Vigorous Exercise & Diet

[Guest bowsermania]

Howdy--

I've been working on getting insurance approval for over a year and finally succeeded. I expect surgery to be scheduled for some time in December.

Like everyone, I have a number of concerns, but my situation seems quite different than most. I am quite active physically, cycling over 100 miles per week year-round, often much more than that. On a typical multi-day ride, I burn over 4,000 calories per day. I also scuba dive and snowboard, which also have significant calorie burn.

I asked my nutritionist about my ability to do these activities on a severely-restricted diet, and she either didn't believe me, or didn't have much experience with folks like me.

Yep, I'm fat alright, but I am also extremely active physically, and need someone to tell me two things: 1)How soon after surgery can I expect to resume riding my bike, and 2)What kind of caloric intake should I expect to be allowed on days that I engage in vigorous exercise, and how and what should I expect to eat to sustain it?

Thanks!

[Jyoyonomore 319]

Howdy--

I've been working on getting insurance approval for over a year and finally succeeded. I expect surgery to be scheduled for some time in December.

Like everyone, I have a number of concerns, but my situation seems quite different than most. I am quite active physically, cycling over 100 miles per week year-round, often much more than that. On a typical multi-day ride, I burn over 4,000 calories per day. I also scuba dive and snowboard, which also have significant calorie burn.

I asked my nutritionist about my ability to do these activities on a severely-restricted diet, and she either didn't believe me, or didn't have much experience with folks like me.

Yep, I'm fat alright, but I am also extremely active physically, and need someone to tell me two things: 1)How soon after surgery can I expect to resume riding my bike, and 2)What kind of caloric intake should I expect to be allowed on days that I engage in vigorous exercise, and how and what should I expect to eat to sustain it?

Thanks!

Ok I'm curious how tall are you & what's your BMI?

[Guest bowsermania]

I'm 6'1" with a BMI of 36.

[alwaysvegas 702]

I was able to return to cardio within two weeks of surgery (but no lifting more than 10 lbs) and was able to return to resistance training after a month. Walking is encouraged even right after surgery.

Don't lose sight that this IS a major surgery and you do need to allow time for your body to recover.

I've been taking in less than 1,000 calories a day since surgery and my nutritionist has allowed me two extra meals to compensate on workout days where I'm burning 600-700 calories.

You may or may not have the energy for a few weeks or even months after a major surgery, so you'll likely take it easier. Also, it will be a bit more difficult to get adequate liquids (minimum 64oz per my surgeon) post-surgery, so you won't be able to afford sweating off too much extra liquid.

If you're still able to burn 4,000 calories from exercise, then you should be able to eat more and still lose, but you're going to have a tough time getting in that many calories unless you eat very calorie-dense foods, which may not be ideal Healthwise. It's really a matter of monitoring your weight to see if you're losing.

You'll likely have 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up bloodwork to determine if you're getting adequate nutrition.

Edited November 3, 2014 by AlwaysVegas

[LumpySpacePrincess 594]

You sound like I was before surgery. I was extremely physically active, even at 315 pounds. The odd thing is, once I started exercising post-op, I noticed the weight loss would either slow down or stop. Once I stopped exercising, I lost at a steady rate of 3 pounds per week until I got down into the 180's.

There are some of us for which exercise actually has the opposite effect: it will make the weight loss halt. Keep this in mind as you go along. You will need to cut your activity way, way back for at least the first four or five months due to the very restrictive calorie level, but that's OK. Build back up over a long period of time. If you are doing that much physical activity per week (and I know how this feels), your body is probably due for a rest anyway.