Broken ankle and weight gain....anyone been there?

I'm not currently exercising.

It's all about eating fewer calories than your body uses over the course of the day. Set MFP to sedentary and eat the given amount of calories. Since you aren't exercising, you won't have any extra calories from exercise.

HI I have not broken my ankle, however, I live with RA in my ankles.. so I am fully aware of not being able to do pretty much anything. My best suggestion is first love yourself and heal. Really think about your quantity of foods and when you are able, start back slowly.. Swimming is the best exercise for me as it doesnt stress my joints and allows me to do more cardio without stress. The best thing is you are paying attention to your body and looking for ideas to be healthy!!
Good luck

You weight will NOT sky-rocket, but you do have to focus on what, and how much, you are eating. Use your down time to research some meal plans, and have some fun trying new ideas.

I broke my ankle last year, and I was miserable not being able to run. I took up knitting as a way of keeping my mind active.

Good luck, and speedy recovery!

Funnily enough marg, I follow the 5:2 approach myself. I think that's a great idea to try it in your current circumstances.

It may be worth consulting a dietician to see how best to meet your nutritional requirements while you're healing. When I worked in an orthopaedic ward the dieticians would often increase patients calorie intake so that the bone healing wasn't compromised. And protein, protein, protein!

I gained four pounds in the first month after I broke my tibia, and I started losing it about 2 months ago. I'm just at the point where I can start taking walks again.

Being more active helped me. I was able to use a stationary bike, and I also did more standing and non-exercise walking during the day. I freakin organized the house, too, while I was finding things to do that kept me from sitting.

My sister broke both bones in her leg as well, plus dislocated and broke her ankle. Lost a bit of bone and cartilage from her foot while she was at it. She didn't gain while she was more or less bedridden for almost 2 months following her surgery (which left her with 12 screws and a metal plate), as she was extremely conscious of what she was eating and limited her calorie intake. After about two weeks she was able to be off the heavier pain killers and was more "with it" and aware, she was able to do things like lift weights for upper body strength, and get out of bed/off the couch more and more, intentionally moving however she could (which hurt like hell, but she was terrified that she was going to gain weight when she had already been working so hard to lose). Once physical therapy started, she pushed and pushed and did every single exercise the docs/PT trainers gave her to do. Ultimately she actually lost a few pounds while unable to walk or put any sort of pressure on her leg/foot!
Watch what you eat, and if you can, try training your upper body (back, arms, shoulders, whatever you can manage). Best of luck!

I sprained my ankle and fractured my tibula over a week ago and have just started to be able to put weight on my foot. What I guess I'm trying to say is you are not alone. I am trying really hard not to get depressed from all the sitting around. It's a very helpless feeling. I am trying to be a lot more diligent now to track what I am eating. It gives me some sense of control over this situation. I wish you a speedy and healthy recovery.

Never had a break, but I did have ankle surgery last year. I think I was about 4 weeks nonweight baring, then a walking boot. I think after two months I was able to start upper body lifting (yep I was at the gym with my boot and crutches) then eventually swimming and then stationary bike. I was over 4 months before I was able to start running. I gained about 7lbs.
The key really is making sure your nutrition is right on point. I was fine during the weeks that I was home. But then once I went back to work, the stress started creeping up. And then I fell back into old habits with stress eating. It was tough and I'm still trying to lose those last few pounds that I gained.