A venting coming on...

I did 25 minutes of the Cybex Arc Trainer at the gym this morning and now I'm getting ticked off again because my dang back/leg are hurting again. Can't I find something that will work with my limitations? For cripes sake. My cardiac capacity is great and I can do alot but my flipping back won't let me do a dang thing. Then there is my weight. I posted about the way the numbers go up and down the dang scale. Today 172. My lowest weight was 170 and it didn't last long. Since then I've been as high as 177 and now down to 172. What am I eating? 3 protein shakes a day (no change there) Breakfast: 3 oz tuna with enough mayo to stick it together, one of those SF peanut butter cookies (no flour...just PB, splenda, egg and vanilla) Lunch: Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich without the bun and pickle Dinner will be some protein and probably some green beans. Calorically my 3 shakes are 400 cals. The food thus far is about 600 cals. So I'm at 1000 cals without dinner. So add 300. And I burned over 300 at the gym this morning. Am I eating too much? If so how? Am I eating too little? I just don't know... Grrrrrr.... Note: the words "ticked off", "dang", "cripes", and "flipping" were chosen to be board friendly and were not my first choice of words! (Venting ended.) Have a nice day... Kathy

Kathy, Are you working with a nutritionist at all? Your calorie intake does not sound high at all to me. My nutritionist lets us bring in the last 5 days of a food diary and she goes over it with us to make suggestions. I haven't done that yet, but, will if I get a real weight loss stall. Have you tried water exercise? I know that can hurt too, but, it might be worth a try. I have to admit, as much as I exercise, my joints do hurt and at times, they really hurt. I really think it sucks but I don't know what to do about it. Lori

Lori, Unfortunately my new gym has no pool. I wi**** did. It is just so frustrating when your body is really capable of doing quite a bit from running 3.1 miles to doing 25-30 minutes of machine workout but that same body ends up reacting with pain, numbness, tingling. (Nerve into my right leg is the problem...stems from my lower back.) I'm going to have to try and see if the rowing machine, exercise bikes (regular and recumbant) or just simple walking on the treadmill will work for me. Something has to not cause pain, ya know? It just has to. They have a morning yoga class from 6 to 7 am that I might try. I took yoga before but it has been a long, long time. I'm a trooper and I'll just keep trying to find what works. At PT after my back surgery they had me walking on a treadmill or cycling to warm up so perhaps those are the best of choices. I just wanted to do something more fun. I do have access to the hospital nutritionist. What I'll do in the near future is keep a food journal for a while and bring the info in and see what they say. I'm really at a loss (for a loss). LOL! Thanks! Kathy

Oooo, Kathy, yoga can be a good way to booger your back up. It kinda depends on the teacher. You really need to be aware of your own limitations. Don't be fooled into believing that you're not hurting yourself if you feel *any* discomfort. And, most of all, DON'T let the teacher touch you. If they want to correct your posture, have them demonstrate or describe. Never, never let them push or pull you in any way. When my back is giving me trouble (and I don't have *near* the problems you do), I use the recumbent bike. I bring my lumbar pillow to put behind me on the seat. I can usually do 20-30 minutes this way. Afterwards, I stretch by lying on my back with my knees bent, then 10 minutes in hot tub. Eileen

Kathy First (as I am sure you know) I am not a doctor or a personal trainer but I would look at just working with weights for a while. Strenghten up those back, shoulder , buttock, and abd muscles. By building up these big muscle groups you will be able to give more stength and support to your weaker areas. I have noticed since I started lifting more weights my back has ached less and less. Talk to a personal trainer at your gym or even better give a call to a place or person who just does personal training ang get a session or two. The trainers who work independtly of the gym tend to give better more personalized info. Hope this helped Jen

Oh, c'mon Jen...admit it...you play a doctor on TV and a personal trainer on the internet! When I went to PT for my back...they worked on alot of muscle groups. I try to do those same exercises. I think you have the right idea here. I've been thinking about that myself that perhaps I should layoff the heavy cardio stuff and stick to stretching and strengthening. I actually was chatting briefly with one of the trainers at the gym today about not using the Cybex because it hurts me pretty good and he suggested the recumbant bike or at least the other Cybex since it doesn't have arm things that move because that would twist the body which is what I do not want to do. The gym gives us a free session every 4-6 weeks if we want but I also know of someone who does personal training and works with folks from our hospital's bariatric program. Perhaps a session with him. Cool thing is that he also does metabolic testing and I was curious to find out what caloric level my body operates at. It did help Dr. Jen! Kathy

I know this is probably different different depending on each Doc's opinion. My Doc does not want us counting our protein shakes as part of our daily cal intake. You should be getting 1200 to 1500 cal's a day not including shakes, plus it sounds like you need to balance in some more carbs, into your diet, just keep out the starch filled (white) carbs. This is what I have heard from a lot of the people I talk to on another private forum who have stalled, and it worked for them. They are all about 9 months to a year out also. Hope this helps. Joe 604/403/275

Hey Joe! I've read alot from people (long termers) that don't count the calories from protein shakes. I get about 400 a day from them. I do eat some veggie and occassionally fruit carbs. Some days I do lack in this area but I'm working on that! I just seem to have troubles with the more white carbs - which I guess isn't a surprise. I may add an additional protein shake in - I can fit it without reducing food intake. Figured that would be good considering I've been working out regularly and trying to tone up the muscle I have and build what perhaps was lost with the rapid weight loss. I'll definitely keep an eye on my caloric intake and see where I am without shakes. I'm curious. Congrats on losing 200+! My husband lost 205 lbs in 9 months and basically reached his goal. He went from 450 to 245. He is now 18 months post-op and maintaining within a 5 lb range which is excellent! I do appreciate your input. Best wishes, Kathy