About two months after the surgery, I started working out. I knew that if I didn’t exercise, I wasn’t going to get the results I wanted. Unlike what most people think, weight-loss surgery can only help you lose so much weight on its own.
I started working out three days a week, 45 minutes a day. For the first year, I focused on cardio. I did about 20 minutes of exercise on machines like the treadmill and elliptical. Then I moved on to abs-strengthening moves. I tried to mix up my workouts each day to keep my body guessing. When I started seeing results, I ramped up my sweat sessions to five times a week.
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About a year into my weight loss, I started resistance training. I used my gym’s machines and also worked with dumbbells to do deadlifts, curls, squats, rows, and other free-weight moves. I started lifting for 90 minutes a day and made sure to hit every muscle during my time in the weight room. (Kick up your workout routine with Women’s Health’s Look Better Naked DVD.)
I eventually picked up cardio again. Today, I do 20 minutes of cardio followed by 45 minutes of weight lifting.