Gain After Exercise?

Hi Sherry!! What a great idea! We were both right and wrong! I picked up on the starvation mode- thinking the body is squealing because its not getting enough calories..I dont use a lot of salt-but the protein for muscle happiness I am guilty of . My surgeon has been telling me only 45-60gms of protein is needed- but in reality when you are working out-you need LOTS more, to help the muscles repair themselves. And YES! I increased my calories all day yesterday- mostly protein- and did not exercise when I got home- and my scale jumped down 2lbs..but Im at 251 AGAIN!! Im like the star in groundhog day.. Only this is Donna's Diary.. I keep repeating it! I am going to a formal dinner tonight and will see how this goes and try to eat more seafood and protein.. and maybe workout tomorrow.. lets check back on Monday! Hugs Donna

Hi Sherry! I worked out yesterday and did a hard workout - upped my protein t 50gm+, ate more, even what I dont normally eat, and still stuck at 251..but it is just what I suspected..water weight gain.. I got my monthly cycle today; so I AM NOT crazy.. Important is that I noticed a change in my body shape from these workouts and when I was at a formal dinner Friday nite- friends Ive known 10 yrs didn't recognize me..and funny thing- this couple- both had RNY surgery in 8/03. Lisa told me she lost 176..I knew she had lost 150, but she totaled at 176.Went from a sz 30 to size 6. Its amazing because she was so much bigger than me on hips & butt..now she's got flat abs and looking lean- NO PS! She said she put her life on the line for WLS surgery and wouldnt do it for PS..They both looked great- he went from like a sz 52 to 38. When I asked her about plateaus, she said dont get discouraged, stick with the plan and they will move. SOO! I am going to continue with my workouts..it really gets me thrugh the week. I also read that variety in routines helps as well,,so this week I will do some lighter work- my body can catch up- and we'll see what the scale says next Thurs/Friday. I see my surgeon Thursday .

Hey, ladies. I saw this post from Kathy, a May girl, who is full of info. I love you, Kathy. As usual, it is full of GOOD STUFF. Sherry *What I would say is that it will probably take each of us quite a while to build a pound worth of muscle tissue. If you work out and see the scale go up a pound or two, I would assume that your muscle tissue is "challenged" by the working out and is holding onto some water. I would assume that building muscle takes time. There is some metabolic testing that you can do that would truly let you know how many calories you burn in a day. I believe it involves putting on what looks like an oxygen mask and then measurements are taken and then they have you exert yourself and more measurements are made. I don't know what this is called but I've heard it described. There is a trainer that teaches an exercise class to our post-ops from our hospital (if you sign up for the class) and I know that he has the equipment at the place he works to do this testing. I want Rich and I to both go see him later down the road after we've been working out consistently for a while to see what our metabolic rates are and any advise he can give us. I think alot of what we have to do on our own is trial and error. We do know that 500 calories probably aren't enough in a day for the body. We do know that several thousand calories are just too much. I would sort of assume that most of us could take in 1000-1200 cals a day and still lose weight even without doing heavy exercising. I sort of go by the rule that if I workout hard on a given day that I try to take in an extra 100-200 calories and preferrably from a protein shake. Part of this comes from what weightlifters do. How do they build muscle? They intake alot of protein whether egg whites, whey protein or other supplements. Obvioulsy I'm not looking to "bulk" up so I'm doing my part on a much smaller level. I just try to keep it simple. I know that on several WLS nutritional/protein-focused lists many folks do NOT count the calories that they take in from protein shakes. They count food calories. And these are folks that do 4-6 shakes a day. Some are very long term post-ops. I find it quite interesting. Not sure what my take on that is but right now I do 100 grams a day from protein supplements alone. This is my choice. My surgeon recommends protein shakes for life. I think he suggests 60 grams a day. But so many surgeons don't even recommend protein shakes at all! Lots of different approaches out there. All I know is that I'm within 3 pounds of being the lowest weight I ever was as an adult. I think I look good at this weight. Weight is still coming over but very, very slowly which is just fine with me. I want to get my body fat down and tone up...that's my focus now no matter which way the scale goes. I'm happy!

Hmmm.. I also did not exercise last night. I had to go to a basketball game and could not get my baby to sleep early enough to run and I lost two pounds. Makes you wander... Have fun at your formal and I will talk to you on Monday. LOL!! Sherry

I had a "fat day" earlier this week. I have been exchanging the same 4 pounds for about 3 weeks now.... and I just though... I joined Curves for Women three weeks ago! I'm telling myself the old "muscle weighs more than fat", "I am still loosing inches".... but I still had a "fat day". I have tried to increase my protein with protein drinks one day and protein shooters the next day. I continue to work out 4 or 5 days a week and try to walk my dog every day. I was 5 months out on the 18th and I've lost 77 pounds. I did not measure myself pre-op, but did measure when I was one month post-op and I've lost a total of 40 inches since then. I think we just have to have faith that we are plumbed for success and it's only been 5 months... we will continue to lose for a year or more! Keep the faith... hugs Kim