Tell me...has exercise since surgery made a BIG DIFFERENCE in your weight and body...

 After a year out from surgery, I finally joined the Y and I'm hoping for some awesome results.  What has been your experience when you implemented exercise?  Include the type of exercise (cardio, weight, jogging, walking) that yielded the best benefits and that you rely on to KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF.

One thing that I've noticed is that the more I exercise....THE HUNGRIER I BECOME.  Some things never change.  I'm one of those with an iron-clad stomachh before and after surgery and it feels like my appetite is being ressurrected.

Let me start by saying that most here workout for the health benefit as well as the weightloss. I would say to get a good mix of weights and cardio for fat loss (you can't just go by the # on the scale). Keep in mind the more muscle you carry the more calories you burn at rest and the more you can eat.

I started exercising 6 months before surgery--and have never stopped.  I also never had 1 stall while in the loss phase--I lost every single week for the entire 13 months after surgery.  That is when I hit goal (a year ago) and I've been the same weight since. 

I work out 5x a week mixing jogging, hiking, yoga, P90X and P90X+.  I too am hungrier and I average 1,500 to 1,800 calories per day--and I'm 80% "legal" in that 80% of the time I make very good food choices now that I am in maintenance.

Building a good bit of muscle really made a difference in not only how my metabolism works, but in how healthy I feel and look.  Oh, and I have the "iron" stomach too--I can eat ANYTHING....and the spicier the better!

As Nate said--it really is about good health!!

Kim

Exercise has made all of the difference for me.  The first year and half I was doing horribly I lost maybe 50 lbs.  Then back in October I started to exercise...since October I have lost 90 lbs!!!!  Without exercise I would have been one of the many Band failures see on the boards.  I am about 50 lbs to my goal and it feels great.   

I work out 90 minutes a day, 6 days a week.  I do about 60 minutes on the treadmill.  About 5-6 weeks ago I started interval training.  I also do 30 minutes of weight training.  After wards I do about 10-15 minutes of stretching (which I don't count towards my exercise).  Merely working out isn't enough for me anymore and I hope to run a 5K at some point.  That is a goal I am now working towards.
 

As Nate mentioned do not just go by the scale.  I keep a note book where I keep track of my measurements.  I measure myself on the first of every month.  I have consistently lost inches.  I have gone from a size 24 to a size 16 since October.    

One thing is notice is I don't feel any hungrier after I work out....but I seem to be in the minority.  I also eat a snack about 30 minutes before I work out.  So I think that helps with the hunger.   

I feel great.  I have so much energy and I have this great sense of accomplishment.

Glad that you noticed the exercise = hunger thing. I ran every day last year with an average of 3.1 miles and lost about 2 pounds for the year. I ate enough to off set the 1200 miles I ran. This year the running has been less but the eating has been better and I have lost a few more pounds. For me and weight loss I do better with the eating than running. I love the running though.

Exercise is critical on so many levels. Weight loss, self esteem, overall health, cardiovascular endurance, and most importantly maintaining. Almost anyone can lose weight after surgery without doing any exercise. However, if new habits are not created whi*****lude a balanced diet and exercise you inevitably will regain. Most importantly, don't chase after what worked for someone else, try to find something you enjoy doing and you are much more likely to stick with it. Best of luck...

Exercise (weight lifting) has made a HUGE difference in my life. It has given me so much self-esteem, I can't even describe it. And I look freaking amazing!!! LOL (see, there's that dang self-esteem thing!)

I'm almost 5'8", weigh 155+lbs and wear a size 4/6 jeans which is small for my height and weight! I am relatively lean and have built up a good bit of lean mass.

I'm very into bodybuilding and I train 3-4 times a week. Because of this I keep a very close eye on my calories and macros, and manipulate caloric intake based on current goals (for instance, I just did a 3 month bulk where I gained roughly 6 lbs - very little of it was fat, mostly lean mass and some "water weight" from increased carbs.

So my bodybuilding goals help me keep a much closer eye on my diet, macronutrient and caloric needs than I would if I weren't into it.

I do think I'd still be able to maintain my weight without exercise, though. I'd just have to eat less than I do now and I'd be skinny-fat. :)

I had a lap band in 2008. I rarely exercised for real.  I would walk and I would shop for exercise videos. Although I lost 100 lbs I knew I could have done much better, I was too jiggly and lazy for my own good. Last summer I joined a gym. I wanted to do the spin class, but was told I had to first build up my endurance; otherwise there was no way I could survive the spinning class. Well nothing motivates me like being told that I can't do something. I started doing the elliptical machine. It was a butt kicker, but I worked my way up to 55 min going full force. My endurance was growing but my but wasn't shrinking. I couldn't understand what was wrong, until months later when I read some information about heart rate ranges. Although I was working the hell out of that elliptical (and later added thigh, leg, and stomach nautical equipment exercises) I wasn't getting the effect I wanted because I was working out in a heart rate range that gave me a great cardio workout, but a lousy fat burning work out. Still I want to get back in the gym. I haven't been for a while, and I got really sick and now I have a weird condition that is causing me to lose my eyesight (unless I can lose a grip of weight - crazy right?). So, I have been approved for the gastric bypass (which I have put off until I can get my head wrapped around the idea of - and gain a better understanding of what this surgery will do for me and limit me to) and I am looking into which neighborhood gym I will be giving my hard earned dollars to this summer.
Good Luck to you!

 Thanks to everyone *****sponded...the variety of perspectives is great.  I'm loving the fact that I can actually see the results of my efforts now.  My initial weight loss left my body sagging and looking unkept.  I'm going to be forty this year and I want to look DERN GOOD for the big day.  

Thankfully, my muscles still respond well and immediate to weight training exercises.  My BUTT was so flat after the initial loss and a Sista can't be havin that.  So, I started walking on the incline and doing the Precor that builds muscles in the rear and legs.  In a matter of two weeks (I kid you not) my tush was sitting up again.  Wooo Hooo.  Loving the results!!!  My arms are showing some slight definition and the underarm flab has lessened.  

I'm going to keep it about being HEALTHY and SEXY.  I'm sorry...I just gotta be SEXY.  I was sexy when I was large and I'm surely determined to be sexy while I'm slimmer.  I do want to slim down a bit.  Right now, I'm a size 14 and curvy in all the right places.  I want to slenderize my upper half a bit more (to wear a medium blouse) and the same for my bottom half (wearing a large very comfortably).  So, I'm trying to tweak my eating to get the results.  

Overall, I'm hyped about the weight training....can't wait to see my back with some definition and boy would I love to have gotten rid of ALL OF THE FLAB around the belly and waistline!  HELP ME WITH THE BELLY AND WAISTLINE PLEASE!

Girl, get your sexy on!  I'm with you--I thought I was hot before and I really like the way I look now--it is okay to be about health AND good looks!

For the mid section, you have to do core workouts--not just abs, your entire core (from the armpits to the lower hips).  Yoga is great for the core, and P90X has a really good core workout called core synergistics.  Strengthening the entire core will help, but it wont eliminate the extra skin...it will look better though.

Kim