Question:
Will I really have more energy after losing weight?
I am pre-op, still going through all of me testing, but I am already trying to get into an exercise routine. It seems though that as much as I think about it I am just too tired by the time I get home after a long day of work. Part of the reason I want to have this surgery is so that I can work out, become more active and get really fit. My concern is that I will still feel so lethargic all of the time. Is this a mental thing or can being 160 lbs overweight really be the reason that getting out and exercising seems like such a task? I am afraid that I will still be lazy after the surgery. — PaulaM (posted on August 2, 2001)
August 2, 2001
The simple answer is if you have the will to do , you will have a TON more
energy after surgery. I've seen lazy skinny people too, it's a mental
thing.. But if you have the will, this is the way. My gf called me about
6 weeks post op and said she went out and spent hours playing frisbee with
her daughter, something she couldn't have done just 6 weeks before...
that's how big of a difference a little weight can make with the right
mindset..
— Elizabeth D.
August 2, 2001
I am now 4 months post op and I am unbelievably energetic!
I am 5'4" tall and at my heaviest, I weighed 288. I was also
approximately 160 lbs overweight. Your energy level will increase after
the surgery. In the beginning, you will still feel lethargic but that is
because you will have just had major surgery.
I joined a health club at 5 weeks post op and I started out on the
treadmill only. I walked 40 minutes a day for 3-4 days a week. I still
walk the same 40 minutes but I walk it much faster now and I added
resistance training to keep everything toned.
I now weigh 216! Yea! :-)
So to answer you question, yes you will gain energy. Right now, your
weight is probably holding you back. Now this surgery is no cure for
laziness. You have to want to do the exercise. But once you have the
surgery, your weight will not be an excuse anymore.
Hope this helps!!!!!Best wishes and remember, follow your doctor's
instructions to the letter or you will be sorry!
— Yvette A.
August 2, 2001
I was 340 lbs on 6/11 when I had my OpenVBG....now,
7 weeks later, I've lost 52.5 lbs and have energy
I haven't had since I was a teenager! (I'm 47) I
feel SO much better already!
— Cathy J.
August 2, 2001
How much energy do you think it takes to carry around 160 pounds of dead
weight all day? No wonder you are tired. Imagine carrying 160 pounds in a
back pack all day, or even pulling it in a wagon. You betcha you are going
to have more energy! But even with lots more energy it is still often
difficult for me to get out and exercise after work. A couple of tricks I
have learned that help me keep to an exercise routine...exercise earlier in
the day. I exercise at lunch every day for at least an hour. I can eat my
lunch while sitting at my desk and working, so I can then change my clothes
and take a brisk walk or go across the street to the gym during my lunch
break. My dog insists that I take him for a walk in the evenings. Getting
started in the evening is the hardest part and if he didn't insist that I
take him, I could easily turn into a couch potato. I find that once I have
on the proper shoes and am outside, I do feel like going for a nice walk.
I have many friends who exercise before they go to work in the morning.
That's too early for me, but it works for them. That's what it is all
about...finding a routine that works for you. The easier you make it and
the more fun you make it, the more likely you will stick with it. Good
luck.
— Anne G.
August 2, 2001
Paula - I have a great deal more energy now that I have lost 95 lbs. On
the weekends or days off, I love jumping up and going to the gym for a 90
minute workout, and then spending the day just going and doing fun stuff.
BUT...by the time I get home after a long day of work (10 - 11 hours), I'm
still pooped! I can usually force the issue on Fridays, since I know I can
stay up later, but tend to stick to doing a set of exercises at home during
the week, and the gym on weekends. I try and maximize my opportunities to
exercise during the day by parking a long ways from my commute train,
taking the stairs whenever possible, etc. -Kate-
— kateseidel
August 2, 2001
Hi Paula, If you have any reservations about your own energy level, try
carrying something small around the house for a few minutes, then try
carrying
a heavy object for a few minutes. You will feel the difference, I'm sure
you will
feel much more tired after carrying the heavy object. It is kind of hard
to believe
I know. Maybe you will have to just wait and see. You will see a
noticeable
difference. Guaranteed. It may take a few months though. Just be patient
with your
body. It will reward you greatly. Carla
— [Anonymous]
August 2, 2001
I notice that I don't have energy if I'm not taking my vitamins
regularly,they really help me.
— Vel K.
August 3, 2001
Paula ... pre-op, just getting out of bed in the morning for most of us is
a triumph of sheer will over physics. I'd get exhausted just hauling all
345 pounds of myself vertical in the morning. Stairs? Forget it. I'd
plan my day around walking twelve steps or less between tasks or errands.
Nearly killed myself trying to keep up with normal-sized people -- like
nobody noticed I was puffing like a steam engine and my face was burgundy.
Exercise? Pushing the buttons on the remote or walking to the fridge.
Now, 15-1/2 months and 125 pounds later, I have energy to spare. I do 45
minutes of water aerobics once a week, walk everywhere, do housework
without having to rest four or five times, climb stairs without risking
respiratory failure -- AND I LIKE IT! I LOOK FORWARD TO IT! I still can't
believe it's me saying "Oh, I don't mind walking" -- who IS that
girl? Once your initial healing period is over (and don't rush that),
you'll find your energy level returning and increasing. A suggestion ...
when I was first post-op, I started my exercise program by walking up and
down my street -- I did three driveways the first day, four the next, etc.
Just remember to leave yourself enough energy to get BACK from wherever
you're going. You don't need to win a marathon your first day out! Good
luck,
— Cheryl Denomy
August 4, 2001
I need to lose 190 pounds and I'm down 68 now. I don't feel anymore energy
since surgery. In fact I get really down on myself for being lazy. I did
have a slight anemia and my B12 is still way down. "And I have had low
potassium since 1993 and it has GREATLY commpounded this since
surgery!" So much so I've had to go to the emergency room and be
hooked up on heart monitors while they pumped two bags of potassim by IV
through me. It's been around 10 days and I can feel it dropping again. So I
may have to go to the hospital again to have it done. I have no ambition or
energy for anything. Makes me mad at myself and deppressed too. However all
our bodies are different and you may not have this problem. Chances are you
won't. But WATCH your electrolites after surgery just in case.
— Danmark
August 9, 2001
Hi, Paula. First of all, congratulations on even trying to begin an
exercise program before WLS! From my experience, I began this surgery with
about 190 lbs. (or so!) to lose, 3 months ago. I'm 40, and I had to rest
climbing up the steps in my house. I had ZERO energy, especially at the end
of the day. I'd joined a gym, which took about 20 minutes to drive to. I'd
get in my car, drive 20 minutes, go into the gym, get on a treadmill, DIE
after about 5 minutes, then get back into my car and drive another 20
minutes (needless to say, I stopped going!) I felt I was lazy, but really I
was just exhausted. Three weeks after my surgery, after the initial post-op
tiredness had gone away, I had so much more energy. I went on an
hour-and-a-half-long, 2.5-mile walk with a friend and started exercising
regularly. (You might want to try to do your exercising in the a.m. rather
than at night; I'm still too beat to do much at night, but I think it's
life, not laziness) I can now walk about 3 mph and maintain it for an hour,
plus I've added weights. I now RUN up the stairs in my house if I need to
get the phone. I still get tired, everyone does, but my energy level has
gone up exponentially. Part of it is the 72 lbs. I've lost since my surgery
in May. Part of it is that with all the supplements and vitamins I'm
taking, I'm probably actually in better nutritional shape than I've ever
been. And part of it is probably psychological, knowing I'm doing something
good for myself. So, all I can say is that my energy level definitely
increased. Good luck and don't be down on yourself!
— Mary Ellen W.
April 29, 2004
Before surgery in January, 2004, it was all I could do to get out of bed in
the morning. I missed a lot of work and was in bed by 9pm every day.
Depression about my weight had a lot to do with it. I am 3 months post op,
over the normal malaise from the surgery and the bronchitis I picked up 2
months out and NOW I have so much energy that I feel hyperactive! I joined
Curves 3 days a week (going directly there after work) and walk 30 minutes
at 2.7mph on the alternating 3 days per week. Rest on Sunday. I just
rechecked my measurements and I have lost 51 pounds and at least 4 inches
from each measurement site. I FEEL GREAT!!!!
I eat a high protein, low fat, sugar and carb diet and take a women's mega
vitamin. I haven't felt this healthy and energetic for years. My husband
says that I am turning into a shadow of my former self. LOL.
— Kathy J.
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