Please talk to this exercise hold-out. What do you do for exercise?

 First find something you can love!!For me it is the water I am now certified as a life-guard water safety instructor and I run our YWCA pool.

So I am in the water 1 3/4 to 2 hours daily. Most of the classes are water aerobics so I am weight bearing building bones! I am in the deep end non-weigth bearing for about one hour a week only out of the 10 I do.

I have autoimmune arthritis that the DS does not change, but certainly the huge amount of weight I took off is easier on my major joints. My hip and knees are damaged enough that I do not do land based exercise as I can not get the intensity up enough to raise my heart rate without putting to much pressure on my knees. I need to jog or run to raise my heart rate enough but walking hurts. However in the water I am able to fullly do aerobics run in place, jumping jacks etc.

For weights I do water weights that tone and improve upper body muscles, noodles for leg work at the side of the pool.

At my age I am trying to gain the most muscle mass and aerobic capability while keeping my original knees and hips going.

I have to say the social aspect of the pool classes is also a big draw for me I love seeing the clients each class and many have become close friends.
                                

Amanda,

You always, always inspire me.  And what a GREAT photo!  You look SO happy.

~Becky

Right now I am just doing a stationary bike 6 days a week. I do it for an hour on the highest interval setting and see what I can do. Right now I am keeping my heart rate at an average of just below 150 (which is pretty good considering the resting rate is in the 40's), going about 22.5 miles, and burning ~920 calories. The calorie number I'm pretty skeptical about but I do watch the trend...compared to when I first started and was at around 500 calories burned, I know I am working harder. Of course I can see that in the distance, average RPM's, average heart rate, etc. as well.

How does it help me? In terms of weight I am at a point where it can make a difference. As we all know it has minimal to no effect for the MO (in part because of metabolism, but also because it's difficult to do enough of it to make a difference). The more you are able to do, though, the more exercise can help you.

In terms of overall fitness, I've just got more energy and I feel better. My resting heart rate and blood pressure continue to drop, and they were pretty low to start out with. My heart must feel like it's on a luxury vacation--all this is a cake walk compared to what hauling around 422 lbs used to do to it.

Does it allow me to eat more? I guess that's one way to say it. Before surgery I could have eaten (and absorbed) enough protein and fat to keep my energy up. With restriction and malabsorption, though, I just can't. At this point I am eating starches (or even sugar some days) pretty much every day. Rice and potatoes with dinner if not earlier in the day. If I don't do that, I'm fine on day 1 (Monday) but by day 6 (Saturday) I am dragging and not performing as well. On most days I am over 3,000 calories and I still don't think I eat enough but to be honest, I'm tired of eating.

I'm getting ready to start adding in weights in the evening (not changing the biking at all). That's ambitious and definitely not the way you should start out. If you are interested in general fitness and things like muscle and bone mass, you should be cautious about doing cardio-only routines. There are several studies that show that you actually lose lean mass by doing just cardio. Make sure you work some resistance in there.

I started Zumba this winter and it's completely addictive.  Totally, and completely in my blood, girl!  I go 6 days a week most weeks, sometimes more than once a day.  I LOVE my Zumba!!  I eat pretty much anything I want, but then the only carbs I ingest are from the small amount in my protein shakes, and chocolate.    I love it so much that I'm training to be an instructor!  Cannot BELIEVE that I'm going for it!  I have never taken a formal dance class (Zumba is not a dance class, but has some dancy choreography at times depending on the instructor), and this has been an absolute BLAST!  You should check it out!

Lori