Broken Leg and Weight Gain - please help

Ratty1979 · August 2016

I had a double fracture dislocation of my right ankle back in May whilst playing rugby. I was 20 st 4lbs, down from 24st 10lbs, at that point. Since then I've been really down about things. I guess being unable to move or do the things you love gets you that way. Any way I've been eating anything I could get my hands on and am now back up to 22st 8lbs. I'm back on my feet but still struggling to walk without feeling a lot of pain. I'm guessing the added weight isn't helping. I've also noticed that I'm out of breath just walking upstairs, not good considering I was playing full contact sports little over 3 months ago. I need to get back on track and I need help and motivation. So please add me as a friend and help me stay motivated.

rileysowner · August 2016

Not sure what to say. I know when I had a knee injury it because an excuse to not carefully log what I was eating both while waiting for the surgery to deal with it, and afterward. Don't let it go. Get back to logging food as the calorie deficit you establish with that will be what keeps your weight in check. At this point your focus needs to be on the food and keeping at your calorie goal. BTW, make sure you recalculate that goal for your current weight an activity level, which at this point is likely sedentary. When your health improves, you can start to work on exercise. I assume you are doing physio.

Ratty1979 · September 2016

thanks for the reply. yes I'm doing quite intense physio at the moment. it was a bad break and I tore all the ligaments and tendons in my ankle as well. the consultant said that it would be approx 12 months before it fully heals. I've let it affect me both physically and mentally and I know I shouldn't have.
I'm back on the healthy eating now and have reset my goals to something more realistic.

Neanbean13 · September 2016

Ouch! I know how u feel. But honestly weight loss is really food related. Whilst you can't do much about your cardio and fitness if you can use your crutches n get to gym to do upper body at all or core work. ..what ever works with your leg might help just mentally. I've seen people with broken legs in gym before... Some gyms have where u can sit on a machine that you hold onto to add resistance for arms and shoulders which can be quite high intensity. It's more important now more than ever to keep healthy habits and put it as a challenge to yourself. What exactly CAN you do. Don't be a victim to your inure. Remember it's only temporary. Long but temporary.

mmmpork · September 2016

I had a big setback earlier this year when I injured my back. It was awful, I could barely move. In a way, because I had to give up exercise, I was pretty good about doing my PT exercises since it was all I had. Another thing that was a huge help for me, the gym I go to has a Therapy Pool. My PT gave me some simple exercises to do in the pool and it was so nice to be able to walk without pain since all the pressure of gravity was off my back. Getting out was *so hard*. Anyways, with your body just take it slow. I was able to stay on track with my weight loss just by watching my calories. With exercise you might burn an extra 200-300 calories at most, some recent research has revealed that our bodies have an upper limit for fat burning from exercise and our bodies compensate in other ways to keep us from passing that threshold. One thing I'd definitely recommend, as soon as you are able is to consider reformer Pilates. It's made a huge difference with my back injury recovery and it will help you to prevent future injury. Even at the worst point of my back injury I had some Pilates mat exercises my PT had me doing.

sijomial · September 2016

Heard the phrase "A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise one learns from the mistakes of others."?

My knee was badly injured at age 31. Three months unable to bear weight, depressed, inactive, huge amount of muscle loss (apart from getting awesome triceps and traps from stumping around on crutches!).
Ate for England so piled on weight, got more depressed about getting fat....
I really worked hard at my rehab but clearly it wasn't a big calorie burner or I wouldn't have got so fat!

Spent two decades before I got myself back on track - don't make the same mistake.

Track your calories and you can still lose weight without significant exercise. Small deficit probably sensible in early stages of your recovery.

Best of luck.

zcb94 · September 2016

I'm dealing with debilitating injury/wounds myself, and a knowledgeable mentor suggested that I aim for weight maintenance in order to give myself the energy necessary to heal. Since I don't know what that is for me (as I'm medically restricted to a calorie number that I can't say on here), the past couple of years have been IDGAD (I don't give a darn) days.

jawillia · September 2016

I've been there. Last July I broke my foot and then due to my very limited mobility and the fact that I have a desk job and I'm in school, my back gave out on me in May. I gained over 20 lbs , not sure what that is in stones, but it's a decent amount of weight. Anyway, I've been working on tracking my food and losing since the end of March. Even though it's been difficult, just by tracking my foot and limited exercise, I've lost over 25lbs. You can definitely do it, just takes some patience.

lorrpb · September 2016

Sorry for your injury. Remember, weight management happens in the kitchen, so you can get back on track regardless of your mobility. I think you're out of breath either because of stress or the mobility challenges. Since you were in terrific shape before this happened, you haven't lost all your fitness in 3 months. You should be able to rebuild quickly once you get active again. I understand this is a very difficult time for you, but remember that these types of challenges can defeat us or make us better.

cmriverside · September 2016

I am truly sorry you have been suffering. Injuries are challenging for sure - especially for an athlete.

Here comes the woo - so - look away all you non-hippies.

Meditation. Serious as a heart attack. When I had a broken foot I had to find a way to manage my thoughts. Too much time, and increased anxiety and spinning thoughts were awful. I'm sure everyone has (or will) have physical suggestions like, "get in the pool," so this one is strictly mental. Allowing thoughts to continue which are bothering me is something I had to learn to manage. Negative thoughts of all kinds tend to increase when I don't get enough activity - and become worse when I don't eat well. Learning to "sit" with those thoughts and letting them go was a huge relief for me. I was able to control my stress eating as well. Win, all the way around.

There are a lot of meditation videos on YouTube. Start small. It changed me.

sbubenchik · September 2016

Caloric deficit will take weight off even if you aren't mobile. I've been there. Hang in there..

PennWalker · September 2016

Sorry about your injury. Can you swim? That would take the weight off the ankle.

LUHAN27 · September 2016

Sorry to hear about the injury. I'd say start off slowly: you are still trying to recover so do light workouts that barely involve you feet/putting pressure on your feet. Also remember to try to eat well in the progress. I agree with a calorie deficit, even if it's a small deficit, it's one step toward your progress.

Ratty1979 · September 2016

Wow, I didn't expect such a response. Cheers to everyone who has replied or read this. I have been given the all clear to return to the gym, only exercise bike at the moment but it's a start.
So tomorrow at 6am, my journey begins. No more eating crap, time to take control of things and break this vicious circle I seem to be in at the moment!!
Thanks again everyone.

Broken Leg and Weight Gain - please help

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