I am four weeks pre op, going on the 28th of March to get my sleeve! I want to know if anyone has experience maintaining, or losing muscle. I ask because I have a lot of muscle, freakishly strong honestly. I'm currently 5'10", 295 and wear a size 20 pant. I joke about my fat being a protective layer for my muscle!

But seriously, how can I make sure to keep that muscle? I don't want it to deteriorate and be weak and bony. Do I need exercise? Is it all on the Protein? In the Vitamins? What gives?

Any help would be awesome! Thanks. Becky

make sure you get in the amount of protein that your doctor recommends. Mine told me to make sure I get 60-80grams of protein a day.

I am four weeks pre op, going on the 28th of March to get my sleeve! I want to know if anyone has experience maintaining, or losing muscle. I ask because I have a lot of muscle, freakishly strong honestly. I'm currently 5'10", 295 and wear a size 20 pant. I joke about my fat being a protective layer for my muscle!

But seriously, how can I make sure to keep that muscle? I don't want it to deteriorate and be weak and bony. Do I need exercise? Is it all on the Protein? In the Vitamins? What gives?

Any help would be awesome! Thanks. Becky

I think it will be a combination of things. My experience was I headed back to the gym as soon as possible after surgery. I feel like I haven't lost any muscle mass and I try and get 45-60 grams of protein per day. I also take a performance protein to help with muscle recovery/building. It is an all vegetable protein- Vega Performance and you can purchase it at Whole Foods. It hasn't been without challenges- but I am back to teaching aerobics and I feel strong enough to give everyone a great workout, including myself. I think you will be fine.

Ditto on making sure you get enough Protein in. Protein is what feeds our muscles and keeps them happy. If you don't feed your body with the necessary protein it needs, your body will first attack your muscles for weight loss instead of fat.

I work out with a personal trainer 3x week and we mostly concentrate on building muscle. I'm not even doing any cardio yet. I plan to start cardio in April to start training for a 5k...

If you have excessive muscle mass, it's likely you will lose some because its impossible to maintain it on our limited calorie intake those first couple of months. People with moderate or normal lean muscle may possibly lose less because they need less calories to maintain it.

But the good news is you can get it back easier than someone who has never had it can pack on new muscle. Keeping up your Protein and Water intake are your biggest keys. And get into the gym as soon as you're cleared to do so.

Almost impossible to keep all of one's muscle during rapid weight loss. Of course sufficient protein helps and depending on your Dr's pre-op requirements, if you have low/no-carb, low fat protein shakes, you could have all you want of those and it will help some. The Branched Chain Aminos (BCAAs) really help retain muscle during weight loss. Some people also use L-Glutamine, but I'm not sure about the effectiveness of it, but it's fairly cheap and worth a try I guess. Also, make sure you still lift and do resistance training during the weight loss pre-op diet. I wouldn't recommend doing really high rep/high intensity lifting, but you want your muscles to know that you still want them around and need them, so use them, even during the weight loss period, just cut back on the intensity and still lift. Because you will be limited for a few weeks POST-OP already and will lose muscle mass during those few weeks at an alarming rate, but it's better to limit that weight loss period to those few weeks post-op than to combine those few weeks with another few weeks pre-op. When you do lose some muscle mass post-op, try not to panic like I did. When your Dr clears you to lift, ease back into it and gradually build it back up.....and be patient...... it will eventually return with good hard lifting, protein and well-timed complex carbs after a workout. Good luck!

Almost impossible to keep all of one's muscle during rapid weight loss. Of course sufficient Protein helps and depending on your Dr's pre-op requirements' date=' if you have low/no-carb, low fat protein shakes, you could have all you want of those and it will help some. The Branched Chain Aminos (BCAAs) really help retain muscle during weight loss. Some people also use L-Glutamine, but I'm not sure about the effectiveness of it, but it's fairly cheap and worth a try I guess. Also, make sure you still lift and do resistance training during the weight loss pre-op diet. I wouldn't recommend doing really high rep/high intensity lifting, but you want your muscles to know that you still want them around and need them, so use them, even during the weight loss period, just cut back on the intensity and still lift. Because you will be limited for a few weeks POST-OP already and will lose muscle mass during those few weeks at an alarming rate, but it's better to limit that weight loss period to those few weeks post-op than to combine those few weeks with another few weeks pre-op. When you do lose some muscle mass post-op, try not to panic like I did. When your Dr clears you to lift, ease back into it and gradually build it back up.....and be patient...... it will eventually return with good hard lifting, protein and well-timed complex carbs after a workout. Good luck! [/quote']

What are Branched Chain Aminos? I've noticed the Aminos in protein supplements, but not these. What am I looking for, or can you recommend a specific brand?

I've never really had to rely on these things before, so I feel a bit slow when it comes to knowing all the different things about supplements.

And thank you to everyone for the advice, it seems that ya'll have had good success with the sleeve giving you the opportunity for a new, healthy life.

What are Branched Chain Aminos? I've noticed the Aminos in Protein supplements, but not these. What am I looking for, or can you recommend a specific brand?

I've never really had to rely on these things before, so I feel a bit slow when it comes to knowing all the different things about supplements.

And thank you to everyone for the advice, it seems that ya'll have had good success with the sleeve giving you the opportunity for a new, healthy life.

I'm not an expert, but from what I've read, they are 3 essential amino acids (leucine, valine, isoleucine) that our body can't produce on it's own and we have to ingest them or get them from the food we eat. They are the primary aminos that make up our muscle tissue. They seem to come in really handy when we are at calorie deficits and taking them is supposed to keep them in our muscles where they are supposed to be and results in our body not turning to muscle as much for energy when our calories are low. They are usually found in the protein shakes that we drink, which is why the Dr's usually suggest that we get so many grams of protein......for muscle retention during weight (fat) loss. These BCAAs are also available in just their pure form if you want them without all of the other aminos that come with protein shakes.

I haven't either as I always got plenty of protein and aminos through the abundant food I ate in the past. Just do some reading/research when you can, it is some fairly interesting reading and helpful for us as well.

Yes, the people on here are really helpful, so if you have any questions/concerns, just post it and you'll probably get some good feedback.

My pre-op counselor had bypass surgery and she told me she wishes she had lifted weights because she had "spagehetti arms" meaning she lost so much muscle she had very weak arms. So I asked my nurse the day I left the hospital after surgery if I could lift weights. She said no more than 10 pounds. So every day, I would take a 5 pound weight and do bicep curls on each arm. Then I'd do some triceps, maybe a little bit of chest. Nothing much, but just enough to work my muscles a little bit. I'm so glad I did. I have great muscle tone now and I'm at goal before my 1 year anniversary. Talk to your doctor and see if you can do the same. I highly recommend it.

Ditto on making sure you get enough Protein in. Protein is what feeds our muscles and keeps them happy. If you don't feed your body with the necessary protein it needs' date=' your body will first attack your muscles for weight loss instead of fat.

I work out with a personal trainer 3x week and we mostly concentrate on building muscle. I'm not even doing any cardio yet. I plan to start cardio in April to start training for a 5k...[/quote']

I work out woth my trainer 2x but she wants me to eat 1700 calories... i can barely eat 900-1200... she wants minimal cardio.. but im not loosing weight. R u?