Question:
How much excercise should I be doing at 2 weeks post-op?

I have been walking and stretching to avoid blood clots, but should I be doing more? I really feel like relaxing but my husband thinks I should be doing more to take advantage of the rapid weight loss. How much did you do at 2 weeks? 12 days post-op open rny down 18 pounds!    — M. S. (posted on February 25, 2002)

February 25, 2002
Each person is different but I will tell you about me. I had Open RNY and felt really like crap. Everyone kept telling me exercise but I thought Yea right and where do I get the energy. At 2 1/2 weeks I joined the gym and started slow and have been working out 5 times a week ever since. I Love It. I feel great since I began a program. You can walk on the treadmill, exercise bike, cross skier, and swim in addition to water aerobics. I am not 5 1/2 weeks out and have tons more energy than I ever did prior to surgery.
   — Melody F.

February 25, 2002
Here was what I was doing...At two weeks, I was still resting a lot. At about a week and a half, I walked around the grocery store and video store for about an hour, came home and slept for 6. My body was still healing (yours is too, I'm sure). But by week three, I started going to the gym and using the treadmill, and by week 4 I was using the eliptical machine (a much harder workout). I am waiting for my next doc appt on Friday to get approval for doing situps and other ab exercises. You shouldn't do more than you feel you can handle, but the more active you are, the more active you'll want to be. Good luck on your journey!! :-D
   — Angela B.

February 26, 2002
Hey, you are doing really well! Good weightloss! I started at 287.5, got home after 5 days in the hospital and just did what I could for myself. Around post-op day 10, I walked around the drug store and slowly did every aisle of the grocery store for a few days. I also walked up and down my street till I felt like I could actually work up to a pace that was faster than a snail :-) At week 3 I started seriously walking. I bought a pedometer, measured my stride, programmed it and started out walking for 20 minutes, which worked out to slightly less than a mile. After a few days I began walking 1 mile twice a day and increasing my speed as tolerated. As of this week (week 3) I'm doing 1.5 miles 2 x a day and feeling really good. ONE WORD OF ADVICE... start slow, don't over-do it and take your naps whenevery you want to. You need to rest, heal and slowly increase your stamina. At this stage, we're developing POSITIVE LIFESTYLE CHANGES AND HABITS, not entering a marathon, OK? Please let your hubby know that soon enough, you'll be out there beatin' the street, but for now you've had MAJOR surgery and need to go at your own pace. GOOD LUCK! As an FYI, I'm now exactly 5 weeks post-op, am eating my protein, drinking my water, taking my vitamins, biotin and zinc, and have lost 32 lbs and 33 inches overall and my clothes are falling off of me. I feel great.
   — DianeN

February 26, 2002
Hey, you are doing really well! Good weightloss! I started at 287.5, got home after 5 days in the hospital and just did what I could for myself. Around post-op day 10, I walked around the drug store and slowly did every aisle of the grocery store for a few days. I also walked up and down my street till I felt like I could actually work up to a pace that was faster than a snail :-) At week 3 I started seriously walking. I bought a pedometer, measured my stride, programmed it and started out walking for 20 minutes, which worked out to slightly less than a mile. After a few days I began walking 1 mile twice a day and increasing my speed as tolerated. As of this week (week 5) I'm doing 1.5 miles 2 x a day and feeling really good. I'm down to 255 lbs!!! ONE WORD OF ADVICE... start slow, don't over-do it and take your naps whenevery you want to. You need to rest, heal and slowly increase your stamina. At this stage, we're developing POSITIVE LIFESTYLE CHANGES AND HABITS, not entering a marathon, OK? Please let your hubby know that soon enough, you'll be out there beatin' the street, but for now you've had MAJOR surgery and need to go at your own pace. GOOD LUCK! As an FYI, I'm now exactly 5 weeks post-op, am eating my protein, drinking my water, taking my vitamins, biotin and zinc, and have lost 32 lbs and 33 inches overall and my clothes are falling off of me. I feel great.
   — DianeN

February 26, 2002
What you should be doing right now is resting. You DO NOT want to over do it. You will have plenty of time to exercise and take advantage of your rapod weigh loss. Just because you feel healed on the outside, does not mean that you are healed on the inside. It can take at least 8-12 weeks before you are completly healed. I started to take little brisk walks at a time for the two months or so, I eventually joined a gym at around 12 weeks post op. I had an open RNY 8 months ago. I have gone from 280lbs-179lbs. If you start over dong it now, thinking that you are healed, you could possibly get hernia, or hurt your new stomach pouch staples. Hope this has helped...good luck!
   — Lacey M.