Routine Exercises to Boost your Metabolism
You have to crawl before you walk
You may walk and perform light household duties upon your return home. Usually, frequent walks of short duration are easier to tolerate. Increase the distance that you walk gradually. Your activity should be restricted (no strenuous activity) for 3 to 6 weeks after the operation. By the time of your six-week office visit you should be walking regularly, at least two miles a day or more. Water exercises are recommended for those who have problems with weight bearing joints. You can start water activities after your incisions are completely healed about three weeks after surgery.
Starting an exercise program
Bariatric surgery is simply a tool to weight loss. In order to receive the maximum benefits from your surgery, you must incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Exercise helps you lose the weight, keep it down and give you a sense of control. Exercise also helps to keep your bones dense and strong, increases strength, improves balance, boosts energy levels, and improves quality of life.
Research has shown that the patients who exercised 3 or more times per week for a minimum of 30 minutes lost an additional 15% of their excess weight in 6 months than surgery patients who did not exercise.As the weight falls off, the capacity for exercise improves dramatically, with significant improvements on a week-by-week basis.
It can be difficult to stay motivated. It is not easy to find an exercise that you may like. Try to look into forms of exercise that you may have never tried before. Such as yoga, dancing, or kickboxing. If it has been some time since you have exercised regularly, then it is best to start slowly. Begin with as little as 15 minutes a day and add 5 more minutes a week until you can stay active for 45 minutes per day. We recommend that you make exercise part of your daily routine. Just being an active person is NOT enough exercise to be able to lose the weight and keep it off. Look at exercise as medicine – cannot leave it out of your treatment to getting healthier and controlling your medical problems.
There are three forms of exercise: cardiovascular, strength-building, and flexibility. Cardiovascular exerciseis also known as aerobic exercise. For example, walking, jogging, swimming, and cycling are aerobic activities. These types of exercises drive your body to use oxygen more efficiently and deliver maximum benefits to your heart, lungs, and circulatory system. A simple definition of cardiovascular exercise is any exercise that raises your heart rate to a level where you can still talk, but you start to sweat a little. At least 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 3 or 4 days a week should be enough to maintain a good fitness level. Any movement is good, even house or yard work.
Strength-building exercises are known as anaerobicexercise. Anaerobic exercise does not have cardiovascular benefits, but it makes your muscles and bones stronger. Strength-building exercises require short, intense effort. People who lift weight or use any type of equipment that requires weights are doing strength-building exercise. Strength-building exercise makes your muscles stronger and also makes them larger. Your metabolism increases so that your muscles use more calories for energy even when your body is at rest. So, by increasing your muscle mass, you are burning more calories all of the time.
Strength building exercises should be performed 2 to 3 times a week for best results. Always warm up your muscles for 5 to 10 minutes before you begin lifting any type of weight or before performing any resistance exercises.
Flexibility exercises, which are also anaerobic, tone your muscles through stretching and can prevent muscle and joint problems later in life. A well-balanced exercise program should include some type of each exercise from each category.
Loss of Muscle Mass
When the body is in a state of starvation, it hoards its fat until any other usable fuel has been burned. The body will prefer to burn muscle mass, before consuming its precious fat. If muscle is not regularly used for exercise, like every day, it will be broken down and consumed to meet these energy needs.
Loss of muscle mass is preventable. It is very important during active weight loss to exercise vigorously every day. We recommend at least 20 minutes a day of aerobic exercise, and it is well to devote attention to strength building exercises as well. Adequate protein intake is a must during these periods to be readily available for muscle repair and rebuilding. Fairly vigorous exercise, for more than half an hour every day can greatly enhance fat burning, and hasten weight loss. Research has shown that patients who exercised at least three times per week for at least 30 minutes lost 15% more of the total excess weight after surgery.
Prior to surgery, obese people are actually very strong and powerful people. Think about it. Carrying all the extra weight compared to an average weight person takes a lot of strength. Just getting out of bed, an obese person may lift more than some people pick up all day long! It would be a shame to have this muscle power lost after surgery. Save your muscles, keep your strength, build your energy, eat your protein, and exercise.
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