I've been a lazy lazy girl! Need help with exercise questions!

(deactivated member)
on 10/28/14 3:05 am - Canada

I'm 10 months out and other then some adventures that required physical exertion and trips to the mall I haven't been exercising at all.  Part of it was post complication weakness but that's really turned into all out laziness.  Not really a gym person but I do want to be in shape and build muscle so that needs to change. In the past when I've had access to a free gym at work I did use it, I love lifting weights so I assume once I get started I will continue.

Luckily we have a medically supervised exercise program that I can access through my clinic.  Basically I go to their gym and have a personal trainer for 8 or 12 weeks (can't remember how many).  The extra blessing is I just got a new part time job with very flexible hours at the local college and that's the gym they use!  I don't think they can make it so I have any less excuses then I do right now.

The program orientation is in December and then I figure we'll start in the new year.  I'm 40 minutes out of town and know from now until then I'm not going to be driving in to town to find a gym so am just letting it go (for now).

What I would like to know because I've never understood how this works.  Will the scale go up while I build muscle?  And if so will that effect the size of me or does it just sort of all even out?  I get everyone is different but hearing of other peoples experiences will help me know what to expect.

I have to admit I am becoming obsessed with gain as I've never maintained a loss and am so worried I will that I'm constantly worried that I'll wake up one morning and be up 70 pounds.

My stats are:

5'7"

140 pounds

BMI 21.9

I'm happy with my size but still carry some pockets of fat in my stomach and thighs so by no means am I too skinny (though people love to tell me I am lol).

I would love some advice, encouragement, experiences please!

Tracy D.
on 10/28/14 3:13 am - Papillion, NE
VSG on 05/24/13

It takes a lot - A LOT! - of work and effort to actually pack on muscle so I wouldn't worry about gaining much weight due to addition of muscle.  Adding additional muscle is going to take months of concentrated work on your part.  Really, your goal at this point should be to strengthen the muscles you have and increase your cardiovascular conditioning.  

Will the scale go up?  Sure....but it won't be because of muscle or fat.  It will be because you are retaining water as you start using muscles that have just been sitting around for years and years.  It's the body's natural reaction to any kind of increase in exertion or activity - water retention.   A gallon of water weighs 8 lbs. and it's highly likely you will see the scale go up 3-5 lbs. but rest assured it isn't fat.  It's your body hanging onto water to cushion those muscles.  After a month or so when your body adjusts to the new activity the water will drop and you'll be fine.  

Important tip:  as you start working out make sure you increase your fluid intake even more but don't assume you need more calories because you're working so much "harder".  That's just a lie we like to tell ourselves ;-)  

 Tracy  5'3"     HW: 235  SW: 218  CW: 132    M1: -22  M2: -13  M3: -12  M4: -9  M5: -8   M6: -10   M7: -4

 Goal reached in 7 months and 1 week

 Lower Body Lift w/Dr. Barnthouse 7-8-15

   

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

Stacy_WLS
on 10/28/14 3:46 am

Yes -- what Tracy said!  You main gain some water weight initially -- after I workout really hard it is not unusual to go up a few lbs from water retention.  

 

If you don't have much fat left on you, you are likely not to lose more weight, but you could become more compact :)

VSG: 12/12/13, LBL, small TL, BL/BA: 11/7/14 Twins 12/9/18 HW after Twins 260. 5'10 37 years old - Stacy_WLS (MFP)

G5x5
on 10/28/14 4:09 am - VA

A couple of things to consider (sorry for the message):

(1) Per Tim Noakes (google him) - "If you have to exercise to maintain your weight, your diet is wrong".  Nevertheless, I highly recommend exercise for other reasons.

(2) Also, the areas of fat you're describing sound like the subcutaneous areas.  The good news is that fat doesn't matter for your health.  The bad news is it's the most difficult area to deal with.  It's possible that only plastics can deal with it depending on the cir****tances.  I don't want to turn you off of trying but wanted to point it out so your expectations are realistic.

HW: 255 (6/5/13), SW: 240 (6/19/13), CW: 169 (9/16/14)

M1: -26,  M2: -17,  M3: -5,  M4: -13  M5: -12  M6: -11  M7: -8

M8-10: Skinny Maintenance (10k Training)   M11-13: On Break

M14+: **CROSSTRAINING FOR ALL AROUND FITNESS**

Google NSNG and learn the right way to eat each day

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