What most people overlook is that the caloric requirements can PLUMMET! If you don’t drastically change your eating habits when you get an injury that limits your mobility then you get fat, very, very quickly. Yes, it sucks to be injured and not be able to lift weights and get stronger but you want to know what is worse? Getting fat and weaker at the same time!
Lets take what happened to me last week as an example, I twisted my ankle. In one day I went from an activity level of 12 hours of intense cardio a week with 5 additional hours of lifting weights to ZERO. What most people do is just keep eating the same, lets look at why that is a very bad idea.
Here are my caloric requirements before my injury, nearly 4000 calories a day:
Here are my caloric requirements after my injury, 2500 calories a day :
Anyone want to guess what happens if I eat 4000 calories a day when my TDEE is 2500 calories a day? I gain 3 pounds of fat A WEEK!
EAT LESS WHEN INJURED!
Yes, when injured, nutrition is more important than ever to make sure your body has the building blocks it needs to heal. Eating clean is essential when you are not doing any cardio or exercising and its even more critical when you are injured! Get those vegetables. Get those whole grains. Get a small amount of fruit. Get lean protein.
Do what you can!
Dont use your injury as an excuse to give up. Remember, when injured – do what you can! There is SOMETHING you can do … so do it!