Atkins after Surgery?

[MrsBrittney]

Hi folks! After boarding the wagon about 4e58349 times, I seem to be doing fairly well. I actually posted my first "progress" photos (oi e vay) and am down 16 lbs. YAY!

The hubby (Sean) and I have decided to actually begin exercising again, which is great -- AND NON NEGOTIABLE *wink* -- and should help the last 35 lbs jiggle free. =) And the sooner it feels the need to wave goodbye the better because we have a SWIMSUIT trip on August 22nd.

However, thanks to a crushed septum and no airflow, my physician has helped me finally schedule my septoplasty (aka nose job that corrects this) on May 21st. As I have a tendency to heal very slowly anyways, it looks like I may be unable to exercise for up to 6 weeks. Toss on the antibiotics and I feel like I'm fighting an uphill battle!

Obviously sticking to the foods is simple. I'm easy to please and Sean has fabulously signed up to stand over me at every meal this week so he can prepare everything for us exactly as needed to keep legal =)

But anyone have any other post-surgery ideas to keep the weight loss flowing? And on a random note, anyone else have a septoplasty?

[SunnySmile501]

Re: Atkins after Surgery?

I don't know about your surgery, but most times your body goes catabolic for a while and you lose rather quickly. The healing process burns a lot of calories. Be sure to eat enough protein or your body will consume muscle to help heal. Whatever you do, don't weigh for a few days post surgery, because you will probably gain quite a few pounds from the saline and the dextrose I.V. drips you have to have during the surgery.

Sunny!

[MrsBrittney]

Re: Atkins after Surgery?

Gracias for the info! Didn't even think about the saline and had zero clue to the catabolic response. I'm actually googling some articles, such as this one

"Because your lean muscle mass carries a majority of the protein and water your body needs, when your body is under stress after surgery, you can expect it will use these protein and water storages. Without the proper levels of protein and water, your lean muscle mass will deplete while fat storage rarely changes. With increase in the imbalance of lean muscle mass, you may notice an increase in your body weight as well.

Surgery and the recovery processes are quite complex. While you may be preparing for the recovery that is necessary to your actual surgical wound, it is also important to understand how your recovery may be adversely impacted by a state known as the catabolic stress response. With proper diet, including adequate water and protein, in combination with management of your hormone and biochemical responses, any early indications of catabolic stress response can be successfully adverted."

[MrsBrittney]

Re: Atkins after Surgery?

You know.. just tossing this out there in case anyone knows.. but what is the best method to reduce or prevent this? Eating high amounts of protein and fats? I'm still on Induction type foods, is this a wise idea after surgery?

[MrsBrittney]

Re: Atkins after Surgery?

Hi guys.. another stupid question. I googled "Atkins+catabolic" and there are a lot of sites saying Atkins IS a catabolic state.. so... *now I'm lost on how to prevent this after surgery as, if it is a catabolic diet, I'll already be there*