BlackBerryJuice

I still have some head hunger 1.5+ years out. Things that help include imagining myself eating the food I'm thinking about - for example, half an hour ago I was pondering digging into the bag of milk chocolate Chipits - and focusing on how the taste would not meet my expectations and on how I'd regret it once I started getting reflux after, etc. Also, I like to brew a cup of tea and drink that to see if my vague hunger is actually thirst - or just an oral fixation that can be appeased with something less calorific.

Ditto. Plus it's not like I hadn't ALREADY tried all kinds of diets, workouts, and what not.

They have a ton of sugar in them. You're better off going to the real Starbucks and ordering Iced Coffee with Milk - half the price of an iced latte and less sugar.

What do you do now? There are still some things I cannot do, e.g. skin-the-cats, but generally, if I had a dime for every day I looked at the workout for the day, thought "Holy crap, no way I could handle this," and then finished, I'd be rich.

It's a program that's geared towards all-around fitness - includes heavy lifting (Olympic lifts), speed work, bodyweight exercises e.g. pull-ups, etc. Generally, every workout is different, although there are a couple of benchmark workouts that you can do every month or however often you want to see how you've progressed. Some workouts are very endurance/speed-geared, whereas others are pretty low-intensity and focus on building strength. It's a good thing to get into if you like really challenging stuff and are bored with the regular gym stuff. I'd say it's the next step up from bootcamps. http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/what-crossfit.html

Impact is one thing, but I think the biggest thing is that you don't really have to raise your knees on the elliptical - when you push down on one pedal, the other one automatically comes up for you. So there's half the work right there. Also, running outside is harder than the treadmill, because with the treadmill, you don't have to work to propel yourself forward. I keep hearing that elliptical and treadmill are equally challenging, but let's get real, running is way harder. I don't believe those calorie counters.

Red Mill is just a brand of flour (Bob's Red Mill). If you can't find it in the regular baking aisle at your store, try the health foods aisle. Almond meal is like powdered almonds. I have some that I bought at an Asian supermarket, not sure if I've seen any at my Safeway. I'm sure you can make some yourself by getting some slivered almonds and putting them through a food processor for a few seconds.

Dammit, now I want to go for hot pot for dinner. ARGH!

Mmmm, I love hot pot! I think when you go, it's best to go with at least 2 other people. When my boyfriend and I went, we have the issue of wanting to put EVERYTHING into our hot pot and then it ends up being pretty expensive - and we can't finish because I can only eat so much. It's SO good, though!

How much cheese do I eat in a day? NOT ENOUGH..... Boiling an egg to have with delicious St. Paulin cheese now that I've seen this thread....

Looks good! I'll be trying it soon, for sure! I'll paste the recipe in my reply, as I personally had trouble opening that file: Pumpkin Banana Bread Red Mill Flour 1/4c Almond meal 1/2 c Rolled Oats Grinded 2tbs Coconut powder 2tbs Flax seed meal 4sco Isopure Creamy vanilla 1c Splenda grandulated 1/2 tsp Salt 1/2tsp Baking powder 1/2tsp Baking soda 1/2tsp Cinnamon Vanilla sweetener Blend separately 3 egg whites 2 super ripe bananas 1can organic pumpkin 1/2c, applesauce Add dry ingredients ½ at a time, blend then add other half Grease 2 9 inch bread pans 350 for 40 minutes

I agree with others who said you should try finding a job that doesn't involve being around unhealthy food. I took a job at Tim Hortons once - before the sleeve - ate 5 donuts on my first day and quit the next day because I knew I'd balloon by like 20 pounds a month if I stayed there. In the meantime, I'd make sure you eat BEFORE coming to work, so you are not tempted, and have healthy Snacks on hand so you can have them the second you start feeling hungry - that way you'll be less likely to make bad choices. I imagine you probably get a free meal at work. Things like 1 cheeseburger, a fillet-o-fish with half of the bun taken off, or snack wraps are not as bad as some of the other options. I eat at McDs on occasion and it just comes down to portion control and avoiding things that are awful for you and don't fill you up (e.g. fries). At least the sandwiches have Protein.

That looks good!

I had some just yesterday! I find that just boiling them in salted Water is good. I recently came across a recipe that made edamame-based guacamole, I thought it was a neat idea - you keep the avocado taste and nice green color, but you get a bit of extra Protein and Fiber in the dip.

25 lbs is a healthy weight gain. You'll lose like 10 right away at delivery, with the baby/placenta/amniotic fluid. The massive uterus (which went from the size of a small orange to bigger than a large watermelon) and the breast engorgement make up another good 5-7 lbs, so you can expect to drop that weight in the first month or so, at least as far as the uterine shrinkage is concerned. So most of this weight has nothing to do with fat. I think you'll be able to lose the odd 5 or so lbs of fat you gained by breastfeeding and using your sleeve to your advantage.

You'll be fine, I'm in medical school and got a VSG over the summer break - 2 weeks before we started classes. I am now on clinicals, so I'm often working upwards of 80 hours a week at all kinds of weird times of day, but I still find time to work out 3 times a week and I pack healthy food with me. I've succumbed to treats in the nurses' lounge at like 3 AM on occasion, but it's not that often.

Mine was like $5. I also get a slightly different reading at the Dr's - then again, whenever I'm at the Dr's, I'm wearing clothes and have at least had something to drink, possibly a full meal, whereas at home I'm buck naked and on an empty stomach. I personally think the actual # is not as important as the progress. As you are a lot more likely to weigh yourself regularly at home than at the Dr's, I'd just track your progress with your home scale. Unless it's definitely broken and give you crazy readings all over the place, I don't think it really matters.

Yeah, I'm definitely more cold these days.

Oh wow, that's so sweet! I remember being a broke college student and digging through garbage bins for food. I mentioned in on a forum I used to post on and a couple of folks sent me super-nice care package with goodies! It was so awesome!

Try canned tuna, it's nice and soft, and better nutrition value than deli meat.

What circa said. Re: Protein, I've heard of 2 g per lb of bodyweight, 1.5 g per lb of bodyweight, 1 g per lb of bodyweight, and 1 g per kg of bodyweight....bottom line, just make sure your diet is high in protein and call it a day. I get like 70-110 g/day and keep putting on muscle mass. The most important time for protein intake is within 30 mins of your workout. If you have a shake after your workout, you're set.

You shouldn't be having pizza at this point.

Bodybuilding.com is a good resource for putting together workouts and exercise demos.

Great post, Suzanne! That said, I did buy a small heart-shaped blueberry cobbler for the two of us to share after dinner....but it's ok because today I did 70 squats, 70 burpees, 70 pull-ups, 70 push-ups, 70 double-unders, 70 sit-ups, and 70 hanging knee-to-elbows. :biggrinjester: