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Exercise Tips after Bariatric Surgery

Conveniently located to serve Raleigh and Cary, NC

Make exercise a priority—along with healthy eating—after weight-loss surgery at REX Bariatric Specialists in the Raleigh area. Regular physical activity will speed up your weight loss, strengthen your heart and minimize excess skin. You may also boost your self-esteem, experience less stress and feel happier.

Why Is It Important to Exercise After Bariatric Surgery?

Although you may not feel like exercising after bariatric surgery, maintaining healthy exercise habits is essential for continual success. Exercise increases the synthesis of endorphins, which are hormones that can help speed up weight loss. Patients who exercised three or more times each week for at least 30 minutes lost an additional percentage of their excess weight in six months, according to research. Exercise also boosts strength and balance, positively impacts bone strength and density, and enhances overall quality of life. Exercise is likely to be quite gratifying if you focus on it immediately after your full post-surgical recovery is complete. As you lose weight, your ability to exercise improves significantly, with a noticeable upswing week after week.

Aerobic Exercise and Anaerobic Exercise

Cardiovascular exercise, often known as aerobic exercise, is any activity that involves the use of aerobic metabolism. Running, brisk walking, jogging, and swimming are the most common cardiovascular exercises. During these activities, oxygen plays a significant role in the cellular reactions that generate the energy required to keep the activity going. Aerobic exercise works your major muscles and can be done for an extended amount of time. It encourages your body to utilize oxygen more efficiently and to benefit your heart, lungs, and circulatory system to the fullest extent possible. If you want to reduce weight, you should do cardiovascular exercise for at least 30 minutes five days a week. You can do both aerobic and anaerobic exercises at the same time. Anaerobic exercises strengthen your muscles and bones. Because muscles utilize calories for energy even when they are not in use, increasing the size of your muscles allows you to burn more calories all of the time, not just when you are exercising. Furthermore, if you engage in frequent anaerobic exercise, your body will appear leaner as fat is lost. Anaerobic exercise should be done two to three times per week for best benefits.

Get Started

Start with a fitness plan you can keep, typically two to three days a week of cardiovascular activity. Aim to reach and maintain a heart rate of 120 beats per minute for 30-45 minutes each time you exercise. You can eventually expand your fitness regimen to include:
  • Five days of exercise weekly
  • Strength training
  • Team or group athletic activities, including yoga and spin cycling
To prevent pain in weight-bearing joints like knees and hips, consider water aerobics or low-impact exercise machines like an elliptical or stationary bicycle.

Personal Training

Connect with a personal trainer at REX Wellness Centers to stay motivated, or to learn exercises that accommodate your physical limitations, such as old injuries or chronic conditions.

Stay Active Long-Term

Gain the most from exercise by making it a lifelong habit after weight-loss surgery. To continuously increase your fitness over the long-term:
  • Make a specific schedule that keeps exercise a priority week after week.
  • Switch up your fitness routine to work different muscle groups.
  • Choose to walk whenever possible between workouts.
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator when possible.
  • Find ways to exercise harder or longer if your workouts begin to feel less challenging.

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