Upcoming Surgery, worried about weight returning

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JoshNorris79
JoshNorris79 Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone. I am having an upcoming surgery, a knee surgery which will require a 2 month recovery time of limited mobility. I gained a lot of weight over 16 years ago when I had this knee surgery on my other knee, being immobile for around 4 months that time because it re-injured after i started moving again.
Anyway, as this surgery is coming up in 2 weeks, I started on myfitnesspal over a month ago. I am planning on doing my calories every day, but I am worried that without any exercise, and lack of movement my motivation will be gone! Is there any cardio exercises i can do from bed that don't require legs? Anything to burn calories in that way? Has anyone had this type of thing happen to them and have any motivation or experience they could relate?

Thanks!
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Replies

  • JoshNorris79
    JoshNorris79 Posts: 20 Member
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    fds
  • MomforNoah
    MomforNoah Posts: 76
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    Will you be able to swim laps maybe? My Sister's knees are shot, but she can swim for exercise. I've done it and it's so much harder than I thought !
  • hockey7fan
    hockey7fan Posts: 281 Member
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    You may have to not worry about exercise and just concentrate on keeping your calories within a proper range. I've lost my weight without doing hardly any exercise at all. I have completely shot knees and use a cane and a walker to get around. For me, the calories make the difference, not the exercise.
  • JoshNorris79
    JoshNorris79 Posts: 20 Member
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    Swimming is great for knees that are bad, low impact and such. But for at least a month i'll need to keep it out of the water so it won't get infected, and the cast/brace won't go south. Thats a good idea for after exercise though.
  • JoshNorris79
    JoshNorris79 Posts: 20 Member
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    Wow HockeyFan! that is really inspirational! It's good to know the same type of results can come just from watching your caloric intake.
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
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    A lot has changed in 16 years. Have you talked to your surgeon about the recovery process? It could be significantly different now.

    You can do two things to not gain weight, continue eating at a deficit or just eat at maintenance while you are immobile. You don't need to exercise to lose weight. Or get up and move, will you be on crutches or in a wheelchair? Unless you are tied to a bed then get out and move, even if it's just around the block a couple times a day. Crutches are a workout, heck so is a wheelchair.

    While it wasn't major surgery I just had abdominal surgery last Wednesday and I was out and about walking on Thursday. I wasn't walking far or fast but I was out moving around. Motivation comes from within so if you want it bad enough you will make it happen.

    Good luck with your surgery and I hope you have a quick recovery.
  • cheripugh1
    cheripugh1 Posts: 357 Member
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    There are modified exercises, like sit up from a chair, upper body twists and of course arm wt. lifts... just google it ask something like exercises without leg usage and all sorts of ideas will pop up!

    Keep your protein high for healing and your calories a bit lower (subtract your normal burn amt. that you eat back) and you should do just fine...

    And most importantly, keep an open mind, you may gain 5 - 10 pounds BUT that can be the limit if you accept that could happen and you do your best to control what goes into your mouth so you don't go over that amt.

    Good luck and quick healing!
  • aliciaeve79
    aliciaeve79 Posts: 31 Member
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    Hi,

    I had achilles reconstruction surgery 3 weeks ago and am now in a cast/boot for the next 2 months at least. I have about 2 stone to lose.....and I really want it gone by the time I return to work (I teach) in September. So I too am concerned about how I will do it with limited exercise!

    There are quite a few 'seated cardio' videos on youtube which I am going to try this week, as well as keeping my calories to 1200 or less as I am so sedentary.

    Feel free to add me as a friend for some mutual support!! Good luck with the surgery!

    Alicia. x
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,068 Member
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    There are modified exercises, like sit up from a chair, upper body twists and of course arm wt. lifts... just google it ask something like exercises without leg usage and all sorts of ideas will pop up!
    i was going to suggest this too. there are routines designed for people in your situation. but keep to your deficit and you'll be fine, you might just lose a bit more muscle mass without the exercise
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    I'm having a surgery soon, too, with about the same amount of recovery time. I just plan on reducing my calories a little. (I'm toying with the idea of doing a bulk when I get back to lifting, though, so I'm not too concerned if I gain a bit.) Have you figured out your TDEE? It's a very helpful number in situations like this.
  • bcf7683
    bcf7683 Posts: 1,653 Member
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    I understand what you're going through... I have to get a foot of my colon removed because of a malignant polyp they found that is growing abnormally fast. The surgery I'm going through is pretty major- I'm going to miss at least a month of work. I can't do any physical activity for at least 2 months (because of the whole slicing through my abs and sewing my remaining colon back together thing :ohwell:). My plan is to just keep logging my food and keep things in check that way. If you don't overeat there's a pretty slim chance that you will gain a ton of weight.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
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    Check out Youtube for upper body exercises.
  • mabelbabel1
    mabelbabel1 Posts: 391 Member
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    You really don't need to worry about exercising, concentrate on the physio and your recovery. Work out the appropriate daily calorie intake for you and eat at a reasonable daily deficit from that. Don't slash your calories unnecessarily low!

    The calorie deficit will create weight loss.

    Good luck with your surgery. :smile:
  • KiiAttitude
    KiiAttitude Posts: 207 Member
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    This is a topic close to my heart!!

    I lost over 250lbs, I then had skin removal surgery that had me off my feet for 4 months, When i could train again it was walking slower than a snail and all in all took me a year to get back to being able to exercise as i do now.

    I gained 32lbs in total, I know a lot is as i was super active both in job and active life and the contrast played havoc, But also being honest the main reason was because i was down and making the wrong food choices because i felt low due to not exercising as i wanted to... So yup as the above say , I reckon stay within your calories and stay upbeat you will be fine and anything gained will be lost as soon as your on your feet again :)
  • SmaugHugs
    SmaugHugs Posts: 60 Member
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    I am in the same boat as you, just had a bunion removed and am limited mobility for a few months. I changed my settings to suit my temporary situation and will be watching what I eat while making sure I give my body the required energy for healing.

    stay hydrated, eat good foods, get plenty of rest... without going insane lol.... I am going to be working on my upper body strength while I am down so I can feel like I am doing something and I can focus on my arms.
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
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    I say this a lot here, but that cliche about how you can't out-exercise a bad diet is totally true. However, you can easily lose or maintain weight with zero exercise as long as you are pretty meticulous with your calories. Eat enough for "sedentary" only , track carefully, and you'll be fine.

    Even better for your health and mental well-being if you can find some exercise you can still do, but it's not at all necessary purely from a weight loss perspective. Just be diligent, understand you'll have to eat less (or less calorie-dense food at least) for a while, and weigh yourself weekly so you can correct quickly if you haven't cut your calories far enough to prevent gain.
  • JoshNorris79
    JoshNorris79 Posts: 20 Member
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    Thanks for the words of encouragement everyone. I guess i'm not the only one to have this sort of worry/issue. I'll be tracking my calories, and eating less than my required basal metabolic rate for my size so i can hopefully shed some weight. since i am still heavy enough to do this and still have 2000 calories a day, i don't think it'll be a problem as long as i'm reasonable.
  • Julesbait
    Julesbait Posts: 190 Member
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    I just had surgery myself 6 weeks ago. I didn't even worry about trying to lose. Your body needs calories for the healing process. (This was even on the paperwork they sent home with me from the hospital.) I changed my settings to maintenance and sedentary, and tried to stay within that ballpark.

    You've got the rest of your life to lose. You'll need the upcoming weeks to heal. Listen to your doctor and listen to your body.

    Good luck to you!
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Just watch your calories. That's it.

    Do not even try to push yourself while recovering from knee surgery. Just don't.
  • quicklabs
    quicklabs Posts: 254 Member
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    You really don't need to worry about exercising, concentrate on the physio and your recovery. Work out the appropriate daily calorie intake for you and eat at a reasonable daily deficit from that. Don't slash your calories unnecessarily low!

    The calorie deficit will create weight loss.

    Good luck with your surgery. :smile:
    ^^This! I just had a total knee replacement five weeks ago yesterday. Recovery takes every bit of your energy. I am not even thinking about exercising beyond what I need for my physical therapy and recovery. Just by incorporating all my healthy eating habits, I have lost 1.5 lbs since the surgery. I haven't even been logging (too fatigued.) Recovery is Job 1! Take it slow and don't eat to soothe yourself. The rest will take care of itself. Good luck.

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