Exercise????

This past weekend I joined the local gym with some of my family members.  Today was actually my first day going to the gym, I am still in disbelief that I got up at 4:30am to head out!!!!  My question is for someone my size (396 lbs) what would you consider a good amount of time for exercise?  This morning I did 32 minutes on a recumbent elliptical machine and about 10 min on an exercise video, do I need to do more or should I just work out until I'm tired?

I guess I would ask what your goals are first, and are you pre-op or post-op?  Are you trying to minimize the muscle loss after surgery?  If so, add some strength training to the mix a few times a week.  If you're trying to lose weight, strength training is still important, so is cardio.  If you're training for your first 5K, I would answer differently still.  30 minutes is great, and if you can do that 6 times a week, even better!

I have no advice, I just want to say WOW and congrats!  When I first started going to the gym two years ago I was around 300 and couldn't even keep the elliptical going for 30 consecutive minutes!  I'm impressed :)

I wouldn't overdue it. You don't want to hurt yourself. I was 327 and I just started out with the treadmill 3 times a week and then upped it to 5. On the 2nd and 4th day, I added weights. Congrats on getting on the elliptical because that damn thing is the devil lol I'm proud of anyone who can get on that machine for longer then 5 minutes! I recently started doing the squat challenge (you can Google that if you're interested). It strengthens the thigh and bum muscles.

As per my Doc 30 minutes Cardio a day 5 times a week  for  4 weeks and then move to light weights. Can be Treadmill or Cycling.

as much as you can maintain to do regularly.  like you dont want to do so much that you cant do more the next day because you are too sore ... but still do as much as you can do.  also dont be afraid to switch it up day to day and do some weights or body weigh workouts ... low intensity but really pay off long term (keeping those muscles to burn fat later)

At your size you should being doing some weight lifting too, but do it before cardio. You will build up to your time as you go, but an hour is usually a good target eventually. I think right now you are right where you need to be.