can't exercise for 3 months.... big problem now

RichGebs
RichGebs Posts: 345
edited September 26 in Food and Nutrition
I tour my ACL and i am out from doing any and all activity for a WHILE. I know this from history and past experiences, and it is that when i do not exercise but i eat a little over 1500-1600 calories, i gain weight because i have delayed gastric emptying and VERY low metabolism. I can only see the solution for my non activeness is to barely eat over 1000 calories per day. Mind you i am a 17 year old boy. Its a lose lose for me...

1. if i diet normally while i have no activity, I GAIN WEIGHT
2. if i barely eat while i have no activity, I WILL LOSE WEIGHT (POSSIBLY DRAMATICLY) and may look anorexic.

HERES WHAT IM THINKING
__________________________

And i CANNOT gain weight again. So what I was going to do is barely eat, lose a little weight unhealthily, and once i feel like I am starting to lose too much, I will begin to eat normally, gaining a little weight back but not all of it. That way I can stay at a somewhat happy medium. Let me know what you think and let me know anything else you guys think i could do as well.
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Replies

  • Bridgetc140
    Bridgetc140 Posts: 405 Member
    Wow, so young and already counting calories. :( Sorry about your injury. I really don't have any advice, but I hope it all works out for you. ((hugs))
  • humblemonkey
    humblemonkey Posts: 576 Member
    If you stop eating enough...then you start eating again you will put on weight QUICK.
    Just eat healthy and work your upper body.
  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
    If you stop eating enough...then you start eating again you will put on weight QUICK.
    Just eat healthy and work your upper body.

    but how as of right now i can barely leave my bed luckily my bathroom is 2 feet away lol but still for the first few weeks to 1 month, i cant work anything
  • jen2bhottie
    jen2bhottie Posts: 48 Member
    you tore your ACL and that sucks but there are plenty of other exercises you can do with your upper body and core. You also said you gain weight at 1500 and lose at 1000, why not stay at 1200-1300?
  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
    Wow, so young and already counting calories. :( Sorry about your injury. I really don't have any advice, but I hope it all works out for you. ((hugs))

    Yeah my family is so over weight i'm the only one thats still skinny/ in shape. And the only one that eats healthy. and Thanks the injury stinks and thanks for the support :)
  • Shannoncore
    Shannoncore Posts: 135
    you CAN NOT yoyo your diet that way. it does not work and you will gain alot of weight quick. work out what you can on your body and eat healthy. DO NOT STARVE YOUR SELF!!
  • Lauriek70
    Lauriek70 Posts: 2,087 Member
    Please don't do the yo-yo thing with your diet, it is not healthy. It is better to eat healthy and at regular intervals. You can work on your upper body just avoid putting the legs into it. The injury is tough but you will get threw it. Talk to a trainer or a PT for additional suggestion based on your concerns. Wishing you a speedy recovery. You will just need to give it time to heal properly, it is for the best.
  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
    you tore your ACL and that sucks but there are plenty of other exercises you can do with your upper body and core. You also said you gain weight at 1500 and lose at 1000, why not stay at 1200-1300?

    thats what i will most likely do but i probably will lose some weight hopefully not too dramatic
  • ShellyMacchi
    ShellyMacchi Posts: 975 Member
    with my activity level set on sedentary, i am allocated 1200 calories per day (minimum recommended for women)

    i have consistently lost weight for the last 4 weeks (more i think) without exercising. (and there were not tiny losses *S*)
    Those base calories allocated are factored to still allow you to lose without much activity at all... according to mfp's info, and it certainly holds true for me... i hope it works for you as well *S*
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    You have to eat. You're still growing, restricting your calories means restricting your growth, including some brain growth. According to you profile page you're only looking to lose 5 pounds total. If you're smart, you'll eat normally because that's what's healthiest for your body.
  • DreamLittleDarling
    DreamLittleDarling Posts: 800 Member
    just stick to a "maintenance" diet... 1200-1300 calories, and keep drinking your water. and you CAN work your upper body and core. whoever said you can't is full of it lol
  • h2onut
    h2onut Posts: 164
    I've also got a knee injury (miniscus) and waiting for surgery - if you're only out for 3 months, I'm jealous! I've got a year to wait (the con of the Canadian health care plan). Anyway, some activities you CAN do are upper body activities - arm ergometer (most gyms have them) and swimming (assuming you can swim - put a pull buoy between your legs if you have trouble not kicking) are excellent for burning calories.
    Good luck, I wish you the best for a speedy recovery!
  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
    Please don't do the yo-yo thing with your diet, it is not healthy. It is better to eat healthy and at regular intervals. You can work on your upper body just avoid putting the legs into it. The injury is tough but you will get threw it. Talk to a trainer or a PT for additional suggestion based on your concerns. Wishing you a speedy recovery. You will just need to give it time to heal properly, it is for the best.

    As i said before it will be a while before i can work out again but i will end u doing that in the long run thanks :)
  • jen2bhottie
    jen2bhottie Posts: 48 Member
    If you stop eating enough...then you start eating again you will put on weight QUICK.
    Just eat healthy and work your upper body.

    but how as of right now i can barely leave my bed luckily my bathroom is 2 feet away lol but still for the first few weeks to 1 month, i cant work anything

    Well, you sit up in your bed, get something with a little weight and start lifting, twisting, turning. They even have chair boxing for extremely overweight or immobile people. you can also do leg lifts with your other leg. Don't give up...just get creative! A little is better than nothing.
  • BOGmama2010
    BOGmama2010 Posts: 599 Member
    you tore your ACL and that sucks but there are plenty of other exercises you can do with your upper body and core. You also said you gain weight at 1500 and lose at 1000, why not stay at 1200-1300?

    I totally agree. Besides that, with your low metabolism, lifting some weights and putting on some muscle will help you to rev that metabolism a bit more so that you won't gain while you're restricted.

    Edit: By the way, I know a guy who has severe spina bifida and is wheelchair bound and is doing what he can of P90X. He can't do all of it, but he modifies and does the upper body workouts and Kenpo. If he can do it, then you can do something likewise.
  • maddiex_x
    maddiex_x Posts: 43
    I think that if you are truly eating healthy, then you have nothing to worry about. Don't start over eating or eating unhealthily.
  • adalton6
    adalton6 Posts: 204 Member
    You dont want to do that it will put your bodt into starvation mode and will gain it back quickly. Can you do any kind of water exercise it would be low impact. You could also do some sort of workouts that do not require working your legs.Any exercise is better than none. I wish you the best of luck!!!
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
    Be careful with this. We had a patient on my psych unit who had been overweight. He started watching what he ate and lost weight but could not resume a normal eating pattern and became emaciated and diagnosed as failure to thrive.

    Additionally, in order to heal your body needs certain nutrients. Ask you physician to hook you up with a dietician pre-operatively. You need protein, B/C/D/E vitamin, zinc. Consider a high protein diet with chicken/turkey/salmon and egg beaters, include salad greens, broccoli and spinach.
  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
    alright i will try to eat healthy and do weight lifting in bed.
  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
    ohh ok yeah i find it hard to get the right amount of protein in my diet but i will try to do it
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    ohh ok yeah i find it hard to get the right amount of protein in my diet but i will try to do it

    Eat some steak.
  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
    ohh ok yeah i find it hard to get the right amount of protein in my diet but i will try to do it

    Eat some steak.

    i ABSOLUTELY LOVE STEAK i eat it a lot but not recently though.
  • fittocycle
    fittocycle Posts: 827 Member
    It might not be as bad as you think. Look at it as an opportunity to switch things up and keep your body guessing. Eat food which packs the most punch with nutrition. It will help your body heal much faster and catch it off guard. Opt out of eating anything processed and look for more whole, real foods. You won't eat near as many calories and those you do consume will be much healthier for you. :wink:

    I could not exercise for 8 weeks at all due to a stress fracture in my foot. Nothing like you're going through but I was in my late 40's at the time so trust me, my metabolism was not at it's peak! However, I was very careful about eating healthy, wholesome foods. I didn't gain a single ounce during those 8 weeks. I let my body heal because if I didn't, I would be sidelined for even longer! I had knee surgery last summer and despite my worries, I didn't gain then either!

    Take this time and look at it as an opportunity to learn something new. If you can't exercise your body, exercise your mind. Read a new book, learn a new hobby, etc. Make it a productive time and think about what you can do, not what you can't.

    Trust me-the first two weeks of inactivity are the worst. After that, it does get easier! Take care of yourself-you deserve it!
  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
    It might not be as bad as you think. Look at it as an opportunity to switch things up and keep your body guessing. Eat food which packs the most punch with nutrition. It will help your body heal much faster and catch it off guard. Opt out of eating anything processed and look for more whole, real foods. You won't eat near as many calories and those you do consume will be much healthier for you. :wink:

    I could not exercise for 8 weeks at all due to a stress fracture in my foot. Nothing like you're going through but I was in my late 40's at the time so trust me, my metabolism was not at it's peak! However, I was very careful about eating healthy, wholesome foods. I didn't gain a single ounce during those 8 weeks. I let my body heal because if I didn't, I would be sidelined for even longer! I had knee surgery last summer and despite my worries, I didn't gain then either!

    Take this time and look at it as an opportunity to learn something new. If you can't exercise your body, exercise your mind. Read a new book, learn a new hobby, etc. Make it a productive time and think about what you can do, not what you can't.

    Trust me-the first two weeks of inactivity are the worst. After that, it does get easier! Take care of yourself-you deserve it!

    thank you i agree so much. it doesnt even hurt as bad as it did yesterday. i am going to go to the doctors again ssoon to see if it was diagnosed correctly because i dont think it was
  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
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  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
    bump
  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
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  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
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  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
    You can absolutely do something. You just have to isolate your affected knee. At the very least you can walk with crutches, as long as you keep your knee immobilized as ordered. Crutch walking is an incredible workout for upper body, especially triceps! I am currently recovering from knee/back surgery. I only recently got cleared to begin walking and bicycling, but I'm doing what I can. You can do this, do NOT starve yourself, it will actually impede the recovery of your knee. I've lived through a number of knee and leg injuries and I promise you can do more than you think you can!! I've got your back!!

    Ted
  • RichGebs
    RichGebs Posts: 345
    thanks Ted!!! great advice
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