Hi. I'm a Newbie.

My gastric sleeve surgery is scheduled for January 2nd.

I started the process in May @ 307 lbs (5'7"), and so far have lost 30 lbs with eating modification & exercise.

Currently, my exercise consists of weight training and some walking. Having torn meniscus in both knees doesn't permit a lot of walking.

For years I used to be an avid gym freak years ago, but shoulder and foot injuries/surgeries, along with personal circumstances had put a damper on that for some time.

While I'm looking forward to the surgery and a new beginning, my biggest cause for anxiety is the resulting loose skin. I carry a lot of muscle mass right now, and I'm concerned that the fat loss, and the muscle loss of not working out, will exasperate the situation. I'm aware that loose skin comes with the territory, but does anyone have any advise on how to minimize it?

Thanks for your support,

Johnny B.

Hi, Johnny! Congratulations! My surgery date is five days after yours and I can absolutely relate when it comes to your anxiety. I went to support group the other night and they brought up the subject that when you lose massive amounts of weight you also lose muscle mass and that when you’re at a lower weight you will feel weaker because you don’t have that weight behind you helping you anymore. It make me a little nervous to know that my legs (the body part that I love and work out the most) are going to inevitably get weaker.

8 hours ago, jessicaalyssa said:

Hi, Johnny! Congratulations! My surgery date is five days after yours and I can absolutely relate when it comes to your anxiety. I went to support group the other night and they brought up the subject that when you lose massive amounts of weight you also lose muscle mass and that when you’re at a lower weight you will feel weaker because you don’t have that weight behind you helping you anymore. It make me a little nervous to know that my legs (the body part that I love and work out the most) are going to inevitably get weaker.

Hi Jessica. Thank you for taking the time to respond, and congratulations on getting approved and setting the date.

From what I understand the strength loss is temporary (at least I hope so). I'm planning on continuing to workout right up to surgery, and picking up again as I get clearance from the surgery.

Muscle has memory, so the muscle loss should only be temporary as long as we're following a high protein diet and getting sufficient nutrients. I've taken lengthy layoffs from the gym in the past due to shoulder and foot reconstructions, and was impressed with how quickly muscle mass returns. It's the new gains that are always hard to come by. But at 55, I'm no longer worried about being Mr. America. Just want to get and stay healthy.

On a positive note, I'm now down 34 lbs, and am still a month away from surgery. I'd be ecstatic to lose all the fat and eventually regain whatever muscle mass I lose during the process.

How are you doing? Do you have good support at home? I'm getting a lot from my family, which I think is making the process easier.

Hi Jessica. Thank you for taking the time to respond, and congratulations on getting approved and setting the date.
From what I understand the strength loss is temporary (at least I hope so). I'm planning on continuing to workout right up to surgery, and picking up again as I get clearance from the surgery.
Muscle has memory, so the muscle loss should only be temporary as long as we're following a high Protein diet and getting sufficient nutrients. I've taken lengthy layoffs from the gym in the past due to shoulder and foot reconstructions, and was impressed with how quickly muscle mass returns. It's the new gains that are always hard to come by. But at 55, I'm no longer worried about being Mr. America. Just want to get and stay healthy.
On a positive note, I'm now down 34 lbs, and am still a month away from surgery. I'd be ecstatic to lose all the fat and eventually regain whatever muscle mass I lose during the process.
How are you doing? Do you have good support at home? I'm getting a lot from my family, which I think is making the process easier.

Hey Johnny! My date is January 15. I've been eating clean and exercising. I weight my self monthly but I've gone down quite a bit. I was to reach 245 by surgery date. I'm at most 257 right now.

I freaking love lifting but I don't know what they hell I'm doing. I don't have the tits to hire a trainer right now. Someday. Right now it's youtube, some dumbells I bought on Craigslist, resistance bands, an roller, and desk elliptical. I enjoy the ache of tired muscles. Now if only I loved the ache runners feel I'd love cardio. How can I get past that stitch in my side? I'd love to run regualry someday.

But what I really want muscle! I'm young enough to still want to be Ms America, hell even Ms Wakanda!

Keep it up! Id love to follow your progress!

39 minutes ago, LadySin said:

Hey Johnny! My date is January 15. I've been eating clean and exercising. I weight my self monthly but I've gone down quite a bit. I was to reach 245 by surgery date. I'm at most 257 right now.

I freaking love lifting but I don't know what they hell I'm doing. I don't have the tits to hire a trainer right now. Someday. Right now it's youtube, some dumbells I bought on Craigslist, resistance bands, an roller, and desk elliptical. I enjoy the ache of tired muscles. Now if only I loved the ache runners feel I'd love cardio. How can I get past that stitch in my side? I'd love to run regualry someday.

But what I really want muscle! I'm young enough to still want to be Ms America, hell even Ms Wakanda!

Keep it up! Id love to follow your progress!

That's great. I didn't know you needed "tits to hire a trainer" lol. Youtube has some great instructional videos. Keep up the good work. Training for that muscle ache the day after each workout is perfect.

I was never much of a runner (torn meniscus in each knee), so I can't offer much advice other than secondhand. Some say you can get past that side "stitch" pain by increasing potassium and fluids, but again, I've never been a runner, so you'd probably be better served asking the runners.

What is a desk elliptical? I have a private office with a desk and that might be a good way for me to burn additional calories.

My doctor didn't really set a pre-surgery weight loss goal for me other to say to follow the instructions of the nutritionist, and that I was doing well. My nutritionist gave me different ways of looking at what I eat, offered some recipes and advice. She says not to look at it as dieting, to have the viewpoint that the new me is a healthy me, not the other guy who didn't pay attention to proper nutrition. So I've listened to her, and no longer think of it as dieting and cheating. I look at it as my new eating habits with splurge days every now and then (if needed). If I have a splurge day, I go right back to my healthy eating the next day. I find her to be very supportive, and am happy to work with her. She told me that once i had hit the first 15 lbs, the insurance didn't require me to lose any more weight pre-surgery as long as I didn't gain.

But I'm in this to lose, so why not get a jump on developing good habits and lose what I can beforehand? So this week I'm down 34 lbs total one month out from surgery. I'm guessing I'll probably lose another 5-10 once I start liquids. I'm not looking forward to that, since I'm a "meatatarian".

For me, the secret to gaining muscle is short intense workouts (30-40 minutes, every other day), with slow deliberate reps, and little rest between sets. I've found that I can either train hard, or I can train long. Sprinters have large muscles, marathoners tend to have long lean bodies. So I guess my workouts are more of a sprinter.

Let me know how you progress.

Edited December 5, 20187 yr by Johnny B