RMR done today!
Well I had a major suprise today. I had my Resting Metabolic Rate done a little bit ago and I was really suprised.
I was guessing around 1200 give or take. Drum roll...bbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbr
It was 1670. Holy cow. I am good to get 1200 calories in a day! What a suprise. I was really concerned when I had picked up another pound the other day, but when I took my measurements, in the last month I have dropped 1/4 inch off my waist, 1 inch off my hips and added 1 1/1 inches to my thighs and 1 inch to my bicep/upper arms. I am definately building muscle mass, which is a good thing. 
I will be doing the Bod Pod again on or about the first week or so in March. It will interesting to see the changes on that thing.
Ok, news flash over, we will return you now to your regularly scheduled program.....
I will be doing the Bod Pod again on or about the first week or so in March. It will interesting to see the changes on that thing.
Ok, news flash over, we will return you now to your regularly scheduled program..... 
Hiya Val!
Wow that is awesome! 
When I am up on my weight lifting, my RMR stays high. When I was really sick, it dropped to 1500 or so, but got it back up again.
I'm back into my routines in my workouts pretty fully now, and I have noticed I'm starting to bulk up again, esp in the upper body. I am starting to get my weights gradually up on my squats again, though it is agonizing for me, for some reason, more than other body parts. I feel great after I do it, but I have to tell you that I suffer for the strength gains! I want to get more mass on my legs and hips, see more definition in my abs, though there are definite limits on my ability to do that, with loose skin there, so I am trying to train hard, get the skin as thin as possible, even if I can't get rid of it completely. It's really really hard for me, as I'm one of those people who genetically puts fat on the torso first and lose it last. Such a struggle with that! I feel like I'm beating my head against the wall on the abs, though, and I know that I will not be happy with it until I can get the loose skin gone. But mine is only really like wrinkled skin, and no medical issues that I am aware of.
What sort of medical issues do people have with the loose skin?
Hugs, Donna E. 
What's the Bod Pod?
Hugs, Donna
When I am up on my weight lifting, my RMR stays high. When I was really sick, it dropped to 1500 or so, but got it back up again.
I'm back into my routines in my workouts pretty fully now, and I have noticed I'm starting to bulk up again, esp in the upper body. I am starting to get my weights gradually up on my squats again, though it is agonizing for me, for some reason, more than other body parts. I feel great after I do it, but I have to tell you that I suffer for the strength gains! I want to get more mass on my legs and hips, see more definition in my abs, though there are definite limits on my ability to do that, with loose skin there, so I am trying to train hard, get the skin as thin as possible, even if I can't get rid of it completely. It's really really hard for me, as I'm one of those people who genetically puts fat on the torso first and lose it last. Such a struggle with that! I feel like I'm beating my head against the wall on the abs, though, and I know that I will not be happy with it until I can get the loose skin gone. But mine is only really like wrinkled skin, and no medical issues that I am aware of.
What sort of medical issues do people have with the loose skin?
Hugs, Donna E.
What's the Bod Pod?
Hugs, Donna Thanks!
I have been really pleased at the gains I have made. I have been more consistent lately than I have been in a while and it makes a big difference. It is part of my schedule now. The girls even know that mom trains 4 days a week and if they have learned to accept that and work around it.
I have more than "wrinkles" in my belly area. I bet I would drop at least 10-15 pounds of skin with surgery on my breasts and tummy with surgery. I know I would drop at least 2 or more pants sizes easily. I know I have fairly good abs under there, I can feel them, but they do need a little tightening up. The surgeon said the muscle integrity was good, he would just put a stitch in there to make them flat. I so hope I can get it all done.
As far as skin problems go mostly issues with irritation from skin on skin contact. Yeast infections, raw, cracked bleeding skin. Skin tags develop sometimes, and problems with hernias in really bad cases, and poor fitting clothing. It can really get nasty for folks who have lost massive amounts of weight, because the skin just doesn't go back at all. I have noticed my arms and legs getting tighter, but the boobs and tummy need a little help from surgery to be "normal" again.
The bod pod measures body fat/lean muscle mass percentages. It is a great tool to use when you are training to keep track of whether you are losing fat/building muscles, etc. I had one done on Jan 8 and I am doing one again in March to see if my training is working. I think it is. I had 102 pounds of lean muslce mass out of 154. Which I was told was pretty good. Coupled with my RMR I think I am really putting on the muscle now. I love it. I freaked out about the 34% body fat, but I was reminded that some of it is internal organ fat, I have excessive skin and that I had about 20+ pounds more lean muscle mass than the majority of women my age and weight. So, that made me feel better, especially when I calculated that I most likely had a body fat % of 60 or there abouts before surgery.
John B. told us about it, and I am glad we went. I will be curious to see my results come March, then again after I get my body reconstructed.
I am sorry you are having such a hard time with the agony. I had a little arthritic flare up the other day, and it hurt like he11 to train, but I kept thinking of you and it got me through my workout. I really don't have much pain at all when I work out. My only worry is my knees. They don't hurt much, but they sound like bowls of rice krispies when I press or squat. I have this fear of my knee blowing out....YIKES 
I wrap really really tight when I do that.
Hang in there!
Hugs,
Valerie
I wrap really really tight when I do that.
Hang in there!
Hugs,
Valerie 
My knees also sound like rice crispies. Especially the left. What causes all that cracking? Is it a fluid thing? I try to avoid it as best as I can but sometimes there is nothing I can do about it.
I bought the XXL knee brace the other day from sports authority - the largest one I could find. It still didn't fit correctly because my lower thigh is just too huge right now. The only other thing I can think of for a wrap is an ace bandage. Do you guys have any other suggestions?
I switched from my old sneakers to some new nike air trail running sneakers so I'm hoping that will also give me some extra support slightly on my ankles.
Yesterday I had hip pain too. Tonight (or this morning) it is 1:15 and I'm awake from knee pain again!! It is so frustrating. I was in bed at 9:30pm and now up again. I've stayed out of the gym since Wednesday too and have not done any major leg stuff in a week.
One cool thing to report - We built Dana a "personal training on the road kit" as hes picked up some clients outside of the gym that he is doing training at their houses. I got him the new bowflex dumbell set as a valentines present. They are the coolest things.
Check em out... http://www.fitfaq.com/bowflex-dumbells.html
They were out of stock on them at the local Sports Authority so they sold us the floor model for 25% off. Between that, the resistance tubes, new medicine balls, foam roallers, mats, step, stability ball, body bars, and all the other nifty assorted stuff we have we can really start to build a mobile/home gym and have that added opportunity to train in the house or wherever we go. At some point we will also try to build a real personal training studio once we buy a house but this is going to do the trick for now. Our dream is to be able to finish a basement or do an add on to a home and create a real personal training studio with an additional meditation/indoor zen garden/ yoga area type of space that has a seperate entrance? Val/Earl - Do you ever train anyone at your home? I notice you have a ton of equipment.
Hiya Val,
Well you SHOULD be pleased with the incredible gains that you have made and will continue to make! Isn't it neat when we finally get the kids trained to expect that workouts are a way of life for us post-ops? When I am heading to the gym after work or from home, nobody raises an eyebrow about it, because that is now *life as usual*. They can *see* why I do it from the results that I have achieved over time and that I continue to achieve. They can *see* the benefits that it has, not only to my life, but to the quality of life of the entire household! I am fitter, happier, have more energy, more creative, more enthusiastic, you name any part of my life, and my workouts and overall lifestyle choices have had a tremendously positive impact. In my job, the WLS and my resulting fitness have resulted in my getting two promotions, one year apart! So yeah, family accepting the workout schedule is pretty much a no-brainer, especially after you get down the road with the workouts and they can see the results, too.
I describe the skin on my belly as being wrinkled, though there is a slight sag to it, as well, though on a good day when my abs are as tight as they can be from working out, I can almost eliminate all but the wrinkling, but I can't sustain that over time. The skin over my abdomen hangs like garlands on a Christmas tree, to give you an idea. A plastic surgeon has also told me that my abdominal muscles down the center have been torn apart from the years of obesity and possibly child-bearing as well, and that they need to be *corsetted* back to restore alignment and provide the best support. The muscles could also use a stitch or two to bring them back to pre-obese tightness, and all of this the plastic surgeon viewed as *fine tuning* for me.
I am a size 6 petite or 7 junior now, clothing-wise, and I have quite a bit of excess skin there (don't know exactly how much weight-wise), and I think I would probably drop another pant size if I had the abdominoplasty done. I used to have tons of skin tags on my neck and face and abdomen before WLS, though not now. Where do those things go? I don't remember actually removing them, but I don't see them now.
Have you noticed improvement in fullness in the breasts from your chest workouts? I actually have, and since I stopped losing weight, I also have gotten a little of the fullness back independently of the muscle--not enough for me to be satisfied with what is left, to be sure, but every little bit helps till I can do something with them.
The agony is pretty much a given on the legs while I'm restoring myself to my routines and regaining lost muscle tissue, so I accept that, even if I'm not crazy about it! It is a common saying that the things we dislike doing the most are probably the things that we need to do the most, and that tends to drive my focus in my workouts. I do get to where I look forward to leg days after a while, which generally tells me that I've made some good progress, or else I would be dreading it! 
Speaking of leg day, today is leg day! I crashed early last night after two nights of 4 hrs of sleep. I just can't sleep late in the morning, so if I stay up late, I will be sleep-deprived. I woke up at 1:30, looked at the alarm clock, did the math, and thought, "Oh no, I can't do a leg workout with 4 hours of sleep, no way!" 
So I managed to coax myself back to sleep and slept till 5:30, which gave me a solid 8 hours and I woke up feeling good and ready to tackle the day! And speaking of leg workouts, I'm meeting my training partner at 9am, so I need to get my butt in gear! 
Hugs, Donna Earley
Isn't it neat when we finally get the kids trained to expect that workouts are a way of life for us post-ops? When I am heading to the gym after work or from home, nobody raises an eyebrow about it, because that is now *life as usual*. They can *see* why I do it from the results that I have achieved over time and that I continue to achieve. They can *see* the benefits that it has, not only to my life, but to the quality of life of the entire household! I am fitter, happier, have more energy, more creative, more enthusiastic, you name any part of my life, and my workouts and overall lifestyle choices have had a tremendously positive impact. In my job, the WLS and my resulting fitness have resulted in my getting two promotions, one year apart! So yeah, family accepting the workout schedule is pretty much a no-brainer, especially after you get down the road with the workouts and they can see the results, too.
I describe the skin on my belly as being wrinkled, though there is a slight sag to it, as well, though on a good day when my abs are as tight as they can be from working out, I can almost eliminate all but the wrinkling, but I can't sustain that over time. The skin over my abdomen hangs like garlands on a Christmas tree, to give you an idea. A plastic surgeon has also told me that my abdominal muscles down the center have been torn apart from the years of obesity and possibly child-bearing as well, and that they need to be *corsetted* back to restore alignment and provide the best support. The muscles could also use a stitch or two to bring them back to pre-obese tightness, and all of this the plastic surgeon viewed as *fine tuning* for me.
I am a size 6 petite or 7 junior now, clothing-wise, and I have quite a bit of excess skin there (don't know exactly how much weight-wise), and I think I would probably drop another pant size if I had the abdominoplasty done. I used to have tons of skin tags on my neck and face and abdomen before WLS, though not now. Where do those things go? I don't remember actually removing them, but I don't see them now.
Have you noticed improvement in fullness in the breasts from your chest workouts? I actually have, and since I stopped losing weight, I also have gotten a little of the fullness back independently of the muscle--not enough for me to be satisfied with what is left, to be sure, but every little bit helps till I can do something with them.
The agony is pretty much a given on the legs while I'm restoring myself to my routines and regaining lost muscle tissue, so I accept that, even if I'm not crazy about it! It is a common saying that the things we dislike doing the most are probably the things that we need to do the most, and that tends to drive my focus in my workouts. I do get to where I look forward to leg days after a while, which generally tells me that I've made some good progress, or else I would be dreading it!
Speaking of leg day, today is leg day! I crashed early last night after two nights of 4 hrs of sleep. I just can't sleep late in the morning, so if I stay up late, I will be sleep-deprived. I woke up at 1:30, looked at the alarm clock, did the math, and thought, "Oh no, I can't do a leg workout with 4 hours of sleep, no way!" So I managed to coax myself back to sleep and slept till 5:30, which gave me a solid 8 hours and I woke up feeling good and ready to tackle the day! And speaking of leg workouts, I'm meeting my training partner at 9am, so I need to get my butt in gear!
Hugs, Donna Earley Most Active
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