Question:
Do you lose muscle mass faster than fat if you do not exercise?
Hi everyone!! Just a quick question...I have a friend who had lap RNY distal around the same time as me but she is not walking...at about a week after surgery I had lost 5 lbs more than she had at the time. I was trying not to be competitive, so I haven't told her how much weight I have lost, but she says she has lost already 28.5 lbs today, AND SHE IS NOT WALKING!! AND she doesn't follow the same eating as I do. I go exactly by the book. That helps me. I walk my two miles everyday even though it is my least favorite thing to do...I have also tried to stay active around the house while I am off work. She says she just reads and watches TV all day...so my ultimate question is..do you lose muscle mass quicker than you lose fat? — mistyclapp (posted on March 20, 2003)
March 20, 2003
I know you know "everyone loses at their own pace", so even if
you were both working the program identically you could lose at different
rates. Even if she loses more according to the scale than you, you'll be
smaller than her since you're keeping your muscle, but losing fat which
takes up more volume that muscle. You'll be much more fit, and since
muscle burns more calories, will have an easier time maintaining the loss
in the long run. Keep up the good work!
— mom2jtx3
March 20, 2003
I am not sure about the answer to your question. However, I did want to let
you know that it IS possible to lose quickly without exercising or dieting.
I did! I don't believe that I lost more muscle mass, I do however need some
toning up. I am certainly not encouraging the no-exercise way of doing
things, but it worked for me. Now, if I would ever start to gain, I have a
safety net-I will start exercising. Shelley
— Shelley.
March 20, 2003
For every person who reports getting to goal and maintaining it, long term,
without exercising, there are probably 100 or more who couldn't get there
or stay there without exercising and/or struggling with carb demons, sugar
demons, and head hunger (run, Shelley, before I pelt you with a protein
shake! Just kidding. Sorta!). Sigh. It's so individual. You and your
friend just had this surgery, right? Time will tell what works for you,
and what works for her. Personally, I wanted to feel that I'd done
everything I could to make it successful, so I've stayed conservative about
what I eat and am compulsive about exercise -- though I've noticed plenty
of folks who are more conservative about their food choices than me, and
some folks who exercise a lot harder, too. I've seen others whose dogged
determination blows me away, no matter how many plateaus they hit, and I
know they've got more character than I would have under those
circumstances. You know that the things you're pushing yourself to do
right now are good habits to develop for the long term, and they make you
feel good when you do them (well...afterwards, anyway!). Don't be
surprised if you notice folks who are losing more weight than you, who may
seem like they're doing less work than you. Rest assured there will be
others, working harder than you, having awful complications, or other tough
hands dealt to them, who won't do as well as you do, either (and they keep
on pluggin' away anyway). Just stick with what works for you, compete only
with yourself, and try not to be too hard on yourself along the way,
either!
— Suzy C.
March 20, 2003
You didn't say what the weight difference was between you and your friend
pre-op, but since she had a DISTAL RNY, I'll assume she has a higher BMI
than you. Looking at your BMI on your profile page, you are more of a
lightweight, which most people find out, lose weight a little slower than
the SMO post-ops. Also, you guys just had this surgery and she may have
had alot of edema (swelling from water retention) and thats always the
first thing you lose when you've had this surgery. I found out I lost 45
lbs at my 2 week checkup post-op!! So just relax and try not to compare
with her. Her losing will probably stall dramatically at some point and
you'll be cruising along with your slow but steady weight loss. We also
seem to lose by percentage of excess weight, which isn't the same for every
person. Good luck to you!!<br>
Lap-RNY 1/13/03 -83lbs & Counting!
— thumpiez
March 22, 2003
Yes, you lose muscle mass if you don't exercise. Especially if you have
just had WLS...here's why: When your body is getting few calories, your
body needs to replenish its blood glucose levels. Since you're not eating
a heck of a lot of glucose/sucrose/sugar-in-general, your body MUST break
down muscle to create glucose in the liver. Fat cannot be converted to
glucose in animals, only in plants. So, if you exercise (good choice,
btw), you will convert your muscle to glucose, but also burn fat, which
will spare your muscle mass, and you can rebuild that by eating enough
protein. Hope this helps.
— Brittany C.
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