heavy, increased, and extended activity

[nanooktx 0]

I was wondering what folks do nutritionally when they go through a period of increased activity? For example, I live in SE Texas and we get hurricanes. my family and I live pretty far out in the country and our land borders my parents land, giving us about 10 acres to tend to. so whatever damages we have are handled by us.

After Hurricane Ike, we had around 7 trees down around the houses and another 20 or so down in the my back acres. Of course we had to clear the trees up around the house ASAP just so we could get off the land and onto the highway. looking back at this and applying it to the future, how am i going to be able to handle a 24-30 inch chainsaw for extended time and lifting logs that weigh a couple of hundred pounds? we lost a hickory that was 36 inches across and at least 150 years old! most of the wood we move is by hand and loaded onto pickups/lowboys. sometimes we split the logs on site other times we wait until winter to split them at the woodshed.

With two of us working 12 or so hours a day, we ended up drinking at least a couple of gallons of Water a day, eating around 5 meals a day of military rations, sandwiches, and snack food. we drank very little in the way of sweet drinks. With all the hard work, i managed to lose about 20 pounds over the 15 days we had no electricity. we like to call it, "the chainsaw workout"

one of my concerns is considering this, how should i eat and drink when i get the sleeve for these periods of intense manual labor?

another question that i've been running through my mind is, is when i can i start mowing after surgery? i have a Zero Turn mower, so when we mow, it's about 5-7 hours on rough ground 2 to 4 times a month. if i have my surgery this summer, i don't want to saddle my dad with all the work, so i need to take the seasons in consideration for this as well. if it's just a couple of weeks before i can mow, then that's not a big deal, but if it's a month or months, then i have some more planning to do.

also, i'm in the beginning stages of getting the sleeve from the Christus Bariatric center in Beaumont, TX, are there many folks out there that have experience with this facility? as a whole, how are they?

i apologize for the long post, but i want to get my surgery done as soon as possible, but i don't want to add any work on anyone else.

thanks for hanging with me,

Chris

[Tiffykins 673]

Hey Chris and welcome to VST. I can only answer with some general information. Most recovery time is around 6 weeks for most patients. Meaning you would definitely want to take 6 weeks off the mower. Your staple line will be healing, your incisions will be healing internally. You do not want a hernia, or infection or pulling/tugging on the lap sites.

As for the eating and drinking, once you off the post-op diet, you should not have any major issues getting in plenty of Water. You may have to eat smaller meals more frequently as your stomach will not allow for large portions. Lots of dense Protein food will help sustain you, and healthy complex carbs for energy.

If you continue to tone, and keep your muscle mass built up, you should not have an issue with lifting. You will need to be careful for several weeks after surgery, and ensure that you are 100% healed before doing any manual labor.

Of course, these are just generalizations, and checking with your surgeon will give you the best answers to your specific lifestyle.

As for the facility/doctor you are using, I'm not familiar with either.

I'm a Texas girl, originally from the Dallas area, and have long term, near and dear friends in your neck of the woods, and in Houston.

Keep us posted on your progress, and if you need anything, let us know ! ! !

[Tracy46545 6]

Paying someone else to handle the mowing for a six week period of time might just well be one of the expenses you have to include in your particular "cost of surgery".

As for catastrophes such as hurricanes...there's no way to plan for them except to plan your surgery well ahead of the hurricane season to avoid the highest risk of having to do the "chainsaw workout plan" while healing. You will be limited to lifting no more than 10 pounds for about six weeks after surgery. (it varies between different surgeons).

As for nutrition and fluids during periods of heavy exertion, by all means drink as often as you possibly can and keep high protein/complex carb Snacks in a cooler or something nearby. Protein drinks are a viable option. Early in your "sleeved life" you will not be able to drink as fast as you used to which will mean you have to concentrate on drinking 2-4 oz every 15 minutes and really try to hydrate well in the mornings and evenings.

Once you are totally healed from your surgery I don't think any of the activities you mentioned would be an issue. (although I hope you don't have to participate!)

You're right ...you will have to plan your surgery around the seasons of the most heavy labor to be expected so that you have time to be fully healed.

good luck!

[nanooktx 0]

thanks Tiffy and Tracy, i appreciate the responses, i may just have to bite the bullet and get some help with the mowing, my oldest is only 7, so i can't see me putting him on the mower...i don't think he even weighs enough to keep the seats safety switch engaged. :smile: although, knowing my tenacious boys, they'd try!

as for the hurricanes i was worried about calories and Water, but it appears that we'll have take more shorter breaks...i don't think anyone will complain about that. as for picking up weight, i guess i'll burn that bridge when i get there. i'm definitely not going to work to the point of hurting myself. personally, i could do without a hurricane for at least 5, maybe 10 more years.

Tiffy, I love your new avatar, you look great!

[cajun 46]

thanks Tiffy and Tracy, i appreciate the responses, i may just have to bite the bullet and get some help with the mowing, my oldest is only 7, so i can't see me putting him on the mower...i don't think he even weighs enough to keep the seats safety switch engaged. :tongue_smilie: although, knowing my tenacious boys, they'd try!

as for the hurricanes i was worried about calories and Water, but it appears that we'll have take more shorter breaks...i don't think anyone will complain about that. as for picking up weight, i guess i'll burn that bridge when i get there. i'm definitely not going to work to the point of hurting myself. personally, i could do without a hurricane for at least 5, maybe 10 more years.

Tiffy, I love your new avatar, you look great!

I am guessing, but you might have a hard time avoiding dehydration with the kind of intense work you describe, especially in the first 3-4 months post op. I am 5 months post op and I have a hard time getting down 60 ounces of fluids daily, and just getting that much in an inactive job is barely what I need optimally. Doing heavy manual labor like you describe, you surely need 5 times that much or more. I can't imagine how you can do it, unless you stop every 5 minutes and drink ...which will limit your work. So yes, get some help. It is critical that you avoid dehydration, or you'll end up in the hospital at worst, or not lose the weight at best (which is not good). The fluids are necessary to help the body process and dump the excess fat.