Letter from the exercise dormant side

February 20, 2003

" ...............I look forward to getting an email from

you in a year or so as to your results from a dormant, sedentary

weight loss program via WLS. "

Thanks Dan for helping me to refocus on this very important " missing "

part of my life!

Without a long epistle on why I am not, have not been, but want to be

exercising I just do a quick summary.

I am 58.5 yrs old, 5'10.5 " and at time of surgery, May 2000, was

carrying a BMI of almost 42 and had been in all stages of excess

weight since age 18, but not as a child. It all came with passing

the 18 year mark. I describe it that way rather than " adulthood "

because I am not sure that I have achieved that yet nor am I sure

that I want to!

Just about everything that has ever been discussed on this list

(other than plastics and boob jobs) has touched me or I related to in

some way. Perfectionism, childhood issues, communications issues,

marching to a different drummer, sleep deprivation, and on and on.

The whole littany. Gene inheritance included, but not limited to,

almost universal cardio vascular disease and what I know now as

Bipolar symptoms (read that as manic depressive) with me being a

rather rapid cycler. Bear in mind that this news only occurred to me

in the last five years after I started doing family history work and

one day highlighted the ancestry that I knew had succumbed to heart

attack and stroke. Diabetes is also almost universal. I found out

about the Bipolar thing after surgery when the weight loss did " fix "

me in every facet that I sought.

All that to say this! I had surgery 32.5 months ago, lost the

weight, did a whole turn in physical health issues and (gasp) began

to experience the wonderful things that you describe so well that

come with exercise. Mind you the impetus to exercise daily only came

with the loss of the weight but more directly from the psychological

transition to a new " old " me, one that had been there all along and I

had never been able to let him out of the box! Exercise was not high

on my list pre-op and had never been in my entire life. It was just

another area that I knew I was an abject failure in avoidance and

denial were key in reducing the negative I felt lifelong with this

and a passel of other issues associated with daily living.

Unknown to me at the time of surgery I had two major coronary artery

blockages faily well advanced. I knew about the diabetes two years

prior to making the surgery decision and knew that I would never deal

with it by " diet and exercise. " I also knew about the arthritis but

had no clue about the severe sleep apnea. Sixteen months of

wonderful labs, exercise, nutriton education and a whole new life

perspective gave me the surviving edge when the chest pain came.

Fortunately I did not have a heart attack, but did have two stents

following angioplasty. Over the course of the next year they reblocked

and following two more heart catherizations I had open heart bypass

some five months ago.

What does all this have to do with exercise you may ask? When the

heart issue arose the exercise was moved to the back of the line in

priorities and even ability to do it in my life. Since bypass I have

had to deal with a slow healing sternum and pain from that when I

lift or even reach across my body on occasion. The weights I did

prior to this have been out of the question for some time. My body

has maintained weight at about a 17 lb regain over my lowest at max

loss, BUT muscles have gone, there are no signs of the definition in

chest, shoulder or bicep and leg muscles that was there as a result

of the exercise, not to even mention the surge of well being that I

got. What that means is that at almost six months post heart surgery

is that your insightful post helped me refocus on the benefits and

made me understand that the change via surgery (both of them)

continues and the body is missing muscle, adding fat (reason the

weight stays the same) and my ability to be mobile is decreasing at

an alarming rate. The arthritis has regained the lead on me and has

attacked the healing sternum as well as flared in other limbs making

movement not a pleasant prospect.

I am at a decision/turning point. I have to decide and assume

responsibility for the consequences if I choose not to marshall all

my energy and focus towards recapturing the ability to exercise and

all it's miraculous unforeseen benefits (I had no real clue prior to

WLS). So a post op life without the fine tuning exercise gives is

not something I envisioned or wanted during the first sixteen

months. If I do not motivate myself again I will probably realize my

worst fear and that is loss of mobility and the loss of daily self

sufficiency on the physical issues.

Thanks Dan and to all of you wonderful folks who share so openly and

freely here. None of us ever really know when we write something

that may make a difference in the life of another, no matter how it

rates on the scale of importance to us. The mundane to us may be

vital to someone else.

Today I will begin the stretching to begin a return to regular

exercise. Tomorrow, I will be better and more functional.

Dan Slone

Surgery 5/2/2000

February 20, 2003