Is anyone NOT exercising???

[Love2Lose 0]

Hi all...I was just curious to know if everyone is really exercising. I have severe sleep apnea (which is one of the major reasons I got this surgery to begin with) and I'm sooooo sleepy and groggy all the time. It's hard to find the energy to do anything at all after work...much less exercise. I barely stay awake at work and while driving...so getting out there and exercising seems soooo unattainable to me right now.

Are there ppl out there that had the band and didn't exercise and still lost weight? I'm curious to know...

I really do want to exercise but with the lack of energy it's so hard...and even harder to get motivated. Any encouraging words would help! I've lost about 20 lbs since June 5th surgery and I've been teetering between a couple of lbs for the last 3 weeks now. I'm just frustrated and afraid I'm gonna fail the band. Had my first fill on July 17th and lost 6 lbs in 4 days and then completely stopped losing.

Thanks for listening....

[greythope 0]

I could have written your post. The CPAP helps but not enough. I fight the daytime sleepiness. It won today and I had a little snooze at work. I get scared there is more to it than just sleep apnea but I am trying to stay positive. I have started drinking coffee in the AM to help.

I could probably manage the gym after work but I have an almost two year old little boy. If I went after work I wouldn't see him and I feel like I have too little time with him as is. My other option is to get up at 5:30. But the way my body clock is wired I am actually getting good sleep at that time. As is I am bad enough.

I am praying as I lose more weight if improves and I can work out again because before I had a baby I was a gym junkie. I love the feeling of accomplishment and I love the exercise buzz.

I am losing weight but probably not as quickly as i would be if I exercise. Having said that, my dietician said exercise is not a weight loss tool it is about general overall good health. So we need to exercise to be healthy but in my experience you can't over do it because if you're not able to keep it up you'll have a hard time maintaining. That happened to me before. I used to do an hour of cardio and 30 minutes of weights 6 times a week. I was a size 10/12 but couldn't keep up that routine and made my back and hip problems worse.

What I really need to do is go on Saturdays and Sundays when I am more rested.

I don't think I answered your question but do know you're not alone.

[Jachut 487]

I dont have sleep apnoea but I can relate to that daytime tiredness, I had it all the time when I was heavy. It was very debilitating.

I am a busy person, I'm a full time university student, with a job and three children. Life is full on. The only day I really dont make time to exercise is Saturday which involves the housework, swimming lessons, three basketball games and the grocery shopping (which we do at three different venues across our suburb) and usually entertaining either my parents or Dougs as family catch up time.

I dont know how to be encouraging with this, just blunt. I made time. I had to. If you dont exercise you wont get the weight loss results you dream of and its as simple as that.

But what I can promise you is that once you get fit and into the routine, if you choose something you enjoy doing, it becomes easier and easier and easier to find the enthusiasm and time to do it and that awful daytime lethargy will be a thing of the past.

My daughter was just two when I started running. She went in a jogger stroller and came with me on my runs. She loved it. So it was time together AND exercise. One the weekends, one or other of my boys still likes to come with me on their bike. And now they're all older anyway, at 5pm (my usual running time) I can leave them for 40 minutes while I nip out anyway. And even make them vacuum for me while I'm gone!

Exercise not a weight loss tool? What garbage, with all due respect to your nutritionist greythorpe. I'm glad you're sceptical about her words. If you dont exercise your weight loss will be slower and it will peter out well before you get to your healthy weight range (hence the 60 to 80% loss thing), you will lose a lot of muscle while you lose weight (and thus lower your metabolism) and you wont get the huge energy gains that mean you go and go and go all day without dropping. Last Sunday I ran 15kms, and burned over 1000 calories doing it. How is THAT not a weight loss tool?

And maintenenace is a piece of cake when you are a regular exerciser.

I also got to lose 120% of my excess weight without giving up bread, rice, Pasta (or even donuts!) and eating about 1500 calories a day. Appeals to me much more than a life of eggs and Protein shakes.

Sorry if I'm blunt but I hope my enthusiasm for getting really fit comes across. Its hard at first, you have to make yourself do it but overall, fitting exercise in and keeping at it is a LOT easier than controlling your eating for the rest of your life. Much easier.

[brown bear 0]

I agree with what Jacqui said (I always enjoy her posts, she is an awesome role model for getting fit), but the flip side is that there are people who lose weight without exercising. As she said, they probably won't lose all their excess weight and it will be slower. My doctor says if you cannot exercise right away, just wait until some weight comes off and it will be easier then. He does not say you never need to exercise, just that it will get easier later. I do not exercise currently because of a foot problem that I do not want to aggravate. I intend to air up my bike tires and do that soon, though. My daughter takes her 11 month old for walks and at one year old the baby will be able to sit in the bike trailer and my daughter plans to start bike riding at that point.

I am rambling but the point I want to make is that I believe you can lose weight without exercising but you will not have the same results as those who exercise.

[SuzanneG 1]

I also really enjoy Jacqui's posts, she's my LBT idol. :-D However, I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't started exercising yet. I would love to know what that workout buzz is like, because I have never experienced it. I cannot get psyched about exercise, never have been able to. I never got to that point where I looked forward to it or freaked out if I missed.

I have a sedentary job and I travel 82 miles each way to work. I get up at 4am to get ready for work and get home at almot 7pm. Not a lot of time to play with.

I've had good luck so far with the band. I've lost 64 pounds and am currently a size 10 (as of yesterday!). I do plan to start exercising though. My first goal is to get going on my Wii. I just got the fit and as soon as I get my daugther moved into her own house, next weekend, I'm going to try to get on a routine with that and work my way up to where Jacqui can be proud of me!

[greythope 0]

A few years ago my post would have been similar to Jachuts. I would have said make time etc etc. But my experiences have taught me that often you don't know a situation until you walk in another man's shoes. I developed the sleep apnea a few months after my son was born and I would never have thought it would be as debilitating as it is.

Fat person tired is a very different tired to having to slap yourself continuously to stay awake tired while driving so you don't crash which is what sleep apnea can do to you. I am already a bit better and cpap is more effective with a small weight loss. As we start to feel better it will get easier. I will start getting up at 5:30, the original poster will be able to do it after work.

I love to exercise and I know how much is can help weight loss. But I know not to depend on it for weight loss. I made physical problems worse I have with my back and hips worse by not listening to my body when I was injured. I am not going to go down that trap again.

When we get home at 6:30 there are too many responsiblities to tend to including getting my son fed and get ready for the next day. I won't sacrifice quality time engaging him and truly being with him even if it is for my own good.

Oh and what I meant to say is that she said it shouldn't be used as just a weight loss tool. It should be about over all health. There are of course weight loss benefits but to not depend on it and work on getting the right eating habits in place. I used to do 100K bike rides at the weekends. Of course I lost a lot of weight doing that!

Edited August 6, 2008 by greythope

[snuffy65 1]

I am going to blunt here. Just warning in hopes not to offend anyone.

Nobody will EVER reach their goal without exercise. Sure in the beginning here you might be losing weight but eventually you will stall. The only way to get over the hump without exercise is malnourishment. Eating badly and not exercising is unhealthy whether your fat or skinny. Exercise is key to any weight loss program or surgery so don't kid yourself.

With that said, my story was the same as mekadig's, so I can relate. With my sleep apnea and other medical problems, I was tired. Add the fact that I have a desk job and I was downright unmotivated to do anything physical after work. It would get so bad I would almost fall asleep at the wheel on the way home from work.

When I finally got my band date I promised myself I would start exercising two weeks after surgery.

Sure enough, exactly two weeks after surgery I came home from work and was not feeling like walking. I told myself, "I am doing good, don't blow it now". So, I strapped on my new running shoes and started walking.

My first day I did 1 mile. Got home and felt fine that night. The next day I was sore. I got home from work and was debating whether to go walking or let my leg soreness heal for one more day. I ended up going that day anyways. Halfway through I realized my leg pain went away and I had plenty of energy to finish the mile.

I did this everyday until the following Monday. That day I noticed something when I drove home from work. I wasn't tired! I didn't have to have it below 60 degrees in the car to stay awake! When I went out to go walking I decided to do two miles. When I got home after the two miles I still had energy. So the following day I turned the corner and walked 3 miles!

Needless to say, this has continued for the last 30 days. Now I walk 5 miles and even jog some of it. I walk the 5 miles in 1:12:00, and hoping to get it down under an hour in a month or 2.

So bottom line, we all might get a small energy boost from losing weight and we might get motivated to lose more when people notice our current weight loss. However, the true energy boost and the true weight loss and healthy living all those health nuts talk about is never going to happen unless you exercise.

I never believed it. My doctor told me for over a year. Get out and exercise, you will get energy. I always thought I had some immune disease, or it was the apnea, but it wasn't.

Edited August 6, 2008 by snuffy65

[Love2Lose 0]

Hi again...thank you all for your replies. Greythope, I'm glad there's someone who truly understands how I feel. People don't realize just how debilitating the sleep apnea is...my family used to think that I just LOVE to sleep and am a lazy fat ass. Well, that was never the case. I used to be quite active too...played soccer and basketball on teams well into my twenties. But I've always had this sleep issue and the weight gain has just exasperated it.

I drive 50 miles each way to work and also worry every day that I'm gonna fall asleep and crash. People that haven't experienced this don't know how it feels....worrying about your LIFE being in danger...worrying about losing your job cuz ur always late...the list goes on.

I had high hopes that this surgery would atleast help with my sleep and so far it hasn't done much. Jachut, I can really appreciate your enthusiasm for exercise, but our situations are like night and day. If you didn't exercise, you would have no excuse because you HAVE the energy. And don't get me wrong, I'm not using it as an excuse...but like Greythope said, you've never been in my shoes so you will never know what it's like. Making the time for it is not even as much the issue as even HAVING THE ENERGY to START!!!!

Greythope, I guess we can only hope that with a little more weight loss every day the apnea will subside...even a little bit so that we can find the energy to start exercising. My life has been absolute HELL with this condition...frankly I'm sick and tired of being sick and TIRED!!!!!!!!!

Good luck to you all and thanks for the great feedback...wishing you all continued success on this life long journey!!!

Edited August 6, 2008 by mekadig

[Great2BThin 5]

Well I am exercising some. I know I could do more. But I try to do something 4 to 5 times a week. I do notice the weeks I do more exercise I do have better losses. it's been almost 2 mos. and I am still waiting for those endorphis they say you get addicted to and start loving it. Also waiting for it to be a habit. It ain't happening. They say do something you like, problem is I don't like any of it. LOL I got a bike and I dislike that less than many other exercises so am trying to do more of that. I have a bad knee (bone on bone) and it hurts A LOT! But I am trying to develop an attitude like brushing my teeth. Do I get up each morning and think, 'great I get to brush my teeth, it's so much fun?' NO! But I do it because I want healthy teeth, so I will exercise because I want a healthy body and a thinner one at that. That said, I will be going on a little bit of an exercise hiatus after Friday as I am having gall bladder surgery. After that, Snuffy you inspired me, I will set a goal to start walking asap after surgery maybe just around the block the first week or two as I recover but will incorporate more and more. Jachut and Snuffy are great motivators and inspiration!

[armywife4life 0]

hmm i hate to say it but i am also not an exerciser. I am active but no serious exercise yet. i do some spontaneously, sometimes i ride my bike with my boy, or we just play outside, or i take him to the pool(he's 3) Im steadily losing weight, i kinda of want to wait until i start to plateu before i really start exercising, i think maybe if i do then my body won't be used to it and will break the plateu easier. i don't know my theroy could be totally wrong, right now im just staying active and enjoying my weightloss. Im gonna start my step arobics class once a week starting on tues. but other than that just playin with the boy after work seems to be doing good. Good luck to you all, i really have no insight for anything right now because im such a newbie, my theroy is just to stay open to ideas, listen and try different things and hopefully everyone will find what works for them. Take care and blessings on your lap band journey.

[losingjusme 12]

when i was first banded (yes, even at 400 pounds) i exercised. the weight fell off of me. i lost 100 pounds in just over 6 months. yes, i was following the main bandster rules, but what made a difference was working out 5-8 times a week.

after i hit about 135-140 pounds lost, i started slacking on the exercise. i didnt want to ... i was working hard and had a 4 year old daughter with horrible sleep habits. i've lost maybe 20 pounds since then. yep, still follow the bandster rules 95% of the time... but i didnt exercise like i did when i first started. i'd go running maybe 2-3 times a week to train for my 15K, but even that, i'd make excuses...

now that i'm pregnant, i havent exercised since early June. morning sickness and exhaustion really got to me.

but you know what - those are excuses. excuses got me fat in the first place and i'm sure as all that excuses are not going to keep me fat. so despite being exhausted (morning sickness finally has gone away), i am making the committment to go to the gym a few times a week.

just freaking do it. if you are exhausted in the morning, go in the early afternoon after a nap maybe.

quit making excuses and start really losing the weight. if i, a former 402.5 pound couch potato, can do it - i truly believe anyone can...

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Our eating issues really don't have anything to do with not exercising. We got a band to stop us from overeating. There comes a time when you really have to give up the excuses and just darn well get out there and do it. Some of us know we come up with excuses and some of us believe our own excuses on some level.

If you have time to post on a message board, you have time to exercise.

If you have time to engage grazing behaviors, you have time to exercise.

I do not believe that anyone can't find 20 minutes a day to exercise.

If you can stay awake long enough to post on message boards, you can stay awake for a 20 minute walk.

Your body will not plateau because you are exercising.

You don't have motivation? The band won't fix that so get motivation. The band is a lifestyle change and not a magical pill that will just make all the fat go away. I don't care if you are motivated or not, just get out there and do it. People aren't motivated to do a lot of things in life, going to work, cleaning the toilet, changing dirty diapers, going to the dentist, cleaning the house, doing dishes... there are lots of things in life we don't like and would prefer not to do but if you really want weight loss and health then you get out there and do what you have to do. Not exercising is due to lazy and the band doesn't fix lazy. Your foot hurts, fine. Do weight resistance and rest your foot. Your back hurts? So did mine, building up muscles will prevent that back pain from causing a severe injury to your spine so work with your doctor and come up with something.

The bottom line is that if you want to lose weight badly enough, you'll give up excuses and get it done. We are great at justifying more food, justifying not exercising, we can justify just about anything in life if it gets us what we want. So you have to decide what you want more. sleep apnea isn't going to improve much without weight loss so you have to find a way to move enough during the day (exercise) that the weight comes off and the sleep apnea goes away.

[Chickie 15]

Some very wise ladies have given some very good advice here. It is shameful that it was thrown back with a "You don't know me".

They are all spot on. I dont just know you. I was you.

[greythope 0]

I don't really know what to say other than I was trying to help the original poster not feel so alone in it all. Sometimes just knowing you aren't the only one can actually help inspire. The sort of 'hey WE can do it.'

I think all of us have gotten a life time worth of blunt advice about our weight. It just stings now because it's the same sort of tone the 'well if you just had some self-control you wouldn't be so fat' sort of advice I am sure we've all gotten. Even if we need it!!

The Junes are just at the start of our journey. I don't know about the original poster, but I have made huge changes and am working on more. we didn't get fat overnight and won't get thin overnight either.

'If you don't do this you're going to fail advice' tends to have a negative affect of people even if you meant it in the nicest possible way.

The irony is I used to be the gym junkie giving that same advice all the time. I am certainly back in my place now aren't I?! but at least I still feel stronger and working out isn't bad like it was when I was completely sedentary.

So in short, thank you for the advice. You've motivated me even if it stung. I still contend walking a mile in another man's shoes wouldn't be a bad idea though even just to phrase things differently. I am glad you guys are doing well and of course it's an inspiration!

Honestly I am grateful for the sleep apnea because it because that was the final straw in deciding I had to do something. As I lose more weight it will go away and it will be a snowball effect. And maybe before I know it I can do that mini-triathlon I've always thought about.

Watch this space for success!

[Great2BThin 5]

I don't think the advice given was stinging at all. Just very straight and to the point. Thing is we do need to make room in our daily lives for exercise. Will we all run marathons? I don't think so, but I think the point was we can all do something, and if we do, we will have more success.