Are ya'll exercising??

Ok...I am going to be honest and say that I don't exercise...Nope - none...I do walk a lot at my job as a high school counselor - but I am not doing any exercise routine.... The weight is continuing to come off and I feel great (except for occasional - which is something I have just come to expect). The amount of weight I have lost (right at 40 pounds) seems comparable to others who had surgery at the same time... So - need someone to sell me on why I should exercise...(Hard sell tactics will be required...) Anne 260/220/150

I guess one of the main reasons to exercise is to help tone the muscles and tighten the skin. I also find I feel more energized when I exercise - not that I go nuts or anything. I walk at least a mile 2x a day. Believe it or not, this couch potato actually looks forward to it now!! Hugs, Nancy

Hey Anne....yep, I've started exercising, I'm up to 45 minutes on my Gazelle. The exercise seems to be increasing my energy level. At least the desire to hibernate is slowly decreasing. What I have also noticed is I drop .5 or more on the days I exercise. I think the first 30 pounds or so are the easy pounds....after that if we don't exercise the weight loss is going to stall. Oh and by the way. unless you are walking at school for more then 10 minutes at a constant rate it doesn't count as exercise as your heart rate doesn't go up. I tried that with my doc and it didn't fly!!! CJ 246/209/138

Anne, Right now we are in the Honeymoon stage of WLS....we will lose weight no matter what we do. After about 6 months the weight loss slows and after a year or so we really have to work to lose the rest or even to maintain our loss. Exercise is the key to losing down to your goal weight and maintaining that loss. The first 6 months are our time to learn healthy habits so that they become a part of our lifestyle. If you start an exercise program now and keep at it consistently, you will reap the benefits for the rest of your life. If you don't, you will hit more and longer stalls in your weight loss, maybe not even make your goal weight, and see your weight start creeping back up. It is just as important as our vitamins and protein! Now drop and give me 20! Denise

I started doing water aerobic and lifting weights prior to surgery and lost 21 lbs. The exercise made me feel better, and the weightlifing helped to tone up the flab. I fell down the steps and tore a groin muscle which is just now healing. I finally am going to go back to water aerobic tomorrow, and I am excited. I am hoping the exercise at the YMCA will prevent or lessen the need for plastic surgery. On the plus side, I have met many nice people - the weightlifting is done in a class environment and I have really gotten to know some of the folks. So for me, I feel better, I look better, and I made new friends. Guess that is my hard sell tactic for you!! Jules

I'm not really exercising all that much. I do attend ASU, so I walk A LOT around the campus 3 days a week. I work at a domestic violence agency the other two days of the week. I am SO zonked by the time I get home that it's all I can do to make dinner, do homework, get my daughter ready for bed, and go to bed myself. I don't know how you guys have the energy to be exercising as much as you do! I guess it's just another thing I will have to work on in addition to getting all that darn protein in! Take care, Shannon

I have been out of surgery for 1 month and 10 days. I have walked a total of maybe 30minutes on the treadmill. Of course, I have had to recently move back home (not fun) so I had to move htings out of my townhouse apartment. I did the stairs quite a few times and moved boxes over teh 10lb and 20lb limit (including helping carry a mattress set) so during that time I refused to walk as I was exhausted and hurting. But, I have been moving around more than I ever have. I know that it is not enough bu tI am just glad that I moving more. I need to get on the treadmill. . .just not sure why it is so dang hard to exercise. I swear once Iget things unpacked and organize I will break out the bellydancing and yoga dvds. . .I swear!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lisa

Hi, Anne! I started walking before the surgery because I knew I needed all the strength I could get. I was so happy because I used my legs to lift myself instead of those abdominal muscles. Since the surgery i have been out everyday even if it was only for .5 miles. Even 15 minutes. I understand, I work at school too but the walk at night is different--clears my brain, my legs look great (much more firm than other parts of my body so I will be looking into resistance/strength exercises for upper body). I hate walking!!!!! So I went out and bought a cd player with great cd music and now I don't mind it. As a reward to myself, I buy a new cd. I like the cd with "the best of" and "favorites of...." because there are lots of songs I like instead of only a couple on the cd. If you don't like walking--try something else. I am ready to go back to jazzercise soon. I love to dance so I love that. For now my husband is walking with me which is good together time and he is dropping weight too. Hope that helps, Bunny

I know this person who after one year from WLS lost over a hundred pounds with no excercise. This person still looks like a morbid obese person because of all the loose skin. I know that excercise will not tighten all of your skin, but it does help with some of it. I walk an average of 4 days a week for 20 minutes each day. My doc just gave me the "okay" to start lifting weights, so I am now lifting arm weights every other night. I am also going to start doing sit-ups. I figured that was better than nothing! Carol

I've been walking the treadmill. Next week, my workout routine will be a bit different. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will be taking a beginner's step aerobics class. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I will walk on the treadmill. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I will lift weights. Anything more than this will be bonus!