Oh FGS! How on earth can I lose weight with a broken arm?!

[Cazelet]

I have a big party mid July and was slowly trying to lose some weight (need to lose a stone). I've managed to break a bone in my arm so I'm now more or less housebound as I live rurally and can't drive. I'm able to walk outside and am trying to walk a bit evrry day. I'm BORED and limited on what I can cook, so I'm basically eating loads of toast. I've put on 2lb in a week.

Any tips or experience welcome 🙏

Yes, exercise and being active helps, weight loss is mostly based on diet and eating in a calorie deficit, rather than exercise.

Eat less toast, more protein.

I've just started weightwatchers and for breakfast I'm eating 30g of porridge but bulking it out with chopped apples and pears and cooking it in the microwave, then sprinkling 7g of sugar.

It keeps me full.

I either pick lunch or dinner to be a meal and the other other one to be a big fat snack.

Most meals are based around a protein and full of veg. For example, I made tacos for my family. But for me I made the beef separate so I could take all the fat off and instead of taco shells I had the beef over a giant salad filled with lettuce, tomatoes, sweetcorn, spring onions, black beans and about 1/4 of a big avocado. They had the salad with the tacos but with fattening sauces and cheese.

I snack on eggs, fruit and carrots.

Stay away from toast and butter, that was my breakfast every day and I loved it. I would crave it before dinner and would make slices dripping in butter. I'm going cold turkey from it for now.

With ww they have a list of all the 'free' foods you can have, so I tend to make food around that and use the points for olive oil or some nice sauces.

I have a knackered shoulder and am doing couch to 5k, with it strapped up tightly. Could you strap your broken arm to you and do that? Or very brisk walking is probably nearly as good!

It's all about what you eat really. Stop eating toast. Easier said than done, I know, but that's really the only tip you need. Eat fewer calories.

If you can't cook you can eat buffet style, but lots of veg, good protein etc. Swap toast for crudités with a bit of dip for example.

@Cazelet depressingly exercise won't shift the weight as fast as eating better will.

Think about more protein, buy frozen/fresh chopped vegetables if you would struggle to cut them otherwise, ready-prepared sides, and if you can't get the knack of cracking eggs one-handed, buy bottled egg whites or bottled eggs (eg Two Chicks).

Breakfast of yoghurt and frozen fruit with chia seeds, lunch of omelette with veg and a bag of saad, and a dinner of fish/chicken with steamed vegetables won't be exciting but it will be effective!

Low cal high veg ready meals. There are lots of them around - all the different supermarkets have own-brand versions as well as Soulful, Bol, Foodologie etc and actually many of them are pretty good.

Apples for snacks. Microwave scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Love yourself just as you are. If you still feel you need to lose weight for health reasons or whatever, buy only healthy food. No bread, jam etc. So when you want a snack you are limited to raw carrots, cucumber, fruit etc. If it's not in the cupboard you can't eat it. Works for me. When I get a sugar craving I'm cross with myself that I didn't buy biscuits or ice cream...then I have a piece of fruit instead.

As I understand it, when you have a broken bone, it’s not the time to lose weight, because the body needs to repair itself? (I was on a diet, when I broke a bone). However, I would stop eating so much toast and start to eat more healthily, so as not to gain weight.

I eat much less when i don’t run so I don’t know that it would necessarily equate to weight gain if you can’t exercise. I would definitely gain weight if I ate loads of toast though! As pp’s have said- more protein, lovely walks, plenty of water,
I’ll add to @RitaCrudgington ‘s list and say gym kitchen ready meals are really good, taste like homemade food and I add loads of veg to mine for a quick dinner.

FWIW I have heard the same as @Quisquam . Energy is needed for healing.

Wow thanks all

Think I'm going to go cold turkey on the toast 😓 it's my comfort food

Just had porridge 30g made with almond milk with some ff Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of sugar, was very good.

I think low calorie snacks are the way to go, popcorn apples etc. I will get dd to chop me some cucumber and carrots!

Ditch the sugar and keep your protein up.

I must say I don't eat much sugar generally, I'm not a biscuit or chocolate person

Its toast and butter all the way

Also I'm limiting water as weeing is a pain! Must start drinking more

Oh, bad luck. Sounds very hard.

Give yourself permission for the toast-respite in the days following your break, don’t beat yourself up, and look to the future.

Boredom is the gateway drug to snacking. Walk, walk, walk out of the house. Opportunity to upskill some knowledge? Become an expert in the identification of birds (and their calls) trees or wildflowers? Might sound boring at first but make lists and see how much better you get at it and you might get hooked in.

Learn a language?

Snacks: carrot batons, tiny packs of (not toffee) popcorn, cottage cheese on a flatbread cracker.

I hope your arm heals well.

Diet op

the beans on toast… lathered in butter?

and walk walk walk

Thanks! I am walking a bit but I'm a feeling a bit vulnerable and worried on slippy surfaces - rural, so rough lanes and muddy fields

https://tdeecalculator.net

Work out your TDEE and eat less calories than you need- log everything on my fitnesspal

Do squats and lunges with a weight at home; star jumps, fast feet, find a 10,000 steps video on YouTube...

A broken arm is just another excuse to be honest- I follow a weightlifter who has one arm, and she is absolutely buff!

I think having one arm is probably easier than having a painful broken bone which needs to be kept in a certain position to avoid severe pain! Good advice re the calories but the star jumps are a no.

If you like savoury snacks , these are delicious. You have 10 crackers, 30g Philadelphia and a load of cucumber or carrot sticks for 100 cals.

They look great, thank you!

Does an adult in your family own a bicycle? If so, gone on Ebay/Freecycle/a website of your choice to get a turbo trainer (they were popular in lcokdown).

Cutting carrot sticks with one arm would be interesting

Ha - definitely couldn't do this. I bought organic carrots and just eat them whole, ditto celery

And how will you get on smearing cream chess over cheese biscuits??