Nutrition After Surgery: What to Focus On
- April 5, 2021
- Last Updated: September 7, 2024
- 0 Comments
- Intuitive Eating
Nutrition for injury and nutrition after surgery can be a delicate topic and one that you want to focus on for faster and more efficient healing. Here’s what to know about nutrition healing and and healing diet after surgery.
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Disclaimer – This post is for informational purposes only and is not for diagnosing or treatment. See your medical provider or Registered Dietitian for individual recommendations.
If there’s one thing in the health and nutrition field that I have lots of personal experience with, it’s recovering from injury.
I started having foot problems when I was 18 and spent 4 months in a boot plus 2 months on crutches that year.
When I was 19, I had my first foot surgery, and now at 20, I’ve already had two more surgeries on the same foot.
The first couple of times I recovered from injury, I had no clue what I was doing for nutrition after surgery.
I was interested in nutrition and already had my sights set on becoming a dietitian, but I didn’t even consider how my diet fit into my overall recovery, or how a diet after surgery should adapt.

When I had my second surgery, I was halfway through a sports nutrition class for my undergraduate degree in exercise science.
The course was taught by a leading researcher in sports nutrition and spent significant time on injury recovery and nutrition for healing.
Unfortunately, that unit began the week after my operation, so I felt like I was playing catch-up.
Going into my third (and hopefully final) surgery, I set out a plan to apply all of my knowledge on recovering well, and I’m excited to share some tips for nutrition after surgery with you.
Nutrition After Surgery or Injury
Recovering from an injury is as much about preserving the healthy muscle and bone in your body as it is about rehabilitating the site of injury.
That’s why we’re so passionate about building and maintaining muscle – it really can reduce the incidence of injury!
Try this upper body workout if you don’t know where to begin.

For this reason, it’s important to recognize and incorporate the sports nutrition principles that do just that.
But at the same time, your body is overwhelmed by the trauma that resulted in an injury, especially one that requires surgery.
I sought a healing diet after surgery, which meant nourishing foods but more importantly, eating enough foods to help my body heal.
Considering this, gentle nutrition and rejecting diet mentality (to overcome the ability to eat less and instead, eat more) can lead to an optimal recovery, both physically and mentally.
That’s why we are so passionate about this – this Ebook is a great resource.
A DIETITIAN IN YOUR POCKET?!
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Protein After Injury
One of the most common side effects of injury is the loss of lean body mass throughout the body.
For one, injury initiates a stress response that creates a catabolic environment, or an environment that takes some of the body’s resources—such as the amino acids in muscle—and uses them instead to tend to the site of injury.
On top of this, you’re probably not exercising as much with an injury as you would without, which adds to loss of muscle.
With the muscle breakdown and use of resources in the body, the answer to the question, “Do you burn more calories when injured?” can sometimes be yes, depending on the extent of the injury.
In most cases, the body has to work harder to repair injury sites, which takes energy (aka calories).
But, when you’re recovering from injury, you shouldn’t be thinking about limiting calories.

Incorporating enough dietary protein when you’re recovering is arguably the best way you can care for your body.
You can read more about needs and functions of protein for runners here.
Protein aids general recovery, immune function, maintenance of glycogen stores and preservation of lean muscle.
Protein Sources After Injury
Some of the best protein sources to aid recovery are:
- whey or casein protein powder
- eggs or egg whites
- dairy products, like milk, yogurt and cheese
- beef, poultry and soy products
- bone broth – can be very nourishing to provide extra amino acids and building blocks
- collagen
Remember, collagen needs a Vitamin C source for optimal absorption, so pairing protein with other food groups, like fruits and veggies, is important.
Here’s a post all about leucine to learn how that is involved in muscle growth.
And if you need assistance with choosing a protein powder, here are some of the top protein powders for runners.

How Much Protein Do You Need?
Research shows that the body needs about 1 g of protein per pound of body weight daily when recovering.
You heard that right, and that’s a lot of protein.
When blending sports nutrition with intuitive eating, though, it’s important to recognize the nuance between scientific literature and what your specific body needs.
In recovery, you’ll probably need more protein than you feel like eating, so shoot for the recommendation.
This is also where protein shakes, protein powders and supplements come in.

Normally, I don’t outright recommend supplements for runners or athletes, or supplementing protein in the form of shakes, bars or anything else powder-based more than once a day.
For example, this peanut butter coffee smoothie is delicious, and no protein powder is needed.
But, in injury recovery and for nutrition after surgery, supplementing twice a day can boost you to that high protein threshold, especially when you don’t feel like eating any more solid forms of protein.
That way, you can direct your appetite towards what you’re craving, like ice cream.
Diet After Surgery: Eating Enough
Not only does recovery require more protein, but it also requires more calories in general.
Because, yes, you’re burning through more energy as your body works to repair.
In fact, after surgery or major injury, the body requires about 25% more calories than it normally does.
On top of that, it’s smart to focus on nutrient-dense foods to take in enough complex carbohydrates, antioxidants and essential omega 3 fatty acids.
Including these homemade trail mix bars are a good start!

Similar to fueling a 20 mile run, eating 30-60 grams of complex carbohydrates per hour delays glycogen depletion and keeps enough glucose available to fuel the cells hard at work healing your body.
Antioxidant-rich foods, like berries, broccoli, oranges and spinach, promote tissue repair and blood flow while fighting infection.
On top of that, omega-3 fatty acids prevent inflammation while you’re healing and are probably worth supplementing!

There will be times during your recovery for nutrition after surgery when you need to eat, even though you don’t want to.
This falls under intuitive eating, too—mostly under the realm of practical hunger and self care.
You know that your body needs the energy in order to heal well, so you choose to provide it with that energy, even if your hunger cues haven’t kicked in.
Supplements To Consider
Despite eating extra food and nutrients, your body needs so many nutrients during recovery that you’re probably still deficient in a few.
One of these nutrients is omega-3 fatty acids, which were mentioned above.
You always have to be careful with supplements since they are not regulated by the FDA.
Consult with Sarah your medical practitioner or a professional with your questions to ensure you’re picking a brand that is third-party tested and is the best recovery supplement for you and your needs.
Omega-3 fatty acids help to control the body’s inflammatory response to allow for healing after surgery.
Plus, they support metabolic wellness and pathways that build up muscle instead of break it down.

Unless you’re eating lots of seafood, you’re probably lacking omega-3s, so supplementing can be a smart fix.
Even if you’re not nutrient-deficient, some supplements are designed to elevate your recovery in ways that are difficult to do with food alone.
For example, supplementing with HMB, a metabolite of leucine, increases protein synthesis through the mTOR pathway, a pathway that will likely start lagging after injury.
HMB also stabilizes muscle cell membranes and decreases protein degradation, meaning you’ll lose less muscle.
Another supplement popular with athletes is creatine, which can prevent a decrease in muscle creatine, an important source of energy and component of muscle, that often occurs with immobilization.

Nutrient Timing
Not only is what you eat in recovery after surgery important, but when you eat it affects your body astronomically.
The timing of protein is arguably the most important, followed by carbohydrates and creatine monohydrate, if that’s part of your regimen.
For more information about protein timing, check out this post about the benefits of eating a nighttime snack.
The amino acids in protein are the building blocks that the body uses to heal an injury, so supplementing protein before and after physical therapy or any other form of rehab is crucial.
Additionally, supplementing protein before bed can increase healing and maintain muscle mass while you’re sleeping.

Despite all of these guidelines, don’t forget the main point: these recommendations exist to help heal the body.
You know your body the best, so shoot for gentle nutrition by giving yourself enough nutrients.
Yet, listen to your cravings, and don’t forget to treat yourself every once in a while, too.

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