Anyone lift seriously after surgery . I have been lifting more weight than I ever had in my life but I am also the heaviest I have ever been. Having surgery in next few months . I am so concerned about being weak and losing a lot if muscle when I lose weight

When I was a teenager, I lifted weights. I wasn't that good except for leg lifts. In those I could press 450 pounds. Fifty years later I was surprised that I could still press around 400 pounds with my legs. I haven't tried any weight lifting since my surgery about a year ago. I fell like I am a little weaker. But I noticed, that my stamina has increased several fold since the surgery.

I have lost 99 pounds in a little over six months since having surgery. I was concerned I had lost muscle mass, but at my six month appointment the surgeon had me on the body composition scale and it showed my total weight loss at 97 pounds, but I has actually lost 102 pounds of fat since last time, so I actually GAINED five pounds of muscle. I had not expected that as I have felt a bit weaker since surgery. I guess the moral of the story is eat the amount of Protein they recommend, and it should be just fine.

Depends. I did 40 lbs. on bicep curls. I dont know if that's usual for a size 0 5'1" female or not.

I did lose strength post op. Mind you, I didn't get back into weight lifting immediately after due to easily fatiguing. However, with the almost 100 lbs of weight loss, the definition is way better. I'm gaining my strength back and working hard to build it back up. You might lose some strength, but if you remain active up until surgery, continue again as soon as your cleared by your doctor, and--most importantly--work hard to get your protein in, you should be fine. It sounds like you're well on you way to healthy new you. Keep it up!

They told me to make sure to eat enough protein, that will protect the muscles.

Thanks for all the advice

Anyone lift seriously after surgery . I have been lifting more weight than I ever had in my life but I am also the heaviest I have ever been. Having surgery in next few months . I am so concerned about being weak and losing a lot if muscle when I lose weight

Having enough Protein prevents muscle wasting. Also there is such thing as "muscle memory." It's a lot easier to get back to where you were than starting from scratch. Wow! When you lose weight, you're going to see all those muscles and curves!

"nmccarthy"......there are quite a few sleevers on this site that take lifting seriously and I feel that I am one of them. As some posters above have mentioned, lifting after surgery (when cleared by Dr) and getting in sufficient Protein are the two big key factors during that weight loss phase. You'll lose some muscle during the first couple of months post op during the rapid weight loss........nothing you can really do to stop muscle loss during that time. But lifting during this phase and concentrating on protein will lessen the amount of muscle you lose........making it easier to get back to where you want to be and less like starting from scratch. I was there, was down in the dumps about muscle loss right after surgery, but it could have been worse had I not lifted and cosumed adequate protein after my sleeve. About 7 or so months after my surgery, I was back to my pre-sleeve strength, but weighed about 60-70 pounds less, so it can be done. Good luck with surgery, I think you'll be so glad you got the sleeve!

Edited May 6, 201412 yr by aroundhky

I do CrossFit, so we have a lot of lifting and a lot of other stuff...

I started CF in August and my surgery was in October. I had a strict 6-7 week recovery with no lifting and working out other than walking. And then, I was weak for the first month or so that I came back. Started to really feel myself getting back in the groove in February and March. But the funny thing is, even though I've been sick a lot of the last month and haven't worked out nearly as much as I should (averaged once a week) I haven't lost a huge amount of definition. I just love it and would recommend it for anyone. In fact, I can't wait to progress up in heaviness.

I am just over 10 months post op and have lost over 100 lbs. I still have 75 lbs to go. I do what I consider serious weight training, as I am preparing for my first powerlifting meet this winter. I train four days a week and do cardio for three. The key for me is getting the proper amount of protein (based on your weight) throughout the day. Immediately post op, when just beginning at the gym, its almost impossible to get enough protein with the calorie limitations put on by the Dr. You will lose some muscle mass. But as your calories increase and your protein intake goes up, muscle will be built.

Hey there I am just 6 weeks post op. Just wondering when it is safe to start weight lifting.

Six weeks is about right, but, you really need to be cleared by your doctor before weight lifting.

I am just over 10 months post op and have lost over 100 lbs. I still have 75 lbs to go. I do what I consider serious weight training, as I am preparing for my first powerlifting meet this winter. I train four days a week and do cardio for three. The key for me is getting the proper amount of Protein (based on your weight) throughout the day. Immediately post op, when just beginning at the gym, its almost impossible to get enough protein with the calorie limitations put on by the Dr. You will lose some muscle mass. But as your calories increase and your protein intake goes up, muscle will be built.

Has your doctor given you any guidelines? At my 2nd NUT meeting, we were told to try to get 60 - 80 grams of protein in. Also, the people gain weight because they eat more often. I haven't had surgery yet, so I'm speculating... it seems that you'd need more protein to maintain or gain muscle mass. Couldn't you just have a couple more "snacks" of Protein drinks?

As far as protein intake we agreed on 1.5 grams of protein for each kilogram of body weight. As my weight goes down, my protein needs go down. But there is also a max calorie intake. I do supplement with protein shake "snacks" of Isopure whey protein powder. One scoop only at a time. 105 calories, 25 grams of protein, no carbs or fat. Most whey protein powders geared towards weight lifting have too many calories and carbs for snacks.

You will lose muscle and strength post op, especially in the upper body. There is no way to prevent that with massive calorie deficits, even if you get to a point of eating over the recommended minimum Protein intake. Also you will not be lifting heavy for a long time nor do you want to in order not to rip, tear' or otherwise damage yourself. Try and eat as much protein as you can during the "losing" phase and eat as few carbs as you can. Whatever carbs you do eat should be in the form of good carbs. Try and not cheat. Your future results will thank you.

When your weight converges on goal weight, slowly add good carbs and work towards lifting heavier and consistently. You do not want to eat a whole lot of carbs during the losing phase as that will slow your weight loss way down for most folks. Eventually, you will want to start eating 50% protein, 30% carb and 20% fat while you are still reducing body fat, even if at goal weight. Once you body fat reaches your goal (say, 10-12%), change the macros to 40% protein, 40% carb and 20% fat, still eating as clean as you can the entire time. Balancing out protein and carbs is ideal as protein needs carbs in order for optimal protein synthesis to occur. You can also play with carbohydrate timing. For example, I eat most of my carbs for first meal and meal after working out. The insulin response is going to be at optimal levels at these two times to maximize protein synthesis. Eat mostly protein and veggies the rest of the day, every 2-3 hours.

Depending in your ideal weight, you will want to eat 1-1.5 G protein per # of body weight and 300-500 calories under your point of calorie in and calorie out homeostasis. For me, that is about 220 G protein and 1800 calories respectively. Always drink a lot of Water the whole time. You will not only lose weight faster, but you will also cut faster because your hormones will balance out by themselves as the various toxins are flushed from your body. I am a strong believer in the application of nutritional and sports science ahead of the actual lifting. The actual lifting will result in disappointment if one does not get the nutrition and timing right.

As for the actual lifting, I currently do a standard split routine in the context of p90 x and am finishing up this program at the end of this month (may repeat or go onto another program like p90x/insanity hybrid or p90x2). It is a really good program. I also like doing workouts from "you are your own gym" because there are so many benefits behind functional training that you some times do not get from traditional split isometric routines (chest/back,legs/back, biceps/shoulders/back, etc). For this reason, I also enjoy cross fit. Oh how I love cross fit, but you do have to be careful about preventing injury and overtraining.