please help with exercise strategy

[AZhiker 2,252]

I am 7 month post bypass and have been at GW for several weeks. Was feeling great and on top of the world. I have exercised since day one and felt good/strong enough to be challenged by ladies triathlon in a month. (1/4 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 3 mile walk/run.) So I have started training. The power walk is not an issue - I walk that far every day anyway, but I have been working on speeding it up. I started swimming this week, and it is HARD after not having swum in quite a while, but I am doing it. My bike comes next week and I will add that in. My problem is that doing the walk and swim every day has wiped me out. I feel calorie depleted, but cannot eat more than 800- 1,000 max per day.I am keeping up with hydration just fine - that is not a problem. I normally fast in the mornings, but I see I cannot do this and exercise hard in the mornings as well. My tummy is not liking anything fatty anymore. cheese, meat, Peanut Butter, nuts, etc are making me feel sick. All that feels good is tea, Protein Shakes, yogurt, cooked squash. I am maintaining my weight (not losing any pounds, which is fine), but I feel like I am getting thinner.

How can I maintain a training schedule and compete in this event, and eat what I need in order to do this? Anyone out there who is really upping their exercise and still feeling good? How are you doing it? What are you eating before, during, and after events???? I need some help here. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak right now. I am feeling a bit down and discouraged.

[Healthy_life2 8,324]

4 hours ago, AZhiker said:

I am 7 month post bypass and have been at GW for several weeks. Was feeling great and on top of the world. I have exercised since day one and felt good/strong enough to be challenged by ladies triathlon in a month. (1/4 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 3 mile walk/run.) So I have started training. The power walk is not an issue - I walk that far every day anyway, but I have been working on speeding it up. I started swimming this week, and it is HARD after not having swum in quite a while, but I am doing it. My bike comes next week and I will add that in. My problem is that doing the walk and swim every day has wiped me out. I feel calorie depleted, but cannot eat more than 800- 1,000 max per day.I am keeping up with hydration just fine - that is not a problem. I normally fast in the mornings, but I see I cannot do this and exercise hard in the mornings as well. My tummy is not liking anything fatty anymore. cheese, meat, Peanut Butter, nuts, etc are making me feel sick. All that feels good is tea, Protein Shakes, yogurt, cooked squash. I am maintaining my weight (not losing any pounds, which is fine), but I feel like I am getting thinner.

You may want to hire a sports medicine dietitian to give you advice on how to fuel for a triathlon. Do you have a training schedule to get ready for this event in a month?

[AZhiker 2,252]

38 minutes ago, Healthy_life2 said:

You may want to hire a sports medicine dietitian to give you advice on how to fuel for a triathlon. Do you have a training schedule to get ready for this event in a month?

I discovered several websites that focus on "Bariathletes," WLS patients who compete in athletic/endurance events. The challenges are unique: how to eat like an athlete with a pouch that only holds an ounce, how to get the quick energy without risking dumping from carb loading, etc. I think the websites will be very helpful. A sports medicine dietitian is actually one of the recommendations.

Yes, I have a training schedule. None of the single events are that big, but doing them all in a short period of time is where I am failing miserably with insufficient caloric intake. For example, today I walked 5K which was fine. I ate some Breakfast and then did a 400 m swim and felt awful for hours - just totally depleted. This tells me I need to be getting more calories to make sure I can go on to the next event. I am going to try a Premier Protein prior to my next session and see how that goes. I think I could also use orange and banana slices during an actual session, with the hopes that the sugars will go directly to the muscles and not result in dumping. I will give it a try this week.

This is definitely a new challenge, but one I need to learn how to work with if I am going to meet other goals I have in mind.

Edited September 9, 2019 by AZhiker

[Healthy_life2 8,324]

8 hours ago, AZhiker said:

I discovered several websites that focus on "Bariathletes," WLS patients who compete in athletic/endurance events. The challenges are unique: how to eat like an athlete with a pouch that only holds an ounce, how to get the quick energy without risking dumping from carb loading, etc. I think the websites will be very helpful. A sports medicine dietitian is actually one of the recommendations.

Yes, I have a training schedule. None of the single events are that big, but doing them all in a short period of time is where I am failing miserably with insufficient caloric intake. For example, today I walked 5K which was fine. I ate some Breakfast and then did a 400 m swim and felt awful for hours - just totally depleted. This tells me I need to be getting more calories to make sure I can go on to the next event. I am going to try a Premier Protein prior to my next session and see how that goes. I think I could also use orange and banana slices during an actual session, with the hopes that the sugars will go directly to the muscles and not result in dumping. I will give it a try this week.

This is definitely a new challenge, but one I need to learn how to work with if I am going to meet other goals I have in mind.

You are doing great on figuring out what your stomach can tolerate to support your fitness level.

Would you be open to sharing information? We have all types on baraithlets on this site but not an ongoing thread on how to fuel.

[NurseMichael 142]

As a Bariathlete and power lifter, I found performance nutrition to be an ongoing puzzle. Like you, I have had trouble getting in the amount of food needed to properly fuel performance.

Through trial and error it seems that many small meals (7-8 a day) supplemented with Protein Shakes seems to be getting me to my numbers. On high performance days I’m taking in about 3500 calories and 250g of Protein. Weight hasn’t really moved in a year!