Hey there! New to the forum!! I had the gastric sleeve, 1/27/22!! I am down 40lbs so far and had my first personal trainer workout this morning! I am curious on a couple of things! I feel like I have NO muscle! It's just GONE! I am building back up from scratch it feels like! Any one else? Is this normal? Also curious if anyone has any supplements or meals they recommend before workout or post workout? Mainly to help with muscle repair and sorness!!

Building back from scratch relative to what? Even at my heaviest, I worked out pretty regularly and did a lot of strength training. I took 2 months off with surgery and I definitely felt a decline but not back to my pre-training days. My abs (especially lower abs) were probably the worst, because my trainer was also going very gentle on them for a long while until we were sure everything is fully healed.

I like protein snacks before and after workouts. So, Greek yogurt with some oatmeal and berries or a couple of light string cheese sticks. None of that is going to help with soreness - only time fixes that in my experience - but the protein is good for energy and muscles rebuilding.

I remember watching a documentary on obesity (can’t remember its name) & a doctor pointing out that obese people have been weight training 7 days a week for years as they carried around their weight. I was rather surprised but it makes sense when you think about it. The difference is when you do weights at a gym you use different muscle. Plus as you lose weight, your posture improves as your centre of balance changes so you may have to retrain muscles, tendons, etc, too.

But in answer to your question: protein. Your body uses protein for recovery & healing, and muscle & bone health & growth. There’s some information about now saying that your body can’t absorb more than 25g of protein at a time & excess is stored as fat. Something to take into consideration.

Congrats on your weight loss so far.

Fifteen minutes in a sauna post workout can help prevent some of the muscle soreness.

take BCAA capsules these will help curb soreness by aiding repair

drink 25g protein within 30 minutes of a workout

make sure you’re getting enough salt I use Hilyte drops to help boost this

and use a roller right after your workout before static stretching

Drink a little tart cherry juice or extract with protein before bed

Lots of water they say a gallon I have trouble meeting that but will go to an IV Bar if I’m feeling more pains and dehydration than normal

I love Isopure collagen drinks they are a light flavor not too sweet and I can get 10g protein per 8oz I drink

After I work out I like to eat some types of melons. My favorite is watermelon because it is a good form of hydration and electrolytes.