How to maintain healthy weight after loss while temporarily immobile
June 6, 2012 5:21 AM Subscribe
Asking for a friend. 2 years ago she lost 8 stone in weight through diet and exercise. She has maintained for a year using WeightWatchers and walking at least 100 miles a month plus cross trainer three times a week and some weights and crunches. Now she must have a serious operation which will leave her immobile in hospital for 2 weeks, immobile at home for 6 weeks, then gradually regaining mobility. Serious immobility, think skin graft type immobility. On the lower half of her body. She is desperate not to gain weight but there is not much support from the NHS etc. Has anyone been in this situation and managed not to gain too much?
Note, she knows about calories in = calories out = no weight gain. She knows how to eat healthily. She eats fish but not meat if that matters. Unfortunately, unlike me, she does not lose her appetite when not working out. She will eat stuff if it is there. We already have a plan where if she is in the hosp and people bring snacks for her that are not suitable, she will get them put away from her then I or her mum will come and remove them. I will be visiting the hospital and her at home regularly. She will be immobile - not even walking, but may be able to use her arms (I will check this if it will help).
Not useful but thank you for your thoughts: big is beautiful, just put on the weight and lose it afterwards. I have seen her get a new lease of life with this weight loss - so active and fit and happy. She would be devastated to put on. She is more worried about this than the hideous op.
So please, f you have been in the same situation, how did you cope / how much did you put on / what were the best strategies?
Note, she knows about calories in = calories out = no weight gain. She knows how to eat healthily. She eats fish but not meat if that matters. Unfortunately, unlike me, she does not lose her appetite when not working out. She will eat stuff if it is there. We already have a plan where if she is in the hosp and people bring snacks for her that are not suitable, she will get them put away from her then I or her mum will come and remove them. I will be visiting the hospital and her at home regularly. She will be immobile - not even walking, but may be able to use her arms (I will check this if it will help).
Not useful but thank you for your thoughts: big is beautiful, just put on the weight and lose it afterwards. I have seen her get a new lease of life with this weight loss - so active and fit and happy. She would be devastated to put on. She is more worried about this than the hideous op.
So please, f you have been in the same situation, how did you cope / how much did you put on / what were the best strategies?
If she is being very careful about what she's eating, it is unlikely she's going to gain that much. The only issue might be the hospital food, which is often unexpectedly unhealthy. But like rhartong said, recovering from major surgery she may end up losing weight.
What she should be most concerned about is loss of muscle tone--she may come out feeling fatter, because she'll lose muscle mass and hence have a higher body fat percentage. Unfortunately there is not really a way to prevent this aside from throwing herself fully into rehab when it becomes available and doing upper body movements when she is able.
posted by Anonymous at 5:40 AM on June 6, 2012
What she should be most concerned about is loss of muscle tone--she may come out feeling fatter, because she'll lose muscle mass and hence have a higher body fat percentage. Unfortunately there is not really a way to prevent this aside from throwing herself fully into rehab when it becomes available and doing upper body movements when she is able.
posted by Anonymous at 5:40 AM on June 6, 2012
You could send out a message to likely visitors to dissuade them from bringing the less healthy stuff as an additional barrier to that.
My understanding is that the NHS is generally good for sending a hospital dietitian to people in post op beds which may be useful. Do bear in mind that her body will need specific nutirtion to best help with her recovery, it might not be a good idea to be on the fat reduction diet she was on to lose weight. Ask for a dietitian as early as possible to address this.
posted by biffa at 5:41 AM on June 6, 2012
My understanding is that the NHS is generally good for sending a hospital dietitian to people in post op beds which may be useful. Do bear in mind that her body will need specific nutirtion to best help with her recovery, it might not be a good idea to be on the fat reduction diet she was on to lose weight. Ask for a dietitian as early as possible to address this.
posted by biffa at 5:41 AM on June 6, 2012
Oh yeah, also, her focus should not be on calorie restriction at all. Recovery from anything, whether a workout or surgery, is a matter of the body overcoming stress. Major surgery is a massive stress. Caloric restriction is additional stress. Anxiety over weight gain is additional stress. The more stresses she adds to her life during recovery, the more difficult it is to recover, the longer the length of the immobility, the more muscle mass she loses, and the worse her end position. Better to gain 5-10 pounds and be moving a month or two earlier than get fanatic about maintaining her weight and remain bedridden or immobile for longer periods because of it.
posted by Anonymous at 5:44 AM on June 6, 2012
posted by Anonymous at 5:44 AM on June 6, 2012
Response by poster: Biffa - sorry, yes, she has already sent out the message not to bring in the unhealthy things, but as someone on a weight loss diet and someone on an odd diet to combat a medical issue, we have both suffered from "oh just one won't hurt, have a treat" syndrome so expect some things to get through. The dietician info is useful, thank you.
Thank you everyone so far of course. Only thread sitting to answer questions!
posted by LyzzyBee at 5:46 AM on June 6, 2012
Thank you everyone so far of course. Only thread sitting to answer questions!
posted by LyzzyBee at 5:46 AM on June 6, 2012
If someone brings a plate of cookies, or a heavy pie, she can say I haven't been able to eat, or I just ate, I'll have it for dessert later, and not eat it. She is going to have to eat if she is to recover in a given time. Not eating is going to affect her negatively.
A close relative of mine is in a similar situation as your friend. She's had several major surgeries that kept her immobile for months at a time for years. When her family members tell her that she needs to eat, she refuses cause she's afraid of gaining weight, which delayed her recovery even further. All the doctors that she's seen have said that her recovery time have been shortened if she took in necessary nutrition to help her recover.
Honestly, losing weight is VERY difficult, and I can understand how much she wants to hold on to her accomplishments, but this is a different time in her life when she's going to have to eat in order for her to afford the luxury of being able to lose weight. It's for her health. Wish her the best.
posted by icollectpurses at 5:55 AM on June 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
A close relative of mine is in a similar situation as your friend. She's had several major surgeries that kept her immobile for months at a time for years. When her family members tell her that she needs to eat, she refuses cause she's afraid of gaining weight, which delayed her recovery even further. All the doctors that she's seen have said that her recovery time have been shortened if she took in necessary nutrition to help her recover.
Honestly, losing weight is VERY difficult, and I can understand how much she wants to hold on to her accomplishments, but this is a different time in her life when she's going to have to eat in order for her to afford the luxury of being able to lose weight. It's for her health. Wish her the best.
posted by icollectpurses at 5:55 AM on June 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Perhaps this is a good time for her to be very strictly monitoring her food intake via something like My Fitness Pal or Fit Day, and with a food scale and measuring spoons by her bed?
Calculating her calorie requirements might be tricky though - while she won't be moving at all, as someone mentioned, the body still needs a lot of calories to help heal itself.
posted by Kololo at 5:55 AM on June 6, 2012
Calculating her calorie requirements might be tricky though - while she won't be moving at all, as someone mentioned, the body still needs a lot of calories to help heal itself.
posted by Kololo at 5:55 AM on June 6, 2012
Yes, rhartong has a point - I've lost weight, even perilously, after surgery. The weight gain issue may not be as bad as she thinks, although of course she is going to worry about it being a possibility. Muscle tone will be lost, but having had a broken foot in plaster for two months recently, I'll say that the time does pass quickly and she'll be back to her routine really soon in the scheme of things. It won't feel like it.
I feel crazy for suggesting this, but maybe hypnotherapy after the initial two or three weeks of surgical recovery to keep her mind clear and positive?
posted by honey-barbara at 5:58 AM on June 6, 2012
I feel crazy for suggesting this, but maybe hypnotherapy after the initial two or three weeks of surgical recovery to keep her mind clear and positive?
posted by honey-barbara at 5:58 AM on June 6, 2012
Response by poster: Kololo - just to say that she will still be following the weightwatchers programme as far as I know, it is an app and all that these days. Thank you.
posted by LyzzyBee at 6:00 AM on June 6, 2012
posted by LyzzyBee at 6:00 AM on June 6, 2012
It makes total sense to avoid junk food and food of that nature, because.. well it makes sense to avoid them in general. But, like others, I would suggest against continuing the diet/calorie counting while in recovery. The body is going to need more than it's normal allocation of calories and nutrients in order to rebuild itself, restricting the intake too much may prolong recovery. As well if she is getting her primary protein from fish, I'd make sure find ways to increase the protein levels as well, more fish or additional sources that are acceptable to her.
8 stone is what, ~110 lbs? I really really really doubt she will gain even a third of that in the 8+ weeks of recovery, eat well and eat enough.
Perhaps explore stationary hand-bikes as an early exercise option, or, if they allow it, using a self-propelled wheelchair.
posted by edgeways at 6:01 AM on June 6, 2012
8 stone is what, ~110 lbs? I really really really doubt she will gain even a third of that in the 8+ weeks of recovery, eat well and eat enough.
Perhaps explore stationary hand-bikes as an early exercise option, or, if they allow it, using a self-propelled wheelchair.
posted by edgeways at 6:01 AM on June 6, 2012
People who've never been morbidly obese rarely understand just how hard the formerly morbidly obese body works to become obese again, so I both agree with the people who assume she shouldn't worry and totally understand your friend's concern. I'm in the ex-morbid camp and a drop from 5-day-a-week intense training, to one day, with minimal dietary shift and still high activity level because I'm a city pedestrian, resulted in 20 lbs. regained in 2.5 months. Working that off again took about twice as long, and again, I stayed active.if your friend can afford it, I'd not only consult with a dietitian, I'd say hire a meal delivery service to prepare to the dietitians exact specifications, and hire a trainer to jumpstart reconditioning once recovered. Best of luck to her!
posted by OompaLoompa at 6:40 AM on June 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by OompaLoompa at 6:40 AM on June 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you so much, oompaloompa. I doubt we can run to a standard meal delivery and trainer option, as she will be on long term sick leave from work, but I think we may be able to create that out of the set of skills her friends have (I made her cross-trainer and taught her about weights, etc., for example). Thank you for your input and understanding.
posted by LyzzyBee at 6:47 AM on June 6, 2012
posted by LyzzyBee at 6:47 AM on June 6, 2012
It sounds like in total she will be immobile for 2 months total. That's not very long. My old roommate was in a similar situation where she was on bedrest for 4 weeks after major surgery, and then wasn't allowed to walk/run a lot for another month after that. Since she couldn't walk, she would use the "arm" machines at the gym. They had an exercise "arm" cycle one, and one that's like the top part of the elliptical (just the arms part), and she started doing strength exercises just for her arms and core (using small handweights). Basically a workout just involving the upper body. However, these exercises were approved by her doctor. Whatever your friend does, make sure she checks with her physician.
posted by bluefly at 6:51 AM on June 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by bluefly at 6:51 AM on June 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Happy to help, I basically just detailed my own plan for if I'm ever bedridden, which I've had ever since I realized how hard keeping weight off can be. I've lost the same 20 lbs quite a few times over the last few years. :)
For the people of the "just one can't hurt" mindset, I'd gently remind them that such thinking is why 95% of people who lose weight regain it, and then if they press the issue, tell them she'd love to have flowers/a copy of their favorite book or DVD, or other non-food gift item of her choosing, instead. People really mean well, and really don't get that it is a lifelong, uphill battle that gets progressively more difficult over time.
But! If she's managed that kind of weightloss, and kept it off for two years, she's an impressively determined woman. Kudos to her and a speedy recovery!
posted by OompaLoompa at 7:10 AM on June 6, 2012
For the people of the "just one can't hurt" mindset, I'd gently remind them that such thinking is why 95% of people who lose weight regain it, and then if they press the issue, tell them she'd love to have flowers/a copy of their favorite book or DVD, or other non-food gift item of her choosing, instead. People really mean well, and really don't get that it is a lifelong, uphill battle that gets progressively more difficult over time.
But! If she's managed that kind of weightloss, and kept it off for two years, she's an impressively determined woman. Kudos to her and a speedy recovery!
posted by OompaLoompa at 7:10 AM on June 6, 2012
low carb low carb low carb. It's very hard to put on weight with a low carb diet. I know this from firsthand experience. Plus, the extra protein she'll get as a result of lower carbs will help mitigate muscle loss during her recovery (although admittedly it probably isn't going to make a huge difference).
posted by imagineerit at 7:18 AM on June 6, 2012
posted by imagineerit at 7:18 AM on June 6, 2012
It sounds like your friend is more worried about gaining weight than about her recovery, and I want to focus on that more than anything else. Painful surgery that immobilizes you often comes hand-in-hand with painkillers and other things that curb appetite or make food unpleasant. She is not likely to gain weight while her body recovers from the surgery unless she eats a staggering amount of high-fat, high-carb, high-calorie foods. Most people I know who went through one month or more of immobilized recovery were in pain or zonked on painkillers for most of the recovery, and everyone lost weight because the body exerts an enormous amount of energy when healing itself.
A real concern will be losing her endurance and some muscle mass, especially if she's a 100-mile-a-month walker. If her lower half is immobile, that's going to be inevitable. The best thing she can do is work with a physical therapist to try and work on her upper body and core strength while she's in recovery so that when she's mobile again, she'll be in a good position to not lose too much ground. After being off your feet for a long time, gait can become wobbly and jellylegs take over. If there is a physical therapist in the hospital or if one is available for hire, this is a very good investment; try to get him or her to visit. Your friend may be able to try some very basic assisted-movement exercises with her lower body in recovery (e.g. someone moving her legs for her) too.
posted by juniperesque at 7:57 AM on June 6, 2012
A real concern will be losing her endurance and some muscle mass, especially if she's a 100-mile-a-month walker. If her lower half is immobile, that's going to be inevitable. The best thing she can do is work with a physical therapist to try and work on her upper body and core strength while she's in recovery so that when she's mobile again, she'll be in a good position to not lose too much ground. After being off your feet for a long time, gait can become wobbly and jellylegs take over. If there is a physical therapist in the hospital or if one is available for hire, this is a very good investment; try to get him or her to visit. Your friend may be able to try some very basic assisted-movement exercises with her lower body in recovery (e.g. someone moving her legs for her) too.
posted by juniperesque at 7:57 AM on June 6, 2012
Seconding low carb, assuming the doctors okay it. On traditional, weight-watchers-style diets, one must struggle to maintain a caloric balance, which is why exercise is so important. On a low carb diet, your body maintains the balance for you (by controlling appetite.) Exercise is not required to lose or maintain weight on such a diet.
posted by callmejay at 7:58 AM on June 6, 2012
posted by callmejay at 7:58 AM on June 6, 2012
I think she's really on top of this already. Her biggest issue will be the junk food gifts, and she should be willing to say something particularly to repeat offenders - "The candy looks beautiful, but I have to be very strict with my diet while I heal."
Modern WW is pretty carb-sensitive. It's not extremely low carb, but serving sizes are very very modest.
Recovery really is surprisingly energy-consuming, but things are going to happen that she has no control over. She is going to lose muscle mass from inactivity. If she's put on steroids (and even if she's not) she's going to retain a lot of fluid. If she isn't mindful - but clearly she intends to be - she might comfort-eat the sort of soft sweet starchy foods that give the best comfort, but she's got a plan and she's got people to help her with it so she's going to be in the best possible position to return to her previous fitness levels.
I do think she needs to discuss this with her doctors, though. It's normal to obsess over something other than the GIANT SCARY MEDICAL PROCEDURE, it's a totally expected coping mechanism, but if she's going to prioritize weight loss over complying with her recovery plan, that's a problem and she could die and she needs to start working with someone now who can help her through this.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:17 AM on June 6, 2012
Modern WW is pretty carb-sensitive. It's not extremely low carb, but serving sizes are very very modest.
Recovery really is surprisingly energy-consuming, but things are going to happen that she has no control over. She is going to lose muscle mass from inactivity. If she's put on steroids (and even if she's not) she's going to retain a lot of fluid. If she isn't mindful - but clearly she intends to be - she might comfort-eat the sort of soft sweet starchy foods that give the best comfort, but she's got a plan and she's got people to help her with it so she's going to be in the best possible position to return to her previous fitness levels.
I do think she needs to discuss this with her doctors, though. It's normal to obsess over something other than the GIANT SCARY MEDICAL PROCEDURE, it's a totally expected coping mechanism, but if she's going to prioritize weight loss over complying with her recovery plan, that's a problem and she could die and she needs to start working with someone now who can help her through this.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:17 AM on June 6, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks everyone. Can I just point out that my friend is not prioritizing weight LOSS over recovery: she is trying to ensure maintenance of a healthy weight, and her health. WeightWatchers have a maintenance plan, which people might not be aware of - I have looked over it all and it is pretty sensible. She eats very well, proper meals, not faddy things or the WW meals etc but good quality fibre rich and well balanced healthy meals.
Unfortunately the doctors are not being great, as her one surgeon doesn't believe in exercise as a weight maintenance aid, amazingly enough, although the other has discussed the possibility of getting a dietician involved. However, the NHS is very stretched these days, and those people will be prioritized to people who need to be got to eat, or to eat healthily, we are assuming.
posted by LyzzyBee at 9:22 AM on June 6, 2012
Unfortunately the doctors are not being great, as her one surgeon doesn't believe in exercise as a weight maintenance aid, amazingly enough, although the other has discussed the possibility of getting a dietician involved. However, the NHS is very stretched these days, and those people will be prioritized to people who need to be got to eat, or to eat healthily, we are assuming.
posted by LyzzyBee at 9:22 AM on June 6, 2012
Having worked in an NHS hospital with dietitians, I agree that you may find your friend is pretty low down the priority list (and rightfully so, but that doesn't help her).
I wonder if she would be able to have a session privately with a dietitian before she has the procedure, who can talk her through her likely calorie expenditure and needs in the specific situation where she's recovering from major surgery and chat with her about how to meet those needs. As everyone said above, your needs do change after surgery and it would be helpful to have some specific advice to help her formulate her plan of attack.
She may also find it worthwhile trying to see if she can see some of the hospital menus before she is admitted so that she can research while she has all the tools at her disposal and isn't feeling too doped up or helpless to make her normal choices.
Does she have a wii or anything like that? It's not the same as she has been doing, but waving your arms frantically in the air trying to copy dance moves can get you pretty sweaty without getting out of your chair. If not, you can certainly get chair-based exercise programs for people in wheelchairs - if googling doesn't find anything then you could try contacting local organisations that run exercise sessions for people with disability, e.g., Different Strokes (one I happen to know of).
Good luck. I agree with those above that say she's probably not going to put on as much weight as she fears, but sometimes it's easier to just have a good plan then try to talk yourself out of worrying.
posted by kadia_a at 10:40 AM on June 6, 2012
I wonder if she would be able to have a session privately with a dietitian before she has the procedure, who can talk her through her likely calorie expenditure and needs in the specific situation where she's recovering from major surgery and chat with her about how to meet those needs. As everyone said above, your needs do change after surgery and it would be helpful to have some specific advice to help her formulate her plan of attack.
She may also find it worthwhile trying to see if she can see some of the hospital menus before she is admitted so that she can research while she has all the tools at her disposal and isn't feeling too doped up or helpless to make her normal choices.
Does she have a wii or anything like that? It's not the same as she has been doing, but waving your arms frantically in the air trying to copy dance moves can get you pretty sweaty without getting out of your chair. If not, you can certainly get chair-based exercise programs for people in wheelchairs - if googling doesn't find anything then you could try contacting local organisations that run exercise sessions for people with disability, e.g., Different Strokes (one I happen to know of).
Good luck. I agree with those above that say she's probably not going to put on as much weight as she fears, but sometimes it's easier to just have a good plan then try to talk yourself out of worrying.
posted by kadia_a at 10:40 AM on June 6, 2012
Can one of her Weight Watchers group leaders help her come up with a strategy and/or review some sample hospital menus and offer advice? Or someone higher up in the Weight Watchers organization? If she is a longtime member who feels that her work with them has been successful (which it sounds like she does), maybe they'll be interested in helping her with this new challenge?
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:59 PM on June 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:59 PM on June 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
If she's having skin grafts, a high fat diet is often prescribed to speed tissue regeneration. On the plus side, fat is very filing and satisfying, so she may not break her calorie goals, especially if she cuts out sugar and carbs. Pro tip for heavy pain meds: lots of fruit and veggies will hel alleviate the constipation those drugs cause. Maybe keep a stash of crudite and full fat dip for snacking. Nuts are good, too, and lots of water. Also, pain kills appetite pretty well--not something fun, but there's a bright side, I gues...
posted by elizeh at 8:42 PM on June 6, 2012
posted by elizeh at 8:42 PM on June 6, 2012
I had my gall bladder out at the beginning of the year, and put on weight during recovery. This was a combination of the not being able to exercise for 6 weeks, and suddenly being able to eat without pain! I could suddenly eat chips again! I had also been eating very little beforehand, so my metabolism had probably slowed down.
I understand why she's scared. I used to weigh much more than I do know, primarily because I ate for non-hunger reasons. I went back to my horrible overeating habits during recovery. If she used to eat when bored or destressed, then this is a risky phase. For the first bit, with the pain and the drugs, she's unlikely to gain weight (well, not real weight, she'll probably have swelling for awhile). It requires too much effort to overeat when in pain. When she starts to feel better, then she's going to need to come up with some strategies to not turn to food for comfort. What strategies did she use when she first started losing weight? These are probably worth considering implementing again.
Could she write out food plans for the six weeks she'll be at home? Even cook a bunch of meals and stick them in the freezer? Looking into getting food delivery is a good idea, the expense might be worth the control and the convenience (especially if she can't go shopping or spend much time in the kitchen). As for people bringing food, I would lie. "My body's not dealing with sugar very well at the moment, but thanks sooo much".
Get support. Can she go back to weight watcher's meetings? I assume they have a forum? Or the 3fatchicks forum is great. And have some nice easy crafty things to do while she recovers. Reduces boredom and keeps your fingers busy.
The loss of fitness is extreme. In six weeks I went from decent fitness to seriously struggling to make it through a class. And my core strength disappeared, and I still haven't got it back. It would be worth talking to a fitness expert (I am not even close!), but I would suggest she get as fit as possible before hand. Get her cardio up and start intentionally building muscle, as that is what she will lose during recovery. And then realise that she'll have to start from scratch again afterwards. It's hard realising that you can't do everything you used to do so easily. Can she make some sort of plan now for something to aim towards after surgery? A 5K or walking event maybe?
But even if the worst happens and she reverts to terrible eating habits and loses all her fitness, it's not permanent. She can lose it again. It took some time, but I've now lost 5kg of the 7 or so I put on.
posted by kjs4 at 8:50 PM on June 6, 2012
I understand why she's scared. I used to weigh much more than I do know, primarily because I ate for non-hunger reasons. I went back to my horrible overeating habits during recovery. If she used to eat when bored or destressed, then this is a risky phase. For the first bit, with the pain and the drugs, she's unlikely to gain weight (well, not real weight, she'll probably have swelling for awhile). It requires too much effort to overeat when in pain. When she starts to feel better, then she's going to need to come up with some strategies to not turn to food for comfort. What strategies did she use when she first started losing weight? These are probably worth considering implementing again.
Could she write out food plans for the six weeks she'll be at home? Even cook a bunch of meals and stick them in the freezer? Looking into getting food delivery is a good idea, the expense might be worth the control and the convenience (especially if she can't go shopping or spend much time in the kitchen). As for people bringing food, I would lie. "My body's not dealing with sugar very well at the moment, but thanks sooo much".
Get support. Can she go back to weight watcher's meetings? I assume they have a forum? Or the 3fatchicks forum is great. And have some nice easy crafty things to do while she recovers. Reduces boredom and keeps your fingers busy.
The loss of fitness is extreme. In six weeks I went from decent fitness to seriously struggling to make it through a class. And my core strength disappeared, and I still haven't got it back. It would be worth talking to a fitness expert (I am not even close!), but I would suggest she get as fit as possible before hand. Get her cardio up and start intentionally building muscle, as that is what she will lose during recovery. And then realise that she'll have to start from scratch again afterwards. It's hard realising that you can't do everything you used to do so easily. Can she make some sort of plan now for something to aim towards after surgery? A 5K or walking event maybe?
But even if the worst happens and she reverts to terrible eating habits and loses all her fitness, it's not permanent. She can lose it again. It took some time, but I've now lost 5kg of the 7 or so I put on.
posted by kjs4 at 8:50 PM on June 6, 2012
If people do bring sweets, she can say "Oh, how nice of you. Sadly, I've spoken with a dietitian and we've decided to lay off all sweets while I'm recuperating. But I can't wait to share these with my other visitors — being immobilized like this I can't cook anything myself, or even go down to the shop."
posted by benito.strauss at 10:06 PM on June 6, 2012
posted by benito.strauss at 10:06 PM on June 6, 2012
Did you find out if/when she will be able to use her arms? Years ago I had a somewhat similar situation with two knee surgeries. In the first I gained some 20 lbs, after which I lost that weight mostly through avid exercising, and when the second surgery came about I was determined not to gain the weight like I had the first time.
Here's what I think worked. First, I think my determination really did help prevent things from escalating out of control. Second, post surgery, all the narcotics and pain relievers helped me stay calm and not anxious about anything, including food/diet/exercise, but also all the other emotional triggers that exist in regular life. Third, and why I ask about arms, I started working my upper body with weight training. Especially if she's never done much weight training, the results from upper body workouts can appear very quickly, which can be very satisfying and help maintain motivation. For my body type, gaining upper body muscle mass really did help boost my metabolism, and I found I could eat relatively less restrictively than I anticipated.
Even if she could start with just one or two pound weights, doing flies, bicep curls, and presses while on her back, it would probably be super helpful.
Wish her luck from us! Please check back in and let us know how she fares.
posted by gubenuj at 8:07 PM on June 7, 2012
Here's what I think worked. First, I think my determination really did help prevent things from escalating out of control. Second, post surgery, all the narcotics and pain relievers helped me stay calm and not anxious about anything, including food/diet/exercise, but also all the other emotional triggers that exist in regular life. Third, and why I ask about arms, I started working my upper body with weight training. Especially if she's never done much weight training, the results from upper body workouts can appear very quickly, which can be very satisfying and help maintain motivation. For my body type, gaining upper body muscle mass really did help boost my metabolism, and I found I could eat relatively less restrictively than I anticipated.
Even if she could start with just one or two pound weights, doing flies, bicep curls, and presses while on her back, it would probably be super helpful.
Wish her luck from us! Please check back in and let us know how she fares.
posted by gubenuj at 8:07 PM on June 7, 2012
Response by poster: Well, everyone, some good news. My friend saw her consultant today. She is managing her condition very well at the moment and will not have to have the op as soon as we feared. This is brilliant news, of course - but this thread has been so helpful and we will refer back to it if this comes up again. Fingers crossed it doesn't, though.
Thank you to everyone who participated. We'll be celebrating the surprise good news with our other friends!
posted by LyzzyBee at 2:33 PM on June 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
Thank you to everyone who participated. We'll be celebrating the surprise good news with our other friends!
posted by LyzzyBee at 2:33 PM on June 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rhartong at 5:36 AM on June 6, 2012 [2 favorites]