Can't workout (or do anything)... how much to have in calori

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k7n2w3
k7n2w3 Posts: 241 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So i just had septoplasty w turbinate reduction surgery and am couchbound for a week or two. At first I thought "oh ok I'll be up and walking the dog after a day". Yea that is definitely not the case and I bleed whenever I walk to the bathroom. That is normal so I'm not worried since that's what the dr. said will happen and it's only minor. What I wonder is how many calories can I have in a day for maintenance if I never leave the couch and am napping a lot? I already had the setting on sedentary since I have an office job but now i'm REALLY sedentary and I'm sure that doesnt compensate for someone who is walking just to bathroom and kitchen and back. I've compensated for the last two days by eating a low amount but I don't want to eat too less of calories where it slows my metabolism. I want to ensure that I am having enough calories to keep my metabolism up while maintaining since I just hit my goal but of course without gaining since exercise is a 20 foot walk to bathroom or kitchen. Any thoughts? Again, my main concern is being healthy and maintaining both my weight and metabolism :-)
SW 155.1
GW and CW 115

Replies

  • jamielise2
    jamielise2 Posts: 432 Member
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    I would suggest keeping it under 1200 a day...
  • polar135
    polar135 Posts: 319 Member
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    first week set your calorie counts not to gain any or lose any weight. Week 2, you can set it to lose weight. I couldn't work out for 6 weeks and this is what i did, and i lost like 5 pounds over that time. ( i had surgery like you)
  • StaceyL76
    StaceyL76 Posts: 711 Member
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    I think I would eat when your hungry and make good choices for fuel - lots of veggies for sure.
  • mrselbow
    mrselbow Posts: 27 Member
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    first week set your calorie counts not to gain any or lose any weight. Week 2, you set it to lose weight. I couldn't work out for 6 weeks and this is what i did, and i lost like 5 pounds over that time. (I could work out cause i had surgery like you)

    Yeah, this.

    Or I would suggest eating your BMR.
  • SunshineKisses_2012
    SunshineKisses_2012 Posts: 471 Member
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    Right now I'm set to sedentary and my calories are around 1900 per day. I am not exercising because I have tendinitis and bone spurs in my knee. You know what? I'm still losing weight. Keeping under your normal calories (I can't do anything under 1500 in a day without my body wanting to eat everything in sight the following day) WILL help you lose weight while in maintenance/recuperating mode. I know that sounds odd, but it is working for me while I let my knee heal (and while work is absolutely bonkers and I'm working far too much).

    I hope you mend quickly!
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    IT sounds like this is a short term thing, so don't stress about calories.
    Remember that your calorie allowance is worked out excluding exercise, and that there is a deficit built into it already.

    I would stick to your regular daily calorie allowance (with "sedentary" activity setting). Don't reduce it any more, your body is already under stress recovering from surgery and if you are still bleeding then it has quite a bit of work to do to get back to normal.
  • austepants
    austepants Posts: 356 Member
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    I would not suggest dropping below 1200 calories... You will damage ur health and metabolism. I would say you need to eat at least 1200 and watch that your not filling up with junk (I know for me thats hard when I'm not 100% up to par.) I'm not familiar with this surgery but I would do your best to eat a lot of fresh fruits, veggies, protein and water. Best wishes hoping your recovery is quick and relatively painless :)
  • MIMITIME
    MIMITIME Posts: 405 Member
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    If you click on tools tab above and then click on BMR, it tells you exactly how many calories your body burns based on your height and weight if you do nothing but stay in bed. So, don't go over those calories and you should maintain.
  • PANZERIA
    PANZERIA Posts: 471 Member
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    You are healing. Don't count calories. Eat when you're hungry, make good food choices, and let your body heal. It's using double the calories to heal you, so don't eat under 1500.
  • jppizana
    jppizana Posts: 59 Member
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    I would suggest keeping it under 1200 a day...

    Keeping it under 1200/day is going to cause your metabolism to slow down and push your body into starvation mode. I would not want you to deprive your body of the nutrients it needs to heal, so I would eat the maintence calories (the necessary amt to maintain your current weight) and then when you get the clean bill of health from your Doc, adjust MFP to reflect weight loss (basically what he says:
    first week set your calorie counts not to gain any or lose any weight. Week 2, you can set it to lose weight. I couldn't work out for 6 weeks and this is what i did, and i lost like 5 pounds over that time. ( i had surgery like you)
  • KathyEarhart
    KathyEarhart Posts: 94 Member
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    Right now I'm set to sedentary and my calories are around 1900 per day. I am not exercising because I have tendinitis and bone spurs in my knee. You know what? I'm still losing weight. Keeping under your normal calories (I can't do anything under 1500 in a day without my body wanting to eat everything in sight the following day) WILL help you lose weight while in maintenance/recuperating mode. I know that sounds odd, but it is working for me while I let my knee heal (and while work is absolutely bonkers and I'm working far too much).

    I hope you mend quickly!

    I have lost ALL of my weight with diet only. I had major spine surgery a couple of years ago and could not bend, twist or lift for 6 weeks and then I was severely restricted. I knew I had to lose weight and wasn't able to do much of anything (and if I did, my pain would be so bad that I would be laid up for days) so I cut calories and lost. I do plan on eventually adding more exercise, but at this time I'm losing and I'm not overwhelmed with changing everything at once, thus causing me to quit.
  • k7n2w3
    k7n2w3 Posts: 241 Member
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    Thank you everyone for the tips! I looked under tools and my bmr is 1161 so i'll maintain with 1200 calories. :-) all of your advice was great. I am glad i'm in maintenance stage so at least I'm not trying to lose but i definitely want to maintain my metabolism. I have to add to my food intake because I'm not very hungry and for two days was at like 800. I have to count my calories mainly because I'm not as hungry and don't want to lose any more weight or slow down the metabolism. All the mention of veggies makes me want to microwave some steamed veggies right now!! thanks all!!

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