Prevent Weight Gain While Injured

You exercise 5 times a week – either at the gym or going for a run. You rarely miss a day. Exercise makes you feel good physically and mentally. And best of all, it helps to keep your weight down. But suddenly you are hit with an injury and can’t exercise for 8 – 12 weeks! Will you balloon up? Read on to hear about my injury experiences as well as my tips on  on how to prevent weight gain when injured.

My injury experiences
Once again, I have an injury and have been told by my doctor to exercise minimally. Another shoulder injury – tendonosis. I just had prp done (pretty cool stuff … still experimental) and have exercise limitations: no weight training for 4-5 weeks, no jump roping and no “real biking” outside (all the things I love to do). Last year a hamstring injury kept me off the bike for 8 weeks. Two years before that I had shoulder surgery (the list goes on …)  Since I’ve had my share of injuries and have had to go through extended periods of not being able to work out, I thought I’d share some tips on how to handle it.

– When the injury first happens, I tend to eat for emotional reasons as I am highly annoyed that I can’t join my friends riding … or do any of the exercises I love to do.

– Once I buckle down and realize that this is not a permanent condition, I notice that my appetite greatly decreases when I am not exercising. When I exercise a lot, I am hungry most of the time and eat larger meals. I also find myself grabbing little chocolates or energy bars rationalizing “I can eat these … I will exercise later”.

– I have never gained any weight during these periods of injury. If anything, my clothes fit loser. Yes, I have probably lost muscle mass (and of course cardiovascular endurance), however this can be regained in a few weeks.

Tips to prevent weight gain while injured
I’m sure initially you will be upset, but you will need to accept the fact that you will not be able to exercise as per doctors orders. Importantly, tell yourself that this is a temporary condition and you will be back in the gym, pool, track, etc. in a period of time. You will just need to come up with a plan on how you are going to deal with this in the meantime.

1.Obey doctor’s orders. Trying to get back to your exercise program too soon will only cause more damage and make your recovery period longer. I know this from experience. So you might end up being out of the gym for 14 weeks instead of 10!  (Pic is of my icing my shoulder at work!)

2. Find an alternate time consuming project to work on during your recovery. This will help take your mind off not being able to exercise. Four years ago, I had to take off 6 months from working out due to a hip and shoulder injury.  After my initial period of distress, I started to design this blog. If I hadn’t been forced to take that time off, I may have never have created it. Try taking a class, find a new hobby, etc.

3. Find an alternate form of exercise. For example, if you are a runner who injured your archilles tendon, take up swimming or weight train your upper body. Of course, check with your doctor first.

4. Take a look at your diet. I would recommend you keep a food log for a few days. The goal would be to cut back on your caloric intake a bit. Cut out the extra’s
like alcohol, sweets, too much fat. Keep in mind that this is not the time to take your calories or protein too low as your body needs nutrients to heal, however you can cut back on empty calories like alcohol or sugary foods. Fill up on more veggies and smaller portions of starches or fatty meats.

5. Avoid spending your free time in bars or out in restaurants … more food and booze will lead to weight gain.

6. Don’t beat yourself up for not being able to exercise! The rest might actually be good for your body.