Your exercising work ethic in the first six months after surgery plays a vital role in instilling in you the “exercise mentality” for the rest of your new life. The best way to get started for a lot of post-op patients is by taking little steps, literally! With May starting, the weather is getting perfect to get out and go for a walk.

I have many clients who are intimidated by the thought of weight training. They’re thinking dumbbells, cables and really hard work. Right? Well calm down a bit! You’ll get to that eventually, if you want to. For the first few weeks after surgery simply going out for a walk will suffice, and it will give you a nice solid base to get in the frame of mind to exercise regularly.

At first, walking for a significant amount of time might be difficult. And if it is, THAT IS OKAY!! You just want to get up and get moving. In the first couple of weeks after surgery, get outside 6 days a week and go for a 10 minute walk. 10 minutes is your starting point.

(Of course, for some of you 10 minutes might not be enough. If you still feel charged and ready to go after 10 minutes, find your own limit and make that your starting point.)

Once you’ve mastered the 10 minute walk – hopefully after the first week – start slightly increasing the time you walk by 10% each week, until you are walking 45-60 minutes per day. When you hit this mark, you will be feeling amazing. The confidence that exercising gives you – knowing that you’re being proactive in your weight loss efforts – is priceless. Plus, the extra release of serotonin you’ll get from exercising will help put you in a positive, healthy place, and make your day that much better!

Okay, so you’ve worked your way up to 45-60 minutes of walking each day, 6 days a week and you feel fantastic. The next step is to get yourself a heart rate monitor and start moving your arms! When you get to the heart monitor step, you want your heart to be pumping nice and strong during your exercise. Figure out your maximum heart rate, and stay at 80% of your max for the duration of your walk. This will get your blood flowing, help you burn more calories, increase the strength of your heart, and make your body feel great!

Whichever level you’re at in your post-op workout routine it is important to set goals. Getting to that next level is a rewarding task and watching the number on the scale go down as a result is one heck of a bonus! It’s nice outside right now, so get outside, smell the fresh air, say hi to your neighbors (the ones you like), and go make yourself look and feel better than you ever have!

Think you have the gusto to add some weight and really feel the burn??? DO NOT USE HAND WEIGHTS WHILE WALKING. Wear a weighted vest …

Good luck!