First Visit to the Gym and Nutrition Question

So after getting cleared by my surgeon I made it to the gym for the first time on Saturday.  I'm still somewhat limited as to what I can do in terms of restrictions but I definitely can do some stuff and I wanted to get in there and get started to form this as a new habit.

I walked a mile in like 24 minutes which for me was good, I worked hard and my heart rate was pretty much over 150 the entire time which is right in my goal zone according to my exercise evaluation that I had prior to surgery.  I then decided to maybe do some weight lifting, nothing crazy, but just start moving my muscles.  I was barely at the gym like a half an hour before I felt super weak and hungry.  

Obviously part of this is just my brain realizing that I had surgery less than 6 weeks ago and I probably eat about 1/4 to 1/5 of the calories I ate in the past so I'm going to be weak.    But it is really kind of frustrating in some ways.  Can you all offer me some insight into how you went about getting into the gym once you were cleared?  For example...when did you eat before you worked out, can you drink a protein shake after if you have been drinking water all through your workout or do you need to wait half an hour, did you some days do just one or the other (cardio or weights) or did you do a little of both, how can I get the weakness to subside or do you just suck it up and stop when you're exhausted?

Also...

If my goal is to keep my calories under 600 and my protein over 60 is that enough to go to the gym about 4 - 5 times a week for an hour?  Or would I need to eat more or maybe supplement with an additional shake or something?

Thank you.

 

Congrats for getting started!

When I started "working out" - I couldnt even walk a whole mile. But one foot in front of the other, I eventually ran a 1/2 marathon so I'll give you some tips but every one has their own journey and goals and what not. 

First - I did a 5K BEFORE surgery so I was fairly active but at 6 weeks, there was NO WAY I could have gotten back into the gym. I was just barely able to start walking more than a couple blocks, and it was a turtles pace. Just because your surgeon clears you, you need to listen to your body. Thats going to be a very important rule. 

Second - set some goals. Generally speaking, if you are going to be working out with weight loss/toning as the primary goal, you dont need to increase your calories - just try and time them so you are having a small snack before you go and a little protein after, but you dont need the carbs to work out - your body will burn the fat you have stored which is realy want you want at this stage. If at some point you decide to do more rigourous training for sports/running/triathlons or somethign along those lines, you might need to reevaluate your nutrition plan, but thats a ways down the road. 

Working out, getting in shape - its hard. Its not always going to feel great - your body will scream and whine and moan along the way, but you know your limits and its a mental battle to push yourself through it - but obviously if you are weak, and feeling like fainting - thats a good place to stop. 

 

You mentioned an evaluation so I assume you have a physical therapist available through your program so I would recommend talking to that person about your situation.

In my case, I was in a bad way but began going to the gym at about 6 wks post op. At that time I ate a little protein about 1 hour prior to workout so I didn't get light headed and risk getting dizzy and passing out. Then I took protein powder and added water and drank it shortly after finishing. AND as I'm sure you know, drink water all during the workout.

Congrats on starting. Start out easy, keep at it, progress along, and before you know it you will be transformed.

Tom

OK, so a couple of things here. First Nicely Done getting into the gym and committing to it. You should eat about an hour before you workout. If you drink a protein shake you can cut that to half an hour because the liquid goes through a bit quicker. After a weight day you should also try to get some protein within an hour after working out to make the most of muscle recovery opportunities. Also when you are working out ot combat the fatigue, try increasing your fats on workout days. Your body needs some form of fuel, that will either be carbs or fat, protein is for muscle building, so you don't want to use protein for fuel and if you eat low carb and low fat your body will use protein and when it runs out of available protein it will go right for your muscles for fuel. Not a good situation. So protein is very important but also give your body some fuel. But on days where you don't work out, keep everything in check, low carb, high protein, moderate fats. If you do this you should not have any problem with the weak feeling. So right now your general strategy for working out should be weight lifting and low impact cardio. Honestly the best cardio you can get right now is walking. If you are walking on a treadmill make sure your incline is at least 1% otherwise the belt is just moving your feet with no benefits to your muscles. Try to get your incline up to around 4% and 3 to 3.5 mph. That is a good challenging walk that should keep you in your fat burning zone.

After a couple of months you can increase your cardio to jogging or something else, but early out walking is best with weight lifting you will burn the most fat this way.

Thank you everybody this helps a lot!!!