How can my mom lose weight before a hip replacement?
Asked by homeagainquick on Apr 07, 2009
in Health Conditions
My mom is 56 and I'll say at least 100 pounds overweight. She still works, but it's usually at her desk with minimal walking around. S he usually eats alright but my dad is a fairly unhealthy eater and always has cookies or chips or chocolate or ice cream...you get the idea, I'm sure. The main problem is that she can't really do any lower body exercises because of the hip. I am a Fitness Monitor and Health Promotions Manager for the Oregon Air National Guard and have been able to help several of my coworkers but it's much more difficult with my mom. What would you do?
Answer
Your mom could do something drastic (well, not too drastic) that works, like a medically-supervised liquid fast such as OPTIFAST or Medifast. The diet is designed to remove body fat while safeguarding muscle mass and nutritional status. And since eating isn't an option, your father's junk food will be a moot point. After the operation, she'll be hooked-up with a physical therapist and that can kick off her new "active" life. The only other alternative is to have her count calories, but without movement, weight loss will be very slow, especially in an older person with a high percentage of body fat who is in pain.
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