Helping my buddy out

Hi guys! Wow what an eye opener tonight was. I went to the Jewish Center with my co-worker/buddy. She also had wls, about a month before Earl. Her weight loss has been much slower, mainly due to her straying from her diet and her lack of exercise. But, here lately I have really been trying to motivate her without words. Actions. She can see what following the program really does, so she asked if I could help her out and I said sure. My youngest daughter and I met her and her only daughter and we proceded to workout. I did a new kind of smith machine, but only took it up to 145# as my max single because I didn't want to hurt myself. I got my leg presses/calf raises in as a superset, my extensions and curls, back rows and I did chins on the machine...that was new and way cool. So, it was an abbreviated work out but I realized how much help she really needed. It was a reminder of how far I had really come, and how blessed and lucky I was to have Earl and a God given ability to be strong. I don't know if she will stick with the weight training or not, I hope so. I know she can benefit from it greatly. She groaned and moaned a lot, but I told her that it is hard work, but worth it. So I had a mental and physical workout tonight. It was fun showing the girls some stuff too. My Meggie did the treadmill and tried the Precor for a few, and I showed Molly my favorite crunches on the balance ball. I think we all took something home from the trip to the center today. Each one teach one. Or as we say in medicine, see one, do one, teach one. Lets spread the knowledge and spend time helping each other out. Makes life worth while! for my homies! Val

Well said!! It was nice that you were able to help her out!! You should get certified and start personal training WLS people on the side!!

hmmmmmm now there's an idea. The only hard thing was it's almost impossible to work out and teach at the same time...now I realize what a pain in the butt I have been to Earl all this time!!

Valerie, I believe that most people do some cardio after WLS but very very few do Weights....and I think that is why you have done so much better than her. My diet is not the best but its the weights that have made the WLS work for me. Pardon my analogy....but "weight training separates the men from the boys". If you could get that lady on a serious weight training program, the diet would become less important and she would be doing much better. We really need to get the word out on the benefits of lifting...

I'm not so sure about the diet being less important John. I can't speak for post WLS but working out almost 6 days/week the last 3 years hasn't had a huge impact on the scale. I'm sure that is also because my injury/recovery cycle. When I am recovering I end up eating the same amt of food as when I work out. A couple days isn't a big deal but once it starts becoming several days on and several days off it has had an impact on me. Hopefully that will change post WLS. Less injury, less time out of the gym, more focus on making sure I eat a clean diet. I agree we need to get the work out!! PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE!! More women need to do resistance training and down with the cardio bunnies (the ones who never venture past the cardio equipment)!!I love talking about it and try the stress the importance of replacing lost muscle tissue which means faster metabolism, faster fat burning, and less chance of getting fat and all the other benefits! I think the biggest thing women need to get over is all the myths about resitance training - ie - If I lift I will look like a bodybuilder (not that I would mind that personally) but people don't understand the effort it takes to build the muscles and how much diet is a factor for people who want to train on that that type of competitive level.

I agree! That reminded me of the quip "where the men are men, and the women are too!" LOL No offense meant to my weight lifting ladies. It all falls back to that lean muscle mass, burning calories to survive. Not to mention the fact that reisistance training helps to keep your bones in good shape too. I learn everyday too, like bumping up the cardio has really helped my metabolism, is helping to tighten up skin, and just makes me feel good. Combining it with weight training is the key. I love my workouts. I am not a nice person when I miss them. But weight training is AWESOME!!!! I think it's addictive once you get started. I love watching my muscles move and work. The human body is an amazing machine...

Hiya John, most people do some cardio, lots of people focus on cardio as the *exercise objective*, but as you said, very very few do weights, though we really really need that. Cardio alone is not sufficient to give you optimal results or to offset the risk in loss of bone density from the massive weight loss of WLS post-ops. It does not preserve muscle mass and hence why you see a significant drop in metabolism among the post-op population in general. They often get stuck on the numbers (oh look, I lost 10 lbs this week!) and don't pay attention to the substance underlying those numbers. If you lose 10 lbs and 8 of it is muscle mass, did you actually accomplish something you wanted to do? If you are starving yourself to lose weight and you lose weight, how much of that was cannibalized muscle? The dietary changes are important if you want to achieve the positive results, in that you need to get in the minimum nutrition that you need to support your weight lifting activities and muscle-building objectives, however, if the rest of the dietary challenge is an issue of too many calories taken in, you can offset that to some extent with some additional cardio. It is much less likely that you can offset your lack of exercise with calorie-cutting, however. Maintaining muscle mass requires adequate nutrition and exercise, and if both of these are not present, you won't be able to maintain it. If you are not exercising, you will not maintain muscle mass--period. If you eat a little too much, you can work it off, now that what you consume and/or what you absorb is limited by your WLS. That's the great leveller of the surgery for me. Before WLS, I could work my a** off but never manage to actually reduce, because the eating side of the equation was too far out of balance for me to be able to manage it with increased exercise. Now, if I hit time where I am temporarily taking in a few too many calories, I can go work it off, and I do. Calories in, calories out, ya know? With kindest regards, Donna E. www.teklawgirl.biz

Diamond Princess, I agree with you... You are very wise....that is because you are from Durham, NC. and that Duke influence rubs off on many people in Durham. I was in Durham last weekend taking my kid back to school (Duke). He is a freshman. Maybe we can get together for coffee when I pick him up in May. Take care.

Hiya John, Yeah, Duke is practically in my backyard, so I must be absorbing wisdom by osmosis! Great school, to be sure! And the Duke surgeons did my WLS, as well! Of course, I went to UNC Chapel Hill for both undergrad and law school, but my daughter is looking at Duke as one of her options for undergrad (she's a junior in high school now). I'd love to buy you a cup of coffee next time you're in town! May is gorgeous in NC (and I'm sure in lots of places!). With kindest regards, Donna E. www.teklawgirl.biz

I am sure you friend really appreciate you taking the time to help her out. Hopefully, your wonderful success will motivate her to get back on track.