An injury might only visibly manifest on your body. But the true consequences of an injury are far more profound. They disturb a person emotionally, by shifting their focus from their daily life, to the pain and the suffering. Injuries limit the mobility of the person injured, and that can be emotionally gruelling after a point. Moreover, the chances of putting on weight and becoming prone to an unhealthy lifestyle are also one of the pernicious side-effects of injuries. The fitness level of the injured person keeps declining as the person is prevented from performing their regular work and exercises. It is evident that if a person is down with a significant injury, they cannot perform daily work and exercises, as that would put a strain on the wound and worsen their condition. That said, there are other ways to stay fit that can be explored.
The fitness level of the injured person keeps declining as the person is prevented from performing their regular work and exercises. It is evident that if a person is down with a significant injury, they cannot perform daily work and exercises, as that would put a strain on the wound and worsen their condition. That said, there are other ways to stay fit that can be explored.
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Here are some tips to stay fit and avoid gaining weight while you are injured:
Take it as a silver lining
You might be upset that you have to stay at home, that your work is falling behind, or that you cannot go for your gym classes and hang out with your friends, due to the injury. But look on the bright side – this is a time for you to take a break from your daily life. Treat this time as a well-deserved interlude from all your regular activities, and enjoy being with yourself and family. Everyone needs alone time, and this might just be the perfect opportunity to get some.
Be handy around the house:
If you can move and are not entirely confined to your bed, you must engage yourself in simple activities like helping your mother or wife in their kitchen work. You might just play with your kids or siblings as that would keep you busy, and the injury and the pain won’t get on your nerves and make you upset.
Observe other people
If you love fitness and regular workouts in the gym, but the injury is stopping you from doing so, you can still head to the gym, and at least observe other people working out. It can be a positive experience for you in a number of ways. You get to see how others are performing, without feeling the need to compete with them. You can even observe the form and technique of others working out, and learn a few things you can apply once you are recovered enough to start working out again.
Start working as soon as possible
It is said that an empty mind is a devil’s workshop. If you are not working for an extended period, your brain starts to bristle at the inactivity. You should get back to work as soon as possible, even if it’s a bed or a coach. If your job demands your physical presence, like construction site work or architecture etc., and you are not able to join until you are entirely fit and fine, look for some other work which you can do from home, in order to be productively occupied.
Focus on weaknesses
While you are injured, you should spend the extra time you have to work on your weaknesses. For instance, if you are a football player, and you have damaged your ligament, and thus taking rest at home for few days or weeks, you can work on your upper body or do yoga for pain relief. It would develop your strengths and in turn, benefit you in your running activity.
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Don’t eat emotionally
One of the most significant challenges you would face while you are injured and at home is to avoid unnecessary and emotional eating. At times, you might get frustrated due to your limited mobility and pain, and if you love food, you might deal with that frustration by eating lots of junk food. This is where you start putting on excess weight. You are already sitting idle at home, and eating food unnecessarily would only add to your weight. So, to avoid gaining weight, you need to control your eating habits and eat just what you require. You can prepare a diet chart with the help of your doctor and follow it rigorously, with maybe a little bit of cheating on weekends.
Do something new
It is the perfect time to try, learn, and develop something new. Don’t bore yourself by sitting idle without any purpose. You can instead start reading a new book, writing a new blog, search for places that you want to visit once you are perfectly fine. You can start learning modern languages, and for that, you don’t have to go out as there are so many free resources on the internet.
Don’t treat your injury as a curse. Instead, take the chance to better yourself during that period, and evolve into a more capable person.
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