Weight Training.... Yes or No....

Good Morning,

I had VSG on 2/15/11. Prior to having surgery I've always been a person that likes to work out but I knew I needed surgery to help with the eating aspect of losing weight.....

Now since I've had surgery and I'm currently hitting the gym everyday (except Sunday) I've notice I don't lose as quick as my counter parts. Is it because of course muscle weighs heavier than fat and since I'm incorporating strenght training, it's causing my weight loss to be less.

I've heard a few people say don't incorporate weight training until you are closer to goal, not while you are in the losing stages.... Is this true? I fear having sagging skin for why I work out like crazy.... Help!

Sheka

I was one of those who didn't want to affect the speed at which they lose weight by starting weight training.  Now that I am farther out and have started weight training let me just state that it was probably one of the worst decisions I made as I have lost quite a bit of the muscle I had prior to surgery.  I can see the difference in some of my workouts, remembering to what I could say Leg Press when I weighed 350 compared to what I can leg press now. 

During your rapid weightloss part of the weight you lose is muscle mass and even more so if you are not using maintaining the muscle mass you have or trying to increase.  Those that I hear say this I also hear saying "Muscle weighs more than fat" or "You gained 2 pounds this week week because you lift weights so it is probably muscle". Neither of these to my knowledge are true.  First A pound is a pound regardless of what it is now the volume required to hold that pound is different and in this case a pound of muscle is much more dense than a pound of fat.  As for building pounds of muscle in such a short time well I don't believe it is possible but I know there are more people on this forum into the weight aspect of exercise and will leave it to their expertise, but if possible let me know because I want to swap out 20 pounds of fat for muscle.

In my opinion if you are in this for Health and Fitness then the number on a scale really shouldn't matter that much.  Prior to surgery many of us let a number on a scale dictate what we could and couldn't do and defined who we were.  Going into this surgery many of us have a goal weight we would like to get to, some do and some don't, but where does this number come from?  Some of us look at a BMI chart and say woo this would put me in the middle of normal so I want to be this weight.  For me the reality was that once I started seeing all the things I can do without being that number it became less of an issue.  For me I started at 325 and am now around 211 with my "goal" originally being 185, but I have cometo learn that there isn't anything I can do at 185 that I can't do at 211.  Last time I was 185 I couldn't run a 5K and never would have dreamed  running a 10K or half marathon, both of which I will have completed this year.  There are days that I think I would perform better if I dropped another 10 or 20 pounds but would I really?  Performance comes with practice and training.  I look at the things I do and what others on here do and know the only difference is they have trained at it longer than I have, I know this because I see the difference in my performance first 5K 47minutes abouth 6 months later 32 minutes. 

Do what makes you feel good about who you are.  Understand the trade offs and be prepared for them, but in the end I believe the healthier and more fit someone is the happier they are. The people on this forum have taught me that lesson and it is probably one of the best lessons I have learned.

Good Luck

this is a great response Paul.  it is true, one of the most common mistakes a lot of us make is to not incorporate strength training during the first year of rapid weight loss.  in my opinion, it would be extremely difficult to NOT lose muscle during this phase no matter how hard you hit the gym, you are just slowing down the muscle loss process and giving yourself a good lean muscle base that will lead to a healthy metabolism and lead to better fitness.  best of luck!

Great answer, Paul.

Jenny

keep weight training.  it's good for your overall health, like Paul said, it will help you from losing any more muscle mass than necessary as you lose fat, and in the end, it will help keep your metabolism up.

I'm not sure it will effect loose skin issues, unless you are really building BIG muscles, but all the same, I applaud your weight training!  I wish I was more committed/interested in it!

Your ultimate goal should be how much body fat you lose not pounds. The weightlifting will slow the pounds lost but speed the body fat lost. Judge your success in inches not pounds. I lost 170 pounds but had to put back on 30 pounds of muscle. I wish I had started lifting sooner and only lost 140 pounds.

You need to do both strength training and cardio. BOTH help you to lose weight. The strength training helps by keeping muscle loss to a minimum and that keeps your metabolism from slowing down too much.

Also, you can't really be building up significant muscle when you are operating at a big calorie deficit. So, if you are losing slower than some other guy it's because:

-he has more to lose so the absolute pounds are bigger even if the rate of loss is the same or slower (i.e., if he has 200 to lose and you have 100 and you lose 10 and he loses 15, you are losing at a faster RATE than he is and will get to goal sooner)

-You have a slow metabolism and you'd be losing *even slower* if you weren't working out including strength training.

-You may temporarily slow your weight loss when you first start strength training (or make a big jump up in intensity) due to water retention. But it evens out over time

WOW, this was wonderful responses I got here today... Thank you! I've been so confused on if I should try and do weights or not. But I enjoy doing them and most of all I think my muscle enjoys me doing it as well....

Sheka

Muscle is ALWAYS better than "fat"... I wear a loose size 10 but yet weigh around 170.

I've actually added around 1/2" of solid muscle on each bicep while losing a ton on my thighs, upper back and waist... (NO lose skin on me, baby!)


I am only 10 months out and have been doing serious weight lifting since about month 2-3...  Never be afraid of weight lifting, it is your friend and muscle ALWAYS has a higher metabolism than fat and it really helps with any loose skin on your back, triceps, etc...

Good luck!
Warmly,
Jackie

Jackie you look great. Thanks for posting a picture. You are right.... There is no loose skin on you! You go girl!!!

Sheka