Ok so I had my sleeve 12/6/10 and I have lost 25 pounds since November 29th. I am able to work out at 4 weeks post op and I have been looking into gyms. I have read through other topics on here that cardio is going to be the best thing to do to help with the weight loss. I have never been one to exercise and I have no idea what to do. Do I join a gym? What equipment do I use?

I have also looked into my local recreation center and they offer a Zumba class 2 nights a week for 1 hour. Can I do that when the new class starts Jan. 3rd or should I wait a little longer? I don't know how strenous Zumba is, I just hear how much fun and what a great workout it is.

I want to exercise and I want to lose weight. I have never been so motivated but I am just not sure what direction to go. I do have the Wii Fit Plus but I don't know if that would be enough. I can't do the Yoga stuff on there, LOL. It is way too much for me.

Can anyone help steer me in the right direction?

Zumba will kick your hiney. It's fast paced, high impact movement with lots of moving. It's great cardio. I did love it, but hated the instructor. Zumba will help with endurance and stamina as well. Don't try to kick ass and take names at first, ease into so you do not hurt yourself or burn yourself out.

Do you have a local YMCA? Usually they will do an assessment with you, take measurements, and then teach you to use the machines and weights. That's what I did when I joined the Y, and it rocked. They set me up on a weight lifting program that isolated certain areas of the body on different days.

Cardio is great for weight loss, and building muscle mass really helps keep you tone, and losing inches. Remember a pound is a pound so when you start working out do not freak out over the numbers on the scale. Take your measurements at your calf, upper thigh, waist, hips, bust, neck, bicep. When the scale doesn't move, remeasure because fat is lumpy, bumpy takes up lots of space in our body, while muscle is lean, and takes up less space, so you'll be gaining muscle mass, but losing the bulky fat.

Zumba will kick your hiney. It's fast paced, high impact movement with lots of moving. It's great cardio. I did love it, but hated the instructor. Zumba will help with endurance and stamina as well. Don't try to kick ass and take names at first, ease into so you do not hurt yourself or burn yourself out.

Do you have a local YMCA? Usually they will do an assessment with you, take measurements, and then teach you to use the machines and weights. That's what I did when I joined the Y, and it rocked. They set me up on a weight lifting program that isolated certain areas of the body on different days.

Cardio is great for weight loss, and building muscle mass really helps keep you tone, and losing inches. Remember a pound is a pound so when you start working out do not freak out over the numbers on the scale. Take your measurements at your calf, upper thigh, waist, hips, bust, neck, bicep. When the scale doesn't move, remeasure because fat is lumpy, bumpy takes up lots of space in our body, while muscle is lean, and takes up less space, so you'll be gaining muscle mass, but losing the bulky fat.

There is not a YMCA near me. I thought of joining the gym and maybe starting off with a personal trainer but I don't know if that is necessary plus I have to be easy on the pocketbook.

There is not a YMCA near me. I thought of joining the gym and maybe starting off with a personal trainer but I don't know if that is necessary plus I have to be easy on the pocketbook.

I don't click with most personal trainers. They seem judgy about weight loss surgery, and don't think I'm serious about working out because you know I took the easy way out to lose weight. At least that's been my experience.

You can check out youtube.com for how to use the machines, if it's a good gym, they'll have floor associates that can help you get familiar with the machines, and the weights without charging you extra. Snap Fitness is like that around here.

I've been looking at SnapFitness, Anytime Fitness and Planet Fitness.

Thanks for the insight.

Hey Holly,

I started to walk a lot at your stage, I did use the wii fit and used the freestyle jogging to walk and jog - lightly - then at 6 weeks post op I raised the bar a little... started jogging on the wii more, used an execise bike etc. Around 8-10 weeks I started going to the gym, we have a little one in work, and I used all the machines that I felt comfortable doing, as my weight decreased, I upped my workout and varied my routine. I also went to Zumba at around 10-12 weeks. It is great, real fun, but it is really fast paced and high impact! Like Tiff said a great cardio work out but I wouldn't of been able to do it at an earlier stage.

Good luck with your decision, let us know how you get on...

I am aiming to get more exercise back into my routine...!

Thank you coops. I think I may need to build up some before attempting Zumba so I may just put it off a month.

No probs.... you'll know when you are ready to go forwards with exercises and different exercises! I have to be honest, my weight has always ruled what I could or couldn't do so it is sweet relief to be able to move a little faster and a little nimbler... the most important thing for me though is enjoyment! If I don't enjoy myself, I get bored and then I stop!

I joined anytime fitness and love it, I do three days of cardio and three of weight training, I found some good ideas about training here:

http://www.myfit.ca/