Am I doing too much exercise....

I am almost 5 weeks post op and last week I began going to the gym.  I have been doing about 35 min on an elliptical machine then walking another 1-2 miles on the track.  No weights yet.  This week by the time I get home I feel like I can't move.  I am so weak that I'm lucky to get my shower done without passing out.  I am getting all my protein in and drinking great, so I don't know what's going on.  I thought I wasn't doing enough at the gym but could I be doing too much too soon?  I was planning on adding weights next week but am fearful it will make it worse.  Any advice from the pro's?

Probably not as long as you feel good about it, keep it up.

Sounds like your body is telling you the answer.  If you're almost too weak to shower, it might be time to dial it back a bit.  However, don't take medical advice from me or any of the other people on here.  Call your doctor.

I am not allowed to do anything more than walking for 6 weeks. I am missing winter tri training and it is killing me. The risk is that I will get a hernia. No thanks. Give your body some time to heal. You have a whole lifetime to be healthy and active. If you hurt yourself now it will only slow down your progress.

My doctor cleared me for the gym (including weights) at my one month post op appointment.  He did say that you should listen to your body when it comes to the cardio or weight lifting and stop when you start feeling like you are over doing it.  

What type of exertion have you been used to - were you going to the gym, or doing similar exercise, pre-op?

If you are new to this type of exertion, you are in good company with most anyone else who is just starting out - they tend to get thrashed when they first start out, even when starting slowly. At the Y where I work out, I think that they start the newbies out at 10-15 minutes on the treadmill and bikes and work them up from there as they can take more.

If you already had an exercise program in place pre-op, it's not unreasonable to cut things in half or so to start out, as you have been away from if for a month or so and need to work back up.,

Energy can be short for a while as we work out of the initial healing mode, and our diets don't always provide all the energy that we need - even those not specifically on low carb diets are usually short on carbs early out and not everyone shifts to fat burning mode quickly enough to keep up with their short term energy needs. I would probably cut things back a bit to see where your comfortable exertion level is before adding weights to the mix - maybe do just the elliptical or the walking in one session instead of both, and possibly increase the amount of the one you do that day as your comfort and energy dictate.

I had been going to the gym about a year ago and did it 5 days a week...cardio everyday and weights 3 times a week.  However, I had slacked the few months before surgery and I thought I could go back into it, not quite as hard, but never did I think I would feel like this.

Hi Tara,

I am not a pro, but just from the way you are feeling, you are overdoing it to soon to me. You are feeling weak and feeling like passing out, that does not sound very good to me. Your body needs the food to keep you a live, but ask your Dr.

God Bless

Evie