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Short and long-term success for "athletes"

ejewing
ejewing Posts: 2 Member
edited February 18 in Social Groups
I just went to a seminar last night and I am serious about VGS. I am a 300 lb morbidly obese guy who spent last summer pedaling a bicycle from Tucson, AZ to Council Bluffs, IA. For obvious reasons the experience was much more painful and challenging then it should have been. I want to do more epic rides in the future which brings me to my question.

After VGS is it possible to spend 5-6 hours a day on a bicycle burning 5-6000 calories/day?

I feel some shame in that I can overcome an epic challenge like biking 1350 miles in a month, but I can't even come close to getting my eating under control.

Does anyone have any experience about life 5-10 years out from surgery? both athletic and QOL?

Replies

  • candacet36
    candacet36 Posts: 353 Member
    I am only 7 months post op but I can tell you that I run .... a lot!

    I am training for a marathon and as long as I get in my protein I am just fine.

    Also, this is the best thing that I have ever done! I have my active and healthy life back!
  • teachren
    teachren Posts: 78 Member
    For sure!

    I am not a cyclist (not yet anyway) but there is a guy on Obesity Help that goes by the nick Jujub. He is an avid cyclist and is doing some across america trek coming up. I would say he is clearly the poster child for VSG and cycling! :-) Plus he seems like a really cool guy.

    He is on the VSG board. If I were you I'd try to get his take on it.

    Good luck

    Renee
  • Latse
    Latse Posts: 61 Member
    I'm almost two years out from surgery and still don't think I could do a bike ride that long lol

    There are not very many long term studies on VSG, it has been raising as the gold standard of bariatrics over the last 5 years, prior to that it was the first part of a duodenal switch surgery.

    As far as being super long distance athletic afterwards, so long as you use small sips of water though-out your ride, not huge gulping drinks, you should be good for staying hydrated.

    Calorie intake, you might need to rely on a product like energy beans, or something small that is high calorie you can eat while cycling, pre-loading on carbs isn't really an option because of the reduced stomach size.

    Good Luck!
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
    I am 2-1/2 years out and I could eat a LOT if I needed to. :-)

    I think that you would need to deliberately plan high calorie, frequent meals to do something like that, but it should be fairly realistic.

    Edited to add: I can also down water very quickly. I don't particularly need to sip... I can definitely chug a bottle of water after a run in hot weather.
  • ejewing
    ejewing Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you for all your input and encouragement. I can also think of high energy liquid options to keep fueled. Looking forward to the return of the old me.
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