Need Help finding the right trainer

I am just stunned to find out that the surgeon I like and trust does not have a PT on staff.  I need to do a 3-month multi discipline pre-op program thingy for my insurance,  this has to be supervised by an "excercise therapist" and needs to be documented, a personal journal won't cut it. And really more importantly, I want a professional someone to show me how normal people excercise and get into a reasonable level of fitness.  I have been calling around to the big chain  Yuppie Gyms around town (here in Orange County California), and I ask if any of their trainers are certified to work with Bariatric Surgery Patients.   Swear to God, I had to spell "Bariatric" for them!! I am just feeling enraged and humiliated, just like every other time I tried to find a trainer or some instruction as to how to do this. Feels just like 5th grade gym class. I want to do this correctly.  I am totally willing to put in the work.  But I can't walk off the street into yet another gym to let Gunther give me a totally inappropriate work out for a woman, let alone a woman my size. I know from past experience I will be in so much pain that a second trip just wont happen.   Any advice on how to find a certified trainer, who knows about WLS patients? Any help appreciated Wendy

Hey Wendy, Check your local Hospitals, especially if they have a bariatric (I can't spell it either) program. I had to do a 6 month program they call Living Well here at the Ohio State University Medical Center. They had 1 hour classes once a week. And you had appointments with nutritionist (had to keep food logs), PT, Behaviorist and a nurse that weighed you and took vitals every week. They gave you access to a complete gym that was built for cardiac surgery recovery but ended up being used more by obese patients doing the program. They have heated pool for exercise and walking, walking track and all the various weight and cardio machines. You won't find what you're looking for a the local 24 hour Fitness or World's Gym. You need a complete program that only these medical centers seem to provide. I'm not sure about your surgeon. At OSU they have a program director, that works for the surgeons, she helps you through all the hoops on insurance and programs like Living Well. They don't drop you after surgery like some Bariatric Centers do either and have an ongoing, Free, support group which I understand is not the case of a lot of bariatric centers. Good luck to you. The jumping thru hoops for the insurance companies is truely the most frustrating and in my opinion, unnecessary, part of the entire process. If you get thru that, the rest is easy. Earl

Hey, great question. I was looking around and noticed this: http://www.obesityhelp.com/magazine/2006issue40.html

33	Fitness Getting Personal: Why Personal Trainer Credentials Matter by strength and conditioning specialist Jeremy Gentles, BS, CSCS

It seems like they're running fitness trainer stuff in that magazine every month. I don't know when that content will appear on line (maybe some of it has), but I know back orders of the magazine are available. I'm really excited to be meeting (reading from) people posting such pro-health questions. This is excellent. -EAK'06