SURGERY AND EXERCISE

[Jillybeans0729]

hi everyone! well ive been doing quite well - LOTS of working out, losing weight at a very fast pace,however, i wil be having surgery on June 14th. I know its still about 3 weeks away,but, i dont want to sabotage what i have worked so hard for- (my body). I am having upper body surgery, and the recovery time was given of about 4-5 days before returning to work ,and about 2 weeks to return to light activities. nol lifting of any kind Anyways, ofcourse it will take a while before i want to do anything that involves my upper body which brings me to my problem. What can i do that will ONLY work my lower body? I thought maybe the bike, but someone mentioned to me that it would hurt my upper body. Everything im doing now ( running, yoga, pilates, elliptical) involves my upper body muscles which i was told i cant use intensely until about 4-6weeks post-op. I know that i can "take it easy" but trust me, for me taknig it easy turns into laziness which then accounts for why i put on 20 lbs in the blink of any eye. I just want a plan so i can be prepared and not fall off . thanks for any input/advice anyone can offer )

[DebbietheHugBug]

Walking? Not power or brisk but just to stay moving?

[Jillybeans0729]

thanks for your reply! i was thinking about that...now a second question would be ..what is considered a distance that is a "good solid" workout. Usually i run 5 miles/day,so, im not sure how much walking, i.e -how many miles, is considered a good workout. Ofcourse i realize that it wont be the same intensity or number of calories burned,but, as long as im burning a couple/few hundred calories a day i figure it will keep me on track. thanks again for answers!!!

[Esther]

I don't think there's going to be any easy answer for this one - you'll just have to experiment and see. Walking strikes me as about the only exercise which is virtually all lower body, and only you can judge what feels like a 'real work out.' I think the main thing is not to overdo it so that you stop your body healing up. Where on the 'upper body' are we talking about? Does it involve muscles, like the abs, or somewhere less muscled? I had breast surgery 20 years ago and it never slowed me down at all after the first day or two as there was no muscle there to be affected by exercise.

This reminds me of about 5 years ago. The hospital rang one morning to say that they could operate on me that morning as my smear test was abnormal (lovely way to start the day, eh?) and it was such a rush job I never got to ask enough questions. They just told me to 'carry on with my normal daily activities.' So the next day, still in major shock, I figured I'd better ask them what 'normal' was, so I phoned them up.

'Can I ride my horse?'
'No!'
'My bike?'
'No!!'
'Not much point asking if I can go up the ladder to put the roof on the new hay barn then?'
'No!!!!!!!!'

So what *do* normal women do?????

[DebbietheHugBug]

Jilly, I would say whatever is a comfortable distance for you. If you go slow and can do 2 miles without discomfort, then that would be good. Yes, exercise is important but your body needs to heal as well.

Have you asked your doctor what they recommend? If anything?

[2big4mysize]

ask your doc and as Ester said be very specific about your questions. you could do lower body weight training of they allowed it. you could do lower body pliate moves, walking is a fine exercise but it uses all the muscles running does just not as intensly so ask your doctor.

5 miles is 5 miles walked or run if you are allowed to walk.

[Jillybeans0729]

thanks everyone for the replies! my doctor kind of left it at " see how you feel" but now at least i have some suggestions ... :nod thanks a million everyone