tips for not gaining during recovery?

Laying in bed with nothing to do but think about snacking is NOT GOING WELL! I'm 4 days post-op (brachio)... I'm trying not to eat much more than usual, but I'm not burning any of the calories that I usually would just by living my normal life, never mind exercising... at this rate I'll have fattened my arms back up before they even heal! HELP! Advice? Tips and tricks? I'm panicking.

 Use all that spare time to track your intake and keep filled up on pure protein.  Have someone in your house put all the "treats" in a high cupboard where it hurts to reach! ;0)

And 4 days out?  Get up out of that bed and walk around!  I found my brachio healing easy...I was ready to head out in the neighbourhood or at the mall for a walk around by 5 days out...that will help!

Hello! Girl if you figure out the trick, please do clue me in! LOL! Seriously, one thing I have seen over and over on this board is how folks tend to eat more in their postop period, yet don't gain much if any weight. Reason being that I've read is that our bodies are working overtime on healing so we utilize the extra calories for fuel to do just that. You may well need more calories right now--certainly more protein. The protein will help you stay full longer, so I'd say try to back away from carbs (SOOOO much easier said than done!) and try to eat protein forward. Be sure to drink plenty because our bodies will confuse thirst for hunger. I found lots of interesting shows to watch that I never had time to watch in real life. Do you like to read? Awesome chance to catch up on some of that. And last but not least, DO NOT GET ON THE SCALE ANY TIME SOON!  There is no good to be had by doing that now. I was lucky and the scale dropped significantly after my procedure, but I started heavier and they took off almost 15 pounds of flub.

I hope the munchie monster will soon leave you alone and that you'll be feeling great in no time and better able to be up and about.

Take care!

Denise

Really up that protein intake!  Solid protein is the best to help with your healing AND it will satiate your cravings and help you not to gain weight.  Decreasing the carbs also helps with fluid retention which you may have trouble with also during  your healing time.

Good Luck1  But as others have said, gaining is usually not a problem.  Not true weight gain.  I lost during my healing time and I was eating much more than usual.  I was very amazed, but it's true that our metabolisms increase during the healing time.  Protein helps a lot!

Good luck on your healing!  You're going to do fine.  Have some good solid protein snacks around if you need to - and like one other said, get those naughty snacks out of reach!

Thanks for the replies... I have been shopping/walking some, but for the most part I've just been laying around, which is NOT good... I have a re-check on Wednesday and I have hope the surgeon will 'ok' some moderate hiking. I certainly feel as though I could hike!

I think I'll go back to an Atkins-ish diet too... I haven't always lost on that, but I don't gain on it either. Maybe then at least, even if I can't control the snacking well, I won't gain.

LOL to keeping naughty food on high shelves! Haha I should really do that!

Protein Protein Protein.  That said, I'm having trouble keeping my protein up.  These binders are driving me nuts and make it difficult to eat.  The arm binders don't hurt but the full body garment for my LBL and Thighs is awful.

I'm trying to eat my protein first which doens't leave room for carbs.  My son is coming home today  for 10 days and thankfully the carbs he likes are fruit, sprouted grain bread etc.  Nothing very tempting. 

I'm losing very slowly and have a feeling that more protein would help speed up my very slow metabolism.  I generally eat three times a day but I've been getting hungry every few hours since surgery.

Everyone gave good tips.  Get the carbs out of there and load up on dense protein, cheese, greek yogurt, protein shakes.  Whatever sounds good to you.  If you have to snack, have a piece of fruit or count out a few almonds.  Steamed veggies are good for hydrating and very filling.

We can do this without gaining weight!!  Don't panic.  Plan ahead.

Thanks guys. I don't think anyone else understands how much of a problem food becomes if you give in even for a short time. Everyone just thinks, "You just had surgery, eat and don't worry about it." But it doesn't work that way...

I hope your binders stop bothering you so much as your swelling goes down. I can't imagine having work done on so many places at one time... the binders would be so claustrophobic (LOL I know I didn't spell that right).

 Yeah, the binders are a bear.   At least I'm getting it all out of the way at onc.

I get it about the food.  We have to have our good habits.  I was in a clinic for a week and ate some sweets, but didn't bring them into my home.  My surgeon told me to keep eating as much as possible.  Meals are still small at 2.5 weeks out so I try to get in some meat before other things.  I need to get in some protein shakes or bars to increase protein.

Are you getting in enough nutrition?  I keep out a bowl of tangerines and persimmons for when I want a sweet bite.

I would increase protein to 100gm a day.  Also make sure you get 8 hours of sleep at night.  Increase your water intake.  Always eat protein before any snack.  Avoid any white carbs: sugar, white potatoes, white flour, white rice, pasta, junk food and fast food.  Keep sugar to 9gm or less per serving size.

Rid any temptations from the house.  You can't eat them when you "feel" like munching if they arent there.

Keep a food diary.  Write down the amount, the gms protein, gms carb, etc.  Be accountable. Don't guess.

I found that I actually lost weight during my post op period from plastics and have kept it off for the last 7 months.

Best wishes.  Penny