How to exercise and what physical activities to use after leaving the hospital after bariatric surgery, so as not to overload the body and encourage it to burn more body fat?
Bariatric surgery is a method of treating obesity of the 2nd degree (if the patient has diseases that are complications of obesity) and obesity of the 3rd degree. Such treatments are performed on a scheduled basis. In some hospitals, patients are prepared for them for up to a year. But the body treats even planned surgical interventions as… an emergency. After the surgery, it works in such a way as to "fix" itself as soon as possible.
Needs energy for postoperative regeneration. But where is it to get it, if the patient after bariatric surgery is on a special, low-calorie diet? The body can use energy from two sources. For muscle or fat tissue. In order for him to draw energy from the latter, you must signal to him that you are using the muscles and you need them. You can only do this by exercising!
But there is a problem here. In the first weeks after surgical operations, especially as extensive as bariatric surgery, it is recommended to conduct the so-called a frugal lifestyle, without getting tired. This is so that the body has good conditions for regeneration and that the places of cuts in the abdominal integuments do not develop hernias. So how to reconcile the two recommendations "do not get tired" and "move as much as possible"?
First 4 weeks after surgery
This is a very important time for which you should take a sick leave and stay at home. This is when you learn how your digestive system, changed after surgery, works and how your body reacts to a change in diet. You may feel weak for the first 2 weeks after the treatment. In the weeks that follow, you will notice yourself gaining more strength with each passing day. If you have exercised before the operation, 4 weeks after the operation you will have the same performance level as before it.
Physiotherapy recommendations for the first 4 weeks after surgery:1 /Walk as much as possible!Walks cannot be long, but frequent - 2 -3 times per day. Check the number of steps with the pedometer, but don't worry if it is less than before the operation. If you took 12-16 thousand steps a day before the treatment, then you will be able to do 7-9 thousand steps afterwards.
No.exercise on an empty stomach!You are after surgery, on a diet, you are losing weight. Provide the body with energy from food in order to have the strength to exercise.
2 /Perform thebreathing exercise 3 times a day to regain a normal deep breathing pattern. Right after the operation, you may have felt your breathing shallow when you felt chest pain. Now you must restore your breathing "fully breastfeed" to oxygenate the body. We recommend this exercise:
- sit on a chair, straighten your torso, put your feet on the floor, raise your arms slightly upwards, then take a deep breath with your nose and simultaneously raise both arms up towards your ears. Use your mouth to exhale slowly and slowly as you lower your shoulders. Make sure the exercise range is long so that you feel your ribs, shoulder blades and shoulders rise first, then drop one by one.
3 /Perform exercises with little resistance to the muscles of the arms and legs - examples :
- for biceps (biceps muscle of the arm) - sit on a chair, straighten up, grab a 0.5 liter bottle filled with water with your right hand and place it along your body, then bend your arm at the elbow joint; repeat the same exercise with the left hand,
- na triceps (triceps muscle of the arm) - sit on a chair, straighten up, raise your right arm, bent at the elbow, above your head, behind you, as if you were wiping yourself with a towel; repeat the exercise with the left hand,
- for the quadriceps muscle of the thigh - sit on a chair, straighten up and alternately straighten one leg at the knee joint.
Exercises with little resistance to the muscles of the arms and legs will work if they are performed in 3 sets of 15 repetitions. When exercising the hands, quickly bring the movement up, but lower the arm more slowly, then the exercise will be more effective. Remember the bay control traffic throughout its course.
Take care of your skin!Before and after the surgery, nourish the skin with moisturizing and firming preparations. The skin will become more elastic and will shrink better with the weight reduction.
First year after surgery
This is the time of the greatest weight loss, shaping new, he althy eating habits and a new figure, as well as supporting the body in postoperative regeneration. Where "1 year" is a conventional term. In some patients it may last several months, and in some even 1.5 calendar years. Physiotherapists advise not to suddenly switch to intense training during this time, but to introduce them in stages. Remember that in this "1 year" you train to regain your he alth.
1 /First workouts , from 3 to 5 times a week for 15 minutes, you canintroduced 4 weeks after the operation, after a control visit to the surgeon who will confirm that the wounds have healed properly. 2 /The best exercisesfor the period of "1 year" after surgery are:
- exercises in the pool - swimming, aqua aerobics, aquacycling
- aerobic exercise
- cardio workouts on an elliptical cross trainer, stationary bike, rehabilitation rotor
- pilates
- yoga
- nordic walking
3 / Do not forget aboutexercises to strengthen the muscles of the torso,to straighten your figure. For many years you "carried" several dozen kilograms more on you and your spine could tilt. Perform the exercises first lying down, and then sitting on a chair with a corrected, i.e. upright posture. The best exercise to start with is to raise and lower your hips in a supine position. 4 / After 3 months after the surgery, you can take advantage oftreatments in the cryochamber . Start with 10 treatments that will help the body regenerate. You will feel an energy boost, and the strong blood circulation in the body immediately after the cold treatment will improve the quality of the skin. One year after the surgery, when the metabolic rate is even, you can "increase" it with another 20 treatments in the cryochamber. This way you will lose more body fat again. Cryotherapy has anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-swelling properties, accelerates the regeneration of the body, strengthens its immunity, improves bone mineralization, which may be weaker in obese patients, and increases the secretion of endorphins (happiness hormones) and testosterone.
Read also:Cryotherapy - treatment with cold 5 / After 6 months from bariatric surgery, when you notice that you do not lose weight, although you stick to the new dietary recommendations, try to undergo 10 thousands of steps and you train aerobically regularly (at least 3 times a week), you can switch tointerval training . Before doing so, however, consult with your bariatric dietitian to have the composition and caloric content of your meals reviewed. You may lose consciousness during more strenuous training than before.Read also : Interval training: rules, effects and training variants 6 /Strength trainingin the gym you can enter after min. 2-3 months after the surgery, but the safest thing to do is to start growing them 6 months after the surgery.
Read also:Strength training without equipment: weekly training plan7 /Exercises on the atlascan be introduced six months after the operation. Remember, however, that too intensive training on the multi-gym can lead to an injury quickly, and then forced onetreatment and rehabilitation slowing down the process of reducing body fat.
In the first 6 months after bariatric surgery, avoid:- jumping (e.g. on trampolines),
- exercise beyond one's own abilities (the body's capacity but also beyond the body's muscular strength),
- competitive sports (e.g. horse riding, skiing, boardwalking, windsurfing)
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Obesity has been officially recognized as a disease by the World He alth Organization. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in Poland. Already 700,000 Poles with third degree obesity need a life-saving bariatric surgery. A bariatric patient requires the interdisciplinary care of specialists in the fields of surgery, psychology, dietetics and physiotherapy.
read moreImportantPoradnikzdrowie.pl supports safe treatment and a dignified life of people suffering from obesity. This article does not contain discriminatory and stigmatizing content of people suffering from obesity.
About the author
Magdalena Gajda A specialist in obesity disease and obesity discrimination of people with diseases. President of the OD-WAGA Foundation of People with Obesity, Social Ombudsman for the Rights of People with Obesity in Poland and a representative of Poland in the European Coalition for People Living with Obesity. By profession - a journalist specializing in he alth issues, as well as a PR, social communication, storytelling and CSR specialist. Privately - obesity since childhood, after bariatric surgery in 2010. Starting weight - 136 kg, current weight - 78 kg.