So, I'm getting the RNY next week (tuesday 6/12), and I'm super excited.  A little backstory, I am prior miliary, and was discharged in 2006.  At my lowest, I was at 178 and in great shape, and throughout my 4 year enlistment, I slowly packed on the pounds.  After I severely injured my ankle and couldn't PT for 6 months while in physical therapy, I really packed the weight on.  It became a cyclical issue where it was harder to work out, the more weight I gained, etc.  At my highest, back in February I wa****ting the scales at 352.  I'm at 328.9 as of today.

Fastforward 6 years, and I'm done with it.  I'm ready to lose the weight after surgery.  I started a YMCA membership a few weeks ago, and have started using the elliptical and just started upper-body workouts.

I guess my real first question is, how much recovery time did you take after the surgery?  I had planned on 1 full week off, and a 2nd week of working from home (desktop PC work).  I'm 28, and I can't imagine being down for any longer than that.

Secondly, how long after surgery did it take for you to hit the gym again, even if it was a treadmill or elliptical?

Are there any websites or prior posts that talk about the progression post up, and getting into shape?  I need to set some goals for myself and push myself, otherwise I'm afraid of regression.

Thanks guys... and hopefully it wasn't too much fluff or TMI.

Hard exercise you will need to wait 6 weeks...You need to let your body heal.  That doesn't mean you can't walk or tone up...Just no heavy lifting (30 pounds usually).  Going back to work can be different.  As you are dropping the weight quickly, it can really drain you.  Below is a copy and paste about the same question a few months ago...

A new thread...Returning to work??

 Thank you very much for the link!  It seems everyone is different, but most likely 2 weeks should be good.

 I do accounting for a living, so I am sitting at a desk all day.  I actually returned to work for a few hours, after the 1st week.  Lets see, Surg on Wed, back the following Thur/Fri part days and then that Monday it was full time again.  But every one differs.

Working out... I actually walked a bit in my neighborhood within a day or two of coming home and in the gym going VERY easy within a couple of weeks.  I think I had a lifting restriction for 3-4 weeks after surgery of 10 pounds, maybe 5?  I can see why too, your core is really hurting and everything is hooked to your core.

Based on the feedback at our local meeting (50+ in attendance) the harder you work your core NOW, pre-surgery, the faster your recovery and ability to work out afterwards.

Honestly I did not "feel" like working out much until I had lost a good bit of the weight.  I just really got cranked up about 2 months ago, 6 months after surgery.  But I only worked out 1-2 days a week pre-surgery.

Now I am working out 5 days a week, running 3, Krav Maga 2, and Saturdays I usually end up being active in some way.

I am working on getting the P90x DVDs right now from a friend...thinking of starting that in the next week or so, trying to push to the next level!!

Good luck and welcome to the losers bench!

 You're not that heavy and have an active background, so I would say use that mindset and work out 1-3 hours a day when you can (That's what I've been doing for nearly six years). My doc had me back on heavy exercise only one week out, but he had the highest confidence is his ability (and few lawsuits in Japan). 

You should be fine if you keep a good level of activity and stay away from a lot of sweets.

Dave

 While for the most part all our surgiers are the same how our bodies and yours react will be different for everyone.  A large factor is your current level of health.

As for the fitness aspect as previous people have said you need to wait until cleared by your surgeon but after that the world is fair game.  You may want to Check our the Exercise and Fitness forum and do an introduction there.  We have a daily workout thread to help keep us on track.