Exercise, Nutrition, WLS, and Cooking Q & A - 3/13/2014

Hi Keith,  I'm ready to start doing more then squats and push ups.  I can't decide if I should join a gym or a kettle bell workout and some kettle bells.  The hermit in me hates the idea of going to a gym, but maybe that's why I should do it.  There is a small gym close and a larger one fairly close as well.  Neither of them have a pool which would totally sway me, I would have to drive 20 minutes to one with a pool  and I'm afraid I wouldn't go.  Plus there are tons of people at the one with a pool and not many people at the little one at all.  Thanks for any input, kathy

The nice thing about a gym is variety. You have lots of options equipment wise, you can frequently change up your workout, you can watch other people to see what they are doing and often you can get a lot of free advice from trainers, other members, and the gym staff. Plus being around other people who are working like you are is very motivating.

I belong to both a small gym and a large gym and my preference is the small one. The large gym is fun for people watching but its like a giant farm. At the smaller gym believe it or not its usually easier to get on the equipment.

Its not a bad idea to do both actually. Kettlebells can be a fairly inexpensive investment. You don't need an entire set you just need one or two to get started and then buy up as you get stronger. Then on the days you feel social you can go to the gym and days you just want to knock out a quick workout you have the kettlebells too.

What is your opinion about eating enough so your body doesn't go into "starvation mode" and hangs onto the weight?  I've read a couple of articles, but this idea has been pretty ingrained in me. 

I think starvation mode is a pretty commonly misconstrued theory. First of all its more of a conservation mode than a starvation mode but suffice it to say that there hasn't been any real starvation in North America in a very long time. So while your body may adjust to your new consumption levels through this process, you will never enter a true starvation mode. That is for real starvation which I would venture to guess none of us on here have ever experienced. I can tell you throughout my 180+ lb weight loss I was well under 1000 calories per day and I worked out 2 times a day for most of it. So until you have lost the weight you want to lose the idea is to eat at a calorie deficit. That is to say that the calories you burn through exercise + the calories you burn at rest should be more (in vsg cases a lot more) than the calories you consume with food and drink. Then when you get to the weight you can level that out so they are even.

As long as you are eating 6 small meals per day your body will know it is getting a steady stream of nutrition and will not try to conserve anything. Most importantly you will need to make sure you are getting sufficient protein so that when your body does need extra for muscle building and repair that it does not turn to your muscle for that protein because you will not actually gain any. More lean muscles means more calories burned at rest.

Ok - newbie question.  I'm only 9 days post-op and eating all puréed foods.  I'm  looking for lots of flavor and craving blue cheese.  What would you add it too at this stage?

Well a little canned chicken breast with some wing sauce and blue cheese sounds pretty good to me maybe some celery too, blend it up 

or some crumbled blue cheese with some plain greek yogurt and celery

blue cheese is a tough one, really goes with veggies or crackers and neither are going to work well for you right now.

Thanks - love the chicken idea.  I love to cook but not feeling real creative right now.

Hi, hope all is well. I am 3 weeks post op and have a huge desire to work out to tighten my skin, that's my biggest worry for now (eventually the hair loss, too) when do you suggest I should start a normal workout routine and what should I do to help tone up. Also is walking all I should be doing now? 

Yes, walking is all you should be doing right now but you should be doing as much as you can handle. There really is no workout to tighten skin, however there are some things you can do that help like wearing compression garments, brushing your skin, stretch mark treatments, moisturizing and most critical drink lots and lots of water. This is what I have done and my skin does not look nearly as bad as most and I am 46 years old.

You can increase your physical activity around 6 weeks post op like the elliptical machine, bikes, light cardio but wait until 8 weeks postop to start lifting any weights.