How To Not Gain Weight When Injured? (Points To Consider)

When you are injured, your body doesn’t move properly, and it can make you gain weight quickly. A sore knee, broken feet, backache, and torn hamstring might keep you in bed longer and away from all physical exercises. Well, after an injury one might gain weight but how to not gain weight when injured? That can be a bit crucial thing to handle but it can be managed.

While getting injured can be painful and annoying, it doesn’t have to mean you will gain weight. It can be a great way to take a break from a hectic work routine and focus on healthy activities to stay fit.

Unfortunately, multiple research studies have found that random collapse can be expected for those who participate in active exercise and physical activities. For instance, the average spare time runner suffers 7.7 injuries/1000 hours of running. An average runner who logs 3 to 4 hours weekly can undergo one yearly injury.

Like other athletes and exercisers, the fear of getting fat during injury scares you. If an injury has made you unable to run or hit the gym, you can try changing your eating habits and routine activities.

Remember, injuries are not an automatic ticket to weight gain. Nevertheless, a minor change in your dietary plan can keep you lean until your injury heals.  

So, don’t lose hope; there are several effective ways to avoid weight gain and stay when you are injured.

Key Points

• An injured person should decrease portion sizes, reduce snacking throughout the injury period, and look for healthy alternatives such as nuts and fruits.
• Adjust whatever you eat. For example, more protein as high protein diets can satisfy people’s diet even with limited calories.
• Gyms or dojos aren’t the only places to burn some calories. Depending on your injuries, you can try yoga, swimming, or taking a few steps.
• You can create a meal plan and remove junk from your weekly meal.
• Interestingly, simply standing for an hour can burn up to 50 calories. So, try standing for a few minutes daily.
• Fill up on low calories, vegetables, and fruits.

Surely, a healthy diet and physical activities can help you lose weight better and heal your injuries quickly. However, it is always suggested to consult an expert nutritionist to get a proper diet plan for your health or injury type.

How to Adjust Your Diet During Injury?

There are multiple ways to control your diet and stay fit when injured.

Here’s what we have found for you.

• Cut the Calories

 Active people can easily burn off extra calorie intake with different physical activities. But when an active person is injured, they may face challenges in losing or maintaining weight if they can’t adjust their eating habits accordingly. 

One of the most obvious ways to prevent injury-related weight gain is to eat less compared to what you were eating before. For instance, you can reduce your portion size and stop eating junk food until you are not healed properly. If you are fond of snacks and can’t cut out the snacks, then you can try some healthy alternatives such as nuts, seeds, and fruits.

Don’t take empty calories such as soda to quench your thirst. Keep yourself hydrated with low calories like fresh fruit juice or just tea.

• Fill-up on Fiber

Replace high-calorie junk food with healthy fibre-filled food, including beans, chickpeas, lentils, vegetables, olives, and nuts. No problem if you can’t eat the same boring lentils or vegetables daily. The Internet is full of delicious recipes. You can look for recipes that contain fibre-filled food items. Or ask your family members to show their creativity and cook something healthy and tasty for you.

• Drink Enough Water Regularly

Keep drinking water and healthy fluids throughout the day to hydrate your body. Besides, it can assist your body’s metabolism, especially when you are on bed rest due to injury. Sometimes, dehydration can be mistaken for hunger. So, ensure you have drunk water and haven’t eaten anything unhealthy to satisfy your hunger or craving.

• Keep Moving

If you think the gym or dojo is the only place to burn some calories, then it’s not true. You can consider some other options during your injury. For example, vigorous activities such as yoga, weights, biking, or resistance training are great replacements. But it all depends on your injury type; your doctor’s permission is more important than anything else.

If your injury isn’t serious, park your car away from your workplace to walk more daily. You can also take stairs instead of elevators to walk a bit more. All these steps matter and can help you burn some calories.

You can also burn calories by trying karate while sitting or lying on your bed.

• Create a Personalized Meal Plan

If you can’t perform any physical activity while you recover from your injury, focus on some other activities such as clean eating and better sleep. You can get a personalized meal plan that works best for your physical health and heals your injury without gaining some weight. You can consult a professional nutritionist to get a weekly or monthly meal plan and eat according to their diet plan.

You can include raw food in your diet as it can help you lose significant weight during your injury. Your recovery time is a great opportunity to get enough sleep. Getting enough hours of quality sleep can speed up your recovery and help you burn extra calories. So, make sure you sleep for 7 to 8 hours daily.

• Standing is Healthy for You

As you know, prolonged sitting can cause high blood pressure or heart disease. So, instead of sitting or lying in bed for hours, you can stand for a few minutes. It’s alright if the injury has made it challenging for you to stand alone and firm. You can take your family members’ help as they can support you.

If you are sore from exercising, try standing when talking on the phone or watching TV. Surely, it will be challenging during the initial few days, but you will get used to it with time.

Final Words

Eating healthy food and adopting an active lifestyle can speed up your recovery. So, instead of lying on your bed for hours and eating unhealthy food, it is strongly recommended to adopt a health-giving lifestyle when you are injured.

You can follow the tips mentioned above to experience evident weight loss and recovery from injury. Besides, consulting a certified nutritionist can also guide you better in controlling your weight when you are injured and can’t go to the gym.

So, instead of listening to your heart, listen to some expert’s advice for better results if you genuinely want to stay fit during your recovery.