IS BUILDING MUSCLE POSSIBLE DURING THE FIRST YEAR?

 The question is this, can you build muscle during the first year after weight loss surgery? I have been walking for my excercise but, thats about it. I really have not had much energy for much else. From doing some body fat testing 1/3 of the 65 pounds of weight I have lost so far has come from muscle mass, a little over 20 pounds. I am 6'5 285 sitting at 29% body fat. I started at a BMI of 41. Is this a normal musle to fat ratio when losing?    Can somebody explain the difference between Body Fat Percentage and Body Mass Index?                             Part of my problem with not being motivated to lift seems to be I was low on Iron. Just started a new supplement and I have seen a direct increase in energy within twenty four hours. Hopefully this week the iron supplement will continue to help and I can start lifting some. I installed a gym in my house before this RXY journey started.        

You can absolutely build muscle in the first year.  Make sure that you keep getting in lots of protein and gradually get to the point that you are lifting heavy weights for low reps.  I usually do four exercises per body part with about 6-8 reps per exercise to maintain.  I try to hit each muscle group every 5 days or so.   If you are very serious about getting muscular and have the time, you can probably hit every muscle group every 3 or 4 days and do maybe 9 exercises per group.   Example: Day one Biceps       3 sets of preacher curls 6-8 reps to failure      3 sets of dumbell curls      3 sets of cable curls Triceps      3 sets skull crushers      3 sets close grip bench      3 sets cable extensions. This is just an example of what one might do to gain muscle.  The basics:  High weight, low reps.  Each muscle group twice a week. BMI is basically how much you weigh determined by height.  This is why many body builders are obese?  Body fat is just a % of how much extra fat we carry.

Well there you go.  Scott came thru for ya.  He gives good advice. May I add, I am 6 months out and walking has been my primary exercise.  I got a weight bench and weight to try and revive my upper body but haven't gotten ito a program yet.  It is still a goal.  Building some endurance and stamina since surgery has been my first goal and it has lead to registering for a 10K this weekend back in January.  This is what I have learned in my training: 1.  Initial weakness was combatted with introduction of liquid B complex in addition to the B12 and multivitamins prescribed.  It helped. 2.  first 3 month follow-up showed low iron so changed from multi-vitamin w/18 mg to a prenatal with 28 and take it twice a day (sometimes 3 times if I feel the need).  It makes a difference too. 3.  Increases B12 intake from 500 mcg to 2500 mcg and added a B1supplement. 4.  Per CarbonBlob and Dave Toadlats, and due to crashed and burned feeling from 10K training, especially after two days back to back, I added creatine liquid but in accordance with the product directions, I alternate weeks.  I also noted the stuff settles in the bottom so if you get too much of the soy oil it makes me feel bad and the creatine is in the bottom of the bottle, not in what I swallowed, so keep it mixed or stored upside down before shaking and serving. 5.  Post op protein rqmt is 60+ gms a day.  Any muscle mag or article will tell you 1 gm per pound of body weight which for us is quite a bit more.  After getting to the 6 mi training distance of walking with a bit of joggin,...I hit a serious energy/fatigue wall.  Doubling my protein intake with fish, beans and eggs at meal times, with two more protein bars a day (20 gms each)  at snakc time (two between brkfst and lunch, two between lunch and dinner, and after dinner at least 1 hr b4 bed) has really helped in that area. At my first 3 mth follow up, I had dropped 99.5 pounds total from initial consult with the WLS surgeon and increased 11 percent lean muscle mass.  I have since (Jan 07) lost 44 more pounds and feel stronger (though still weaker than I want).  But cutting my grass that last year pre-op took two hours and required three rest breaks, I cut in 1 hour with no rest breaks MOnday evening, so I am progressing in a desireable direction,..I'm happy anyways. Now while I haven't attacked my upper body,..yet,...and don't have chisled torso at this time, I have toned and believe to be building rather than losing muslce mass.  But I have hit some walls I have used as signals that I need to do something different.  I am learning to listen to my body rather than bury it in sugar and fatty fuel, and get good advice fromt he guys out here on OH.com as well as my surgeon but the surgeon is not too concernwith man issues as general acceptable health, sso the intensity and priorities are different in my opinion. Oh yeah,...it ain't scientific but here is my simple take on BMI vs Body Fat Percentage (BFP). BMI is weight to height ratio,...take it for what its worth.  The incredible hulk and blubber boy could have the same BMI. BFP is more the perceive ration of fat content of total body weihgt/mass.  The old school technique helped me understand this so here it is:   Weight of a tank of water, weight of a tank of water with a person submerged.  Weight difference is weight of person.  Adjust for upward pressure of person submerged to float based on the principle fat floats and muscle sinks.  use that mathmatically formula to calculate from weight percentage of muscle and organs  versus percentage of body fat.  How they calculate that from the electronic computer scales at the surgeon's office is a mystery to me, but that is how it makes sense to me. Hope it helps.  Keep doing the good stuff you are doing and good thing swill keep happening.  Sounds like you are going in a really good direction.

Ditto what Scott said. You can build muscle. I am seven months post-op and have been lifting since week 2 (I had been working with weights for two+ years prior to my RNY). And I am 61 yeaes old, too, yet I have seen gains in my strength, stamina, and even some changes in definition. I I lift three days a week and walk 3 or 4 and always follow each workout with a protein breakfast. I use a "pyramid" routine that consists of anywhere from 4 to 7 sets per exercise. The first set is high-rep, lowish weight, and each set progress to a middle set of 4-8 reps at near max capacity, depending on the lift. The very last is low weight of 15+ reps to fatigue. Every 5 or 6 weeks I change my routine to keep various muscles growing. I have had no serious injuries using this routine. I believe there are many good ways to buils muscle and know from personal experience that you don't have to wait to hit the weights! (Of course check with your doc to take into account any special considerations that might apply to your case.) Good luck.

well, there you go, three excellent posts. re-read them and you'll have all the answers. if you want to start building muscles, start now. sounds like you're all set up. i wish dave was around but he and i would tell you the same thing. start a program about 4 days a week of basic compound movements. these are the building blocks for mass and size. curls, squats, bench, deadlift, press etc. those use several muscles to do and do not isolate a muscle group. do this type of basic routine for about 3 to 6 months. then you can start another type of routine.

you will see tremendous strides in as little as 2 weeks provided you watch your diet and stay lean. cut out the salt and fats and you'll see definition as well. I'm just 15 months out and you can see on my profile I was getting my form back way before a year was up. of course i had a head start as i've lifted almost my whole life but i did put it down for years, so it will come back. the thing about lifting is that it takes patients to sculpt your body. you have to make a committment to this. you can undo all that hard work with a handful of doritos!

track your progress, make charts and take measurements. this will help you guage what is working for you. so i'll speak for dave here as well as he would say this is a great form of exercise and fun. he has a home gym he built himself! envious here. he tracks everything and that dedication shows. you don't have to go overboard here. start out easy so you don't get sore and build up to each weight. the point is, you need to tear down your muscles when you lift, then get rest and put in a gram of protein per body pound and let yourself recover. you get big when you rest, not lift.

also, don't forget rest, rest and rest. that is a very important part of lifting. force yourself to take days off if you must. muscles only do three things, grow, shrink or stay the same. there's a great article somewhere about those three points, i'll try to find it for you. anyway, they grow when you rest so that and protein intake is very important. as joe mentioned, he went to creatine later. don't start out taking this suppliment. just take protein and in a few months or three months, start taking it. this way you can guage if it works for you. it's great stuff. ok, let us know how it works out for you. pick up some books and get started on a basic routine as I mentioned and you won't believe how you look in just three short months, just in time for summer!