BlueCrush

Today was chest and shoulders day: Three sets of incline dumbbell bench press Three sets of dumbbell chest flies Three sets of machine bench press Three sets of military shoulder press Three sets of dumbbell front shoulder raises 3 sets of dumbbell shrugs Today's top workout tracks (was feeling the 2000's hip hop today): Nelly - Hot in Here Dr. Dre - Forgot About Dre Chest and shoulders current state (these are the body parts I'm most self conscious about as most of my loose skin is in my moobs and stomach):

Today was arms and back day: 3 sets of dumbbell curls 3 sets of machine bicep curls 3 sets of hammer curls 3 sets of tricep rope pulldowns 3 of tricep skullcrushers 3 sets of bench dips 3 sets of lat pulldowns 3 sets of dumbbell deadlifts 3 sets of machine rows Today's top gym tracks: Stone Sour - House of gold and bones Metallica - Master of puppets Current arms and back pics:

Very true. It's hard to eat high calories while eating clean with the sleeve. Yesterday, I finished out at 1508 calories, 134g Protein, 117g Carbs, 58g fat. I have some custom oatmeal from truenutrition being delivered today which has protein powder mixed in. I'm planning to add some PB2 powder into it as well. That should give me about a 400 to 500 cal. bowl of oatmeal for breakfast with about 30g of protein. I'm also going to do some experimenting with nuts and peanut butter into meals to increase cals.

Thank you, J San. I'm looking forward to see how this progresses.

Today was legs day: 3 sets of dumbbell lunges 3 sets of machine hamstring curls 3 sets of dumbbell squats 3 sets of dumbbell calf raises 3 sets of machine leg press 3 sets of machine leg extensions Today's top workout tracks: Nothing More - Don't Stop Avenged Sevenfold - Bat Country Volbeat - Seal the Deal Legs current state:

Nice work!

I officially hit my goal weight last week. 225. Never thought I could get here 18 months ago!

Well, after a few weeks of minimal losses, I logged a 3.3lb loss this week and have officially hit goal weight!

I was losing two or three lb/week like clockwork until a few weeks ago. Now I've been battling the same pound back and forth. I'm only 3.2 pounds away from goal, so I'm pushing hard to get there. If I didn't lose any more, I'd be disappointed at not officially hitting goal, but happy none the less. I'm focused more on building muscle than losing weight at this point anyway.

Nice progress!

Do you track/log your food? Calories and protein/carbs/fat grams?

I'm still going strong. Down about 175lbs from my high weight and only about 6lbs away from goal. Loss has definitely slowed over the past couple of months, but I'm still losing.

I didn't want to post in the before & after sticky, as I'm not quite yet "after." Still have about 15-20lbs to goal. today's a milestone for me, in that it is 6 months exactly since my surgery. So here's how things are going. It's hard to believe that just about a year ago I was 400+lbs. My daughter was born in Feb. 2017, and seeing all the pictures of she and I (a very big "I" ) right after birth made me do a lot of soul-searching about the kind of life I wanted to live and raise her with. I didn't want to be the obese dad that she was embarrassed to be seen in public with as she got older. I didn't want to be the dad that couldn't do certain things with her because I was too overweight. I decided to take action. On May 30th, 2017, I had my first appointment in the required six-month pre-op process, and tipped the scales at 406 lb. I was mortified. While I floated around 350 to 370 for the past decade, this was the first time in my life I had ever been over 400 pounds. Over the next 6 months pre-op diet my insurance required, I would dedicate myself completely to the surgeon's diet and exercise program. I lost 88 lbs during that 6 month pre-op program. Insurance requiring it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me, as it allowed me to implement lifestyle changes well in advance of the physical and mental changes the surgery would bring. I had the gastric sleeve on December 11th, 2017. It went surprisingly easy. Not really any pain at all, I didn't have any acid reflux, and as I progressed through the food stages, I could really tolerate anything I tried up to the restriction point. I've continued to track all my food via myfitpal, but I do not restrict or limit carbs. I make it a point to focus on protein first, and then I usually have a small side each of carbs and veggies. At the 6-month Mark, I usually eat about 1400 to 1600 calories per day. I usually end up with about 100 grams of protein, and about 150 to 200 grams of carbs per day. So the results as of today, 6 months out, are: - 166.8lbs lost total (88 preop and 78.8 postop). - 406 beginning / 318 surgery / 239.2 current - From size 48 pants to 36 - From size 4XLT shirts to Large - From size 58L suit jacket to 44L - From high cholesterol, blood pressure, and elevated liver enzymes to all normal ranges - From sleep apnea to no sleep apnea! I still have about 15lbs to get to my goal of 225 (I'm 6'3"). Over the past couple of months, I've been really focusing on heavy weight lifting as to not look like a deflated balloon. That has definitely slowed the weight loss, but I expected that to happen as I got near goal. Slow and steady wins the race this point. Here are some before and current pictures:

My surgeon has you start pureed on day 3 through the end of week 3. Then "soft foods" from week 4-6. Soft defined as you can cut it with a fork which included most meats aside from steak. Week 6-12 was anything except breads or rice. Week 12 was no restrictions.

"You don't seem big enough for weight loss surgery..." Well, I was over 50bmi, so if that's not, then what exactly IS "big enough"?!? ...or what I currently get is, "you're getting too skinny... you've got to stop losing!" Well, I JUST got out of obesity for the first time in 20+ years and am at 29bmi, so I'm not exactly, "too skinny." Ever notice how 99% of the time it's other obese people who make these comments? I suppose misery loves company, and the healthier you get, the worse the other obese people in your life feel about themselves as they see us improving our lives, gaining confidence, and getting attention. I just wish some others could be motivated to pick themselves up instead of trying to bring us down when they see our success.

I buy the Tesla brand compression shirts on Amazon. I've tried a bunch and like those best. As poster above said, but 1 size smaller than you normally wear. I like these because they're long and can be easily tucked in if wearing a an undershirt. https://www.amazon.com/Tesla-TM-MUA05-KLB_Large-Sleeveless-Compression-Baselayer/dp/B077ZP5P7X/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1530325887&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=tesla+compression+shirt

For the first time since about middle school (~20 years), I'm not obese! I'm officially overweight per BMI. May 30, 2017; 406lbs June, 22, 2018; 235.7lbs

For the first time since about middle school (~20 years), I'm NOT obese! 1st pic - May 30th, 2017; 406lbs 2nd pic - June 22nd, 2018; 235.7lbs

I'm almost 170lbs lost, and I swear it's tripled. LMAO!

Yes! My surgery date was 12/11/17 as well!

Are you using the website, mobile site, or mobile app? That makes a difference on where you find the options. If either of the mobile interfaces, it's well hidden.

Nice work! I forgot we are surgery twins (same date).

I wouldn't call it a "cheat" day, but just my new norm. I'm super strict throughout M-F with eating super clean (lean meats, veggies, limited starchy things, etc), and restrict calories to about 1100-1400. On Sat-Sun, I still track on MyFitPal, am aim for a calorie goal of ~1800-2000, but I allow myself to eat whatever I want within that calorie limit. Not only had this kept me sane in not really craving things throughout the week, but I think it's helped regulate my motabolism and prevent me from crashing it as I've read about others. I feeel the strategy has worked as I have a streak of now 39 straight weeks with losing weight at my Friday weigh-in (dates back to pre-surgery) and down almost 167lbs total since I started this process.