Constipation

Your body can hold onto water and is probably the source of the weight gain. You should be drinking a lot of water (I know it seems counter-intuitive) -- hydration will help with your constipation and also help release water you've been holding on to. A swollen body part contains a lot of fluid and although your ankle alone may not have 5 pounds of fluid in it, your body is holding onto water in cells to help fix what is broken.

You may also want to analyze how many calories you're really burning and consuming. 3000 teaching skating seems pretty high. I could run for 4 hours straight and not burn 3000 calories.

I take 400 mg of magnesium citrate tablets a day and lots of water throughout the day.
I also drink 4 ounces of prune juice a day (but you're allergic).
I also eat lots of broccoli and other greens.
Psyllium whole husks really helps too but always drink lots of water when you're upping your fiber intake!

I also do keto and I reiterate the water comments from above and add that you might need more fibre.
Personally, I eat a "keto porridge" every other day (10 g psyllium, 10 g ground flax seed, 10 g chia seeds, cinnamon, stevia, salt, and 2 dl organic soy milk = ~3 g net carbs and ~15 g fibre)

Are you taking some pain medication for your ankle? These can cause constipation with extended use, especially if it's something stronger than plain paracetamol.
Regardless, go and see your doctor about controlling your pain and look into the not-pooping properly thing.
Fix the constipation before worrying about your weight. There is no use following a diet if it's making your unwell.

You are allergic to all fruit? I find that highly unlikely.

twins2x2 wrote: »

mumblemagic wrote: »

Before going for a medical laxative, I suggest eating some prunes or dried apricots. They have the same effect.....

You could try swimming as exercise. It's non-weight bearing.

I'm allergic to fruit and don't know how to swim

:sad:

You could try some adult swimming lessons. It's a useful life skill anyway.

Out of interest, why are you allergic to fruit? Is it all fruit, or just some? I had a friend who was allergic to strawberries, but he could eat other fruit.

twins2x2 wrote: »

elphie754 wrote: »

You are allergic to all fruit? I find that highly unlikely.

Sure, let me lie to a room full of strangers for what benefit? Citrus fruits give UTI symptoms, apples, pears and the like cause severe dumping issues. Strawberries and kiwis cause anaphylaxis. And bananas give me such bad heartburn I feel like I'm having a heart attack.
But I'm lying......

The only allergy there is strawberries and kiwis. The other symptoms are not allergies.

twins2x2 wrote: »

mumblemagic wrote: »

Before going for a medical laxative, I suggest eating some prunes or dried apricots. They have the same effect.....

You could try swimming as exercise. It's non-weight bearing.

I'm allergic to fruit and don't know how to swim

My solution is a big handful of nuts, especially almonds. Moves things right along for me.

To prevent constipation, you need plenty of the 3 "F"'s: Fat, Fiber, and Fluids. Women need at least 25 g of fiber daily, men need closer to 35,

Regarding the exercise, there is a lot you can do in a pool without knowing how to swim. Many just walk or jog back and forth, the buoyancy of the water helps the joints tremendously. You can also wear a flotation belt and go in deeper water and do movements like running, jumping jacks, etc. with no impact on the joints at all. There are many water aerobics classes that are low impact too and you don't need to know how to swim.

ETA: I have bad arthritis in one foot and I also sprained the other ankle back in December. Doing things in water have really helped. I take an aerobics class.

I have had similar issues and for me, it's not eating enough fat. Sometimes adding a couple of strips of bacon, either with breakfast, or on a salad helps. My doctor recommended chia seeds, which has helped a lot. I sprinkle them in yogurt, or mix them with peanut butter which I put on a high fiber English muffin. I also bought some almond butter that has chia seeds in it. I must admit, OP, that 5 lbs. as a result of constipation is not unusual. I can be 2-3 lbs. heavier on days when I don't "go." You might consider adding modest amounts of healthy grains back into your diet. Eating a high fiber Eng. muffin for example is only 100 calories. I'll often have that for breakfast with the almond butter and chia. One piece of high fiber bread or a small bowl of high fiber cereal or oatmeal is not going to add a whole pound if it fits into your calorie limits, but constipation is uncomfortable and will add pounds and bloat you.

Regarding exercise, you could take up upper body lifting with hand weights or do yoga or pilates. These would tone you upper body without hurting your foot. I had a foot injury several years ago but still kept up my upper body work.

More than likely your 5lbs is water weight from swelling from your injury and a bit of constipation. It sort of goes hand in hand if you think about it logically.

Stool softners and Miralax are great for relieving chronic constipation.

In addition cut out things that cause you constipation. If you do not know, just kind of note from here on out what makes you worse.

For example, cheese is one my foods that plugs me up. If I eat cheese and not enough veggies, I have to take some stool softners and/or Miralax and also add in more veggies to my diet in the raw. I will whip up a "veggie tray" and snack on that.

You do need to drink more water to combat the swelling and constipation.

Try magnesium citrate.

McCluskey1128 wrote: »

Your body can hold onto water and is probably the source of the weight gain. You should be drinking a lot of water (I know it seems counter-intuitive) -- hydration will help with your constipation and also help release water you've been holding on to. A swollen body part contains a lot of fluid and although your ankle alone may not have 5 pounds of fluid in it, your body is holding onto water in cells to help fix what is broken.

You may also want to analyze how many calories you're really burning and consuming. 3000 teaching skating seems pretty high. I could run for 4 hours straight and not burn 3000 calories.

you may want to try adding miralax 1 capful I do that every morning with my pre workout shake and I have always been regular no constipation or diarrhea but I did have constipation issues before starting that routine