Activity Level???

One other thing - what are we all doing for exercise? I've not been given the green light on weight training yet, but I've been trying to walk at least 30' per day. Have been swimming at the YMCA a few times too. I'm hoping the MD lets me hit the weights after my 8wk follow up this Wednesday!

I got the green light to start weight training at the gym, but alas, due to four weeks off and my transcription job being production oriented, the wallet just wasn't having any of that yet - so hopefully the budget and the paychecks will match again by the 15th of july and I can join the local gym and get a trainer. So for now it's walking outside 30 min and/or using my gazelle inside 15/30 min a day. Inky

I was told on my one month visit that I can do any form of exercise. I've been walking, usually 4 miles on the track or about 2 miles on a treadmill, step aerobics once or twice a week, horseback riding, swimming, I even got a chance to try scuba diving which is really cool. I joined the ymca, if you have a local one, they go by your income, my membership is only $18 a month.

I am like you my surgeon said I have to wait till my 3 month check up then I will be cleared for all food (within reason) and exercise. I love lifting weight so I can't wait to go back to that! dee

Gosh, I'm so jealous that everyone is able to excercise. If you all remember I blew out my knee just before my surgery and it's still in a bad way. I'm having surgery on it in Sept/Oct so until them I'm limited in what I can do. Even walking for any lenth is a challenge and my knee begins to hurt & swell. I really want to join Curves near our house but until after my knee surgery it would just be a waste of money. I know I need to exercise too so it's really frustrating for me. I did dance all night at a wedding last weekend and man did I pay the price afterwards. My knee hurt like hell and I had it on ice the whole next day. I hope not being able to exercise right away doen't hurt my weight loss in anyway. Cheers!

Lisa - have you tried swimming? I'm a therapist and work in an orthopedic surgery group with folks with bum knees, many of them can swim better than they can walk. One nice thing about the water is that when you're up to your waist level you only have about 50-60% of your body weight on your knees and feet. Just an idea, hope you have a pool available!

Swimming would be great but we live in a small town surrounded by farms! There's no YMCA's near me & no public pools nearby either. EVerything is about a 45 minute or more away. We are thinking of getting a pool for next summer... but that's a long way off. Until then I don't know what I'll do. I might just try lifting weights with my upper body & crunches to tone up and maybe some simple leg lifts that don't much stress on my knee. Cheers!

Hi Jeffrey, I'm so glad you asked this question. My exercise schedule is pretty similar to yours. I joined a gym and started working out like a maniac, alternating days of swimming laps with weight training and cardio, plus walking the dog every night for half an hour or so. But my weight loss completely stopped and I started feeling dehydrated, even though I was trying my best to sip water all day. I looked at my calorie intake and realized I was burning too many calories for the amount I was able to take in, and my body was in starvation mode. After exercising, I had like 200 or 300 calories left to live on for the day! It was such a weird problem to have! So, I decided to scale way back for now. Now, I just swim once or twice a week and walk the dog at a moderate pace every night for 30-40 minutes. The weight is coming off again, and it feels like the right thing to do. As I'm able to take in more calories, I'll increase my exercise level. I have to keep reminding myself that "normal" rules don't apply at this point! Also, I have to mention how wonderful it is and how grateful I am that I am able to do this much. At my heaviest, I could barely walk a block without getting completely winded and feeling like my knees and ankles were breaking. Now I hardly have any pain and don't even worry about the distance!

Lisa, that's a bummer about being out in the sticks and no place to swim. Sounds like low impact for you is the best way to go. Too bad you don't have that pool now - it's a great way to unload that knee and unwind that psyche at the same time. Some would say a pool is a hole in your backyard you throw money into, but when I was a kid, it was great having the only pool in the neighborhood (even though I did have to clean it). Hang in there!

Just started officially working out last week...1 am only doing 15 minutes of eliptical every other day with some very light weights. I had a personal training session about a month ago and hurt all over for about 3 weeks! I don't want to do that again or hurt that much for that long. I wasn't really taking in enough protein or fluids to have any energy until this the last week or so. Of course, my weight loss almost immediately stopped this week with the increased activity...I know it is likely more muscle, but I still hate that thought of gaining weight when I am working out.