Surgery = no gym for 6-8 weeks

jennifermarie1981
jennifermarie1981 Posts: 13 Member
edited November 27 in Health and Weight Loss
Well. It took me almost a year but beginning Jan 1 2015 I lost 43 pounds, I dedicated myself to working out and eating right
Now. As of December 17 I had surgery which is preventing me from any exercise for 6-8 weeks
It was incredibly tough during the holidays. I went from 144-149.... I changed my goals and my new caloric intake cannot exceed 1200

Any ideas or meal plans that might help?
I am so bummed about the weight gain and am very worried I'll gain more

Replies

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    You should probably just eat at maintenance, or even a little above, while your body is recovering from surgery. The four pounds is probably just water weight from topping off your glycogen reserves.

    Focus on your recovery. You're giving way too much power to the number on the scale. This is supposed to be about your health, right? How is piling extra stress on your body by undereating while you're supposed to be healing doing anything good for your health?
  • jennifermarie1981
    jennifermarie1981 Posts: 13 Member
    I can see your point. I was just asking for suggestions so I wouldn't keep gaining weight. I worked very hard to lose and maintain. Thanks for the feedback though
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    eat at maintenance. not only will it give you more calories, your body needs them to heal.
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 792 Member
    The important thing after surgery is healing which takes a lot of energy. Feed the healing and eat at maintenance.
  • Loty_M
    Loty_M Posts: 2 Member
    Found that meeting my tracker's protein goals helped me lose weight without much in the way of exercise (fibro & ME). Getting enough protein was key to fighting off hunger at 1,200. Although I was getting hunger during the night, so upped my calories by 170 and was still able to lose weight. Feed your body with lots of fresh fruit and veg and consider a vitamin D suppliment, if it's been a while since you were in the sun.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Trust me, even if you are spending all day in bed your maintenance calories will be more than 1200, it's probably around 1400-1800 depending on your height. To take out the guesswork just set MFP to maintenance (or to losing half a pound a week to account for any tracking errors and lack of activity)
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Can you walk? do that

    Eat at maintenance for recovery - your body will need more calories to recover
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Definitely gotta do low carb. Keep carbs below 100/day.
  • jennifermarie1981
    jennifermarie1981 Posts: 13 Member
    Thanks all!!! I guess I was worrying when I really should make sure I'm worrying about healing. I just want to be healthy too. So protein choices and yes I can do light walking so I'll do that also
    I was just used to 2 hour work outs at the gym, so I am still adjusting.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Can you walk? do that

    Eat at maintenance for recovery - your body will need more calories to recover

    I agree. I will be having surgery in a few weeks and will be in the same situation. My doctor told me that I will be able to walk as much as I am comfortable with after the first week.
  • afatpersonwholikesfood
    afatpersonwholikesfood Posts: 577 Member
    I had surgery in November. They told me I could walk, and I did. I also gained 5 pounds immediately after surgery, but it came off very quickly because it was all water. I resumed losing as usual right away, and I kept up walking. You'll be fine.
  • ald783
    ald783 Posts: 688 Member
    I think the holidays probably contribute more to weight gain than not being able to exercise. Like others said, just do what you can but don't push yourself and give yourself time to heal. I couldn't work out for almost 7 weeks earlier this year after surgery, but I actually weighed less during that span because your body burns more calories while trying to heal and recover, and I wasn't as hungry when I wasn't working out. Just listen to your body and your hunger and focus on healing! The first couple of workouts back are tough but then you get back into things like you never left. Good luck. :)
  • radmack
    radmack Posts: 272 Member
    When I recovered from my surgery, I made sure to get more protein in so that I would not lose muscle and just stuck to my low calorie goal. It wasn't easy but I tried to view it as part of the after surgery prescription since added weight makes surgery and recovery harder on the body. I also had to go with a very low calorie goal since I could not exercise. :-)
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Can you walk? do that

    Eat at maintenance for recovery - your body will need more calories to recover

    Yet again, excellent advice. That's exactly what I did after my surgeries and it worked very well.
  • jennifermarie1981
    jennifermarie1981 Posts: 13 Member
    Thanks so much everyone. I think I just needed some support. Being down for the past two weeks had been rough. I still have 4- 5 weeks to go. I know my health is important- which is why i wanted to make sure my diet is healthy since working out quite possible.
    And the holiday goodies got the best of me
  • djwife03
    djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
    I had foot surgery on 11/20, so I feel your pain! I am doing arms and abs and stretches. For me it's more about not getting lazy! I work at home so I already sit for 8 hrs as it is! Good luck!
  • ka97
    ka97 Posts: 1,984 Member
    I had ankle surgery about two years ago, and the 6 weeks that I couldn't do anything other than hop around on crutches nearly killed me. In fact there were days I had someone drive me to the mall so I could just burn calories doing "laps" on my crutches. Pretty stupid actually!
    Just focus on healing. Try to keep your calories at maintenance. The gain is probably from the holiday treats. If you can just maintain right now, you can worry about losing again once you are fully healed.
  • mlcollins89
    mlcollins89 Posts: 87 Member
    I agree with everyone else -- eat at maintenance and possibly up your proton to help with recovery.

    Once you are back into the gym, go slow. You'll likely have lost some strength and won't be as strong as you once were. But that's okay. You know why to
    Do to get back at it. This is life.
  • jennifermarie1981
    jennifermarie1981 Posts: 13 Member
    djwife03 wrote: »
    I had foot surgery on 11/20, so I feel your pain! I am doing arms and abs and stretches. For me it's more about not getting lazy! I work at home so I already sit for 8 hrs as it is! Good luck!

    I work from home too. I get to work half days starting tomorrow then full days starting Monday.
    I have a second serving job but can't go back to that until feb 6
    I think I hate sitting around doing nothing. I miss working out. I guess I started to really like it or just got used to it in my daily routine - or both, Then when I saw the number on the scale it was something that just upset me and I was really discouraged.
    It is good to hear all this feedback it makes me feel better and more confident that it's not the end of the world
    I did watch the caloric intake yesterday but are a lot of protein. Same so far today and I feel pretty good! (Yes I know it's just a day and a half be still)
    I never in my life had the opportunity to sit around and watch Netflix all day- I definitely have had my fill of it and will be really excited to feel "normal" again.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    I had surgery last June, mid-weight loss. +1 to the walking, since you say you can do that (I walked, and . . . well, let's just say I'm not a walking fan, but I did it anyway.)

    Also, at the point where my doctor said "you can now lift 5 pounds", I said "can I do reps with 5 pounds", and got "in a week". So, little as that is, in a week I started going reps of anything that didn't seem to cause any strain for the surgical area. First time I've ever done "reps to boredom" rather than "reps to failure" ;-) !

    So, maybe push your doc a little about what you *can* do, if you haven't already?

    Good luck - you'll be fine, and back at it before you know it in the grand scheme of things, but I understand how frustrating it can be!
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    I'm recovering from a broken ankle and torn ligaments so I can barely move. But I'm used to being active so I'm
    not as hungry.
  • titianknitter
    titianknitter Posts: 15 Member
    Be gentle with yourself and with your body. If a friend of yours had surgery and was worried about her weight during recovery, what would you tell her? You would tell her to take care of herself and put her recovery first.

    If you start feeling cooped up, depressed, or anxious due to a lack of exercise, be sure to let your surgeon know, and ask for specific activities that are safe to do. With most doctors' offices you can call and talk to the nurse for free anytime during working hours to ask questions. I've had good luck with making it clear that I was depressed/anxious, and willing to cooperate with any restrictions they gave me in order to get back outdoors.

    Good luck!
  • jennifermarie1981
    jennifermarie1981 Posts: 13 Member
    I had a partial hysterectomy. The absolute worry part is some times through the day I fee excellent. Like I could take on the world. But then I feel like sleeping for 40 hours
    Recovery/healing is a long hard process. I knew the time it would take but definitely didn't realize how hard it would be for me

    Some days I just cry or get so frustrated that I'm angry. But some days I'm totally fine - it's quite odd and I'm hoping the next month goes a little better than the past few weeks.
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