Staying in shape right after top surgery

[Mr.X]

Hey guys.

So, an exciting day for me tomorrow: I'll be having top surgery. I'm quite nervous, but also very happy that it is finally happening. I'll be having the donut procedure, so my wounds shouldn't be too large.

But I do have a few concerns. I was told not to do any exercise for at least 6 weeks. I have been pretty hardcore with my health for months before the surgery. I was watching my calories, ate clean and did a lot of cardio + mild weight lifting. I'm in a pretty good shape and lost 5kg. Not being able to exercise for weeks scares me a lot. I'm really afraid I'll gain all the weight back and then some. Not a nice prospect.

So now my questions. Have any of you been in the same predicament? If so, how did you deal with it? Did you gain weight/lose muscles or was everything okay in the end and should I stop stressing about it?

Any input is welcome!

[Jeatyn]

As long as you don't go crazy on the food you should be fine, just reduce your calorie intake to compensate for the lack of exercise - though not by a huge amount, need it for healing! Some muscle atrophy is to be expected but not a whole lot as long as you eat relatively clean and get plenty of protein. "Muscle Memory" should help you bounce back fairly quickly once you can get back to work again.

[Polo]

I agree with Jeatyn, keep it clean and definitely increase your protein intake for healing tissue.  You could likely do low level activity while you're recovering like slow walking or REALLY easy bike machine, an hour of that a day would help you stay in shape much better than just sitting around for 2 months while you heal.  You should probably give it a week or so to just relax and heal first though.