Exercise Post-Op

[KMac2018 10]

For those of you that have done the sleeve surgery and started exercising, when did you start? I am 1 week out today and I feel like I would like to at least get on a treadmill or stationary bike. When did you guys start to exercise and what did you start with?

Kathryn

[mi75 1,239]

I started walking as soon as I got home. I started slow and short distances, but within a few weeks I was walking several miles a day (all ok'ed by my doc). It took a lot longer for me to get back into a gym or formal program but I finally did that too.

[KMac2018 10]

Thanks, I feel like I could start walking now so I'm going to give it a go. I have always liked exercise.

[notmyname 593]

I started walking as soon as I got home. When I was back at work, I went to the gym every day, but only to walk slowly on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes. Started doing weights, Pilates, etc at 6 weeks with my doc's OK.

[Brenttx 111]

I started walking outside as soon as I got home as well and increased it pretty much daily. I started going back to the gym after about 3 weeks. I have done treadmill only until today, which is about my 6 week mark, and I did some elliptical. I started doing light workouts with weights a week ago.

[GradyCat 3,696]

I'm six weeks post-op sleeve and I started walking immediately around the house and around stores, but started back to the gym at 2 weeks. My doctor said no weight-lifting or resistance strength-training machines for 6 weeks, so I just did treadmill and stationery bike for a month, but then started using machines again at lower weights until I felt like my incisions and stomach were okay with it. Now I'm back to full weights and cardio and everything.

[Jazzy1125 1,010]

I was cleared for more than walking after 6 weeks. I just started going to the gym last week, but went back to ballroom dancing after my 6 weeks which was right before Christmas.

[SteveT74 360]

I started walking on the treadmill at the gym two or three days after I was released from the hospital (it's too cold to walk outside where I live). After two weeks, I was taking spin classes and doing some high intensity, low impact cardio. My surgeon had me go straight to purees and soft foods, when I was released from the hospital, so I had enough calories and nutrients to be more active earlier in the recovery process. I don't think I could have been as active if I had been on a Clear Liquids, then transition to full liquids before moving to purees/softs 2 weeks post op. If you're surgeon has you on liquid diet, you should still get your exercise in, but make sure you take it extra easy and always listen to your body (which you should do anyway), If you're consuming less than 600 calories a day, you have to go a slower even if you feel you can do more. As you are able to consume more calories (over 600), you can start increasing intensity and getting your heart rate up.

As for my progression, my surgeon said I had no restrictions on physical activity at my one month follow up (Jan. 16). I started weight training the next day--lighter weights and higher reps at first. I am now about 6 weeks post-op and I am working out the same as I would if I hadn't had surgery, including working on my abs. I honestly feel great in the gym and I see and feel significant improvement in my physical fitness and muscle tone. My joints feel better and I have a lot more energy than I had before the surgery. I have been doing cardio every day and weight training 4-5 times a week (three on, one off). I am not going crazy with the weights--I am just listening to my body and making sure I am lifting as much weight as I can, while maintain proper form.

FYI, if you are going to go from the operating room to the gym (figuratively speaking) like some of us have done, you may find that you stall out on your weight loss sooner or more often than other WLS patients. You're still going to lose that fat, but the additional muscle mass you add (even if you are only doing cardio) will slow the downward momentum of your scale (which doesn't distinguish between fat and muscle). This is actually a good thing. Sure, we all want to get the weight off as quickly as possible, but if you don't add exercise to your weight loss program a larger percentage of your weight loss will come from you muscle mass. The idea is to lose fat, not muscle tissue. Nevertheless, it is annoying to see the scale stall since you want to get to certain weight loss goals and benchmarks that you set for yourself (at least that's how I feel)--even though I know I am getting huge benefits from the exercise.

Edited January 25, 2019 by SteveT74