3 weeks po - how many steps?

[GottaLearnToSlowDown 2]

Hi all! Just wondering for those who have step counts, how many steps do you try and get in a day? I'm 3 weeks post op and looking for a rough measure so I can work towards goals. I lost 4kg of muscle over my surgery and my dietician was not happy about that so much, so definitely gotta gain that back!

[bufbills 314]

Out of curiosity, how did you come up with the muscle loss figure?

[GottaLearnToSlowDown 2]

4 minutes ago, bufbills said:

Out of curiosity, how did you come up with the muscle loss figure?

Oh there was a machine, like scales, but measures everything like bone density and muscle mass as well, by sending electricity through your body and measuring resistance apparently!

[vikingbeast 985]

2 hours ago, GottaLearnToSlowDown said:

Oh there was a machine, like scales, but measures everything like bone density and muscle mass as well, by sending electricity through your body and measuring resistance apparently!

Those scales are notoriously unreliable, so don't take it as carved in stone.

[Arabesque 6,504]

You can only do as much as you can do because we heal & recover differently. In my third week, I went to my local shopping centre, walked about 800m & suddenly my blood pressure & blood sugar dropped. Had to sit down pretty darn quickly. But that was me. Others don’t have those issues. My advice would be to start slowly & build up your steps to see what you can do. You won’t be able to do what you were doing before surgery but you’ll be able to get back to that point pretty quickly. Don’t walk far from your home (up & down your street is good to begin) so in case you have a sudden drop in energy you’re close to home. Oh & take an electrolyte drink with you. I learnt that after my experience.

Try some resistance bands to help build muscle in a more gentle way. Ensure you’re meeting your daily Protein goal to offset your body going to your muscles for energy.

But 4kg of muscle loss in three or so weeks does seem a lot. How much weight did you lose in that same period? Does the maths add up considering the weight you lost in that time frame would include Water weight & fat as well & they would be the larger proportion of the loss.

[GottaLearnToSlowDown 2]

Thanks @Arabesque! I'm sorry to hear it was a bit tough for you initially. I'm lucky nothing like that has happened so far. My surgeon just cleared me for all exercise now which is interesting.

I was not super fit before surgery, I have Graves disease (hyperthyroid) and couldn't exercise much for a while, then I fell out of the habit and became pretty weak. Before that I was exercising A LOT and it was great. Hoping to get back to that soon!

Yeah I don't know whether that number was right or not to be honest, but whatever motivates me to exercise is fine by me. 😅 I was 115 then I lost 6.5 on Optifast and a further 3.5 over the surgery timish.

[Arabesque 6,504]

Thanks @GottaLearnToSlowDown. The low BP & hypoglycaemia were not new to me just went from random episodes to way more frequent events. My dearest friend has Graves so I understand it’s challenges. Excited for you to be able to get back to your previous fitness soon. Congrats on your weight loss so far.