Best diet post-op for recovery?

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I lost over 40 lbs eating a couple times of day in India during distraction, so the 2000 calories per bone break seems about right.

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Quote from: Purushrottam on March 03, 2018, 12:34:47 AMI think you are misinterpreting. I didn't ask for specific calories.

I emailed them about diet and have the replies in writing. There was nothing specific about calories in the replies.
Oh well, now I know, thanks to this forum and my research online (which is my point - do your own research even when doctors give you an answer).

Quote from: Purushrottam on March 03, 2018, 12:34:47 AMNow that I think about it, they may have told me 2k calories per break as well. I just don't remember too well as it was in September.

How well did you manage to eat that much?

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Quotewhich is my point - do your own research even when doctors give you an answer

I agree 100%.  My doctor has been great,  but I have also researched and asked beyond what he might normally discuss or suggest in a follow appointment.

I've lost about 25 lbs thus far.  This level of caloric intake makes perfect sense.

Thank you Puru and fivefive for the info and input.

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This will be a challenge for me; my average daily intake is under 2000 calories, and that's paired with gym four times per week.

Here's a nice guide by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), where Dr. Rozbruch is located: HTML and PDF version.

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Quote from: Android on March 03, 2018, 07:40:09 AMThis will be a challenge for me; my average daily intake is under 2000 calories, and that's paired with gym four times per week.

Here's a nice guide by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), where Dr. Rozbruch is located: HTML and PDF version.

That's a great link.

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I agree that eating a lot of extra calories is going to be important. I worked out religiously 5x per week before LL. I have always been worried about muscle atrophy during the process. All you can do is eat as much quality food as possible during your distraction/consolidation phases. I am trying to eat my normal diet as well as drinking a lot of "weight gainer" shakes, and still drink protein shakes. Your doctor will prescribe vitamin D and calcium supplements. It also helps if your caretaker is a good cook.

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is doing a keto diet pre-ll(to lose a bit of weight) a good option in case you are doing externals, so you can bear weight more effectively?

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I’m not a big believer of counting just the number of calories when it comes to either losing/gaining weight or even with bone healing, you should always look at the macro and micro nutrients of the food you’re taking, you should take note that Carbohydrates and Proteins has 4 calories per gram while Lipids or Fats has 9 calories per gram, You should also monitor the quality of carbs,proteins and fats that you’re taking because not all of them are made equal, sure you can attain that 8,000 calories but if they are mostly compose of Saturated and Trans Fat together with bad carbs then it won’t help you, you should also watch for bad stuff such as sodium, glucose etc. that’s bad for bone healing because they inhibit calcium absorption, reduce bone mineral density etc., honestly I suggest don’t count the calories that you’re taking instead try to reach the macro and micro nutrients that you need each day together with your supplements I think you’ll be fine, a lot of good doctors and nutritionist will agree with me on this, but then again that’s just me and you can always do your own research, Goodluck and safe LL journey!

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Knowing this about the calories, though, I wonder how many LLs went worse than expected due to sub-optimal calorie intake? Many LLers depended totally on the food available to them at where they were staying.

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Quote from: myloginacct on March 11, 2018, 02:58:54 AMKnowing this about the calories, though, I wonder how many LLs went worse than expected due to sub-optimal calorie intake? Many LLers depended totally on the food available to them at where they were staying.

With my gf staying with me during the recovery, I had the option of eating 6,000 or even 8,000 calories a day, but that turned out to be just impossible. Even after getting off painkillers (except for one per day before PT), my appetite has plummeted. I'm lucky if I score 2,000 calories a day, and that includes a protein shake and Gatorade powder added to water for extra carbs. My body is just reluctant to eat, and some food smells have become obnoxious. Anything remotely fatty (like sausages, which I'd routinely eat 4 of for lunch) is borderline disgusting. I can still eat fruit, ice cream and candy as I used to.

Anyway, even if you manage to eat 6,000 calories per day, I highly doubt much of that will go into maintaining muscle mass. Without consistent usage, muscle atrophies very fast. It's been 3 weeks since my femurs surgery and I've lost so much of my glutes that I no longer have the "nice butt" that my gf liked, and sitting has become painful because my sit bones dig almost straight into the skin.