Exercise Schmexercise (or Liar, Liar, Plants for Hire)

[erikaw1971 0]

So I was banded May 20th and things seem to be going well. I have lost quite a bit in a few weeks and really don't feel like eating much. I've had sashimi a couple of times now and that's my pig out session (5 pieces max) - fish only, no rice, of course. I'm feeling pretty good.

The exercise physiologist has been on me about exercise, and well, I've been fudging. I said that I walk the dog every day, but I don't. Poor Zoe. I said that I've tried the treadmill a few times, but I didn't. I feel such pressure to do formal exercise for her to write in her notes or journal or whatever, but I'm not feeling the love enough to do it. My day is chasing after small children, bathing them, playing outside, going to the zoo, feeding them (not me), walking at the mall, running errands. I don't sit down more than a couple of times a day at the computer and only for a few minutes. The idea of being on my feet even more makes me want to scream. I do strength training...my 1 year old is 33 lbs, the same weight as my 3 year old, and they like to be carried. My arms are well muscled even if there is fat over them, darn it.

I just don't have a lot of motivation for formal exercise yet. Is there some kind of pill for that? If so, can it be made into a liquid form?

[palmtreegirl70 1]

Exercise Schmexercise is right! I've been banded since 5/17, and I have been exercising my ass off every single day. My result? NADA. NOTHING. ZERO. ZILCH. That damn scale hasn't moved a pound in 2 weeks!!!! It is making me crabby!!!

Congrats on doing so well since surgery!

[Nean4488 1]

I was also banded 5/17 and havent exercised at all! Today will be my first day back to the gym... I am kind of worried about it because my personal trainer tends to kick my ass. Am i really ready for this?!?! Guess I will find out soon! lol I also cant think about hitting the gym after being on my feet all day at work, but once you get into the groove of it it gets better. Maybe try 2 days a week and start from there. Best of luck :-)

[onenuttynurse 0]

I go to adv spinning classes every day, and I am thrilled with my results. I only have 1,8cc in my 10cc band and have managed to loose right around 45# now. I am comtemplating now leaving my band along for awhile as I am losing weight steadily now and dont see the need to mess with it. I find it necessary to exercise daily in order to accomplish my goals for the day. Work, gym, home...Thats kind of the routine...... It is now a normal part of my routine. Funny, planned vacation, and called ahead of time to make sure there were gyms near by to slip into.............Now thats sick............LOl.....Good luck

[Jachut 487]

I was taking a big breath in preparation for a lecture, but then I got honest with myself.

The truth is, I had my lapband at 37 years old, when my two boys were 9 and 7 and my daughter was almost 3. I was over that uber busy running round after them ALL day stuff - well the diapers and feeding and spit and snot wiping and mess cleaning - I just play taxi driver and hand out dollar bills now. I was also at university, not working. So really, my morally superior dedication to running every single day was not so morally superiod in hindsight. I just had time to do it.

I well remember what you're talking about and truth is, that time of life is how I got to my fattest. I absolutely PILED on the weight over this time, I ran round like a mad thing and fuelled with endless coffee and sugar.

If you can set a target for SOME formal exercise it would be great - you're doing plenty of incidental stuff, but you need some stuff that gets your heart rate up and lifting a baby is not strength training - pushups are strength training. Five times during every day you could drop and do twenty pushups, or twenty situps or twenty lunges. You really could. And twenty minutes on the treadmill at a higher intensity that makes you sweat - you'll come to love the stress relief it provides a couple of times a week.

I reckon that would be a big achievement now, stuff what anybody professional or not says about 40 minutes five times a week, formal, involving cardio and strength blah blah blah. Just do what you can - as you get fitter it gets easier - I can guarantee if I had another baby now, I'd be that incredible woman running at 7 months pregnant or running with triplets in a tripple jogger, lol. I would because I love it and I would want to.

[Rsilversea 2]

My suggestion, if you're open to it, is pop them in a stroller and walk for 15 minutes. That's all. Then maybe the next week make it 20 minutes. Used to do that with my kid and Sunday I took him for a 5k walk (he loved it, I was all right with it until I discovered the blister on the bottom of my foot).

[erikaw1971 0]

I actually like the walking, but only have a single jogger. Once summer ends and school starts again, things get to be more doable. My 3 year old will get picked up by the bus for preschool in the morning and I will be walking my 6 year old to Kindy at the local school. The 2 year old can ride in the stroller and then I can jog/run with him since we'll finally be alone. We have a prairie path nearby that is nice. Until then, I'll have to stick with the prairie path on weekends when my husband can watch the two girls (or all of them - but that's a dream).

Our schedule sucks mostly because my hubby is gone from 7am-7pm (works in the city...train time) during the week, so during summer it's just me and the kiddos and four hours a week of therapy for Charlotte (autism). I do get to swim at my parents' pool at least once a week, usually about 3 times a week, so maybe I'll start doing laps. I've never really considered swimming much exercise because I never really feel the burn, but hey...swimmers have good bodies so it must be decent exercise.

I know the more I lose, the more active I'll be. In fact, I used to love running in my prior life when I weighed 140. I figure at about 215 lbs, I'll be a lot more interested in running again; that and I'll need the Oprah running bra that let's NOTHING jiggle. Is there something that can keep a bum from jiggling too?

Thanks for the understanding, ladies. I'm going to see if the kids will give me 15 more minutes to research swimming exercises. And maybe when hubby gets home I can check Craigslist for a double jogger, although our garage is so full, I'll have to keep it in the living room.

[kellyjoiii 19]

I may be passing on the wrong information here, but I was told that swimming is a FANTASTIC total body workout. I too, like you have not incorporated exercise into my daily or weekly life for that matter. Starting the week after next I am going to start Water aerobics twice a week and Weds. I will be doing Zumba-Possibly even Saturdays too. I have put myself last for so long, that I am done with it. Craigslist is awesome! You should be able to find a Dbl jogger..and hey, maybe if you put it in the livingroom, you may be more apt to go out with the lil ones:tt2:(this never works for me!) Good Luck!

[MarilynJ6354 5]

I've learned not be pay attention to the scale as much as I was. I might not be losing as much as I was right after the surgery, but I am losing inches and it shows. Finding an exercise program that fits YOU is the most important thing. I hate walking the dogs in this heat so I joined a gym that is between work and home. I stop on the way home from work 1-2 times a week and on Saturday and Sunday I am at the gym at 7AM...get it over with ASAP! I started out with the basic Planet Fitness membership for just $10 a month but upgraded to $20 a month and now I can go to any one in any city, plus I can tan if I want. Some say I have become a gym groupie. Truthfully? I HATE working out but I made a commitment to myself to do everything the doctor told me to do and I am doing that, whether I like it or not. The reason I got into this weight mess is because I lied to everyone and myself about what I was and wasn't doing to lose weight. Be honest with yourself and take control. It isn't easy but the benefits are worth it.

[erikaw1971 0]

That sounds great and works well for someone without kids or whose kids are in daycare. Before I had kids I got up early worked out at a gym before heading to the office. I do miss that kind of focused alone time.

My options for a gym are before the kids get up or after hubby gets home. Considering he's out the door at 6:45am to catch a train and then back in the front door at 7pm, well, it would be funny to watch the the household implode. I'm all about putting myself on the list...I did when I had the surgery (and the 12 months pre-op planning for the HMO to pay for it), but I am not a one person show again until they get a little older (about 2 years - when the littlest one is in preschool).

So, it looks like swimming is my summer activity until school starts at the end of August and I can use the jogger for the soon-to-be 2-year-old.

Ooooh, this is a good excuse to get a suit that fits properly and is conducive to actual swimming...Land' End here I come.

[erikaw1971 0]

And Jachut...that is totally how I packed on the pounds...coffee and sugar and anything to give me the energy to make it through the day starting six-seven years ago. I didn't know a person could gain so much weight so quickly.

I have been without caffeine now since surgery and I'm starting to think it was a serious appetite stimulant for me previously. I'm still a bear at about 2pm, in my desperate hour of need, but hopefully that feeling will be gone soon - I'm sure the children hope so.

Thanks for the thoughtfulness. It's especially helpful to hear from another mom of three!

[LeighaMason 19]

I worked up to exercising, I didn't do anything at first, then I started walking, then I started riding my bike, then running (OK, you cant really call it running yet, its kind of jogging/ walking, but you know). And your right, I have a major advantage because my son is 15 and needs much less of my time. But I did get a treadmill for my office from Craigslist and that helps me a lot when my schedule gets out of control.

[juliansmom2003 3]

Well to be honest, I don't think anyone hated exercise more than me (not saying you do). I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old that are very demanding, so I will take them on huge walks with me to the custard stand to get a frozen yogurt or Water ice (where I will treat myself to a nice, BIG water LOL) so they have incentive to walk with me. I am thinking of buying a bike so we can all go riding, but believe me, I get the fact that it's hard having kids and most of the responsibilities that come with having them most of the time (my hubby works all the time too).

What I did do was I went onto Comcast OnDemand and hit some of the free exercise videos there. There are a couple called "Walk for Weightloss" (Leslie Sansone is the instructor)--they have a 1-mile/15 minute brisk walk and a 2-mile/30 minute brisk walk and it incorporates a bunch of other movements in there so you burn more calories than you normally would taking a regular walk or walking on the treadmill. If you don't have comcast, you can buy those dvds relatively cheap. I now do the Wii Fit, Just Dance on the Wii (which my kids LOVE doing with me) and my new favorite is Hip Hop Abs (LOVE this workout)!!! Starting to integrate the Chalean Extreme to keep things fresh, but even though sometimes I'm not motivated to exercise (tired or may have had a long day), honestly, afterward, I feel SO good when I do. It's something I do for myself and it really feels good to know I'm working hard toward my goal when I could've given in and just laid down after work (even though that's what I want to do most of the time :-))!!

Swimming is also an EXCELLENT way to get your exercise in! I've been bugging hubby to get the freaking pool open--now that he has it's been in the 60s since then :-( --just can't win! I can't wait to start getting back in the pool! REALLY great exercise, something to do with the kids and lots of fun too!!

You'll fall into a groove soon. You just need to find something that works for you. They say walking is the best exercise, so try to check out those Leslie Sansone DVDs!!

[adagray 1]

How about just putting on a pedometer so you can show the exercise physiolgist just how many steps you are getting per day already without formal exercise. I think it is 10,000 that they want as a goal. If you are already getting that (sounds like you are, or are close), then you wouldn't need any additional exercise. Yeah, wouldn't that be nice! :->

For me, I love Jazzercise and they have childcare at the center that I go to and its very inexpensive. So, this is what I do. I don't get near as much activity through my normal routine as you do. My kids are a little older (4 and 6) and I've been able to sit down a lot more as they've gotten older. I remember when they were younger, though, that I wouldn't even bother to sit down even if I had the chance because as soon as I'd sit down, someone would be calling me for something. Hey, is that considered squats then? LOL

[erikaw1971 0]

@JuliansMom...THANK YOU SO MUCH for the Wii reminder. I have a brand new Wii Fit still in the package in the basement. Never opened it! If I get up 30 minutes before the kids I can get something done on there. I have some freeweights, too, so I can do a strength training mix on it, if there's something like that. I've never even looked at it (gift from well-meaning parents, at least, I think it was well-meaning). :tongue2:

@Adagray...there are two large gyms here, a YMCA and a Park District Center that offer childcare, but it's not cheap. My problem is my 6 year old with high-functioning autism...they won't watch her (for liability reasons apparently). Although the money for them watching three would still be outrageous. (Chicago suburbs are a ripoff.) I've so tried to figure out a way to join a gym. Babysitters for three kids with one autistic are like $22/hour minimum. It's $18/hour just for 3 regular kids. I can't find a vomiting smiley.

And I hear ya...as I've been typing this I've been asked for four different things...my mind is like mush but my thighs are like steel. :eek:

I do have a pedometer that they gave me at the bariatric center. I suppose I really should look more at the things I have int his house (if I could find them all). I'll strap that thing on and check out how much I am actually walking per day.