Did an injury or illness derail your weight loss?

lilpoindexter
lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
:frown:
I have to have surgery on my foot in a week. I will not be able to walk or exercise for 2-3 weeks. I realize it's a relatively short period of time, however I am concerned that I will gain back a bunch of my fat.

i would think just laying on the couch would mean that I won't get hungry, but history tells me that just sitting around watching TV leads to the munchies and fat gains.

If you were in a similar situation, how did you prevent fat gains...Fat that you had worked pretty hard to get rid of.

Replies

  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I stopped logging when I had my stress fracture in my ankle and couldn't exercise normally. I figured even if I ate over my maintenance calories by 500 a day, the worst that would happen is I'd gain 4 pounds in a month, and it would be worth not having the stress of trying to stick to a calorie goal. I played a lot of video games and did a lot of reading... things to keep my mind and hands busy. Just watching tv is too easy to snack.

    I gained one pound. :smile: And it was gone as soon as I was able to start moving normally again.
  • MTBrob
    MTBrob Posts: 513 Member
    If your lower half doesn't work, work the upper half.. just because you are having foot surgery doesn't mean you can't do anything but lay around on the couch ..

    Ever seen athletes in wheel chairs ? Difference is they don't walk.
  • Tara_Janel
    Tara_Janel Posts: 48
    I am there now, but coupled with the fact that we moved across country and stayed in a hotel for a while, so for about a month we didn't have a kitchen. I put on about 8 pounds YIKES! As soon as my foot is healed (deep second degree burn) I am starting Insanity!
  • momtokgo
    momtokgo Posts: 446 Member
    Over the last few months I've been hurt and couch bound 4 times, some for as little as a few days (with hospital trips) to a leg injury that took almost 3 weeks to heal enough for me to exercise. I didn't gain weight though, just kept logging and eating like I would normally.
  • iluvprettyshoes
    iluvprettyshoes Posts: 605 Member
    since January I've injured my IT band on both sides, my lower back, pulled a glute muscle and now sprained my ankle a couple weeks ago.

    Swimming and pool work has gotten me through all of that. You won't be able to do that at first but it's a great workout and easy on the joints.

    Best wishes to you for successful surgery & speedy recovery!
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    I hurt my back which spread to my legs. I just stick to a 1200 calorie diet and have been losing weight.
  • sunlover89
    sunlover89 Posts: 436 Member
    Tried out Insanity, injured both my knees and ankles, could hardly walk for 3 month, ate in comfort, next thing you know i've put on 30lbs and increased my waist my 4 inches!!
  • alvalaurie
    alvalaurie Posts: 369 Member
    I fell backwards off a boxjump and broke my wrist in February. It didn't keep me from working out, but I was restricted from doing anything with my arms for quite awhile (push-ups, medicine balls etc were impossible for about 3 months!). It was frustrating and contrary to the advice of others, I would do push-ups, burpees etc on my finger tips. I felt like it slowed my progress but thankfully I was still able to row and run & therefore at least maintain where I was at the time! To this day, sometimes when I do too much that involves my wrist, it bothers me. I push through it because I refuse to give in or give up!!
  • been285
    been285 Posts: 99 Member
    Pain is a behavior modifier ,,,,, if you are like me you will eat more. fight the swelling aggressively. elevate. do the ice till you are sick of it ,, and then do it again in 4 hours. keep taking the analgesics ect ,,, even after you think your done... When I get down ,,, I remind myself " I HAVE TWO FEET" good luck.... I hope things work out easily for your feet !
  • _Ben
    _Ben Posts: 1,608 Member
    I used to do Jillian Michaels 30 day shred every day, twice a day, doing all the exercises double time with 4x the weight. Then I began to develop chrondomalacia of the patella (the cartillage in my knees is deterating). To me this was the most rediculous thing in the world to be 20-21, and my knees hurt this bad. I switched from doing jump training exercises to more endurance (running on elliptical) that were easier on the knees. The problem is obviously I cant do that at home, and while being in college classes, the past two weeks havent been easy
  • Just_Pam
    Just_Pam Posts: 23 Member
    It tried! I tore a ligament in my hip while hiking and it took me out of action for 10 weeks. The first few weeks I comfort ate, feeling sorry for myself. Then it dawned on me that I didn't now how long it would take to heal and if I continued on the way I was I would gain the weight back I had already lost and I wasn't willing to do that. So I reined it in, did the best I could, still ate too much on occasion mostly through boredom but managed to maintain and even lost 2lbs (that was over the 10 weeks). My hip is now 90% better and I can at least swim and do some easy hiking and feel so much better that I didn't completely lose it while I was healing. I dropped 5lbs as soon as I started exercising again :-)
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    If you stick to your eating plan (with your profile set to sedentary) you should still lose weight.
  • musenchild
    musenchild Posts: 182 Member
    Injury is actually what sent me back here to stop gaining weight and get a handle on what I was eating. My advice would be to continue your upper body/core strength training and eat under your calories. It can be tough when you feel sorry for yourself and have nothing to do all day, but come up with other projects and non-physical tasks to keep you busy and you should be able to at least maintain. I did a bunch of paperwork, organized pretty much everything, and got everything ready to restart school. I am just starting to walk again after two and a half months and I am losing. You can do it!
  • annwyatt69
    annwyatt69 Posts: 727 Member
    Everyone here talks about weight gain from injuries, but I have had the opposite. IV fluids for two week periods each month for three months. The dextrose and the fluids add a lot of weight and everything accomplished is sabotaged. I have had to start over now four times. Pneumonia twice, kidney infection, and a collapsed lung. Through it all, I still lost 24 pounds.
  • Lonewolf1507
    Lonewolf1507 Posts: 507 Member
    I am currently in a stop due to shoulder surgery, for the first week I was eating to my calorie goal then suddenly thought my setting was for slightly active but I wasn't, so changed my setting to sedentary. Just checked the scales and I seem to be about 4 lbs down on the week, but as I only use the bathroom scales every now and again I am not sure of their accuracy, my weight calculation is done by the scales at the gym, so when I go back hopefully next week I will be the same or have lost something.

    Then I hope it might be like starting again with the exercise and it might start moving quicker :happy:

    Good luck with the surgery and I hope you are not away from your exercise to long.

    Andy
  • redfroggie
    redfroggie Posts: 591 Member
    Last year I blew my knee out and was on crutches for 6 weeks. I set my activity to sedentary and used resistance bands for upper body exercises and lost 2 lbs!
    I struggled to lose weight for several months as it took another 3 months to be released by my GP to work out. I did fine until this year when I had surgery on the knee, I was only down for 3 weeks. Just watch what you eat, you can still lose weight by dieting alone, you don't have to gain. Good luck!
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    I injured my knee back in january.I continued to eat the same (1650 / 1100net) 2 weeks total rest, first week I gained 0.8lbs, second week I lost 2. Turns out my cals were too low and I actually lost more afterwards, I would have never known this if i hadnt got injured, now I NET 1600 ish!
    There is a surprising amount you can do with an injury - swimming, upper body weights, core work, it doesnt have to stop you. After a few weeks, maybe non impact stuff like elliptical or cycling?
    My knee is still not right now, but ive been able to find exercise i CAN do and work round it :-)
  • Jde56
    Jde56 Posts: 9 Member
    I have been unable to exercise for a year due to hip bursitis. I gained about 3 kgs which I am now setting myself up to lose.
    I think you just have to reduce or food intake and occupy yourself with books and DVDs. You will be surprised that the weight will not just jump back on because you have already increased your metabolism.
  • CarleyLovesPets
    CarleyLovesPets Posts: 410 Member
    Whenever I would... Kinda try in January for my New Years Resolution...
    I would never be into it 100%

    So yeah I would always get sick like 2 - 4 weeks into starting it.
    I'd stop exercising and stop eating healthy.
    and boom, I wouldn't do it anymore.
  • dvisser1
    dvisser1 Posts: 788 Member
    Back in the spring I got sick with some nasty stomach virus that stuck around for a couple days. Lost 13 lbs in 2 days as I couldn't eat and my body emptied everything out of every hole in my body.....forcefully. Obviously I didn't work out while sick. Once I could eat, I just ate whatever. Didn't log or track. Gained the 13 back, plus 5 more for good measure over the course of a week (about 2 total weeks no exercise & either being sick or eating badly).

    Got back on track and it took me less than 2 weeks to get those 5 lbs back off. I haven't let anything derail me since then.

    Injuries are part of what led to my weight gain (eating a horrible diet is the real cause, but before the knee injuries I could stay active enough to burn that diet off). When I started working out and tracking everything on MFP, I had to start slow and rebuild strength in my legs and lungs / heart before I could push my workouts. I know very well from past injuries that if I pushed hard right away I would likely get hurt again. Start slow and build up the exercise. Don't let frustration rush you back because you'll just end up hurt again.
  • goron59
    goron59 Posts: 890 Member
    I developed stress fractures in both legs that put an end to my running.. I'm not overly concerned with weight loss, but it did make it harder for me to do much exercise, but I found ways (stuff in the pool, basically). I stopped losing weight and gained a bit back, but I kept it all sensible and now I'm able to run again.

    So, yes, it'll have an effect, but not a long term one. Keep at it!
  • jenneal89
    jenneal89 Posts: 243
    I sprained my back very very badly (I couldn't even dress myself) and I couldn't exercise at all for 5 weeks. That was at the end of July and it's just now almost all better. I focused even more on eating healthy and not going over my calories. I didn't gain weight but did have to work fairly hard to get my stamina back but at least it didn't take very long (2-3 weeks maybe). Don't worry, you will be ok. And good luck!

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