Finally found something my husband won't support me in

We joined L.A. Fitness last month, and I had my complementary "fitness assessment" last night. At the suggestion of the physical therapist I see at my surgeon's clinic, I signed up for a year of once-a-week personal training, which my husband thinks is just throwing money away.    I really had no idea what I was doing on my own -- just doing the same machine routine 3 days a week. I felt like I got a much better working with a trainer for 25 mins of exercises using my own body weight than I ever have with the machines. I also keep injuring myself on my own and think I could really benefit from a pro's advice. When my husband asked how much it was, I refused to tell him. It's $160 a month for a year plus a $99 starting fee. Of course I was all gung-ho, and now I'm having doubts. Has anyone else had experience with personal training? Was it worth the cost?

Additionally, the trainer I saw thinks my goal weight of 130 would be unattainable without losing a significant amount of muscle mass. She thinks 150 is more reasonable for me. I guess I'll just reassess as I go. I don't really care what the scale says as long as I feel good.

Having a personal trainer is one of the best decisions you can make.  There are so many factors in exercising for weight loss that you offset the cost by the time you save doing things on your own that are not beneficial.  Also it gives you another person to be accountable to every week.  That helps me to push past some negative moments when I don't want to let the PT down.   And that's a very reasonable cost for a PT.  Keep your eye on your goal and don't let anyone get in your way!!

It depends. For some people, $160 a month is loose change in the sofa cushions. For others, it would be major stress and anxiety. Only you know if it's worth it to you.

A pretty high percentage of WLSers can find new eating habits to last a lifetime. A very small percentage continue a gym routine very long. It's not easy. Finding a way to increase daily activity is a lot more common than continuing gym workouts.

Keep in mind that most trainers seem to know nothing about dealing with those who've had weight loss surgery. They can give really horrible nutrition advice. It might be great advice for an athlete, but not us.

Also, EVERYONE losing a lot of weight on a long term caloric deficit loses muscle mass. You can minimize it by lifting HEAVY weights, but you will still lose muscle. You can build strength, but not add muscle mass.

That's a good point. It would've seemed like a lot of money before, but we're spending so much less on groceries and eating out that I've been saving over $1000 a month for the last few months, so it seems a lot more worth it now. The trainer I saw didn't know much about WLS, but fortunately she didn't pretend to either, and didn't try to offer nutritional advice.

There are a lot of subtle aspects of strength training that the average person isn't going to know like using the negative of a movement and the proper way to breath and when to do certain movements. So for awhile it is great to use a trainer if you can afford it until you are feeling comfortable with free weights and machines. After that you really don't need them but I would say 6-12 months would be plenty of time to get comfortable with the gym then you can do some of it at home most of the week and maybe hit the gym once or twice a week after that. I really enjoyed the gym until some jerk kept bothering me with all his chit chat. Kept ruining my count and concentration no matter how many times I told him I was busy. Grrrr I should have complained to the staff.

For me personally I would not spend $2000 a year on a personal trainer.  Way to many more important things for that money to be used on. 

Now a few sessions to get an idea of what I should be doing wouldn't be bad. 

What if your husband finds a bill, statement, or the contract that states how much it is will he be upset? 

Well if he's upset about it, too bad, lol. We don't have any joint accounts or credit cards, and I don't expect to be accountable to him for every dollar I spend any more than I'd expect him to be for me. 

Go for it!!

I have considered hiring a personal trainer - but really only to show me around how to use some machines. It would not be worth the cost to me, simply because I someone being there watching and directing me when working out does not sound motivating. However, that's me and not everyone! So, it's a personal decision and one only you can answer. $160/month is a lot of money to a lot of people... not something I would suggest hiding from a spouse because as another poster said - how will he feel if he finds out? 

You may find it very worth it! Just be sure that you aren't locked in for a certain period of time, just in case you dont! Good luck!

Hey if you can afford it without letting your actual bills go unpaid then I say go for it. 

Or you can do what the other poster said and just do a few sessions get the idea of what needs to be done.  I also read a lot of books that helped me.  I personally prefer weight machines to doing exercises using your body weight.  I don't like them and you can't really adjust the weight.  What if I'm not ready to lift my weight?  With the machines I can work my up to a certain weight.