Jeremy, I have a question

I've been strength training on my home gym.  I do the arm butterflys, leg extensions, lat pull downs and others.  I was at the point where I was doing 3 reps of 15 at a 20 lb weight and was thinking about adding another weight.  For tha past 2 weeks though, I don't have the strength to do the 3 reps on some of the exercises.  I know my arthritis and fibro have flared up but it's like I don't have the strength instead of pain.  I've lost 90 lbs in 5 months & 6 days and I'm wondering (my rheumatilogist is too) if the weight loss has caught up and is making my strength low.  What would you suggest I do to change this?  Less weight, more reps or start from the beginning again?

Ann, Sorry it has taken me this long to get back with you. Hope your Thanksgiving was a pleasant one.  Unfortunately, when anyone loses the amount of weight that is often associated with weight loss surgery, the loss of muscle tissue is inevitable. This however does not mean you should experience sudden decreases in strength as you have. I think this may have more to do with the number of calories you are consuming now and/or a lack of carbohydrate in your diet.  Please let me know how many calories you are consuming a day and where these calories are coming from; so how many grams of protein, carbuhydrate and fat. 

Jeremy, I use fitday.com and here's my 2 week average.  Actually it really doesn't change much in a month. Total Calories            877      Fat                                  23     Sat                                6     Poly                              3     Mono                           6 Carb Grams               100 Fiber                               13 (gotta work on this one) Protein                           73 I do have shoulder problems - arthritis, muscle spasms (right side) and rotator cuff surgeries on both sides.  Latest x-rays show arthritis is back along with bone spurs.  I don't know if this is part of the problem.

SInce you are post op only 4 months or so it may be difficult for you to get your calories up too much higher at this point but your caloric intake is pretty good at this stage. However, as you become further post op you should increase your complex carbohydrate and protein intake. This will further enable you to recover better and build muscle tissue as a result of weight training.  I would simply suggest keeping an eye on it for now. If you don't start gaining back some of that strength over the next 3-4 weeks please let me know. This is not really unusual just a drawback of being on such a calorically restricted diet; of course this is the point of bariatric suregery.  One thing you may want to think about is taking a supplement called creatine. Creatine is commonly taken by athletes but it is also a common supplement for those who have had WLS. Creatine is safe to take and will help with strength gains; it should be taken in 5 gram doses once a day. Keep me filled in about your status over the next couple of weeks. 

Thanks Jeremy, I'll let you know how it goes.  I'll also try the creatine.

Jeremy, I just wanted to update you.  I have been slowly regaining the strength.  It seems my shoulders were rebelling against the exercises.  I have found bio-freeze and have been using that for the pain and I can now do the exercises by doing a circuit.  I do 3 rounds of exercises including legs, butterflys, lat pull down and straight arm bench press.  This way I don't strain my shoulders and the weight doesn't bother me anymore.   I do these 3 days a week, Tai Chi 2 days a week, ab lounge and bike riding along with the treadmill 3 days a week.