Personal Trainer - Progress and Update
I just finished week three of working out with Mark, my personal trainer. We've reached accord. After he'd emailed me his recommendations for diet (which I posted about here 7-10 days ago), I searched online to see if there were any articles I could share with him about bariatric surgery and exercise. I found one here that I thought might resonate with him, as it's from the American Council on Exercise, an accreditation organization for personal trainers. The initial article is good and the more detailed article linked at the bottom is excellent (or at least I thought it was!--lots of good info about what level of exercise is appropriate for WLS patients at all the various stages of their recovery).
While I knew Mark had done some reading on WLS, I wasn't sure what exactly he'd read (and we all know there's a lot of different opinions out there). Some of what he would say to me told me he didn't truly understand what RNY entailed (he quoted for me how long red meat takes to travel through a person's system, but the time frame he mentioned was for a person who hasn't had their intestines rerouted) or how this surgery is meant to be used as a tool (when I told him how little food it took for me to get filled up, he suggested I buy digestive enzymes that would break food up more quickly and thus allow me to take in more). So I'd hoped that maybe the above info, written specifically for people in his field might help make my point.
It did! He came into our session on Tuesday and before I could even say anything, he said, "Look, I stand by my point that the more active you are, the more calories you'll need. But I realize now that can't happen overnight. Let's make 1,000 our first goal and work up to it gradually. For now, let's focus on you making good food choices."
Success!
And I've had success in other ways. I get my butt kicked at these sessions. I literally have sweat running off the end of my nose and leave them feeling wrung out and pushed to my limit. But I've already seen results. The first time I tried to do a plank (on August 6th), I lasted 4 seconds. Last night, I held on for 40. I was so pleased with myself! I'm starting to see the difference in my legs, backside and waist, and I'm kinda, sorta beginning to enjoy myself. 
Mark is a great guy and very supportive.
So what did I do? Last night I asked if he had time to add another session a week with me (which would have me working out a total of three times a week). My goal is to be as small as possible when I go back to the States on December 18th to see my family. If anyone can get me there, it's Mark.
5'4" | Pre Surgery BMI: 40.7 | Current BMI: 20.8 | SW: 237 | CW: 121 | GW: 125
