Another OHer I talk to quite a bit was telling me that they went to an OH conference - in Seattle, maybe? - recently and the OH exercise guru there, Jeremy (?) said that, in effect, exercise is not only basically useless after WLS, but that it can be nonproductive in general and cause people NOT to lose.

WTF???? I'd hate for anyone to come away with the idea that exercising is the WRONG thing to do. Was anyone at that conference?

I am guessing / hoping that this statement was taken out of context... If not, I would love to debate the moron who preaches this. Everyone who ever had or will have WLS as a whole does not excercise, those who have never struggled with weight usually attribute that to a balanced diet and excercise, which is good for everyone including post-ops. Goodness gracious....

It was completely taken out of context so no need to debate the moron who preaches this.

It happens.

I've seen Jeremy's presentation before and that is not what he says. I suppose he could have changed it since last Dec., but I'd be really surprised.

What he says is that exercise is for health -- to maintain as much muscle mass as possible and to keep up the strength of your muscles even if you lose some muscle mass -- but that it may not help you lose more weight.

That last part was based on a study that showed that a group of DSers, some who exercised and some who did not, and that their average weight loss was the same for the first year.

However, the study showed that the group that exercised lost more weight in the second year than the group that did not.

Here is my opinion based on what I've read:

Just because that study didn't show a difference *on average* doesn't mean that an individual won't show more weight loss by exercising than not exercising. It depends on what the exercise is and whether they up their calories in response to exercise or not.

If they feel hungrier and up their calories enough, they will cancel out the calorie expenditure of the exercise and so either not lose weight or will continue to lose because they are still restricting calories, but not any faster than if they didn't exercise. If they use their exercise as an excuse to pig out, grossly over-estimating their workouts and how many calories they burned, they might actually gain weight.

If they don't feel hungrier or only feel slightly hungrier so they only eat slightly more, then the exercise will accelerate their weight loss.

I have seen all these types of behaviors. It's quite possible that the group studied had people doing all these things and the ones who were losing more were cancelled out by the ones who used exercise as an excuse to pig out. I also assume that very few people in the group were doing massive amounts of exercise such as some of the people on here do -- training for triathlons and marathons and such. (I assume this both because people who train for endurance events are in the minority and because a lot of people can't do that kind of training until they've lost enough weight so they may do it later, but not as much in the first year.)

I was at the conference and he made it very clear by showing study after study comparing those that didn't exercise and those that did lost the same amount of weight in the end. That essentially it was futile to exercise   if you are on a restricted calorie diet because you'd be doing more harm than good.

He did talk about the other benefits of exercise very briefly but it was certainly not encouraged as one might expect.

I thought it was quite irresponsible   to address movement for any WLS patient in the way he did. While some of these theories might be true for the average WLS patient, he shouldn't even give them the idea that it would be OK to skip exercising until they hit goal because only then would it have the most benefit.

TSK! TSK! 

Hello titantiff,
I am sorry this is what you took away from my presentation. However, the fact is I never said that exercise was futile. I never said that you would be doing more harm than good. I certainly encouraged benefits other than weight loss and in fact spent more time on those benefits than I did weight loss. Last but not least, I did not imply that it was good to wait until you were at goal to start exercising.

Below is a link to the presentation that I gave in Seattle.
- It is clear that not only were a number of issues other than weight loss discussed,
- It is clear that numerous benefits other than weight loss were discussed and it was encouraged to focus on these variables instead of weight loss when it comes to exercise.
- And there is no place where I state that you should wait until you hit goal.

Let me know if there is anything else I can clear up.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/fitness/cmsID,16712/mode,c ontent/a,cms/

Does anyone know this guy's education and credentials?

This is from the speaker list at an upcoming OH conference ...

Jeremy Gentles, Fitness Expert

Jeremy Gentles, MA, CSCS, is ObesityHelp's exercise physiologist. Jeremy studied Exercise Science at East Tennessee State University and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

In his presentation, Jeremy will arm you with the knowledge to safely participate in a self-guided exercise program to assist you in achieving long-term success after weight loss surgery. He'll offer solutions for overcoming a multitude of obstacles that can get in the way of enjoying a full, active life. By helping you understand the why's and how's of exercise, Jeremy will empower you to knock down those obstacles, allowing you to become healthier through exercise. Come explore the benefits of having a healthy focus and learn how to properly and safely implement a weight/resistance training program.

It's your journey....Train for it!

I have a Masters in Exercise Physiology and I am a CSCS.

That guy is evil and he must therefore be annihilated.

Exercise is something that fat people can do, thin people can do, to improve their heart health and strengthen their bodies. It is NOT about pounds lost. It is about exchanging fat for muscle, using up calories, facing our food demons, and winning the overall war to regain our health.

Since I started running, I've only lost 2 pounds on the scale. But my waist is down by an entire inch, and my resting heart rate is lower, too. Friends who haven't seen me in a while have commented on how much healthier I look. So, DAMN! I'm going to keep on exercising no matter what the "experts" say!