A little disappointed .....

I heard back from my surgeon's office today about driving and also riding my exercise bike. It is ok to drive ONLY if I am in no pain and not taking any narcaotics (pain pills etc). No problem there, haven't even taken a Tylenol since 3rd day out. His policy is no exercise except for walking until the 8th week, then I will only be released to do very limited exercise. We will go in to more detail when I see him the next week. I told them I was using the Tony Little Gazelle (feet only, holding on to the bar in front) as walking on the concrete really aggreviated my arthritis. They called me back to tell me that he wasn't thrilled that I was using it and would prefer that I didn't. The concern is that I may fall off or stumble as I get off and could really do some damage to my healing body. The issue with excercise is the distinct possibility of hernias forming as I am healing. He is very conservative on getting his patients back to the gym etc. Walking is the focal point for a while. I really believe in my surgeon and know he has my best interests at heart. So I am going to follow his plan/requests. I have an easier time walking the mall then walking on concrete, so told hubby that we need to drive to the mall each night and walk. Also will have to check with our gym to see if our membership can be frozen until I can return to work out. It was just disappointing and I was hoping to boost the weight loss by riding the exercise bike now. The scale hasn't moved in a week. Know it will all work out. Just wanted to talk about it. Mary

Hey Mary, I know it's disappointing but you will lose the weight regardless, and you don't want to hurt yourself. As far as the walking goes, just keep it up, also you might try walking at a good steady pace and then every two minutes pick up the pace ALOT as though you are trying to pass someone on a track. Keep that pace for 30 seconds to a minute, then back down to the good steady pace. Just be sure not to drop back down to far. That helps the intensity of your walks.

The problem I have with walking is that I have arthritis in my hips and knees. So walking at a slow steady pace on anything but concrete is my only way to do it. If I speed up, it locks up my hips, same with walking on concrete. I haven't had any problems riding the bike (pre-surgery) so was hoping to get back to it soon. It's OK, I know the weight will come off. You are right, I definitely don't want to get hurt.

Mary, I'm sorry to hear your disappointment, I just replied to your last email before I read this one. Try looking at it this way: I'ts only 4 1/2 weeks or so to wait. Your surgeon has been doing this for a while and is really just trying to give you the speediest and healthiest recovery. If you were to hurt yourself, you could set yourself back months. Be patient and remember to look at all your great accomplishments. YOUR DOING SOOOO WELL!!! Sometimes, I think that finding my patients is the hardest part of the journey.I keep telling myself, I didn't put it all on in a year. It may not all come off in a year. Keep up the good work and focuson the new milestones. You'll have alot to deal with as you start trying new foods. I find about 1 out of 3 new foodssends me to worship the porcelan god. Good luck I'm rooting for you, Eileen

Eileen, Definitely not devastated, just disappointed. I'm absolutely going to follow his guidelines. He is a great surgeon and I know he knows his stuff. Figure of all, he's the one I need to trust and follow with this. Thanks for your encouragement. I'm sorry you are having problems with foods. I tried pinto beans with small amount of cheese tonight (pureed it when I got home). So far so good. The paperwork I received said nausea "could" be caused by eating too fast, over eating, or not chewing well enough. I know it is going to be a day by day process. Hope you find some food that agree with your tummy. Mary

Mary - Hang in there - it's not terribly uncommon for the scale to 'hang out' on a weight for up to a week and a half and then move all of a sudden, and sometimes drastically. If you were further out, there are some 'tips' such as checking your water intake, eating a SMALL amount more, and increasing exercise that can break stalls, but seeing as you (as I am) are just a short distance out and not past the 'honeymoon' yet (lol), then it's probably just your body's reaction to the 'you're STARVING me!" impression it gets... Hang in there - it will come off... It just chooses to do so in it's own time (lol - like our fat has a mind of it's own... ) (a lot of my 'experience' is from support groups and the fact I supported my wife through her surgery (7 mos out, 70 lbs gone forever), since I'm only 3 weeks out myself lol) ...Nick 347/316/165 (LapRNY, 2/27/04)