Future athletics

[Kab810]

So got my surgery date, have to admit im nervous. On to my question, As a young man i was an athlete, hoping to get that back, how does vigorous exercise fit into a life with such small amounts of fuel getting put in the motor at a time? Please forgive me if this is a dumb question!

[KariVSG]

no question is a dumb question. I would love to know the answer to that too

[Pam G]

I wonder that, too. There's a guy on here that is like a trainer or something. He knows lots about sleeve nutrition and big muscles, lol. Can't think of his name, though.

[Belle2]

I really don't know why! I will tell you that I eat 3 meals a day and a couple little snacks. At my meals I eat about 1 cup of food. I try to get in 4-5 ounces of meat and the rest veggies or whatever I have. I do have some carbs but did not do that for many months. I am 59 years old. I am very active in comparison to the last several years prior to surgery. I became very sedentary and my weight crept up little by little. Now I am maintaining and it seems that my current diet and activity is where it needs to be. To answer your question, you might have to eat more small meals to get enough food if you are going to be an athlete like before. Just remember that you are older (I assume) and that you will be full longer with a protein diet. You were probably getting a lot of calories with junk food and you will no longer be doing that.

I wish I had more answers. I think we are all here because the science didn't work for us. I struggled for years trying to lose and just gave up for the most part. If you continue to lose after you are at goal, you will need to address this with your dietician. Maybe you will need to cut back on cardio?

[RehabNurse]

How does exercise fit into our lives with only 'small amounts' of fuel? It's easy to overlook the fact that we have an almost infinite amount of fuel in our bodies in the form of stored fat, yet it is the stored fat that fuels many peoples' cardio exercise. People underestimate the power of burning off fat, but it provides us with a potent form of energy.

In addition, your appetite will increase, and so will the capacity of your sleeve. This means you'll probably be able to eat two-thirds of what a person with a normal stomach eats within a couple of years, so you will not be taking in 'small amounts' of fuel forever.

[tomigyrl]

I'm a long-distance cyclist. I was pre-op; I am post-op.

Immediately post-op because I was in such a significant calorie deficit, I didn't ride more than an hour at a time. Immediately = after about a month post-op. That first month was mostly walking, light jogging.

Next week marks my 1-year post-op. Since I consistently eat between 1300 - 1700 calories, intense exercise isn't an issue. I still have some fat to burn (I'm about 22% body fat, considered lean), and I eat enough during endurance rides to give me quick energy - mostly in the form of quick carbs (fruit or gel packs). I DO NOT pre-load calories or carbs, even if riding 200 miles. I DO, however, eat plenty of whatever the heck I want 1-2 days afterwards, including large amounts of protein immediately following for recovery. This works because I'm burning ~5,000 calories on one of these rides and my body simply needs it. I accomplish it by drinking a liter of protein/carb fuel every hour on the bike, followed by many small meals after. I DO NOT recommend this for your average 1-hour gym routine. This is what's needed for me, for 8+ intense hours of work, sometimes in consecutive days.

I eat my normal 1300 - 1700 for my normal routine which consists of 1-3 hour bike rides and jogging about three miles - I do one or the other about 4 days a week. I think most of us can get decent calorie intake after 6-8months post-op to accommodate whatever exercise we're doing without a lot of issue. But you know what we all say...everyone is different.

This is just me though. I'm only 5'2", 142lb, female, 40 years old.

[Weesie867]

They only recommend 30 min of walking for a few months. But as little food as we put in our body I actually feel better and stronger. Especially from getting 60 grams of protein a day. Good luck.

[Sarcastic_Bard]

I was a weight lifter and did strength training before surgery. I had a large hiatal hernia that was repaired on top of having the sleeve so I wasn't medically cleared to return to the gym for about 6 weeks. In those 6 weeks I did a ton of walking and after 2 weeks my surgical tape covering my incisions had fallen off so I was able to go swimming again.

After 6 weeks I was able to return to the gym, but had to do the workouts with about half the weight I had built up to. For example, I was doing 3 sets of 12-15 reps on the lat pulldown at 75-80 pounds before surgery. When I was medically cleared to return the most I was cleared to do on that same machine was 3 sets of 10-12 with a max weight of 35-40 pounds. I also had to cut my days at the gym in half. Now my workout typically is this; 2 miles cycling to warm up, 4-5 strength training/weight lifting exercises focusing on two muscle groups, 10-15 minutes of core exercises (mostly glute bridges and crunches), and 25-30 minutes swimming or a cycling class. I have an insane (to me) amount of energy and hike on the weekends, swim, and bike. The strength training before surgery and returning to it I think has helped me with the weight loss and toning, and I make sure I get 90-100 grams of protein a day and almost a 100 ounces of liquids most days.

So in my experience you can and will be able to return to an active lifestyle, but you have to follow your doctor's medical advice on exercising and remember you're recovering from surgery still so you have to return slowly.

[Pam G]

Ok, I found the guy you need to talk to....his name is, trexlee001. He's a big muscley sleeved guy, he can answer your question.