Seeking advice while on mandatory bed rest / recovering from injury

nkbma
nkbma Posts: 4 Member
edited February 2021 in Introduce Yourself
I just signed up for this app because I’m hoping to avoid significant weight gain in the next month. I had surgery on my leg and cannot put any weight on it for about a month. My exercise is limping to and from the bathroom on crutches a couple times a day and that’s about it.

Obviously I can’t do much in the way of exercise but what I hadn’t considered is the degree to which preparing food is a challenge. I had expected I could at least pull things out of the fridge and throw together a bagged salad but actually I can’t even move around enough to get dishes out and I can’t carry things like a plate to a table while using crutches (duh!).

I’m finding myself eating crackers, popcorn, bread and microwave friendly food that can go on a paper towel and be eaten while in the kitchen. Not good. I do have a bit of help but given the issue of COVID I can’t have too much close interaction. Mostly I’ve gotten things dropped off and put in the cupboard/fridge while I’m a fair distance away on the couch. I did make a bunch of soups to microwave before the surgery (so smart) but those are starting to run out.

Anyone else been through something like this? How do you eat a decent diet/avoid weight gain when you can’t really cook or exercise? Do I just avoid eating altogether? It will be several months before I can get back to taking longish walks for exercise so I don’t want to put myself in a position where I need to lose 15 lbs right from the beginning.

Replies

  • 4Phoenix
    4Phoenix Posts: 236 Member
    There are many things you can do. First, does your insurance/medical facility have any kind of assistance that can help you through this temporary situation...check with you MD. To address the lack of physical exercise, consider what you can do....work with resistance bands for upper body strength and flexibility, breathe work is ideal for you . You mention that you have help...can she prepare a couple of simple nutritional meals that could be kept in a cooler by your beside with paper plates and have a waste basket near by for disposal. A bowl of fresh fruit by your bedside would be ideal. You would want to keep up with your water intake...again a cooler of bottled water would be helpful. These are just some quick ideas... I'm sure other posters can add many more. Most importantly is to keep your mental state strong...might be the ideal time to begin a meditation practice if you aren't already. Catch up on reading that inspires you/entertains you. Are you taking any supplements to facilitate healing/immune system. Think of this as your time for healing in all areas of your life and maybe spend time designing a program that will be incorporated into your lifestyle as soon as you are up. Wishing you the best for your recovery.
  • nkbma
    nkbma Posts: 4 Member
    Hi thanks for getting back to me. A cooler is a SUPER idea. I’m all over that. And I hate asking my friends to cook for me but I think I’m getting there and I know they’d be willing. So maybe more easy to reheat soups in individual containers (since getting dishes is bizarrely hard)! Also are nutritional shakes like Ensure good or bad for you? I’ve heard mixed reviews. I defitnely don’t crave them but if it keeps me from eating 15 crackers that’s probably good.

    I’m not crazy and thinking I’m going to lose weight. I just want to minimize weight gain so I’m not in for another big challenge when this one is finally done. I do have some resistance bands set up for me and used them seater on the couch for the first time today. They did make me feel like less of a blob because I could feel my heart beating again.

    My surgery was covered by workman’s comp due to a workplace injury. I have a great caseworker and maybe she can get me some temp assistance though there’s A LOT of bureaucracy!
  • Megan_smartiepants1970
    Megan_smartiepants1970 Posts: 42,834 Member
    Things that come to mind are premiere protein shakes .....the little fruit cups .....maybe friends making casseroles ....single serving of cottage cheese ........celery and PB ......beef jerky ..apples and PB
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    Healing is your main concern. Things will get better pretty quickly after surgery in my experience, but you must take your time.

    I think you should go for a meal delivery service. I'm not sure what's available in your area.

    You perhaps could order frozen meals from your grocery store for a short while via instacart or something. I lived on Lean Cuisine and cans of soup in the early 90s!
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    Most meal-replacement shakes like Ensure and similar have quite a bit of sugar in them. Many people find drinking liquids to be less satiating than eating solid food, too.

    I think it'd be a great idea to have friends or a hired caretaker portion out some nutritious meals in single-serve microwaveable containers for you, that would probably help a lot. A vegetable lasagna is great but not if it's in one big chunk and you can't really use the oven!

    If you'd like to incorporate some exercise, there are a number of seated upper-body workouts floating around the Internet that don't engage the legs at all. I found one last month when I had a minor knee injury and couldn't do leg stuff for a few days, here's what I did:
    * Punches - 3 sets of 10 per arm; one set forward, one set high, one set alternating. Keep them abs engaged!
    * Shoulder retraction - hold your arms out straight in front of you, push your shoulders as far forward as you can, then retract them as far back as you can, repeat for 2 sets of 12. No resistance band necessary but I guess you could use one if you wanted to.
    * Overhead press, 2x8 - start with hands at shoulder level, extend arms up above head, lower to shoulder level, repeat. I have 5lb dumbbells, you could do this with resistance bands if you (e.g.) sat on the band or looped it under your chair.
    * Front raise with triceps extension - start with your hand at your side, raise arm so it's straight out in front of you, then keep going until it's straight up and bend your elbow, then slowly straighten and lower your arm. 1 set of 16 reps per arm. Probably easier to do this with a hand weight (dumbbell, can of soup, whatever) than a resistance band.
    * Abdominal twist - 2 sets of 10, one set right-to-left and one set left-to-right. Literally just twist your abdomen side to side. Hold a weight (2 dumbbells, gallon of milk, etc) while you do it for added resistance.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    I spent 8 weeks (pre-COVID) post surgery not able to let my foot hit the floor. Ugh. I don't know how I would have done it without my friends bringing over food and microwaving things for me.

    I've got three friends now who are recovering from various surgeries, and two of them are using "MEAL TRAIN"-- which allows friends to volunteer to cook and deliver a meal, and/or contribute $$ to have a meal service like UberEats or Door Dash deliver restaurant food. One is doing the DoorDash thing, so I just contributed cash.

    For another, I have packed up and delivered weekly meals and just left them on the doorstep, then text her to let her know it's there so then she chooses when to hobble out to the doorstep to pick it up.

    For another friend who lives alone, she has two friends who are "cleared" to come into the house. I take food to one of them, and then one or or the other goes over about once a day and preps both lunch and dinner (usually one hot meal and one lighter meal like a sandwich.
  • nkbma
    nkbma Posts: 4 Member
    Hey everyone. So much helpful advice. Frankly I think I simply needed to hear that it’s time to get help. I don’t really want people around too much given covid but I also don’t want to hurt myself trying to fumble around in the kitchen alone. So I’m going to ask a couple of friends to “pack me lunches” like I’m a kid taking them to school or something. They could leave them in a cooler for me or put them right in the fridge.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    I was on crutches for three months unable to weight bear on one leg.

    But I went for a one mile "walk" every day, the more you practice the more confident you get on crutches. It's a pretty decent upper body exercise.
    Carrying things is a PITA though so you do have to plan what you are going to carry.
    I also did daft things like prune my hedge with secateurs standing on one foot / one crutch as I was bored out of my brain!

    Have you got rehab exercises for your leg? You really want to avoid as much muscle loss as possible as that extends your eventual recovery.
    "Do I just avoid eating altogether?" - No!
    Under-eating is a really bad idea when injured and needing good nutrition to heal, there's no need to think it's just the two extremes of over-eating or under-eating when you can calorie count.

  • nkbma
    nkbma Posts: 4 Member
    edited February 2021
    I’m now carrying a backpack while using crutches. It’s perfect for moving with things like my meds or phone from the couch to the bedroom. Liquids and dishes remain my enemy. I have a watertight water bottle that I should’ve thought to use since the beginning but live and learn. That can also go in the bag. But carrying a bowl or plateful of food, that remains the hurdle to cross. Eating on a chair in the kitchen is the best option for now.

    Crutches do get better. I find them pretty exhausting so I guess it counts as exercise. I’m also doing body weight leg lifts on the couch and resistance bands for my upper body.

    That said, my caloric intake is too high. I’ve got to ditch the comfort food and embrace apples and bananas more. But I’m just going to try to get through this week first. My surgery was only 6 days ago so I can’t really fix everything at once.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,111 Member
    nkbma wrote: »
    But carrying a bowl or plateful of food, that remains the hurdle to cross. Eating on a chair in the kitchen is the best option for now.

    Tupperware with lid into the bag?
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
    FWIW, I had back surgery 6 weeks ago and more or less stayed in bed for the first four weeks. I was SO HUNGRY. I thought for sure that I'd gain 5 lbs from stuffing my face for a month straight, but I didn't gain anything. You're probably burning more than you think by healing and hobbling around on crutches. At this point, I don't think you need to stress about eating too many crackers - worry about getting fed without hurting yourself, and take care to heal properly!

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