I have recently spoken to many people who had hip replacement surgery. In the discussions we had the overwhelming theme in the post op phase is exercise, weight loss and diet.
Lets start with hip replacement exercise. Mostly everyone that had total hip replacement are concerned about how much is too much once they have been given the go ahead by their doctor. You could ask doctors in different parts of the world and their recommendations would be tremendously different. I think it starts with where your health is to begin with when you get going. Were you close to your target weight when you had surgery? Did you exercise regularly before hand? What I have discovered is that with consistent exercise, starting slowly, that you should be able to do just about anything you could do before the surgery. Your lifestyle after hip replacement will be so much better! I am 18 months post op and workout 4-5 times a week. This includes weight training, using moderate weights for legs, using the elliptical and exercise bike and not running, and a lot of stretching and core work. In the weeks and months to follow I will provide video instruction on what I do in these areas.
The next area of concern is weight loss after hip replacement. If you were overweight before the surgery or gained weight after while recovering then it is important to shed those pounds and take as much stress off your new joint as possible. Less weight equals less stress equals less problems long term. First you must come to terms that what you put in your mouth has everything to to do with your weight. Find an app that will allow you to track what you eat everyday. I use www.myfitnesspal.com it has a lot of the different foods from restaurants already loaded so you will be able to get the caloric intake added rather easily. This is the first step in weight loss, acknowledging what we are eating. Next set some goals and targets over the next 30-90 days. Having a goal is very important. Perhaps there is an event that you can use as your target 90 days from now…that perfect. I would recommend that your day is started with a protein shake instead of that cereal and coffee we are so used to having. If you are serious about that weight loss you will start to make better choices. Having a great shake to start the day will cut down on the cravings throughout the day. Eat your meals with low glycemic food choices, healthy proteins and essential fats. Fried fatty food such as french fries is not essential fat! I have to admit that great tasting french fries are hard to resist and once in awhile is not the end of the world. Eating well does not mean eating foods that aren’t fun. In fact its the opposite!
One thing of note…while losing weight is the goal so that there is less stress on your new hip, dieting is not the answer. We are talking lifestyle after hip replacement. When you go on a diet you feel noble yet deprived and when you get off your diet you feel relieved but guilty because historically we all go back to eating the bad foods. There is no win, no success. It is all about lifestyle habits that are be created for the long term.
John …one hip guy