how much is acceptable

does anyone know or can anyone point me in the right direction on how much exercising is enough. my nutritionist told me i was doing too much but i just don't know how much is enough. i guess what i need to know is how many calories to consume and how long to exercise per day. i'm honestly getting tired of working out constantly but i'm so afraid of regaining weight that i can't stop! so if anyone has any info and can help please let me know. i don't know if this helps or not but i'm almost 16 months post-op and i'm 5'8" and weigh about 143 it fluctuates between 140-145. i know i need to ask my nutritionist but honestly sometimes i think i learn more from you guys than anyone else!! thanks in advance for any help... Steph 350/141 (5'8")

Hi Steph, Above all congradulations on your success. I am in the same boat, I find myself working out at Curves 5x a week and walking 2 miles 6x a week. My doctor told me l hour of excercise daily 7x a week. I think that I am going to try to some variety to my work out like maybe aerobics, free weights spin class etc. I do not want to get burnt out on excercising. How many calories to consume is a good question, I am still about 20lbs to my goal, and am still losing 5lbs per month, I am 14 mos out. I eat around 1500 calories a day. I do understand about talking with your nutrionalist sometime they do not "hear you". Hope this helps. Aloha, Joyce 318/153 (5'2")

I read a post or profile the other day that said too much exercise could be a form of bulemia and that it should be limited to an hour a day. It worried me, but has not detoured me. I am so afraid of weight gain. My head knows the rules. My brain knows what works. My mind wants the food. So I exercise. 1 and 1/2 to 2 hrs a day, 6 days a week, and sometimes on sundays. My routine: M/W/F 60-90 mins cardio 4-5 miles 600-700 calorie burn according to the elliptical or tread mil T/TH 15 min warm up cardio, 60 min weight training with trainer, 45 min cardio Sa - same as T/TH but on my own with out the trainer Sun - depends on what I ate that week ...sigh My intake: 1500-2000 calories (average is closer to 1700) 100-150 carbs (mostly fruit, no white carbs) 10-30 fats (most days its about 15) 125-150 grams of protein (dairy, supplements, and some meats) These numbers are what the head trainer suggests, based on the amount of weight training and cardio I do. He says 30-35 fats...I am a Fat Free product shopper, so that one is hard for me to comply with 'cause less fats = less calories = I can eat more of said FF food and not feel guilty. I have been holding steady at goal 154-158 for about 7 months, I am 16 mnths post-op as well, height 5'6 If I decrease my exercise, I have to decrease my calories, and I do not think I can. I'd really like to see 149, but am working on the body fat % number instead, trying to change my focus from the scale. The nutritionist for my WLS doctors group usually say crap like, "yeah sure try that" but never give definitive instructions so I stopped asking long ago. Mind you they have tons of knowledge and ideas and suggestions, but they don't seem have a definite stance on how much exercise versus how much calories based on a gastric by pass patient. I know I am treading my own slippery slope, so I hope you get some other responses. Just wanted you to know you arent alone. Hopefully you arent as bad as I am. Do I like to exercise. NO. But I do like the benefits of it, health-wise. I sleep better, breath better, clothes fit better, I have muscles, I can have a bad food day or even week and know its not the end of the world, and my bowels are happier LOL. Michelle ~always rambling on..

I was doing at least 1 1/2 to 3 hours a day 4-6 days a week. and my therapist expressed concern that over exercising can be a symptom of bulemia. she considered anything over 1 hour a day to be an issue) Initially I just thought she was nuts and did my own thing. of course I went to a therapist who works a lot with eating disorders, but I didn't see the need to really listen to her on that and didn't really appreciate her avice on that subject, because I felt she just didn't understand that I would get horribly fat if I cut back, I just wanted her to help me eat less. After a while I started finding my self being too obsessed and I was definatley on a slippery slope. In my research I learned that anorexia usually is a progression, but Bulemics get very ill very fast. I also found an interesting point. In my research I found several pro ana and pro mia (anorexia and bulemia) websites that tout bulemia and anorexia as a lifestyle choice rather than an illness. what a wake up call that was. In reading on these sites I found that much of the stuff posted there was word for word stuff I see posted here. I made a decision that I need to really look at these things in depth and give serious consideration to what I was doing. for one thing, I stopped reading all what have you eaten today posts for one thing as they were fueling me to be disfunctional. I decided I did not want to live like that and that I did not have WLS to push myself into another serious life threatening eating disorder. I ended up with some injuries from over use, torn cartilege in my hip that required a huge steroid shot into my joint and still gives me trouble months later. I have cut back on my exercise and readjusted some of my behaviors. I now do not exceed the 1 hour of exercise 3-5 times a week. taking nice walks on the other days. active living, parking in a farther space, taking the stairs etc. I actually lost a couple of pounds and my pants waist is looser. over exercising can also stress your body into a starvation mode. I would recommend talking to a dietician and a trainer to set you up on a reasonable, sustainable program. also I strongly recommend the books "' How Much Does Your Soul Weigh" by Dorie McCubbrey and the Body Image Workbook. How Much Does Your Soul Weigh? by Dorie McCubbrey Written by a therapist who works with people with eating disorders, This is not another diet book. The author is recovered from an eating disorder herself. It details why diets really don't work and has a lot of info on freeing yourself from emotional eating. Yes, you can recover from an eating disorder and live as a normal person and learn to eat like a "naturally" thin person. It has exercises throughout the book to help guide you to learning about yourself and finding solutions that will allow you to live a life not consumed by food. I particularly like a chapter named "feed your hungry soul" Love yourself - be true to yourself - express yourself - give to yourself - believe in yourself. The Body Image Workbook by Thomas Cash MD Just as the title says, it is a workbook full of written exercises to improve your self esteem, learn to feel good about your body. It is a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it. I posted above, about how attractive self confidence is and how I know people who are not "perfect" in appearance, but they radiate self confidence and that makes them very extremely attractive. I want to learn how to feel that good and to show that I feel that good! HERE ARE SOME GOOD REFERENCES TO HAVE ON DIET AND FITNESS Have you ever been frustrated by the conflicting reports on how much exercise you need? Not up to the hours long heavy workouts? Intimidated by the complex training schedules? Not sure where to begin? Here excellent article on the benefits of moderate exercise, you have to register on Medscape to read their articles, but it is a good source of legitamate info, they are not selling you any thing. I did sign up for the newsletter and there is almost always something in it I can use. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/524377?src=mp The article is related to the book below. Harvey B. Simon's, MD, FACP, newest book, The No Sweat Exercise Plan. Lose Weight, Get Healthy, and Live Longer, was published by McGraw-Hill in 2006 Here are 2 no - nonsense, fad free books with reliable info on being healthy and fit, which for me was the purpose of weight loss surgery, and these are helping me feel, (and look) my best! I got them from my local library and looked them over really good before I bought them. Great references to have around the house. Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight for Everybody by Donald D., M.D. Hensrud Mayo Clinic Fitness for Everybody by Diane, M.D. Dahm (Editor), Jay, M.D. Smith (Editor) HUGS! and best wishes to you !!!

oh my go****hank you so much for all this info...you're amazing. i'm so happy to know i'm not the only one on this slippery slope of craziness. i had no clue that this exercise obsession has to do with bulemia. well that really makes me think now. thanks again and i'm going to look into the books and reference materials you talked of.

i wanted you to know that i ordered the book "how much does your soul weigh" that you suggested...thanks! i should get it in the mail any day now.

Hi Steph, This is a short reply, but some of the things my fitness trainer has told me is first -- Mind over Matter (meaning Body, the physical) Sec -- Cardio on Treadmill or other machine should be 30 min a day that way you should be burning 300 calories a work our, IF you are not buring 300 calories a workout go longer on the cardio until you reach that goal. Third -- especially women do at least 3 sets of 10 crunches a day if you have reached your goal of weight lost weight training is great for firming up and will allow your muscles to burn for up to two days after a good weight training... this means while doing your day to day activities your muscles will be working for you.... Your body will be working FOR YOU and not you for YOUR BODY.

awesome advice! thanks so much for taking the time to reply.