Just getting started

Hey guys!  Glad I found you because I need some advice.  I am a little over 3.5 months out and need to get started on an exercise plan.  I have just joined a gym which has all the usual equipment for cardio (treadmil, eliptical, bikes, etc.) as well as classes and a pool.  I am not sure how best to get started.  I have a history of working out, but it was YEARS ago, and I am a little lost.  I would say my current physical activity is LOW (but not non existent) - I walk my dogs (but not regularly), I am ouside playing with the kids (which my include soccer or jump rope) but I am in school online (and on these boards) and sit a lot during the day as well.  Any suggestions for a workour routine for a semi-beginner?   Thanks much! 

Hi Shelley!  It's good to see a new face on the Fitness Board!   Regardless of what your plan is, the first thing you have to do is make the commitment and stick with it.  Work hard on those days you want to exercise and work twice as hard on those days you just don't want to be there. Best advice I can give anyone that's starting out, especially when they join a gym is to schedule an appointment with one of their fitness instructors or personal trainers.  It's important to get yourself familiar with their equipment and how to use it...not only the mechanics of the equipment, but proper form.  In doing so, they should walk you through the basics and give you a suggested plan of action to help you meet your personal goals.  The orientation also helps ensure that you are performing the exercises in the safest possible manner so you can avoid injury. Many times as well, with a new membership, the staff will conduct a personal fitness evaluation going over your weight, BMI, body fat %,  blood pressure, resting heart rate, etc.  This is highly encouraged as it helps you establish a baseline from which you can build on and you can better track the progress you're making.  Plus if the staff knows where your starting from and what it is you want to accomplish, they are more likely to check in with you periodically to see how you are doing...that little extra accountability is a nice benefit. When you have free weights,weight machines, pool, track, bikes, elipticals, etc, the possibilities are endless.  But basically, you want to focus on a combination of weight/resistance training and cardio-vascular.  How you go about that is personal preference. I've not provided much in terms of specifics - but everyone is different.  Regardless, based on your options, make certain that you find exercise you enjoy.  If you dread doing it, you're not going to do it very long and pretty soon that gym membership is worthless.  Starting out typically is not much fun...but stick with it.  Once you start seeing results your motivation will increase as well. Schedule that appointment with the trainer...get the plan together and attack it.  You'll be glad you did.  Finally, one word of caution - avoid the nutrition discussions with the gym staff!  As well-intentioned as they may be, the rules for WLS'rs often do not apply and following their advice can be counter-productive to achieving your weight loss goals.  Leave the food discussions to your nutritionist and/or surgeon. Best wishes Shelley! Cards Fan "STEP OFF THE SIDELINES AND GET IN THE GAME!"

Thank you so much for your response!  I know getting started is key and I do actually have 5 sessions with a personal trainer with my membership.  You metioned not to speak to the trainers re: meal plans.  The person I met with indicated that their trainers are also nutritionists.  Given that - can't they help me?  I was suprised to find they were both and that is what ultimately led me to buy the sessions as I was thinking of consulting a nutritionist seperately.  Thoughts? Experiences?  Thanks again!  Shelley

Even if they are nutritionists or registered dieticians, I would absolutely avoid it.  WLS presents an entirely different wrinkle and folks with expertise in WLS nutrition are few and far between.   The rules that have been provided to you by your nutritionist and/or surgeon will absolutely compliment your physical fitness activities.  Leave the post-bariatric surgery nutrition to the experts - you'll be glad you did.  Let's face it, our physiology has been changed drastically - our nutritional requirements as far as food and vitamins are different.  In many cases, the same rules do not apply.   Cards Fan

The title of nutritionist can mean many things - any system of food plans can legally call themselves a nutritionist.  If it were me, only an RD can come close to assisting you.  But like cardsfan says, you are not very far out of surgery yet...stick to your surgeon's office advice for at least a year.  You paid them for this surgery, see it thru with them.

Hi Shelley! For now, being consistent should be your goal. What began working for me was to choose one time of day that can be "workout time", pretty much every day, or at least 5 days a week. That time needs to be sacred to you. If it were me, i would do the pool a couple days a week and then some light weights on circuit machines plus some other cardio(elliptical, maybe) the other three. If possible, try to work on abs at least three days a week.  Even if you designate a half hour daily gym time for now, I would not be worried. Again, try to establish your habit. Either you will be inspired to do more once you get there, or you may have to up the time to 45 mintes, to get to an hour. The good part about gyms is that you should not get bored! There are classes to try, so many options to try out. BTW, I love Long Beach! I am in Far North Cali. I would get outside if I were you - 2 days a week anyway!

Thanks for the tips Neecee!  I appreciate it!   I meet with my trainer in 2 weeks and am looking to my angel (Ms. CarlaW) to help me out in the interim.  But I like the idea of the pool two days a week.  I finally bit the bullet and swam today.  It was harder than I remember...but that is good right?  (It gets my cardiovascular system going).  I love the pool, but am not a real "swimmer" - i.e, there is no freestyle, or butterfly stroke for laps on end.  I am a breast stroke girl and used the kickboard to work my legs a little more too.  What about feeling dizzy when I am on the treadmill or after getting out of the pool?  Any suggestions or thoughts? I have to work hard to work up to some level of fitness, but I don't want to pass out in public either.   Thanks again for your input - I will definately use some of your suggestions.  Also, glad to hear you love LB!  It is a great place to live and I love to hear others feel the same way I do.

Hey Shelley!  I had my surgery a couple of days after you had yours. It looks like we are on the path together. I have been working out with a personal trainer for just about 2 months now. The types of exercise I do is usually the treadmill 5 times a week or I will alternate and go on the elliptical machine. On the treadmill I am at a 6.0 incline at a 3.3 speed now. I try to push myself to my limit! I see my personal trainer once a week and he has me do bench presses for my legs and a lot of arm exercises with weights. I also do a lot of crunches.  I do too feel dizzy at times when walking on the treadmill but I hold onto that sucker so I do not fly off the machine. My best advice that I can give you is before you get off the treadmill walk at a very slow pace for about 5 minutes and that has helped me with my balance and dizzy spells. I also drink water before, during, and after the gym to help rejuvenate my body. 

Take it easy!

~Diana~

Hey surgery sister!  Sounds like you have this exercise thing going on!! Congrats!  Re: the dizzy thing - my angel mentioned that she has a tablespoon of peanut butter prior to working out and it seems to help.  I haven't tried it yet (working out this afternoon) - but it is worth a shot.  Perhaps we just run out of gas as we don't have as much in reserve as others do.  Thanks for the response!  Shelley

swimming is a great workout! Low impact to say the least, but wow, works your whole bod! In reading, even if your pulse does not get up to land readings, you are still working hard. I am (ahem) not a swimmer either.  I think I look like I am flailing and going under. I was never taught properly, so I'm doing kind of a dog paddle, windmill action thing.  I'm considering taking lessons one of these days. One special memory in LB was last January.  During a conference there, I was able to walk/jog that gorgeous beach walk most days and I saw a cool phenonmemon (sic).  Dolphins were swimming, large groups of them, in a perfect straight line only about 3/4 of a mile off the walk - inside the pylons even! The dolphins looked like they were lacing the water - in out, up down, just playing this really neat pattern. It was a line as far as any of us could see - like a mile or so? I ran into a couple of locals and we all watched for the longest time - they said they had never seen that!