Any advice on not gaining weight during recovery from Knee Replacement Surgery?

lafayettenana

I would love to hear from people on how they maintained their weight and fitness while recovering from Full Knee Replacement surgery. I am an active exerciser but tend to eat if I am bored or stuck at home. I know I will be compliant with all the Physical Therapy. I am 64 years old, 5'7", I maintain my weight with about 1800 calories a day. Thanks in advice for any tips, advice or insights.

keonwlsn

Really about that calorie deficit tract them hard and the physical therapy will help I have done that a couple times

puffbrat

Agree with above. Also keep in mind that you could see an uptick on the scale from fluid retention from the surgery, and of course, if you are wearing any bandaging or bracing while weighing yourself.

aokoye

Honestly I would eat at maintenance for the duration of your recovery. I'm not sure how much exercising you'll really be able to do for the first part of your recovery - more than my knee surgery recoveries from what I've read and seen, but not a whole lot.

I suspect what you'll really need to watch out for is making sure you're not overeating given that you said that you tend to overheat when you're stuck at home. And yes, you will probably have a lot of fluid retention given that your body will have undergone quite a bit of trauma.

Talan79

My mom has both knees replaced 6 months apart. You’ll see a decrease in appetite from the pain meds most likely. Like others said, eat at maintenance. Good luck with surgery & recovery.

larhondakidd

I will have my 2nd replacement in 4.5 months on 10/22. I'm in the midst of healthy weight loss. I'm concerned about recovery period, as during last one, I only wanted soft "comfort" foods (with pain meds). I'm much more motivated now than during that previous time, so I'm planning on this being a better time. I probably won't get on the scales during the first 3-4 weeks of recovery, as I don't want to be disappointed by inflammatory weight.

LyndaBSS

I've had both knees and one hip replaced.

You'll have inflammation weight as you heal. You will have some exercise from your physical therapy.

You can still eat at a calorie deficit during your recovery and still lose weight, if you'd like to.

Good luck!

ETA: Dagnabit, I got suckered into an old thread. 😳