Recomposition and hernias: what if I can't lift heavy?

newheavensearth

I'm 3 weeks into recovery from double umbilical hernia surgery. I have no idea how they happened, they just became apparent as my body fat got lower. My surgeon gave me the okay to do cardio, but told me to start weight training in another 6 weeks as long as I don't lift anything heavier than 15 lb dumbells. I'm 5'3", 138 lbs, size 4. I think I want to lose another 15 lbs, but I still don't feel as firm as I'd like. Should I try to lose more weight first then get stronger, or would the 15 lb weights be enough to recomposition with? I already know I have to increase my protein and clean up my diet a little, it's a work in progress

itsbasschick

15 pounds isn't enough - it's enough to start off if it feels heavy for you after say 8 reps, but it won't be enough to see any real changes. i'm 58 and just rehabbing after injuries, and i'm able to do 15 pounds per arm, heavier for benches. ask your doctor when you can go heavier. my husband had double hernia surgery, and after 12 weeks was given the okay to work out heavier. we were concerned, as my husband goes over 400 pounds on his leg presses and well over 100 on most of his exercises, and his doctor wasn't experienced with this kind of thing, but it hasn't been a problem for my husband and it's been months.

AnnPT77

This is MFP heresy, but this is what I think: Any thing you do that builds a tiny bit of muscle can potentially cause a tiny bit of recomposition at maintenance calories (or possibly a bit above). It just won't be as fast as heavy lifting.

Why do I think this? About a dozen years before I lost weight, I started rowing - I don't mean once in a while, I mean regularly, nearly every day, rowing hard, even rowing competitively. I could and did easily out-eat the calorie burn, so my weight stayed roughly the same (mid 180s, plus or minus, at 5'5").

But guess what? I lost about 2 sizes in jeans, from US size 20 to 16, and the rest of me shrunk proportionately. I became noticeably more muscular . . . though most of it hid under a substantial fat layer until recently. I kinda suspect that's an example of slow recomposition, even though I didn't know that word at the time. And no, it wasn't just a vanity sizing effect: I still owned those size 20 jeans, and they wouldn't stay on my hips.

So, if there's something you can do that starts to make you stronger (generally things that give you pleasantly sore muscles) in some part of your body, I think you may be taking some baby steps on the path. If you haven't lifted those 15 pound weights before, that will take you some steps on the path.

Down the road, as @itsbasschick says, 15 pounds won't be enough . . . but eventually you should be able to go heavier safely.

Now someone will tell you why this is dead wrong . . . .