Muscle loss after RNY

How have you guys dealt with muscle loss during the weight loss after RNY surgery?  I am going to have the operation in January and am preparing my excercise and protein plan.  I have done power lifting in the past and have been working out for the last several years and do not want to lose the muscle that I have worked for.  Any advice would be appreciated.  Also glad I found the Men's forum.  I almost drowned on estrogen on the RNY and main forum. 

Lcash

I was wondering the same thing. I asked my nutritionist and she said that I need to eat protien protein, protein.

So I say (after the first 2 weeks of hell) eat protein. As much as you feel comfortable eating and keep working out.

It isn't protein related, but I bought a juicer. It really helped with the first couple weeks of liquid diet. I got so sick of water, jello, and chicken broth I thought I would kill myself.

Everyone loses muscle mass after WLS, your body basically canablizes itself to sustain itself, plus you will be limited on the types of exercises and weight you can lift during the first few months after surgery (depending on your surgeon). My advice is to get as much protein as you can, shoot for the higher range for your body...1 gram for each lb of ideal weight, start walking as soon as you can, and wait until your doctor clears you for weight lifting, hernias suck and are really painful to repair

Scott

Also you have to remeber that after you lose 100-200 pounds the daily strength just to live is not as great.  I have lost a lot of muscle strength just simply from not having the same amount of mass to put behind a task. (i.e. leaning on the sofa when you move it) But I have replaced brute strength with endurance and flexibility.  I can now run miles not simply walk yards.  I can play sports and actually compete.  Let me give you another example. A couple of weeks ago I went on a men's trip with my church to a youth camp way out in the woods.  We chopped, split, and stacked wood for two days straight.  Before surgery there would not have been a log that I would not have been able to pick up and stack, but I would have been winded after each peice and only lasted half a day at best.  Post surgery, there still was not a log I could not pick up with proper technique and I out worked most of the guys on the trip, lasting the full two days and keeping a 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 pace on stacking logs compared to most of the guys.  Basically I was a machine.  I guess what I am saying is as an extremely large person so called strength becomes part of our persona but remember as you lose weight not only will you look different, but your persona will also change.  I worked out before surgery and you could not get me off the weights and could not get me on a tread mill. Why? at the time I would have said because I wanted to bulk up.  But I was 450 how much more bulk did I need?  Really what it was that running was hard and lifting was easy.  Now you can not get me off the treadmill.  My persona is no longer about being the strongest in the room, which usually meant the biggest as well, but to be the most fit.  Anyways I hoped this help with your question.

Thanks for the reply's.  I am catching H.E.L.L. over on the RNY forum for the last statement in the OP.  Those chicks just can't give a guy a break.

Lcash

I can't believe the amount of muscle I have lost since surgery. Being a big guy all my life somehow gave me the added bonus of being naturally strong (without any major lifting or gym structure). Now, I use the 25-lb dumbbells when I'm doing incline chest presses and I feel like I'm pushing 85-lb'ers.

While doing shoulder workouts, I'm standing there using the 10-lb dumbbells and the ladies standing next to me are using 20-lb'ers...lol.

Yeah, it really humbles a guy in the gym...

 I've never stopped lifting since surgery nearly three years ago I do know that you can build muscle post op. However, I have noticed that the muscle I am unable to work - the facial muscles (no jokes about "facials," guys!) - just keep getting smaller, which gives my face a kind of deflated look. I suppose many who stop lifting post op are going to have a similar effect with other body parts, just something to keep in mind. 

Best Wishes,

Dave

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this subject came up on OH about a year ago ..      And our own OH fitness expert Jeremy Gentles even presented a paper on it at our Texas Event last year ..  (it was also copied on the OH website some place back then)

  The paper was a study done by the Rabkin Bros. following a group of DS patients post-op for like two years ..  50% of the group engaged in regular aerobic exercise post-op, and the other 50% did none ..   IIRC, the results were that there was very little, if any, weight loss difference between the two groups during the period  ...  The conclusion was that this result was due to the fact that during the honeymoon period our bodies are already in "calorie deficit" mode.     It stands to follow that for that same reason it would also be difficult to put on appreciable muscle mass during that period ..  However, Jeremy encouraged exercise during that period to maintain heart health, to keep stalls at bay, and gain some flexibility and tone ..     After that period, pack it on!       

everyone is diff but i myself lost alot of muscle. i always had a good size chest and arms which is one resone i didnt have the skin issues except for my stomach. alot of it is getting enough protein in which i have done since surgery i average 100 - 120 a day. i think also when i get up out of the chair im lifting 230 insted of 455. i would start working out now though i wish i had before surgery insted of after. its just the nature of the beast if you lose wieght your going to lose some muscle but once you out a while you start to get some back. i know i still feel as strong as i was at 455 untill i try to lift something heavy the it sets in that im not

I am going to keep a journal on the weight lifting post-surgery.  I did my all time best last year in the bench of 450lbs.  Not bad for a guy that is 49 years old.  We will see if the muscle melts away along with the fat.  I intend to consumer around 150-200 grams of protein per day as soon as my system will allow.  Mostly supplement with protien powder because I know I will not be able to eat that much solid food.

Lcash