Broken ankle

aneary1980
aneary1980 Posts: 461 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I broke my ankle im in plaster for 6 weeks I have two questions

1. What do I do for exercise for the next 6 weeks I do not want to end up losing the little muscle mass I have. There is still a chance I can ski at Christmas due to the ski boots.

2. Should I still be on a 500 cal deficit or should I eat at maitainance thinking about the small amount of muscle and not losing it.

Replies

  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,015 Member
    If you are using crutches, that is actually pretty strenuous cardio. I had ankle surgery in July and had to be strictly non weight bearing on one leg for 6 weeks. I got around by hopping behind a walking frame on the good leg. Fifteens minutes of that sent my heart rate to 140 and I would burn 250 kcals in 30 minutes according to the HRM which is the same burn rate as my regular workout on the elliptical.

    BTW the calorie burn for "walking on crutches" in the MFP database was pretty much spot on according to my HRM. That entry was made by someone on my FL who also broke her ankle and she calibrated it to her HRM.

    Best consult a physiotherapist about not losing muscle on the inactive leg. If you have access to weights machines, I imagine you could do quad extensions, hamstring curls as well as exercise adductors and abductors.
  • aneary1980
    aneary1980 Posts: 461 Member
    I've frozen my gym membership as for the first two weeks I'm at my parents and then after that when I'm home it's just not practical to get there it's a 15 min walk from the tube so that isn't practical on crutches.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    Ideally, when your body is injured, I would recommend eating at maintenance. This will provide your body with the greatest available amount of nutrients to help repair your body.
  • aneary1980
    aneary1980 Posts: 461 Member
    That's I sort of figured that just wanted confirmation.

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