Need a calorie plan for post-surgery recovery period

brightsideofpink

Good morning.
A little background: I've been counting calories in some form for over a year, and have lost nearly 70 lbs, so I feel like I've been in a great groove. I currently eat at a deficit of about 300-500 calories per day. I list here as sedentary but exercise and use my fitbit to achieve calorie adjustments, which I eat back, and it works out just about spot on for expected loss.

Tomorrow I am scheduled for surgery. The surgeon told me to expect 1 week of going no further than the couch and not leaving the house, and an additional 2-3 weeks of extremely light movement. It could be 3 weeks before I'm cleared to walk even a mile. I won't be cleared for exercise for at least 6 weeks, maybe longer.

I'm unsure of what to eat going forward. Eat at maintenance for recovery? Less because 'maintenance' accounts for at least some movement and I don't think I'll achieve that? More to aid in recovery? I'm okay stalling weight loss, but I'd like to not gain much weight. I do want to keep tracking, as that is the long term plan for me.

If stats are helpful, I'm 5'5" and weigh 175ish. Thanks in advance!

hekla90

I would eat to maintain. I don't know how major of a surgery you are having but if your body is trying to heal it will need the calories and nutrition. You can always ask your surgeon too... They'd have better insight.
(I work in an SICU and nutrition is paramount in healing).

Chieflrg

Shoot for maintain and adjust if needed.

LiftAndBalance

I'd also suggest eating to maintenance. If you haven't already, enable negative adjustments from your fitbit to account for the lack of even 'sedentary' movement.

brightsideofpink

Thanks all. Good tip on negative adjustments. I may be enabled but will have to check. I'm sure I'll be back in 6 weeks trying to figure out how to get back into a workout routine.

Vune

I stopped counting until my surgeon cleared me for increased movement last week. But I also took hour long walks to other appointments, and had to walk to the store for my grocery shopping. I've had quite a few surgeries over the years, and counting calories has never been a post surgery concern. The painkillers dull your appetite, and often make you feel nauseous. Pain also dulls your appetite. I'm always worried about getting enough food in me at all.

I'm also more aggressive than the average person about healing quickly. It's hard to wait 4 weeks to carry more than 10 lbs when you're always recovering from something. My kidney transplant was my most major surgery, and I was following the nurse around every day at the hospital, bringing juice to the other patients, IV and all. The day after my foot surgery, I went back to rehearsals and did the entire run of the show in a boot! After having a parathyroid growth removed, I actually took a whole week off from rehearsals because it was not fun to talk with a bandage on my neck, but I went on a short hike the evening I got discharged.