Caloric deficit while rehabbing injury

[sbrl_19]

Is it a bad idea to eat at a deficit for the purpose of losing weight while rehabbing an injury? Will it significantly impede recovery?

2 weeks ago I was injured squatting. Torn adductor, strained abdominal, bilateral inguinal hernia, umbilical hernia. Surgery to repair the hernias on 12/20. After that, heal and rehab and get back to it.

I'm thinking about using that rehab time to diet down a bit. My current (half-baked) plan would be to keep protein and fat stable (~225+/~85+ at 6ft 220lbs) and reduce carbs to the point where I'm at about a 10-15% overall calorie deficit.

Will that be OK since I won't be lifting heavy? Or will I undermine the healing process? I found a few posts talking about nutrition and rehabbing an injury, but none where the person specifically wanted to lose some weight and eat in a way to make that happen.

Thanks.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

It will be "okay" in that you won't die, but since you're not training- lean body mass losses will be greater and additionally, recovering from an injury (or surgery) requires more fuel so limiting the fuel excessively is probably not a good idea.

[I_iz_a_fatass]

Do not reduce calorie intake post-op. Calorie needs go UP to repair damage.

There is some evidence (no citations, I'd have to do digging again) that additional Vitamin C and protein intake helps with slightly faster healing but not stronger repair. One paper I read had a patient with multiple large bone breaks whose calorie needs went over 6000 per day to keep weight the same.

For my part, my own calorie needs went up about 60% after open heart surgery; I had a double-hernia repair and was back at the weights two week later without the scale budging much on the same caloric intake.

Take from all that what you will.