Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to stop by and introduce myself to the group.  Thanks for the suggestion, Kathy.

I am 11 days out from my surgery and doing really well (knock on wood)!  At my one week check-in, I was already down 17 pounds, which I found amazing.  I'm down 25 pounds from my pre-op appointment held just over two weeks ago.  Whoo hoo! 

I joined the site because I was impressed by the variety of discussion topics and the various demographics of the group - it makes for interesting reading.  And, I'm learning a lot of tips and tricks already.  Thank you everyone for sharing.

I think I'm doing pretty good on exercise, but I would appreciate feedback from the group.  I'm up to 30 minutes of walking (3 MPH) and 30 minutes on the elliptical (2.7 MPH avg).  Any tips on exercises I should be doing?  I have an incision that is still weeping, so I can't do any weight lifting right now (my doctor said maybe at my 3 week appt - -maybe).  I recently bought some exercise bands, but not sure if I should be using those and I forgot to ask my doctor.

Anyway, "Hi" to the group!  I look forward to meeting and speaking with many of you.  Thanks again for sharing your stories and your insight.

Welcome to our group Denver Guy! In the overall picture you live right around the corner from me.. about 2.5 hours in reality..lol So good to have you here in our group.

I have to say in all honesty, that you are probably doing plenty for being so early out from surgery. Be careful as you don't want to strain things. Until you are 4 weeks or so out, you should not try to do strength training or weight lifting according to my surgeon, and then, only starting mildly as things are still healing up. I think you are doing great for just 11 days out! Every few days, just bump up the amount of time you do these activities a bit more as you feel you need more challenge. And of course as you feel better the speed can be bumped up too. Once all of your wounds from surgery are healed up, swimming is a great activity for overall muscle strengthening.

best of luck in this journey! Ask anything you need to, and someone here is sure to pop in and answer. You are doing great! Keep up the excellent work! Make sure you get enough protein.. helps the wounds heal quicker...

Hi Patrece,

Thanks for the words of encouragement.  I'm working hard to get my protein in - about 70-75g right now along with lots of water.  It is hard some days but I keep pushing myself to get it my protein and water every day.

Even at over 2 years out, I still have days where I struggle to get everything in... those busy crazy days. But I try hard to push myself to get it all in and make my journey a success! It gets a little easier with time a bit at a time. Eventually it becomes pretty much habit, but still there can be times it is hard to get everything in. Just always do the best you can do, then you know its done well.

Glad to have you join us here! Let me know if I can assist you in any way.

You are welcome Denverguy.  I enjoy making contact with new members and seeing everyone post and share.  I agree with Patrece, sounds like a good start for activity this soon out from surgery.  Plan to change your exercise every 5-6 weeks to keep your body guessing what is coming next and to not get used to the same routines.  I recently added climbing flights of stairs at work to my routine for something different.  Keep an eye on you incisions, looking for any signs of infection.

Sip, sip, sip and sip some more.  I plan to keep sharing here with the bariatric buddy group.  I spend most of my time here on OH, right here.  Come to chat sessions if you can on monday evenings, it is a great place to ask questions and get immediate feedback and a variety of opinions.

Congrats on your successful losing.  Welcome to the losing side of surgery. What is your first name?  Kathy

Hi Kathy,

My name is Manuel.

Hi there!  Congrats on your great beginning!  I'm new, so I don't really have any words of advice and I'm 11 days away from having my surgery, but trying to make new support friends.  :)

Good luck!

Kim

Hi Kim,

Thanks!  And good luck to you.  Those 11 days will go by really quickly.  I can't believe how fast the two weeks flew by for me. 

Let us know how you're doing as you progress.

Again, good luck!

Thanks, Manuel!  Day 5 today ... I'm feeling a little stronger, yesterday I felt pretty weak for some reason.  I'm down another 2 pounds though!  :)

Will keep everyone posted!