I'm 5'4 and weigh 326, so i have a lot of weight to lose. I've lost as much as 80lbs in the past and gained it all back. I most recently lost about 20 lbs from my high weight of 340something.

Last thursday i was walking through the parking lot at work and i'm not sure exactly what happened, but the end result was that my ankle gave out, causing me to fall and somewhere in that process I broke both bones in my left calf and fractured the ankle. They did surgery the same day, which involved putting in pins, screws and plates.

Not only does all this extra weight make it really hard to hop around on one foot, but I know i need to figure out a way to take it off to aid my recovery and prevent future injury.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

i just had the metal removed in November from an ankle break in 2001. then I had a stress fracture of the same ankle and I have a bone cyst within the joint of the ankle. I know how hard it is to do stuff with a bad ankle.

stay off of it as best you can now. they make a kneeler one wheels that you can kneel on and wheel around that one foot. ask your ortho about it.

and when you return to physical therapy work HARD at it. DO all the tasks they give you.

as for NOW, look into chair areobics, chair yoga, sit and be fit programs... there are many out there. also do upper body weight work... you will need strong arms when you are able to get around...

Have you considered Weight Watchers or one of the other plans? I'm currently doing WW Flex plan (the one where you count points), and it does work. I'm not saying it's the be-all, end-all program, but it is effective and would let you get a jump start while you're waiting for your ankle to heal.

Best of luck, and whatever you do, take it slowly.

Hey, that was MY story

Breaking my leg/ankle and going through immediate surgery to put in pins, plates, and screws was THE turning point for me. Granted, I did manage to lose about 30 pounds just from living alone (no one brought me food, I literally had to crawl to the kitchen to get it) and the loopy effect of the pain meds, but it was during that time that I just got completely FED UP- like my freak accident wouldn't have happened if I wasn't obese.

So, the second the doctor said "ok, you can put weight on it" I did. I made myself do it. I benefited by having a surgeon who believed in not babying his patients to "take it easy". He said that when I felt like putting weight on it, I could. So I did. I was not going to wait around to gain more weight or let scar tissue take over the area. I was SO excited to be able to walk again (even though I got some GREAT arms using my crutches). It was truly a life changing process for me. I know it isn't for most people, but that is what I needed to happen.

So, the second you can move, move. The moment you can put weight on it, DO IT. When they tell you to do your physical therapy/swim/get on the exercise bike, do it. I worked very hard to make sure this would not be a lasting problem (I know a few people who have had similar injuries and are plagued with issues because they didn't move and rehab). After about 2 years, I had NO remaining symptoms, but I was determined. I demanded proper physical therapy. I moved the moment I could. I went to massage therapists and chiropractors to re-adjust and work out scar tissue. The hardware they put in bothered me, so I demanded they take them out after 6 months. I'll probably have issues with arthritis in the future, but today I am very active and that ankle is the strongest part of my body

Trust me, this is something that you can overcome. I was just starting a workout routine when this happened and I was SO mad. So I put it into action.

You CAN do this. You just have to work with it. This is not a reason to give up, but a reason to KEEP GOING.

In the meantime, I hope that you feel better! Mine was a freakish accident as well and everyone just sort of scratched their heads going, "Jen, I just don't know how you managed to do THAT much damage simply by standing there in hockey skates!" It's going to be tough, but you can do it!

I really appreciate the tips and encouragement. I had my first post-surgery followup thursday. They took the staples out and the split off and put me in a boot, which i guess is the modern day equivalent of the walking cast, cept they told me no weight on it for two weeks. I guess when i got back for my next appointment they'll tell me more.

My surgeon hasn't been that forthcoming with info and the office isn't that helpful in general, so i'm a little concerned. I hope they know what they are doing, but it's not like i got to shop around for a surgeon or anything :>

He indicated there would be no "formal" rehab until about six weeks in and that they might let me start taking it out of the boot and moving it around some to prevent stiffness before then.

Right now i'm getting around with a walker. I'm not having much pain in the leg that was operated on, but my hands are killing me :>

Most of my previous weightloss efforts were focused around exercise that i'm not sure will be safe on my bad ankle, so i'm going to have to take a different approach.

I'm hoping that I can find some sort of weight loss specialist through my insurance company that can maybe provide me with some nutrition and exercise ideas that suit my present physical condition.

All I know is, I never want to have to go through the humilation of having to have an entourage of people just to get me up a few stairs cuz I can't support my weight on one leg again :>

Even if you can't take the boot off for 6 weeks, can you get in touch with whoever will be doing your rehab to see if you can maybe do the bike? I remember swimming early on (after the staples were out, of course) and it was very relaxing.

I too, only had a workout regimen going and hadn't given much thought to diet, but this really made me focus on finding an eating plan that would work for me.

Oh, also, my doctor was sort of "vague" about limitations (as I mentioned, he just said "move when you can"). It leads me to believe this is a VERY common injury they deal with so they might be a little desensitized to it
Once they give you the ok to take off the boot for short periods of time, just simple, slow movements of the joint should help

Hey! my story too -- are broken bones contagious...on March 28, I fell off a three inch stair between landings and broke the right ankle and the left 5th metatarsal. Ankle break was "simple" (for the ortho, at least), so I went right into the boot. About two days in, I felt and almost HEARD the ankle settle into place, and a large part of the pain disappeared.

Left foot has been more problematical-- cast for two months, and now in an orthopedic shoe. I too took the boot off, after about 6 weeks to do some slow up and down manuevering and toe alphabets. Occasionally, I walk around without it in the house, using the crutch and being really really careful. This past week, I was able to go upstairs for the first time, if I use only the shoe, and a barefoot on the right, using my arms to pull myself up with the handrail.

The orthopedic shoe is fairly constant except for sleeping. Was out and about for daughter's graduation the past two days and discovered that wood floors at home are way more forgiving on the bones and joints than asphalt roads, concrete sidewalks, and concrete floors covered by linoleum. Lots of aches.

My doc is also not very forth coming on time frames...I'm 53, and bone growth is slow. I'm going back to work this coming week...but will need to take it really easy.

meanwhile, I'm packing in the calcium...and beneficially, keeping track of calcium has led me to keep track of the other stuff I eat.

Ironically, I've lost 15 pounds over the past two months -- I call it the "too immobile to rummidge in the fridge at night" diet. As the weight started to drop from curbing the night time eating, I realized that I had weights for my legs, RIGHT HERE. So, I've been doing "bicycles" in bed, and leg lifts, using the boot and earlier the cast as the built in weights.

I'm waiting to get approval to get into the pool-- big trouble with two bum feet is getting out, via the ladder, but swimming sounds good.

I found all the enforced time in bed, and then house to be incredibly frustrating, but I did find this site during those hours and signed up for FitDay. I don't always log everything I eat, every day, but it has really helped me to get a better idea of what I'm eating, and where I need to improve. Since I'm just "clicking" what I eat, it doesn't seem as much as putting myself on report as physically writing it all down.

And several people mentioned the yoga/pilates/chairobics, and I'm watching the Dvds now, trying to see if I'm going to be able to do them. I have also started a little decent upper arm muscle tone from the six weeks using a walker, and the crutches since then. I'm going to try to keep it by doing some hand-help weight lifting.

Have you wrapped some towelling/wash cloth cushioning around the walker grips to help your hands?

Good luck...

Me too ~ been there done that; broke my ankle and foot (successively). They act up now and then even today, so I just take it easy for a few days. I always have to make sure I wear really good shoes like very supportive athletic runners and good solid walkers like Tendertootsies or something similar.

Becuz of other physical obstacles as well, I focus on a lot of low-impact stuff like YOGA, TAI CHI, PILATES, CHAIR AEROBICS, STRETCH BANDS, SWIMMING, MEDITATIVE BREATHING, DANCING (or sliding sometimes ~ LOL), HAND WEIGHTS, and anything else I can think of for movement that burns energy. Along with a good eating plan, you should do OK ...

ROSEBUD