Maintaining your weight is important after a back injury.  Added weight can worsen back pain by increasing the load on an injured back.  This is compounded by the fact that most patients will exhibit weight gain after a back injury, as a result of being less active and psychological stress.   Here are some tips to maintain your weight or lose weight after a back injury:

  • Try to maintain some level of activity. This should be low impact.  Walking around your neighborhood will maintain some fitness after an injury.  If you have access to fitness machines, the recumbent bike, stair climbing or elliptical machines are good for cardiovascular conditioning while being easy on the back.
  • Now is the time to count your calories. Just because you are eating healthy doesn’t mean you aren’t eating too much.  Read the labels or research the ingredients.  Write down the data and tabulate it daily.
  • An adult does not need more than 2,000 calories a day. If you are sedentary because of an injury, you need even less.
  • The internet and your smart phone are full of data you can use to plan your meals. It’s easy to look up the calories and nutritional content of almost any ingredient.  You’ll want to keep an eye on carbohydrates, fat, protein and overall calories.  Carbohydrates and fats are high in calories but lower in nutritional value.  Protein will be important for a healing body.  Of your 2,000 calories, keep them relatively low carb and low fat.
  • The internet is full of calculators to help you determine target calories for weight loss. Here is one the author uses:  https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html
  • It’s important to make sure you get enough protein while cutting down on carbohydrates and fat. Here is a protein calculator:   https://www.calculator.net/protein-calculator.html
  • Be careful with processed diet foods. They contain a lot of salt and can make pre-existing high blood pressure worse.
  • Alcohol is rich in calories. Limit your alcohol to a light beer or a glass of red wine and don’t exceed two drinks a day. 
  • It might be easy to substitute common foods. Low fat options for dairy products, sugar substitutes and diet soda should be considered.
  • Avoid unnecessary calories. That blue cheese dressing will ruin the value of your salad.  Use a low fat dressing and place it on the side.
  • If you have to eat fast food, note the nutritional information. Tame it down by avoiding French fries, heavy dressings and cheese.
  • Understand that there is no easy way to lose weight.  Fads diets are unsustainable and result in rebound weight gain after rapid weight loss.  Make healthy choices and keep a healthy lifestyle by monitoring your calories and nutrients.