner Jamie! So what's the next goal? And as I understand it, that desire to run again, means you're hooked! pam

@@JamieLogical I understand your goal. I hope the article helps with the mental parts of this. At least you know its over after this weekend, until the next time you taper! You can do it. I am so excited for you! I'll be cheering for you the whole time from Minnesota. You will also be inspiring me as I tackle my 10 miler. "if Jamie can do the marathon, I can run a stinkin' 10 miles!" You are amazing! pam

I don't have a fitbit, but I have a Garmin vivofit 2. I love mine. A couple differences to keep in mind depending on your types of activity. 1. I am a swimmer as well as a runner so I wanted a devise that was Water proof. My Garmin is waterproof to 3m or 10 Ft. I pretty much never take mine off so I don't have to worry about washing it or losing it. 2. I am not good at remembering to charge things. My Garmin is on a watch battery. I am headed towards a year with the same battery. If what you are looking for is the challenges and online group stuff, then fitbit is probably for you. I wasn't interested in that stuff, I have other sites I use for that purpose. I got a fairly cheap model when I bought mine. My next one will have the HR monitor as well, but so far this one seems to be holding up super well so I may have to break down and buy another one instead of waiting for it to break! pam

Jamie - This was just posted on a facebook running group I am in. IT made a lot of sense to me. Pay attention to the parts about carb loading. Its different than what I had ever heard before. http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/taper-traps?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebutton "Solution: During your taper, slightly modify the carbohydrate-based diet you've maintained throughout your marathon training. "Simply emphasize the carbs already in your diet," says Nancy Clark, R.D., a sports nutritionist in Boston. "For example, instead of having chicken with rice, have rice with chicken." Clark recommends taking in 55 to 65 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 10 to 15 percent from Protein, and 20 to 30 percent from fat. Ensure the Proteins are low in fat, such as chicken, fish, lean meats, Beans, and legumes." That percentage of carbs sounds extreme. Even more so for us. This seems much more manageable. Also, notice the parts about emotions during the taper. I had never heard this stuff before. I begin my taper in just over a week so I was glad to get the head's up and my taper is NOTHING like yours. I am "only" running 10 miles! Good luck on your marathon. I am so excited for you. You can do it! Just remember, win, place, or show, you have succeeded and beat not only everyone on the couch, but your former self as well! Keep us posted. pam