How important is Exercise?

[Creekimp13 5,838]

Have ya'll ever noticed how many of the vets who have maintained for 3+ years...are exercise freaks? Weight lifters, marathon runners, circuit trainers, etc... Even older folks who are committed to walking several miles every day. I've noticed that A LOT of our most successful folks....are constantly on the move.

How much is exercise stressed in your program?

How often do you talk about it at post surgical consultations?

My team talks about the importance of exercise every time I'm seen.

My doctor writes my exercise goals on a prescription pad to emphasize its importance.

Diet is obviously pretty important, too...but learning to incorporate more movement into your daily life is a HUGE lifestyle change with HUGE payoffs.

What are some ways that have you have successfully incorporated more exercise into your life?

[Creekimp13 5,838]

Stuff I do to get more movement:

1. New rule in my life...if I'm watching a show and a commercial comes on? I have to walk.

2. New rule in my life...any time i'm on the phone, I need to be on my feet. I walk the whole time i'm talking. If it's for business, I carry my notes with me. If it's friends/family, I walk around my yard while talking.

3. When I wake up (with my fitbit on as usual), I make my coffee, do some dishes, take trash out, start laundry, and don't sit down until I have at least 2000 steps. Great way to start the day ahead of the game, and I'm usually half asleep while doing this...so I don't even feel it. LOL:)

4. I ride my bike to the mailbox everyday (it's a quarter mile from my house). Most days, I ride to the end of the road (about two miles) before grabbing the mail. Yep, I live in the middle of nowhere. Lotta land.

5. I mow a big portion of my lawn by hand with a push mower. Cracks me up to see people pay for a gym membership and then get on their riding lawn mower. LOL. Mowing lawns is an AWESOME workout. My hubby is thrilled I've picked up this habit:) Lawns are always done for the weekend.

Anyone else have a few active lifestyle tips?

Edited July 29, 2018 by Creekimp13

[Creekimp13 5,838]

Keeping a pool...even a little above ground one...is a lot of exercise. Not just the swimming, but the constant care involved, cleaning, chemicals, etc. LOTS of trips to the pool, even when you're not swimming.

Keeping a garden is the same kinda thing. Lots of weeding, watering, stuff to keep you moving.

I keep both:)

[nibble 201]

You have great "rules" for yourself, Creekimp! I will try to incorporate some of those. In our class we were told our weight loss is 80% diet, 20% exercise. Post-op we are to walk 10min 4x daily. After that, as the healing continues, just keep doing a little more than the day before until we can do the exercises of choice. Flexibility and stretching are important first. Things like yoga may be too much stress on the healing stomach and incisions initially. And of course, if it hurts, STOP. Your New Rules are not as humorous as Bill Maher's, but they are wise!

[Creekimp13 5,838]

My doctor puts it at 50/50 I suppose this, like most things in this emerging science, is subjective.... and will vary expert to expert.

[jess9395 5,448]

Exercise and fitness is a huge part of my life now and I do believe it helps me maintain. But overall, I still believe it was what I ate that was the largest part of my weight loss. I subscribe to the "Weight is lost in the kitchen, not the gym" philosophy and the one the running community uses "you can't outrun your fork." Exercise is for health and fitness, diet (in the "what you eat" not the "what you don't eat" definition) is for weight loss. My personal opinion and experience.

That said, exercise is part of my surgeon's plan. In addition to all the other pre op tests and such, one must do 1-3 visits at the physical therapy/fitness training department at the hospital. They do a baseline fitness assessment and then set goals for you post op.

I can't really speak to what the follow up with that department is like, I think it can exist as part of the surgeon's plan, but I started couch to 5k and yoga soon after surgery and discussed that at my post op visits. The people at the fitness center knew that was my post op plan so they couched their advice with "this is probably too basic for you..." and "I know you have your own plans, but..." which was honestly odd to me because I had never run or done yoga so how did I know that is what I was gonna do and more importantly how did THEY know or trust that I would? So I do feel like there is a weird disconnect happening with the program. Would you trust an almost 300lb person who has never run or done yoga to follow through on that? I wouldn't!

Anyhow, a brief discussion is part of every follow up with my surgeon. I don't know how the follow up would go if I hadn't been doing anything, but since I was telling him about my running and yoga the discussions were brief. By my six month follow up I was telling him about the half marathon I had run and the 3-4 hours of yoga classes per week, He was great with that. So I don't know if fitness is a really integral part of his program and he just didn't need to stress it with me, or if it's just a small part of the conversation with everyone.

As for %.... I honestly think that like with most of this, there is no one answer. Different people with different genetics will have different needs and different results. I think as science advances what we will learn is how to determine the best plan for individuals. My sister builds muscle in seconds and takes forever to lose it. She also works in a field where functional fitness is part of her job (a former poster on here used to work with horses and it was the same thing...no need for a formal exercise plan). I take FOREVER to build muscle and if I don't use it I will lose it overnight.

[Diana_in_Philly 1,426]

1 hour ago, Creekimp13 said:

How much is exercise stressed in your program?

How often do you talk about it at post surgical consultations?

What are some ways that have you have successfully incorporated more exercise into your life?

1 - My team emphasized that surgery was a tool and lifestyle was the key. So exercise, from day 1 even before surgery was stressed.

2 - Every time - (I'm 2 years out and see my team every 6 months).

3 - I've found things I love. Before surgery, I started by working with a personal trainer to help me figure out what I could do and she worked with me through my first full year until she was accepted to graduate school 1500 miles away and moved. She inspired and encouraged me to do more and more at each stage. About 8 months after surgery, I took up fencing (en garde). I completely, madly fell in love with this sport (despite the fact that I started at age 56 having never done it before) and am now nationally ranked in my age group. I fence 5-6 hours a week. I do Pilates an hour a week. I do a cross fit type class (olympic weight lifting and conditioning) three times a week. I do agility and strength training at least 2 more times a week. I'm in the gym or on the move every day. The more I move the better I feel.

Understand that two years ago, the pain from my arthritis in my knees was so bad that 10,000 steps would mean I would need a Vicodin at the end of the day. Thursday, I deadlifted 20 pounds more than I weigh. Tuesday, I squatted more than I weigh. (I'm hanging around 155 ish these days).

Exercise is part of my lifestyle now and I feel like crap if I don't work out. In fact, we are going away next weekend to visit my husband's sister in Maine and I won't be able to get in two of my workouts and I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do to scratch that itch while we are away.

[RickM 1,747]

The consensus that I have seen is more in the 80/20 range for weight loss - the experts still don't really know why, it just is.... - and that it is most particularly useful as a maintenance tool for long term health. I have seen a number of people go through with minimal exercise until the get around goal weight and then pick it up.

Our program did emphasize it, particularly strength and resistance work to help maintain as much lean mass as possible to keep the metabolism up, though as with most things that are "good for us" the best is what you will do consistently rather than some ideal that you hate and will stop doing.

[jess9395 5,448]

Just an interesting factoid...I know it’s more than calories in and calories out... I also know muscle raises your RMR and burns more calories at rest. But still.... running (or walking) burns about 100 calories per mile (running just finishes the mile faster).

Think how long it takes you to eat 100 calories versus walk or run a mile.

So yeah way more complex than just that, but that’s why I firmly rest in the can’t outrun your fork camp... even after surgery.

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

57 minutes ago, nibble said:

80% diet, 20% exercise.

short and sweet

my health success/weight - came from eating properly

that's how i said good riddens to being overweight

truth be told i never did exercise much.

but......i still try - sometimes succeed

"Do or Do Not, There is no Try"

kathy

[ChaosUnlimited 559]

53 minutes ago, jess9395 said:

I subscribe to the "Weight is lost in the kitchen, not the gym" philosophy and the one the running community uses "you can't outrun your fork." Exercise is for health and fitness, diet (in the "what you eat" not the "what you don't eat" definition) is for weight loss. My personal opinion and experience.

This! Exercise is important, and is stressed at my follow up visits, but I believe exercise helps you be fit, and diet helps to lose or maintain weight. To a small extent, you can probably eat a little bit more if you are exercising heavily, but it's true that you can eat many more calories in much less time and with less effort than it takes to burn them off.

I am a cardio person, I like cardio - running, hiking, aerobics and zumba classes, etc. I know I need to work more on muscle building. But...

I have to ask, for those of you who are very active or do a lot of workouts, do you work outside of the home? Because I am struggling with building a consistent workout routine around my work schedule. I work long shifts, and my schedule differs each week, and on the days I work it is so hard to try to get a work out in, I'm just exhausted. I'm also busy on my days off with different things, but I try to at least go run or if it fits in my schedule to take a class at the gym, but I'm not consistently working out. For those who work, how do you commit to an exercise routine and still get everything else done?

Sometimes I wish I could be a kept woman and just worry about focusing on my exercise and diet!

[BeeCat 99]

Can’t wait to get back in the pool in a couple of weeks. I have limited mobility in my legs but i can swim for exercise. Just gotta let these darn incisions heal up!
There are also many exercise videos on Youtube some done from a chair so even those with very limited abilities can do something!

[GreenTealael 24,850]

I honesty don't work out a lot, i do walk some, but I have not made rigorous exercise the priority during the beginning stages of this journey. Exercise is mentioned and included as part of the program but there are tons of patients that for medical reasons just can't do a lot of it (me included) so diet is focused on more.

Edited July 29, 2018 by Tealael

[shedo82773 1,236]

I started walking in the hospital. Slowly but surely I built it up to 3 to 4 miles 6 days a week. I did this for 4 and 1/2 years. The last 6 months I have fell back to old habits before my surgery. I defintly feel the difference!! I have health issues with Fibromylgia, and arthritis and I hurt way worse now. I feel like I have undone all that I worked for. I haven' t gained anything but 4 or 5 pounds. BUT...I have to get er done. I was so obsessed with it that I almost had a melt down when I had to miss my exercise. TOTALLY unhealthy there Sherrie. Just start now and learn as you go. Exercise was important to my weight loss. I lost 132#'s in 6 months, so I owe much to my addiction to walking. LOL

'