Marlowe

Hey - glad to hear that you're recouping and starting to think about getting back at it. I agree w/others that you should listen to what your docs advise you relative to getting back to working out. I had hernia surgery about 10 weeks ago, and for me at least it was a longer recuperation than I had anticipated, but I've now been back at it working out for about a month and I'm finally back to where I was before I first got injured. It can be frustrating, but my only advise is to keep your eye on the longer term and listen to your body (and your docs) as you get back into things. Good luck!

Very nice - congrats! Great feeling to make a breakthrough like that!

With all due respect, this thread comes across like victimology to me. Even the article you're posting as an example is tenuous... it's going after the 'raw food' movement much more than the Paleo diet. Personally, I've been on the paleo diet for about 6 months and I've literally not heard one word from any of my friends/family that was remotely negative. Indeed, most people when they hear about it are intrigued and want to hear more. Granted, I live in a very open-minded city, but I am 100% sure that vegetarians and vegans face comments and snarkiness significantly more frequently than a Paleo ever would. There will always be a very small % of people who aren't accepting of a way of life or diet that's different than their own. But, the vast, vast majority of people out there are totally fine with a diet like this, as long as they don't feel like the person who is on the diet is being sanctimonious or judgmental about people who don't follow 'the way'. So in sum, I'd strongly recommend putting things in perspective. On an historical basis of people and groups who have been persecuted, Paleo diet Americans in 2012 are pretty damned low on the list. Have the courage of your own convictions and stop being so defensive if some either don't buy in or have another POV. I personally don't like it when someone pushes their religion, way of life, philosophy of life on me, so maybe some of the supposed negativity is more of a reaction to how it's been presented moreso than the subject. Maybe I'm an outlier, but I don't give a flying F whether anyone agrees or disagrees with how I choose to eat. I'd advise a bit of a thicker skin and a bit more courage of conviction that doesn't get thrown off by some silly article.

If your friend gets back into Yoga, that is a good thing. But, in and of itself, as waldo notes, it ain't gonna make you slim, as it's all of the ancillary stuff that goes along with it, like eating betterer, living a healthier lifestyle, etc. Don't worry about it -- you just used a short hand for everything you've been doing rather than actively deceiving her.

All due respect, no matter how sensitively you write a note like that, it's never going to be well-received in the form of a facebook message. You should've had a live conversation with her. Her non-response is either, "I can't even begin to know how to respond to this" or a, "f**k you, chick, I didn't like you in the first place".

Okay so tomorrow is the day. I'm having laporacopy, and the surgeon thinks I should be back exercising within a couple of weeks. Anyway, I'm glad to get this over with. Good times -- bring it!

Interesting.... http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/02/fast-food-restaurant-caveman-diet-copenhagen Fast-food restaurant inspired by 'caveman diet' to open in Copenhagen Chef Thomas Rode Andersen looks to the stone age for paleo menu that offers bread-free hot dogs and pizzas Thomas Rode Andersen has looked to the Palaeolithic period for his new fast-food reataurant, Pæleo, soon to open in Copenhagen. There will be hot dogs and pizzas, but no buns or dough; meat, fish, berries and vegetables, but no starch, refined sugars or dairy products. This is fast food that's fit for a caveman. While modern Nordic cuisine has catapulted the Danish capital to the top of the culinary world, the chef behind takeaway restaurant Palæo looked for inspiration from the stone age – or palaeolithic period – to create "primal gastronomy". "Bread is the devil," says Thomas Rode Andersen, 43, who has created the menu for Palæo and is head chef at the Michelin-starred Kong Hans in Copenhagen. After divorcing in 2005 he started dating a younger woman and swapped late-night beers and snacks for "paleo" food and exercise. In the last couple of years he has become something of a poster boy for the paleo movement in Denmark, but he still allows himself the odd break from the diet. "There is room for a glass of red wine once in a while. If I want to smoke a cigarette I will do that but there might be two months in between," says Andersen. "For me it now becomes a rich sensory experience to sit down on a Sunday and eat a piece of rye bread with pickled herring and have a glass of schnapps." Andersen hopes his takeaway, which opens in Copenhagen within weeks, will inspire people to try a healthy alternative to standard fast food. The menu includes "meatza", essentially a meat pizza turned upside down with a base of organic ground beef topped with baked tomatoes, pickled mushrooms and parsley pesto. For the hot dog, the sausage with wild leeks comes in an egg-based wrapper, while the risotto is made of small kernels of celeriac shaped to look like long-grain rice. Andersen cherishes the challenge of cooking modern food under paleo rules. "Making Tournedos Rossini is dead easy. You just buy some foie gras, some truffles and fry some bread and beef fillet. That's not hard. It's harder to create two desserts without sugar." For the menu at Palæo he uses ripe pears to sweeten the puddings.Berlin lays claim to having Europe's first paleo restaurant, which opened last year, and the diet has had a large following in the US and among practitioners of the CrossFit training programme. Some critics say the original caveman diet was more varied than suggested, pointing to archaeological studies that show traces of grains found on grinding stones dating back 30,000 years. Cornell McClellan, who is the personal fitness trainer for Barack Obama, also questions whether it is possible to mimic a prehistoric diet. In an article for the Chicago Sun Times, McClellan wrote: "Our stone age ancestors were not eating factory farmed meat, which is full of chemicals and hormones. Unless you have a spear handy and access to unlimited buffalo, you are going to have a hard time truly eating like a caveman." Andersen says he is fed up with being known as the "stone-age chef", but believes he has a duty to champion the diet because too many people walk around "feeling like hell". "It's all about going back to something original, going back to what we are designed to eat and the way our bodies are designed to work, and nothing to do with what we have come up with in the interim 10,000-12,000 years."

I guess I'm a contrarian on this one, but if it were me I'd probably stop inviting her to the 'extra' stuff, similar to what oystergirl said. I mean, geez, if her boyfriend said she doesn't feel like she connects with you guys, why waste each others' time? Life's too short to waste time with people who aren't putting in an effort or you aren't mutually benefiting from. Of course you're totally nice when you do see each other, 'cuase it's not like she's a bad person or you dislike her. But, just like you don't spend time with most of people at work but are pleasant enough around them, you don't need to force something that ain't there.

I appreciate all of the practical, money-saving suggestions such as these! I have also looked into whether I can just rent a laparoscope by the hour and do it myself. I mean, how hard can it be, right?

Thanks for the nice words, guys. I just got back from getting an ultrasound, and.... hernia-ville! She said it was a genetic defect and sort of one of those things that may or may not manifest itself one day. Good times. So, next week it's off to the surgeon I go for a consult. Oh well, just one of those things I gotta deal with, but it does suck that I'll be out of commission for several weeks. Meh.

Okay so I have a "man only" confession... A little over a week ago I was in the midst of a workout and was doing some dumbbell bicep curls, and I felt something 'give' down below. It was super sore the rest of the day and the next, and I gave it the rest of the week to see if it would get better. Unfortunately, it didn't. So, today I went to the dr and it was inconclusive whether it's a hernia or a deep sprain. So tomorrow I go to get a sonogram to find out. My gut (no pun intended) tells me it's a hernia because I've never experienced anything like this before and it's not getting any better. It only hurts a bit, but I am walking gingerly and if I do something like a pushup I can feel the strain build up. I have now gone a week and a half without a workout, which is driving me completely crazy. I have all of this excess energy and no real outlet for it. Anyway, all I can do now is wait and see what's up. Yikes...

I agree w/others -- I love going into the whirlpool and then the steam room after a workout at the gym, before taking a shower and getting back to my work day. I'm sure there are studies that will show some medical benefits, but more than anything, it's for people who get relaxation out of it and it works akin to a sorbet or buffer between your workout and 'real' life. I like the feeling of getting the sweat out and I feel relaxed and energized after it. But if it's not your thing, no worries.... I think it's one of those personal preference dealios.

I just bought a book or two and took a few practice tests, and that worked for me. The problem though, is that the norm nowadays most people are taking prep classes and studying a lot; so, if you don't do likewise you're at a relative competitive disadvantage. Part of it depends upon how best you learn.... if you get the most out of lectures, take a class. If you're a self-studier, buy a few books or sign up for one of the online prep sites. But, if you're committing to investing X months out of your life to go to grad school, the bottom line is that you should also devote a lot of time and energy studying for the GMAT, researching programs, and applying to the skoolz you are most interested in. Bon chance...

The more you work out the better you're able to judge where your limits are. And, the better you know where your limits are, the more you should be pushing up against them. Many will argue that it's all about getting yourself to those last 2 reps, 'cause that's where the maximum growth happens. But, I definitely agree with the above that you need to make sure you're maintaining form to get there.

Cool! if you do end up going to the botanical garden... be sure to have a Singapore $5 bill with you, because the tree that's on the back is in the middle of the garden. So, you can get a picture of yourself holding a $5 while standing next to the tree. It's cheesy but fun. The best place to have a drink to get a dramatic view is the top of the Swishotel building. The Swisshotel is just right of downtown and has a 72nd floor bar that has an absolutely amazing view of the city. For a very cool rooftop bar that's lower to the ground but gives a great vibe, try out Screening Room, which is in Chinatown (just north of downtown). http://www.screeningroom.com.sg/aboutus.aspx