Gym is Open (Monday 1/7)

I ate like a pig all day Sunday.  Why am I doing this?  Am I so threatened at the thought of being a somewhat normal weight that I cannot handle it?  Is it just residual stress from the holidays?  I left a message with my WLS counselor.  We had talked earlier about the possibility of my going back on Optifast (bariatric formula) to lose the 40 lbs in order to have my tummy tuck covered as a medical benefit.   I'm ready.  I have got to get my eating under control, and what I need is something structured.  In the meantime, I am going to start the five day pouch test. Sorry for the blathering, I'm just beside myself.   The gym is open.  I plan to go over to Bally's today and sign up for my free 8 wks as part of Discovery's National Challenge.  I plan to do enough activity to burn 200 calories (at the rec center, this usually means 30 minutes of inline skating machine and at least 15 minutes of treadmill). What did you do to move your body today? Kix

I can totally understand the stress eating!  My hernia repair/TT is next week and I've gained almost 10 lbs since my check up with the doc in Dec... sigh....  As for the gym I shook it up this morning.... 5 min elliptical warm up 30 mins lower body weigh training  25 mins walk-jog-walk-trot-walk on the treadmill Boy did that get my heart rate up there! LOL

I can totally relate.  I honestly think I'm a carb addict; once I start eating carby crap, I continue to eat carby crap.  If I stick with my normal food routine, I'm fine.  But once I deviate, watch out.  I try to make my own structure, which means I eat the same things almost every day.  If I do that and only allow myself an occasional indulgence, I seem to be fine.  But when I allow myself too many treats -- as I did during the holidays -- trouble ensues.   Regarding the Bally's thing, you need to sign up online first and print a pass to take with you.  If you go to the Discovery Health website you should be able to find the information to register for the Body Challenge.  I signed up too and am planning to lift weights at Bally's on the weekend so I don't have to go the gym 9 times during the work week (sheese, who can keep up that schedule???).   Finally, on to the real purpose of this post - my daily exercise.  When I'm done posting, I'm going down to the gym to lift weights for lower body and do some core work.  I will go back to the gym tonight for cardio intervals.  I was down to 189 and am back up to 195, which is making me crazy.  I bought a pair of size 16 jeans at Eddie Bauer and I told myself I can't wear them until I get back down to 189, and dang it I want to wear those jeans!!!  So off to the gym I go to sweat and burn calories.   Kellie

Hi my name is Jenn and I am a carb addict.  I felt it this past week too - on top of not exercising much I doubled my carbs.  I'm stressed about my upcoming dissertation committee meeting (they are scary!) and falling back in to old habits I can't afford.  I put a tight rein on it last night, no more.  As far as exercise - I made my husband promise that if he used a vacation day today (to look for new jobs) he'd go to the gym with me.  We've been total enablers, talking each other out of the gym regularly.  I plan to spend at least an hour up there.  Also, we bought Dance Dance Revolution for Wii - its a video game where you have to match the steps on a big pad on the floor.  Its a lot of fun and a good workout - they even have a work out mode on there.  On the easiest level I broke a good sweat yesterday.  The only thing I don't like is when you have to hit two direction pads at once - you have to jump and I refuse to do that yet so my scores are low and my husband beats me.  We are quite competitive.  I plan to do at least a half hour of that game tonight too. 

Hi! I'm new to this board.  I'm 3 weeks post-op (12/17) and am going to the YMCA to join.  I plan on doing water aerobics 3 days a week (deep water to maximize water resistance and help my knees) and work up to adding some strength training and more cardio. I'm so hoping exercise becomes my new addiction! So I'll join up today and hit the pool on Wednesday! Thanks, Jana

Congrats on your surgery Jana and welcome - we have a regular on this board who has done fantastically with water aerobics (now she teaches it!) - she usually posts in the gym messages each day.  Have fun in the pool!

Hi Jana and welcome! Come on in anytime - we have a great, friendly group here and post everyday on our exercise exploits (and other crazy stuff) Exercise is easy to get addicted to - it helps me manage my stress and keeps me focused. Just keep up the good work! Pam

I took my Discovery Health Challenge coupon that I printed out last week and went over to Bally's to sign up for a membership.  The treadmills, ellipticals, etc. are way more sophisticated than what I have at the rec center.  I did 25 minutes of fat burning/cardio on a treadmill that measured my heart rate just by holding onto the handles.  I was sweating quite a bit when the workout was over. I was also pleased to see the extremely clean locker rooms, clean sauna, and no free-range children running around the place. I have an appointment with a personal trainer on Thursday AM.  I spoke with the trainer about my knee pain, and he thinks strengthening the quads more will allievate a lot of it.  I just might have to buy a membership, because I really liked it.  They offered me $30/month for 2 years with the 3rd year free (it's a few dollars more a month because I won't do automatic transfer from my checking or credit card).  I'm leaning strongly toward it, especially since I can use any Bally's no matter where I am. Of course, this means cutting back on my lotto scratcher budget.  Kix

Good to hear nice things about Ballys.  If we lose our gym membership when Ryan changes jobs I might have to look into them because our gym is regularly about 60/month per person.  Its a really nice place and all but that's beyond my means. 

I like Bally's and would join there if I no longer had access to a great gym at my job.  They have a lot of cardio equipment and weight equipment, plus in my experience their reps are pretty knowledgeable. 

My knee pain has diminished quite a bit since I started strengthening my quads.  My physical therapist said NOT to do the leg extension machine as it places an abnormal type of pressure on your patella.  But the leg press is great and I've been doing ball squats and stationary lunges as well; both work your quads pretty well.  I can't do squats without the ball; I need the stability it provides to get a smooth up and down motions.  And I can't do walking lunges; I need stronger muscles first, so I just do stationary lunges. 

My physical therapist also said that strengthening my hip flexors would help my knee pain as well.  I can't recall the details of why that's so, but I've been using the hip abductor and adductor machines regularly and it seems to help. 

Let us know how things go with the personal trainer on Thursday!

Kellie