Injured knee! Worried about gaining!

mommm65

Prepare for a whine-fest. I'm having a pity party and need to vent.

I injured my knee about 10 days ago while running. It had been sore before, but that night I pushed too hard and now I have to rest. But while I am not exercising, I am really worried about gaining weight. Really really worried. I have been doing all the appropriate things, rest, ice, warm baths, ibuprofin etc to help myself heal.

My normal routine includes three days of Zumba and three days of running (I've been doing C25K). I also usually include one or two days per week of light weights and a little Yoga when I feel "tight". But now I feel like I'm sitting here just waiting on the fat to creep back up on me, ugh.

Any suggestions to keep me from gaining while I recover? So far I haven't gained but don't know how long it will last without exercising.

Elphaba91

Punches are really good cardio if you've got a lower body injury. You could also do some crunches and sit ups plus some upper body weight stuff.

Annerk1

I'm nursing a foot injury and know what you mean. I've adjusted my calories and have been doing exercise I can do--yoga and some heavy housecleaning that's been ignored for too long.

_Zardoz_

Swimming. Great work out and non weight bearing.

ValerieMomof2

As long as you keep your calories under control you won't gain. You don't NEED exercise for weight loss but I totally understand why you would be concerned about lack of exercise. What did you do to your knee? Have you seen a Dr. and been told to completely rest? I ask because sometimes you can't run, but you can still do strengthening exercises, walks and such. Swimming is great, stationary bike, elliptical are options if you can do something. If you don't have access to those, do upper body strengthening and like someone else suggested--boxing type activities--just keep lower body movement minimal

caly_man

i second the above.

why not rest up, left your knee rest and heal properly.

sounds like the perfect opportunity to practice maintenance eating while you recover. just figure out what your sedentary calories are.

dogo187

I know just how you feel!

two weeks ago I rolled my ankle, MRI and orthopedic doctors appointment revealed that I have two tears in two different ligaments...

needless to say...I freaked out!

but then I thought about what I can do...I can swim and I can still do 90 percent of a Body Pump workout if I strap my ankle with tape and wear a sports ankle brace...

find out what you can do and don't stress about it as stress can cause weight gain...

for myself, im not trying to lose anything right now...if I can maintain for the next 8 weeks while my workouts are limited...

you can do this! identify your problem and find a solution, whatever will work for you!

Sycoholic

Yeah, swimming is a great idea. Perhaps as you get better you may want to start cycling to help strengthen the knee before going right back into running. You can perhaps get some boxing dvd's to help burn some calories at home. I have UFC Personal Trainer for Xbox and it's an awesome burn. Ibuprofin is good for pain but blocks protein so don't overdo it. Berries such as cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. are all good for anti-inflammatory. Stock up on these too. I would up protein intake (staying within your calories) and eat a lot of berries. Perhaps try supplementing with fish oil. MusclePharm makes an excellent one with an excellent price and GNC 1240's are good too and half the size of normal fish oil pills.

xstarxdustx

Agreed-you need to rest and let it heal, regardless of if it will drive you stir crazy. The last ~40 or so pounds that I've lost was without the exercise, so you can still lose and can certainly maintain if that's what you're aiming for, while recovering from your injury.

Don't wait too long to see a doctor though and don't push it. The sidelines are a terrible place to be and impatience has a price-speaking from experience here.

Good luck.

JulieGirl58

I'm nursing a knee injury too. I use my recumbent bike ant total gym to gently exercise my knee. Nothing like walking though. Be positive, do what you can, lots of stretching and yoga.

AmyRhubarb

As long as you keep your calories under control you won't gain. You don't NEED exercise for weight loss but I totally understand why you would be concerned about lack of exercise. What did you do to your knee? Have you seen a Dr. and been told to completely rest? I ask because sometimes you can't run, but you can still do strengthening exercises, walks and such. Swimming is great, stationary bike, elliptical are options if you can do something. If you don't have access to those, do upper body strengthening and like someone else suggested--boxing type activities--just keep lower body movement minimal

This! I was put on bed rest awhile back and pretty much stopped all exercise, moving only from bed, to couch for several weeks. I continued to track all my food and stayed close to goal, and didn't gain any weight.

All in all, I ended up being down for over a month, and when I started back to exercise, I had to go slowly (short walks around the block, etc), but I eased back in and was able to build back up to where I was in no time. But staying on track with calories the whole time kept me from losing any weight loss progress - you'll be fine.

Rest well and get that knee healed up!

mommm65

Thank you all for your understanding. I haven't been to the Doctor, been hoping it is just a light sprain and rest would help. But today I just took an odd step and the pain almost dropped me to my knees. I guess I have to go to the Doctor now, ugh. I'm one of those people who hate to go because it "may" be worst case scenario.

I will up my berry intake, I love them anyway! Thanks yall!

ozigal

Losing weight is 70% food intake and 30% exercise... just reduce your calorie intake appropriately and you will be okay.