Seriously? Does everyone exercise?

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I'm almost 7 months down' date=' and 120 lbs down. I exercised 1 hour a day, 3 times a week, for 3 weeks about a month ago. Not for me.

I now walk about a mile or 2 a day, on my way to work 5 days a week. Walking isn't too bad, but I suppose exercise is exercise?

Before my gym membership, I would have died to exercise. And even at the gym, my skin is all jiggly and gross...

So to answer your question:

No. I do not exercise and I have still lost. If I can find the article I just read, I will attach a link. It states that either reducing calories or increasing exercise both do the same thing. It's just a preference as to which you would want to do.[/quote']

Walking is *fantastic* exercise for months after WLS. Do not think lesser of it just because sweat is not rolling off your skin (unless you are in hot weather and/or doing hills). It is accessible to almost anyone, even those in morbid obesity class after WLS (that was me). And if you have a furry member of the family, they will love you for the daily walks. You can make it more challenging over time by increasing distance, speed and/or incline. Seriously, you can lose a ton of weight by just waking, walking and walking. Plus you get all the added health benefits, get to enjoy the outdoors and perhaps some quality time with a loved one. A nice characteristic of walking is it is not in the cardio zone so you can have deep and meaningful conversations with others while you are waking.

[aliekat55 157]

I have always loved exercise so i do not understand, however my wife does. she absolutely loathes exercise of any kind. When we were young she tried for a year because of the benefits. (fortunately for her she has never had a weight problem). I remember after two years of doing it five times a week she came up to me and said, "I am stopping, i would rather die early than continue." i gave her many props for giving it her all.

if you are doing it despite hating it, that is great work!

The best comparison for me that i have come up with is shopping! If i had to do that more than once a month I think i would need serious drugs.

Alex

[KatieOkieDokie 171]

I swim laps everyday for an hour, and then do Water weights for an hour. I also TRY to walk as much as possible. I haven't started regular weights (I guess what's what you'd call it) but that's because there is only a short amount of time that the YMCA pool is open for laps, and weights and I don't want to miss out on that! I LOVE it! I have a treadmill that I never use. lol. I should though. I really enjoy it. I think it's because for so long I could hardly walk, and now I can do so much more! The only thing I wish I could do different is start earlier than I do. I would love to hit the bike paths around 6 or 6:30 in the morning before I go the YMCA.

[aroundhky 1,174]

Now looking back I realize that I need the gym even more when I'm feeling depressed because it lifts my mood. I keep my workouts short and sweet now, whereas in the past I would do cardio for an hour and then lift weights for a hour. My body seems to be responding better now that I shortened them and I retain less Water.

My friends don't exercise at all and I honestly don't get it because exercise is so enjoyable for me. I did try the personal trainer route for about 6 sessions and didn't like it at all! I don't like being told what to do or being pushed to muscle fatigue. I like doing what I want to do and if that involves walking instead of running one day, then that's what I do. I workout alone and find working out with a partner very distracting because I'm very social and will just talk and BS the whole time. Sorry for rambling. The main reason why I exercise is because it suppresses my appetite and I am less hungry on days when I workout. It controls my appetite and cravings and I figured if I can sit on my butt and watch TV for hours, I can definitely fit in a 20 mins cardio and 20 mins weight lifting session.

That's awesome "MinkyWinks"! I can relate to the feeling of being out of sorts if I don't exercise or how great I feel after I do exercise. Sure, I'm a little tired, but feel even better than I did right before my workout. For most of us, I don't really think there's a need to exercise endlessly or do hours and hours of cardio a week. From what I've read, spurts of exercise, even 15/20 mins a day is usually very beneficial.

[clk 3,519]

I might get slammed here and I didn't read all of the posts here (I usually do but skipped to the end) so this might have already been covered or attacked previously.

But, here goes: numerous studies have shown that exercise is not the biggest factor in weight loss. It's diet.

I got to goal and maintained easily and I think the only structured exercise I got was a week of working out at home. I absolutely hate exercising.

Am I more active? Oh yeah. I do a lot more, I'm on my feet more and I actually chase my kids now (I'm not just waddling behind them out of breath reminding them to slow down for Mommy anymore), so I am more active.

That said, exercise is great for us. We know all of the health benefits because we've heard them before. Losing weight is going to help you be healthier, sure. I know skinny people that can't climb a flight of stairs and I know big people that do Tough Mudder and half marathons in their spare time. Your heart gets a benefit from that cardio and your body looks a lot better if you build that muscle up as you trim down.

Truth be told? I'm right near goal again (just had a baby) and have actually started to (very reluctantly) exercise. I still hate it, but my arms didn't rebound as nicely this time and I'd like some definition in other areas after I have plastics. Strength training will reshape your body and cardio will help your heart and circulation and help burn off some of that fat.

It's up to you what you decide. Many of us don't do it. Many replace their food addiction with a fitness addiction. But there are most definitely benefits to it - not the least of which is stress relief and a nice, natural high.

~Cheri

[chocolatetye 44]

I hate to exercise too but I get out and do it 4-5 days per week. I'm down 85 pounds since August and I know that if I didn't force myself I wouldn't be this far.

I too have friends who've had WLS and don't exercise but still lose. I hate hearing their stories but I still push myself. What helps me is variety, I use dvds and I walk outside. It is a struggle to keep going but I don't want to gain the weight back.

[mark! 449]

You can lose weight while not working out, diet is the most important factor, but look at folks who've lost a ton of weight by restricting calories and not working out much, and then look at folks who worked out and get their diet on track. The difference will make you want to work out. Everyone is different and everyone has different goals, mine wasn't only weight loss, it was also not looking like I sewed on 50 pounds of extra skin from a cadaver.

[aroundhky 1,174]

You can lose weight while not working out, diet is the most important factor, but look at folks who've lost a ton of weight by restricting calories and not working out much, and then look at folks who worked out and get their diet on track. The difference will make you want to work out. Everyone is different and everyone has different goals, mine wasn't only weight loss, it was also not looking like I sewed on 50 pounds of extra skin from a cadaver.

Welcome back bud!

[Cindy Martin 77]

I walk... A lot. Sometimes many many miles a day. And if I don't walk I'll bike. But that's it. Unless I count getting my ass out of bed, I don't lift weights. Or unless I can count sitting indian style during reading circle I don't do yoga or unless I count doing the hokey pokey, I don't do Zumba either. And it's extremely very unlikely I ever will do anything other than walking and biking.

Walking and biking is something I see myself doing forever and so that's what I'm using to get healthy skinny

Do what you know you will be doing forever. Make it something.. But not nothing.

Antiband-I'm with you, I walk every day and just started doing my stationary bike. I walk over an hour every day and today I walked 75 minutes. I love doing ellipitcal but don't have access right now. I can totally see myself walking the rest of my life. I truly love it.

P.S. I entered a 5K for this Novemeber 23. Step out for Diabetes Walk. First ever. I'm so excited.

[clk 3,519]

Hey now! I think that while I appreciate the sentiment behind mark's post, I think it's misleading to say we'll look like we have cadaver skin if we don't work out.

Is exercise going to help with some of that? Well, at least it will make the muscles under the skin look great and burn off more fat. But I'd argue that a huge part of the loose skin is due to genetics and a personal ability to bounce back more than it is to exercise. I have loose skin around my midsection but I also had a set of twins. The rest of me bounced back quite nicely around 18 months post op, and as evidenced by the photos below, I don't have cadaver skin despite not exercising!

Again, though, I stress that exercise IS beneficial in a lot of ways. But I'd focus more on building strength, restoring depleted muscle and a sense of overall well-being as the better benefits. I'd hate for newbies to stumble here and think that exercise is the magic bullet for loose skin. It's not. On the other side, people should understand that my genetics allowed me to bounce back in a way some other's might not (and trust me, that's about the only good thing they did for me!) so you can't look at anyone else's progress and predict your own. A good way to hedge your bets is to find a way to exercise that you enjoy and take care of yourself!

~Cheri

[devine.adon 49]

Hey now! I think that while I appreciate the sentiment behind mark's post' date=' I think it's misleading to say we'll look like we have cadaver skin if we don't work out.

Is exercise going to help with some of that? Well, at least it will make the muscles under the skin look great and burn off more fat. But I'd argue that a huge part of the loose skin is due to genetics and a personal ability to bounce back more than it is to exercise. I have loose skin around my midsection but I also had a set of twins. The rest of me bounced back quite nicely around 18 months post op, and as evidenced by the photos below, I don't have cadaver skin despite not exercising!

Again, though, I stress that exercise IS beneficial in a lot of ways. But I'd focus more on building strength, restoring depleted muscle and a sense of overall well-being as the better benefits. I'd hate for newbies to stumble here and think that exercise is the magic bullet for loose skin. It's not. On the other side, people should understand that my genetics allowed me to bounce back in a way some other's might not (and trust me, that's about the only good thing they did for me!) so you can't look at anyone else's progress and predict your own. A good way to hedge your bets is to find a way to exercise that you enjoy and take care of yourself!

~Cheri

[/quote']

Can I ask what your starting weight was and your weight now? Just curious bc you do not look like you have ever been overweight one bit! Very beautiful by the way!!

[clk 3,519]

Can I ask what your starting weight was and your weight now? Just curious bc you do not look like you have ever been overweight one bit! Very beautiful by the way!!

Thank you, I was 242 day of surgery and weigh 140 right now. I had a baby a few months ago and am still shedding those last few pounds. My maintenance window is usually 137-141 so I have a little bit to go yet.

However, I do not want to derail this thread and turn it into a yay me post - so if anyone else has questions either check out my profile or my posts! I mean that in the nicest way possible, too.

~Cheri

[devine.adon 49]

I understand lol I just haven't quite figured out how to find anything on a persons profile however I am using the app on my iPhone so maybe that's why... Thanks

[VSG_me 184]

I've lost 50 with no exercise. However my energy level is higher now so I move around and am more active than before!

[serenity1959 67]

How about dancing? I belonged to a line dancing group until I got too out of shape and really enjoyed that. When I was younger and thin, I thought that I didn't get any exercise, but then remembered that I used to dance almost every day to some music. That was "my time" and the movement apparently did help me keep my weight down back then.