Lose weight before hip replacement

Dear Sara

My experience is that imobility is not the main problem.It's the food!

I had got to about 11 stone give or take a couple of pounds and was assured this was inevitable at my age ever since my late 50s.

A chance comment on TV to the effect that women generally increase a dress size with each decade, but age has nothing to do with it and anyone can lose weight.This was about 2 years ago.

I decided to go for it and I am now 9.Stone and feeling much happier at age 80.

No faddy dieting is the answer, but a permanent change in eating habits.

I now eat only natural whole foods,nothing with additives, no ready meals,no meat fish or eggs.

Just masses of veg in every variety of shape and colour. Plenty of potatoes (especially sweet) rice, pasta ,and lots of legumes,( beans,lentils etc.)

Lots of fruit and salads, A lot of spinach and avacados.

It works for me!

Good luck.

Joyx

Meant to say also stay away from all processed foods.( the word processed escaped me before) 

Often find myself unable to find the word I need.It seems the brain is cluttered with too much rubbish,much like an overstuffed filing cabinet.

(The word comes when I stop looking for it.)

Also give all junk food outlets a miss!!

Hi Sara,

First off - a big hug. I definitely agree with your goal but adding pressure to yourself before this operation may not be the best timing. Starting the change in philosophy ... oh yes, but major weight loss likely not.

Having said that, there is no doubt less weight would make recovery easier.

I lost 40 pounds about 8 years ago. I think the key ingredients were: drinking lots of water (8-10 glasses per day), eating a protein breakfast every day (usually involving Greek yogourt , fruit and cereal or steel cut oatmeal, but not exclusively), decreasing portion sizes and increasing the proportion of veggies and fruit to meat and carbs, and increasing my activity levels (walking a lot and a gym workout - now I might recommend doing this in the pool as exercise with a bad hip is much easier and effective there). My last pice of advice is .... don't be afraid to leave something on your plate! We are taught from an early age to finish our meal or clean our plate. Well, actually, we should just stop when we are full or had enough. And do no get sucked into .. oh but this is a treat - if it doesn't taste amazing it isn't worth the calories! By the same token - it is better to treat yourself with something worthwhile once a week, than to feel like a victim. Celebrate your life and your week.

I understand this might not work for everyone, but that was my approach h and I've managed to keep off all of it (except 5 pounds) for 9 years.

To be honest, I think working with a physiotherapist to build up key muscles group might have more effect presurgery ... focusing on the core, glutes and adductors.

Big hug and best wishes for your surgery.

Linda

Sara - I think the best thing you can do at this point is stay as fit as you can, treading water at the local pool for me was a life saver, right up until the day before surgery, floating with a noodle tucked under my arms, and using the assisted floating to stretch, gave me some relief from the pain, even in the last couple of weeks when I was in a wheelchair, pain was a nightmare.

Pain killers as strong as you are on are going to make you sleepy, prbably constipated as well.

Just eat healthy as you can, lots of protein, yoghurt and skinny milk for calcium, you are going to need to re-build muscles and blood after your surgery, let alone new bone as you do apparently around the implant, all helps stablise the implant.

Best wishes for your surgery, being a double hippie I can sympathise where you are coming from, not fun but you do improve hugely compared to where you are now.

I was in less pain after my surgery than before, much to my amazement, but when they asked me to get on my feet, well that was another story, but after about 10 days was able to give up the really strong morphine type medication, amazing, as I had been on morphine for months previous to surgery.

Hi Sara, I lost 2 stone in just over 2 months on Slimming World pre-op. I was very dubious but it has worked & I felt so much better for doing it. You don't really have to cut things out, just adapt your cooking & cook meals from scratch (no processed rubbish). The food I have cooked us amazing but if you don't like cooking, Iceland sell SW ready meals. Good luck x

Oh that is HARD ... I managed to lose 5 stone (70 pounds) by eating salads instead of sandwiches and pies for lunch.  

I also cut carbs right back so only 1 potato instead of 4-5.

Portion sizes make a huge difference too.

You just need to eat less calories than you burn - so don't look for 'low fat', but go for 'low calorie' foods when shopping.

Good luck

Graham