Do most people use fitday or some other journal to track food intake, goals, and workouts? Were the WLS programs you were/are in ever require it? I kind of go back and forth on it because I don't want to get to obsessed with what I am eating but when I find myself less aware of what I am doing or falling off track I go back to it. Maybe I should just make it part of my daily life like exercise instead of going back and forth. I decided today was a good time to start up again especially since my diet is off and not as clean as I would like it to be. I think it will help with accountability as well as give me some good prep prior to surgery. I also thought that documenting exactly what I ate during all off the phases might be helpful to others too. This is the link to my fitday if you are curious: http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=STACYKIELTY

Really great info Donna. Much of what you mentioned fits in line with my thinking on Bill as well as how I envision what my life might be post WLS once my weight is stable. I've learned about so many variations on nutrition that it is probably going to be more important to ignore them and just listen to my surgeons advice during that first year. However, I want to make sure once I am stable that I am feeding my body what it needs so that I can meet all of my fitness goals. It's so nice to see all the people here that have had WLS and are still able to be bodybuild and or workout just as hard as a person that has not had WLS. You guys are all such an inspiration!! .

I did a modified form of the BFL at one point, on the exercise. I read his ideas about all of it, then took it and changed it to fit me, both for the diet and for exercise. It was a good starting place. After that, I worked with professional body building trainers who took me out past that. As far as the surgeon's protocol on my eating, I'm now going on 2 years post op, long ago understood the rationale behind the various protocols and adapted them to fit my requirements. For instance, during muscle-building periods, and even in general, my protein intake far exceeds the recommended protein intake for a post-op (100-150g/day). I consume much more water than what is recommended by the surgeon's protocol as well. My vitamin supplementation exceeds their requirements. I use more liquid protein supplementation to meet my protein needs than they recommend (they want you to generally get 100% of your protein from food this far out postop, but that is not realistic for me, though some of my protein comes from regular food). I exercise more than they require. I eat less fat than they allow post-ops to eat, though at least as much as the minimum of 10%. I don't tolerate most fats very well at all. I eat based on a schedule even now, and don't sit around waiting till I feel hungry. I consume what my body requires daily, and adjust as needed for changes in my routines that affect my daily requirements. Sometimes I feel ravenous, like very soon after a heavy leg workout , while other times my stomach isn't growling when it's time to get more protein in. I do get occasional cravings (hormone driven), and recognize them when they hit. Sometimes when I suddenly feel a tremendous urge to eat a very specific food, I will look at that and try to figure out if my body is trying to tell me there's something it actually needs right then. Sometimes there is, sometimes it's just a craving. While I understand Bill Phillips ideas about working out on an absolutely empty stomach, especially for cardio, I don't necessarily do it that way. I do my cardio *after* my weights, except that I never do cardio after a leg workout. Since I am doing weights first, rather than cardio, I prefer to have had a pre-workout *meal* timed ahead of my workout correctly. I make sure that I've had some good protein and a few good carbs an hour or two prior to a workout and I make sure that I get in some protein with some carbs to push back into the muscles, along with some vitamin supplementation, within 30 minutes after my weight lifting session. I try to keep my carbs low late in the day or at least not simple carbs, and keep more of my carb consumption earlier in the day when I need the energy. I try to make sure that there are a bit of simple carbs in my post-workout drink to get it into my bloodstream as quickly as possible at that time to restore glycogen depletion to the muscles. There are a lot of other options for varying your weight lifting/training program besides the one that Bill has laid out, and as you keep researching other info out there, I think there are some neat alternatives that you might want to try as you go along. I learned a lot of variations since back when I did BFL, especially working with different trainers, that are helpful for specific objectives. So I think that the BFL program is an excellent program, especially for someone to start with while they learn to customize to their own requirements. This program is a very general program that can apply to anyone. There is lots of helpful info in his book, and you can build a good structure with it and start wrapping your brain around a lot of stuff, that you can then take and make a program that is best suited just for your individual needs. With kindest regards, Donna E. www.teklawgirl.biz

That makes sense. It is a really good workout plan especially if you need some structure, are trying to do it on your own, and don't have a personal trainer. I found it very easy to follow by myself. Once I did start personal training I ended up enjoying the PT workouts more than the BFL because they were always changing and different. However, I'm not so sure I could duplicate the PT workouts on my own on a regular basis. I do know many people who have done BFL and loved it. Matter of fact several of them have repeated the BFL program two or three times back to back and continue to get good results.

Thanks Alicia, I look forward to it! With kindest regards, Donna Earley www.teklawgirl.biz