trying2bvegan Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Hey Everybody...so I've been totally side-lined from the gym for the past couple weeks due to a knee AND rotator cuff injury (ouch!)...and to be safe I'm steering clear of working out for another couple weeks. Just doing some stretching, PT, and gettin' my share of x-rays, MRI, chiro adjustments, etc. My question is: how do you all eat during a complete hiatus from the gym? I normally eat around 4,000 cals and burn between 400-800 in the gym (roughly). I'm eating less meals to lower my calories obviously (5x-6x a day down from 7x/day) to minimize fat gain....but what about protein intake? It seems a little silly to be taking in ~1-1.5g/lb/day when I have virtually no physical activity. At the same time, I'm worried about losing the muscle mass I've worked so hard to gain the past year. Thanks so much everybody!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjohanx Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 High protein is the best way to spare your muscles. You might want to think about supplementing with free form essential amino acids, studies have shown them to be great for stopping muscle breakdown during injuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xCx Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Eat like you normally do. I don't really see any need to adjust your eating, well maybe if you're worried about teh abz, but who cares about BF, right? Just get healthy and lift heavy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trying2bvegan Posted December 10, 2009 Author Share Posted December 10, 2009 I don't really see any need to adjust your eating, well maybe if you're worried about teh abz, but who cares about BF, right? Just get healthy and lift heavy! Teh abz? Not too sure what that is. I am very healthy already. But I'm injured, so I won't be doing any lifting at all. That's kinda the point. And if I don't adjust my diet, I'll be taking in nearly 1000 extra cals a day. I'd be gaining pounds by the week. I'm not OCD about BF, but I'm not about to eat like like I'm kicking my ass in the gym when I'm just sitting on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xCx Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 I don't really see any need to adjust your eating, well maybe if you're worried about teh abz, but who cares about BF, right? Just get healthy and lift heavy! Teh abz? Not too sure what that is. I am very healthy already. But I'm injured, so I won't be doing any lifting at all. That's kinda the point. And if I don't adjust my diet, I'll be taking in nearly 1000 extra cals a day. I'd be gaining pounds by the week. I'm not OCD about BF, but I'm not about to eat like like I'm kicking my ass in the gym when I'm just sitting on it I'm sorry if I came off as rude, it's just that I'm annoyed with people who for some reason are afraid to eat because that'll make them gain some weight. What I'm trying say is just, what's another 5-10 pounds? Wouldn't you rather minimize your strength lose and gain some BF? You'll shed the extra pounds quickly once you're injury free anyways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjohanx Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 5-10 pounds??? Dude that's pretty damn unhealthy. Impaired insulin sensitivity, higher cholesterol levels etc. It's also a lot harder to burn fat the more fat cells you have so I wouldn't want to gain that much. However I don't see the problem. You seem to have the calorie control down, you know approx how much will burn during this period so why not eat that amount and as I said before, aim for high protein. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xCx Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 5-10 pounds??? Dude that's pretty damn unhealthy. Impaired insulin sensitivity, higher cholesterol levels etc. It's also a lot harder to burn fat the more fat cells you have so I wouldn't want to gain that much. Ok, 5-10 pounds might be a bit excessive, but you get my drift. Taking his lifestyle into consideration he's probably not going to die from obesity or go blind from diabetes any time soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couture547 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I say eat like you normally do and if your sidelined for a while and can't train just eat like you normally do but a little less to avoid fat gain. watch out for going to low on calories. inactivity and not enough calories is a problem for lean body mass. I had a 6 month lay off from weights recently and actually didn't lose much strength at all because i kept the calories high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawaiiDolphin Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Focus on protein, not only to maintain muscle but to expedite healing. 1-1.5lbs is a lot, though, so maybe cut it to 1/2 of that and change it if you don't like the way you feel. If you drop below maintenance, your body may not be able to heal as efficiently, meaning more time away from the gym!Maybe start with 3,000 and modify as you see fit. Listen to your body. Losing a little strength or gaining some fat is not the end of the world if it helps you to heal faster! T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trying2bvegan Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 thanks everybody i really appreciate it! i've had my fill of doctors appointments lately (and food!). i'm on the road to recovery, many rubber bands, MRIs, x-rays, and vegetables later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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