Good exercise advice to help weight loss...

Swimming is excellent...even walking in waist high water in a heated pool...I've also attended a water aerobics class that uses a life preserver that goes around the waist and allows for aerobic exercise in deeper water. The water takes the stress off the joints and feels so nice.

Best of luck to you!

Harplayer

I second the thought on swimming. It's very easy on the painful joints and is quite effective. I didn't look forward to getting into the pool initially because I felt uncomfortable with my appearance, but I just had to realize what was more important. In the end building strength, losing weight and feeling better about myself won out. Best of luck to you!!! 😊

Have you been given some physio exercises?  Also, maybe working on upper body and legs will help.  Stretches for the quads, hamstring and calf muscles.  There are sites that you can google that will give pre op exercises for hip patients.

Counting calories is a good way of losig weight.  Buy yourself a book on calories.  There is one that I have used, that also gives the calories of labelled goods.  Most of them have the calories on the label, anyway these days.  Set yourself a number of calories for the day, keep a running balance of what you are eating and subtract it from your allowed calories.  You will need a small set of scales to weigh portions.  It can be tedious at first, but once you have started, you can look back on your previous days ad take the calories from there.

I weighed first thing in the morning before I even had my orange juice and tea or coffee.  Weigh once a week, and ignore any plateaus.  You will probably lose a  lot of fluid in the first few days, and in my case, I found that I was losing an average of 2 - 3 lbs a week.  So, in the course of just a month, it was around 8 - 12 pounds, which is not bad at all.  Eventually, I found it fun, because the results were there to be seen, and I was able to fit into clothes that I had not been able to wear, and buy some new "treats!"

Good luck.

 

Not a specific exercise tip but be wary of what you eat drink immediately after any exercise you do. You have to do an awful lot of exercise to use up those calories and it is extremely easy to have a drink and a snack straight after and negate anything you have done.

My other tip would be - again not an exercise tip -  to limit the hours you allow yourself to eat. I'm lucky that I haven't a big appetite but I have a hiatus hernia and I just can't eat after six pm as I end up with problems of pain and reflux. With the limited hours I found it really difficult to maintain my weight and in fact lost weight.

You probably know all this already. Good luck with your efforts.

I have done it, I lost 5 stones (70 pounds) but it is not easy, as massive amounts of exercise are probably out of the question for you too.

So, how did I do it?

I gave up the cheese sandwiches and pies that I took to work, and beer at home. I took salads and fruit to work.  At home I reduced my portion size, with particular focus on lowering the carbs, so 1 potato instead of 3 or 4.  Drink a small glass of wine or spirits instead of the beer.  No fizzy drinks at all - they expand your stomach.

Keep it up for 18 months, and hey presto, 8 inches lost around the waist, and a new wardrobe needed.

I did this all under the watchful gaze of my surgery nurse to ensure I did not do anything silly.  She confirmed my blood tests showed I had reduced my cholesterol and blood sugar levels, which was a good aid to recovering from the hip operation.

Graham - 🚀💃

I'm definitely a lover of aqua fitness.  Not only does it help to tone your body, and stregthen the muscles that you need to do the physio after a hip replacement, but it's also fun to do.  I was doing aqua fitness before my surgery, and my surgeon, and physiotherapist told me that they could tell that I had been doing something because I had a lot of strength where I needed it.  I can hardly wait to get back to it, and my surgeon told me again today, that it's the best type of exercise for someone like me, and that it will help tremenously with my rehabilitation.  So, it you follow a healthy diet, and go for aquafit/swimming at least 3 times a week, you will start to notice a difference in a few weeks.  Don't stress if you don't lose weight in pounds because as you probably know, muscle ways more than fat.  

Good luck!

 

Afraid exercise on its own doesn't work. You've heard it often enough " it only works with a calorie controlled diet" .

in your case it would appear that apart from swimming, exercising enough to have any effect is not an option so it's taking Graham's advice and forcing yourself to reduce intake is the answer. 

In today's Mail there is an interesting article about some diets good for some but not others and vice versa. It's worth reading cos some people can lose weight eating chocolate & ice cream as well as having a drink. Hope I'm one of them but doubt my luck.

I echo many of the others who have replied: 1) aquatics and exercise in the water is much easier on hips and knees and you can still get a great workout. 2) Portion control is key - esp for carbs (think anything white). Use an  8" plate, divide in quarters (protein should equal 1/4, starch no more than 1/4 and veggies/fruit 1/2). 3) Reduce alcohol intake and drink LOTS of water (8-10 glasses a day). It is important to keep your metabolism up; it keeps you hydrated so your muscles don't cramp; it fills you up; and it helps flush out meds.

I really believe in exercise balls - most comfortable seating I can find right now and sitting on it uses more calories than almsot any other sitting position. If you can keep it moving too - so much the better. 

Don't give up - there are so many, many reasons to do this. But the best one is that you deserve it and you WILL feel better for it. it will also be so much easier on your joints. 

Finally one visualization helped me a lot - see one pound as one pound of butter on top of your tummy. Think of that when you reach for the bag of crisps (my biggest nemesis except for maybe ice cream). And make sure you treat yourself too - once a week to celebrate whatever needs celebrating in your life (but keep that celebration in hand). It helped me to create a list of healthy treats that I really enjoy and I kept our kitchen stocked with them - it also made it easier for my hubbie and family to support me.

Good luck Monkey Pearl - greta name. 

I know it is hard - I dropped 40 pounds doing this over six months. But it took me many years to really be determined to so it   

 

Hi PJ

i have lost and kept off a lot of weight just by eating when I am hungry. I don't mean snacking or junk food I just eat a small meal when I am hungry. You don't need to go on a diet. All diets are fads any way and a waste of money. 

Hi monkeypearl

Swimming/walking in pool is amazing. It feels good and it works. I have been swimming every morning for 1hour for last 2 yrs and i have lost weight and gained muscle. It has been a lifesaver for me as my hip got worse as i could not exercise on land. My local pool has hydro pool which us heated and 25m lap pool and i started in hydro pool and now i swim freestyle 1.5kilometres and 1/2 kilometre using flippers and kickboard in 25m lap pool.

I love it and it feels so good.

Looking forward to my op Feb 3 get through recovery and getting back in pool as i will miss it. I hate when i cant go thats how good it feels.

Good luck

Karen

The only thing I can suggest is walking but I needed to take a pain pill just to get through it. Hip pain before surgery was horrible.

But now I walk without right hip pain (I have generalized OA)