Can you be successful after surgery without exercise?

[justwannabnormal]

For those of you who have been sleeved...is it possible to be successful without exercise? Has anyone achieved 'success' with little to no exercise? Thanks for any insight.Hope I don't sound ignorant in asking.

[ACE]

I do not exercise regularly I have always hated it but I do yoga almost everyday now just because it makes me feel good. So if that counts then I suppose you can but then remember exercise doesnt have to mean go to the gym it can mean simply getting up and walking a few extra steps each time you do it or making a bigger effort to move your body when you are already up and moving like dancing while doing chores or what ever extra movement is still extra movement. I would say you should exercise and ind something you like doing to be more successful but when it gets down to it once the food choices and portions start changing your desire to move around more seems to change with it.

[Narasweet]

There are some good free u tube videos online to help

[kenziesmom_2000]

ok ... yes you will lose weight... BUT if you dont work out you can lose muscle mass, have tons of gross saggy skin(you still might have some but not as bad), and have a harder time maintaining. exercise is so important for doing this successfully. the farther along you get, the more important it becomes and the harder it becomes to lose without exercise. and when you hit a stall sometimes the only way to break it is to up protein and exercise. so, yes it is possible but i dont reccomend it... I am very lazy and am the first to admit it. i have to push myself daily to get off my butt and walk or go to the gym... i am not one that has gotten obsessed with exercise (although I wish I could). I do know that i feel better and feel better about myself when i do. lol sorry you didnt ask for a lecture and i sure dont mean it to sound like one... best wishes for success on this journey!!!!

[Kathysangels]

Well - I am not one who has exercised a lot - have tried - but arthritis and fibromyalgia cause limitations.
That said - my husband and I just joined a recreation club that provides equipment, a walking gym, and swimming pools so we can get in regular exercise. We haven't used the equipment or done long walks, but we did use the pool twice now since Friday. We used some set exercises and I swam about 12 laps each time we swam. I was very surprised today when we went to the doctors office to find out that I had lost 6 pounds since Friday and my husband has lost 4 - and we weren't really trying. We didn't change our eating, so it had to be the pool. We had a good time and are going to try and go every other day. (My muscles definitely felt it for the first one but felt better for the last one,

So, can you lose without exercise? Yes, I lost almost 100 that way - but it was never this fast before.

Have a wonderful week!

[bikrchk]

I didn't exercise before. HATED it! I DO exercise 5 days per week now and started about 2 months post op. I use it as a tool to be able to eat what I like in small quantities. If I didn't pad my day with exercise, I'd have to live like I was on a "diet". I like carbs, I like chocolate, I like wine and this is how I choose to manage my diet so I can have it all. Works for me!

[char602]

@ bikrchk- First I get a little giddy every time I see someone who started out my size, so thanks for being here!

I haven't been sleeved yet, but I agree with most of what has already been said. Can you lose weight without? Yes. But for me this isn't just about losing weight, I want to be healthy for my kids and husband. There are plenty of unhealthy skinny people out there, I refuse to be one of them. I also want to be able to enjoy small amounts of wine & chocolate. Therefore, I know I will have to be prepared to work.

Work out videos are also a good option. I love Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred. It's a 30 MINUTE work-out. Everyone has time for that.

[missemily516]

I have physical limitations and cannot do a lot. I have lost 99 lbs in 8 months, and I haven't gone to a gym or done any specific exercise. The fitness I get is walking around and cleaning my house. I have a fitbit and before surgery I would average 2,000 steps a day, and now I average 6,000 steps a day, so I am moving more than I did before.

[sraebaer]

I'm sure people have done it that way, but it wouldn't be for me. I've reached my goal, and I think exercise has been the key. Not to mention it is so much more fun to exercise and not have to worry so much about what you eat, than to not exercise and have to watch every bite. (No yelling at me people, I am not the perfect eater.)

Exercise makes you look better, more toned, no matter what your weight. I kept getting that "don't lose any more weight" from people, and I'd answer that I was still in the "overweight" category. They would be shocked, and I don't think they were just being nice. I don't think I looked overweight either. I'm now at the high end of "average," but I feel totally normal. I'm 57 and can wear shorts and sleeveless tops, look toned, and feel great.

If you feel you don't like to work out, I think walking is the easiest way to begin. Start small, like a walk around the block. Add a little each day. It will get easier and fun. You'll start to want to exercise because you feel so good moving your body. Next you might try something crazy like going to the gym. Find something you like, maybe dancing or bike riding or yoga. For me it's hiking, step class, skiing, body pump, chasing grandkids, and kayaking.

I think there are a whole lot of overweight people out there afraid of exercise. I know at my support group I am in the minority when I say I love to work out.

Now I need to get out the door for my daily hike in the woods with the deer, turkeys, groundhogs, turtles, snakes, etc. It's the best part of my day.

[sraebaer]

@ bikrchk- First I get a little giddy every time I see someone who started out my size, so thanks for being here!

I haven't been sleeved yet, but I agree with most of what has already been said. Can you lose weight without? Yes. But for me this isn't just about losing weight, I want to be healthy for my kids and husband. There are plenty of unhealthy skinny people out there, I refuse to be one of them. I also want to be able to enjoy small amounts of wine & chocolate. Therefore, I know I will have to be prepared to work.

Work out videos are also a good option. I love Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred. It's a 30 MINUTE work-out. Everyone has time for that.

I love it! No way could I give up wine and chocolate.

[Ann2]

I feel a little foolish saying this (having recently weighed nearly 240 pounds), but I don't think human beings can be healthy without exercise.

Look at it this way: Some people confined to wheelchairs figure out ways to exercise. Some old people (ahem) do chair exercises to stay fit. So we can figure something out.

P.S. Today I walked the dog for 27", walked on my treadmill for 10", and did 10" on the NuStep.

[Metread]

I must admit that I have only done limited exercise. Nothing constant or rigorous in any way. I walk a mile or so on the treadmill, and do some strength training. I haven't in over a month. I do know however, there will come a time very soon that I will have to, to tone and stay at my goal weight.

[sraebaer]

Another thing on exercise, my mom has walked three miles a day (except Sunday!) for probably the past 40 years. She's 87. She is still healthy, while all her same-age friends and relatives are practically immobile. (Many are gone.) Here she is, all 100 pounds of her, trying to help her friends up the steps into her home. I hope to be an 87 year old just like my mom some day.

[Toopie2Seater]

My medical opinion: Exercise is necessary for heart health. That goes for all of us, big or small, surgery or no surgery. This is especially important coming out of an obese situation where heart health / BP were probably not that great. Exercise can actually help to strengthen the heart muscle.

Yo-Yo Dieter opinion: I've lost tremendous amounts of weight (like so many others here) doing it with just dietary changes and I ended up looking like a smaller version of my fat self - which didn't look that great. My flabby thighs and juicy (yes, I said juicy) arms looked exactly the same; the circumference was just smaller. When I lost weight through healthy meals and kick-ass workouts (namely weight training and cardio), I looked 100 times better. I looked smaller but actually weighed more. Cellulite was significantly improved and my thighs actually looked better; I never thought that would happen.

I'm still of the age that I want to look good naked (and in a bikini), so my vote is definitely to include exercise. Even if you're thinking you hate it and won't do it, you may change your mind once the weight begins to fall off. That's the beauty of changing your life - you can also change your mind!

[jmw]

In my opinion, you can definitely lose weight without exercising. However, I don't think that you can be healthy without either living a inherently active lifestyle or adding in intentional exercise. I think, for most people nowadays, that our lifestyles(sitting on couches, rather than getting up and down off the floor, having less manual labor in our careers and home lives, driving more, walking less, etc.) make adding intentional exercise more necessary. But, this doesn't have to be in a gym or with a DVD. Pick up a soccer ball, go kayaking, take a hike, etc.