How I’ve modified my nutrition
Post shoulder surgery to not gain unwanted weight and recover/heal faster.
Pre surgery nutrition:
I was working out five days a week taking large group fitness classes at railroad led by a coach.
I would strength train three days a week minimum.
Have two days where I would do full body conditioning.
I was consuming around 3100 to 3200 cal a day.
An approximate macro breakdown would look like:
220g protein
255g carbs
130g fat
Bodyweight was around 176 lb
Body fat % around 12-13%
89lb of muscle
Nutritional Goals post surgery while not working out:
(1) Eat to nourish, heal and recover.
(2) Eat to sustain, not gain unwanted body fat by overeating.
(3) Eat to preserve as much muscle as I can while not working out.
Post surgery:
Knowing my activity was going from 5 days of full body training to zero, I knew I needed to make some nutritional adjustments.
Step 1:
I utilized a total daily energy expenditure calculator to get a gauge of what my maintenance calories would be with no activity.
It was low. Like 2200 calories.
Personally, I didn’t want to drop 1,000 cals (initially) – if I got there naturally over time that was fine. But I wanted a grace period.
Step 2:
So I put myself around 2600 cals with the caveat that I’d listen to my body as well.
I gave myself 3 different flexible macro approaches.
- One with consistent protein, carbs and fats across the board.
- One with slightly higher carbs less fat.
- One with less carbs and slightly higher fats.
Without regular strength and resistance training I brought protein down to bodyweight (220g Pro (training) to around 175g Pro (non training.)
Here’s’ what I noticed so far:
Pre surgery I’d eat 4 meals or 3 meals and 1 snack per day.
And be hungry every 3-4 hours.
9 days post surgery I’m a lot less hungry.
Likely due to being inactive and my body not needing as much.
So current life, I eat 3 meals a day.
What I’m NOT doing:
- Eating anything I want.
- Snacking around the clock.
- Not eating all together.
While it may be understandable for any of these to come into play post-surgery – I know they also won’t help me.
Principals I keep in tact to avoid unwanted weight gain:
(1) Lean protein at every meal, eaten first.
(2) Fruits and or veggies at every meal.
(3) 55-65g protein at every meal.
(4) Eat every meal in balance (pro, carb and fats.)
(5) Outside of Coffee, only drink water.
Staying Adaptable 1
Earlier on, post surgery, If I had things like bread (to curb the nausea) I’d ensure my next meal my carbs were mainly low calorie fruits like nectarines.
Aka high fiber, high nutrient and low calories.
Staying Adaptable 2
If I woke up at 1-2am and was starving and snacked on Tostitos (yes this happened) I would ensure to lower my overall calorie imprint the next day a bit to offset.
Take Aways
The big takeaways are staying disciplined to the principles that work, regardless if I’m laid up recovering from surgery, traveling across the country for a business conference or living my daily routine.
Those principles keep me on course to feel good, feel healthy, recover faster and preserve lean muscle tissue and avoid excess unwanted weight gain.
Especially when I can’t be active.
And will help me get back to full form much faster!
Coach Shawn
