How Nutrition Speeds Up Injury Healing

00:00Real quick, the only ask I could ever have of you guys is to help spread the word so we can help more women lose body fat, build muscle, reach their goals, and feel insanely confident. And the only way we can do that is if you rate, review, and share this podcast. So the single thing I ask for you to do is if you could leave a review. It will take you 10 seconds, and it will mean the absolute world to me and may change the world of someone else. Why protein is so important is because it's a building block of recovery. It's essential for the recovery process because it provides amino acids that your body needs to repair damaged muscles and tendons and ligaments or whatever's going on.

00:44Hey, you guys. What's up? Welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkie Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. And on this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I am your host, Nikkie Stott, and welcome to today's episode, episode number 205. And guys, really quick, can any of you guys recite that opening with me? Because for 205 episodes, I can totally do that in my sleep randomly throughout the day.

01:22I'm sure you guys, after listening to 205 episodes, probably follow along and recite that back with me when I say it. Anyway, today is a light, but I'm sure you guys will find an interesting topic. So I believe this is one that came through from when I posted my Instagram story, the little questions box where I'm asking you guys like what topics you want to hear on the episode that are like worthy of a 20, 30-minute conversation that I can bring into an episode. And this one is around nutrition and why it matters as you are recovering from an injury.

02:00So what I'm going to talk about is obviously what's going on during an injury in your body. I want to share with you guys a little bit of what foods you should pay attention to that will help with the healing process. And then I want to give you guys some tactical takeaways that will help you if you track your macros pretty diligently and you're consistent with it. How I've navigated, and it's totally individual for everyone, so I'm just saying that now. But how I've navigated pulling back calories and macros while somebody is recovering from an injury because clearly they're not putting out as much energy expenditure.

02:41So I want you guys to have some of that insight in today's episode. So what we're going to talk about and focus on is obviously the role of nutrition in supporting and speeding up the recovery process and some things that you guys can like take away from that in terms of like what to eat and how to maneuver your macronutrients in the day slash week. So whether you're going through like, I don't know, maybe you've hurt your back, right? I've heard that a lot. Maybe you pulled something and so you have to take like a week or a week and a half off to allow the inflammation to go down and allow the pain to subside.

03:14Maybe you have a strain, maybe you sprained your ankle. Who knows? Maybe you've dropped a dumbbell on your foot. I don't know. You know what I mean? If you have any of these like annoying little aches maybe or pains that pop up from overtraining, food can make a massive difference. And when I say that, it's because I have trained so many women, right? And in the time of training women, when they come up to an injury, they don't eat.

03:47And honestly, I've kind of seen this and I wish that I've like maybe calculated the data a little bit more to be able to like, you know, I'm sure there's research studies and all the things out there. But I've seen the healing process take way longer for somebody that chooses to not necessarily like chooses not to eat, but like almost forgets to eat throughout their day because they're not so in the flow of eating right, tracking macros and working out.

04:19Like they're just recovering. And so compared to when somebody does actually eat and gives themselves and pays attention to try still tracking their macros during this time, I think that is overall arching in the episode today. The message that I want to get across is like when you are going through an injury, you still want to focus on eating enough of the right types of foods that are going to help you to aid in the recovery. And that are still going to you can still stay on track with your goals as you're going through an injury and maintain them as your body is healing.

04:57So first, that's the main thing I want to get across. Like, please, please, please, please, like don't forget to eat while you are injured and focus on I'm going to give you the strategies to take away at the end. But first, what's happening so you guys can have an understanding of what's going on in your body and why nutrition is so crucial for the recovery process is think of like the injury that you have and think of the way that people recover from an injury when you focus on like physical therapies like rest, icing, maybe even some stretching or some light exercises.

05:31And you can totally do that. But the truth is, is that those things will help. But nutrition is literally like I say nutrition is the king and exercise the queen. Like in this respect, nutrition is the king and ice, resting, stretching, light exercises, whatever, heat pads, like that's queen. So when you're injured, your body is going through specific stages to repair the damaged tissues.

06:03If it's a ligament, damaged whatever, damaged bone, maybe your post-surgery. And it has to in that in those stages, it repairs the damaged tissue. It reduces inflammation and then it rebuilds strength. And in order to do this, it needs fuel in the form of key nutrients. And that being your protein, your fats and your carbs and the right foods along with that too can help your body control the inflammation to repair the tissue damage and to restore your strength.

06:38And while there are wrong foods to focus on that can actually slow down your recovery. And like I said earlier, there's also the aspect of like how people don't give their body enough fuel of those key nutrients to fuel this process. It will slow down your, your, and prolong your injury recovery. So instead of focusing on like, a lot of people kind of get in this mentality of like, oh my God, I'm losing all my progress. My progress is going to be lost.

07:08Um, I'm not hungry. I forget to eat. You focus on what not to do while you're recovering. So instead of focusing on what not to do, you need to focus on the key role of healing, which comes from nutrients and comes from the proper nutrition. And by paying attention to what you're eating, you're giving your body exactly what it needs to repair and to build more effectively and efficiently. So a couple of things that I would say that you need to make sure.

07:38Okay. And this is like the staple across the board. Obviously I've talked about protein so many times on this podcast. And I truly believe it is the macronutrient that a lot of people don't focus on getting enough of. But why protein is so important is because it's a building block of recovery. And it's essential for the recovery process because it provides amino acids that your body needs to repair damaged muscles and tendons and ligaments or whatever's going on. And when you're injured, your body, your body's protein needs actually increase.

08:11So I, I, this would be like a tactical takeaway. Like I would recommend that you would bump up your protein a little bit more because it's being used way more. It's just, it's even the same way as like you're, you're repairing your muscles, but an injury is a little bit more painful. So there's a lot more going on internally. So aiding with more protein is going to help speed up the recovery process for you and actually a little bit more. So I'd be doing like, you know, 1.2 grams of protein per your body weight and, or maybe a little bit more depending.

08:45And this is so individual to the, to the person. But I would probably do that because it's, it's, it's, it's going to help aid in the recovery process. And you can get protein from chicken. You can get it from turkey. You can get it from fish. You can have eggs, Greek yogurt, plant-based proteins, chickpeas, lentils, like all of those aspects. Not lentils, lentils are a carbohydrate. But C-N is really good. Tuna. Those, those types of protein sources. Now I'm naming them off the top of my head, but those are really good to help you when you are recovering from an injury.

09:23And even too, like when you're not hungry, going back to that kind of mentality, because I know that's a lot of you guys when you're, when you're healing from an injury, it's, protein shakes are really convenient or protein bars. But I would only say one of each in a day because you don't want too much processed protein. But it's a convenient way to still meet your needs if your appetite is low or, you know, you're kind of on the go and you're moving around. So those are some things I would recommend, but definitely keeping in your protein because it is a building block for the recovery process. Quick break. If you're finding this episode helpful so far, it would mean a lot if you could hit pause for just a second, leave a quick rating or a review or share it with someone who could benefit from it.

10:05Your support helps more women discover these tools to build muscle, lose fat and feel confident. Thank you so much for being a part of this journey with me. Another thing that I would recommend is omega-3 fatty acids because that helps to reduce inflammation. It's an anti-inflammatory, they're anti-inflammatory fats that help manage any type of swelling that you're dealing with or any type of pain that often comes if you've injured yourself. So if you are feeling overly inflamed in one area, so like specifically I think about this with me is like I've been doing a little one day of running a week and my knee is so agitated by that, by me doing that.

10:48And so I take omega-3s every single day and either in the pill form, but also you can get omega-3s in salmon, sardines, chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, like those are really good sources of omega-3s and fatty and to get your fats in. You could also consider like a fish oil supplement, which is an omega-3 fatty acid too as well. So, but what those are doing is that is allowing your body to focus on healing rather than being stuck in an inflamed state.

11:22So some things to consider there. Something else that I would recommend too as well is zinc. Zinc is really good in speeding up tissue repair. It's a powerful nutrient for recovery and it plays specifically, what does it do? It specifically plays a role in like cell division and tissue repair. So when you're deficient in zinc, healing process will actually slow down. But if you are giving your body enough zinc, the recovery process can speed up. And you can find zinc in foods like beef, pumpkin seeds.

11:55I just thought about that because of Halloween being a couple weeks ago. And so a lot of you guys, like maybe you scoop out all the seeds in the pumpkin and then you make something from that. Chickpeas is another really good source. Lentils is another really good source. So it's important to also include some of these types of foods into your routine so that you're able to help the whole recovery process and speed it up. There's also some other things you can include in like vitamin C, which you're getting from like fruits and strawberries and like bell peppers or kiwis, oranges.

12:32That's going to support some collagen production or you can even take some collagen too as well. So those are some of the things I would recommend. When you are injured is adding in more of these types of sources so that your body can use these types of nutrients to fuel your body to aid in the recovery process. Some things that I would limit and recommend limiting is like I know during this time you like going back to if you're not eating, you're going to find yourself craving things because you're not giving your body the nutrients that it needs throughout the day.

13:09So it's sending signals that, hey, I haven't received enough nutrients. So here are some cravings because I'm hungry. And you will find yourself you're like, oh, I'm not working out. I'm not as active. You know, this is just a time being and you'll find yourself snacking. You'll find yourself getting into sugary foods and sugary drinks. I've been there. I've done that. I know that mentality. I've seen women do this too as well. They're like, oh, I'm injured. I'm not I can't do much. So like this is my time to kind of revert back to old habits. And they will creep up you and they will creep up on you fast.

13:42And that's where I would recommend is like to not get if you find yourself in a position that's inertia trying to just like find its way back in and to recognize that bring awareness to it and be like, no, I'm going to stick to my nutrition. I'm going to stick to following through. I'm going to eat my macros. I'm going to eat what I'm called for. I'm going to eat the foods that Nikki just mentioned and limits finding yourself snacking or going for sugary things or processed foods or even alcohol. Because all of this can hinder recovery. It disrupts sleep. It increases inflammation even more.

14:15And they provide little to any nutritional value. So it's not about overly being overly restricted during this time, but it's also focusing on foods that will help to support the recovery process and avoid slowing it down. So really, it's like making sure that you are eating and then making sure you're eating enough of the right nutrients. And then like playing the 80-20 rule. It's like, okay, cool. I've been doing that. I'm doing that majority of my time. But like, okay, I still want a little snack. Or I'm bummed out because I can't work out.

14:48And like you will feel your feelings and sometimes eat your feelings. And like be okay with that because you will find yourself in that situation. But like just recognize that you're not doing it the entire time. And don't do it the entire time because it will set you back and it won't help you to get back into the gym and get back into your routine. Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control.

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15:51Visit warriorbabe.com forward slash apply today to start your transformation. That's warriorbabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. So some tactical things I would recommend. And this is like how I've navigated situations with my clients in the past. It's completely different for every individual. And I just want to specifically reiterate that.

16:23Because you guys, if you find yourself in an injury, like I don't want you to get off this podcast and be like, okay, Nikki said to decrease X, Y, and Z calorie wise. And then you do and you feel like poop and then you're not giving your body the right nutrients that it needs. Like I would consider you, if you're working with somebody, you're working with a coach, you're inside of Warrior Babe, I would consider having this conversation with them because it may look completely different in terms of what you specifically need during the process. So for example, this isn't really an injury, but it's something that one of my clients just recently went through about three weeks ago.

17:01So she was getting her eyebrows microbladed, so she couldn't work out. And so I treated it the same way that I would treat an injury. And even if like for her also a couple months ago, her lower back was bothering her. So it did the same thing. I still keep the protein where her numbers are at, or I would increase it even to like 1.2 times her body weight and give her a little bit more protein. Um, specifically when she was getting microbladed, I didn't.

17:31But if it was an injury, as I'm talking about here now, I would recommend increasing it a little bit as I already spoke to. Then, since she's not doing that much cardio, or she's not doing that much like energy expenditure, whether that be cardio or strength training or working out, then I would pull back her carbs anywhere from like 100 calories to maybe 150. Um, and then I would pull back her fats depending on, like depending on her and her needs. I would pull them back either about five to maybe seven grams,

18:03or I could also do the inverse and maybe give her a little bit more fat to help to aid in the recovery process. But knowing, the main thing is knowing that she's not putting out as much energy expenditure that she normally is on a daily basis slash weekly basis. So there's no need for her to, um, over consume because she's not burning that many calories on a regular basis. And if I give her too much food, then it will just resort in her either being closer to maintenance,

18:35not necessarily in a deficit, or even going into maintenance. It's, see that, see what I mean? There's so many different tactics and strategies of which one could go through in order to, um, go about this specifically, like individually, like through a healing, through a, through a, um, an injury recovery process. But some of those are some of the strategies, right? Protein increase, carbs back, either fats would be pulled back too as well, or they would be slightly increased to help with giving her the right nutrients that she needs. Just the overarching principle is keeping in mind that she's not burning as many calories as she was, um,

19:09while she was working out on a regular weekly basis. So those are some tactical things that I would say. Some other tactical, practical tips that you guys can make sure that you stay on track during recovery is still do all of the things that you would do if you were not injured. And what I mean by that is still prep your meals, prep easy meals, so that maybe you don't feel like you have to cook these elaborate meals. And especially if you're injured, you're not going to want to.

19:42So if you focus on just easy nutrient-packed options that are packed with the fats, the proteins, some carbohydrates, some veggies, all without tons of prep, it's going to be easy for you to stay on track. But to prep them, like you do, like the night before, and then get, have them ready for the next day, whenever you prep your meals throughout the week. Keep snacks on hand, um, so that they prevent you from, you know, snacking or reaching for processed food out of convenience. Just keep a protein bar with you.

20:13Keep a, um, a protein shake with you. Keep things that are with you that if you feel like you want, like you feel like these cravings coming on, um, you can easily grab something that's actually healthy and it's not something that's processed and just out of convenience. Another thing is staying hydrated. It is so important to drink your water still as you normally would if you were not injured while you are recovering because it, it helps to, um, transport nutrients to the injured area for recovery.

20:50So make sure you are drinking water throughout the day. Make sure you're including some electrolytes if you feel like you need to. Um, you don't have to, uh, but it's, it's so important to just stay hydrated. And then last thing that I would say is like, take it day by day. Okay. As I said throughout this episode, it's like, it's totally normal to feel frustrated. It's totally normal to feel like, you know, you've been sidelined and your progress is stalling and you're down for two weeks or maybe you're out for a month or maybe even, you know, post-surgery,

21:23which could take a period of time. You are in control of your nutrition still at this point. And you're also in control of choosing the path forward during your recovery process. It is just one phase of your fitness journey. If you're injured, it's probably going to happen again. So why don't you try and tackle this injury with the right mindset and the right strategies so that the next time that it happens, you already have a sense of knowingness that is in your

21:54control that you did last time. And so that you can just, you will just do it again, but just take it day by day. Make sure you're making small, consistent choices with your nutrition that will benefit you now and in the long run. Know that if you do, um, indulge and overly indulge, that's going to set you back even more. Not only is it going to set you back in getting the results you want, but it's also like I said, going to set you back in getting the recovery that you want so you can get back into the gym. Every meal, look at it like this, is an opportunity to support your body's recovery.

22:29So you have the ability to choose. You have the ability to show up in that aspect still for yourself. You have the ability to stay on point no matter what, while you're going through a healing process from an injury that is going to benefit you now and in the long run. You have the choice and you have the control. So once you guys would just marinate on that, if that is, I would even like, you can take that into what I said with microblading. You can even take that into the holidays, you guys. If you are not training because you're busy and I get it, but also at the same time, it's

23:03like, this is the best time for you to nail inconsistency because if you can nail it down in a busy season, then you will have the ease of nailing it down when you are less busy. That's the way I look at it. But you, but if you're busy during the holiday season, okay, and that's what the story you're going to tell yourself and you're not working out as often, then you would want to, you wouldn't, you still probably wouldn't eat as much again because you're thinking about the energy expenditure that you're putting out. If you're not doing the intense workouts on a weekly basis, then you don't need as much

23:37nutrition to recover from that. So think like, and, and then my brain just went into like a different avenue too as well, because it's take that with the grain of salt. It's completely different. Some people, and I've done this to clients, will leave people at maintenance while they were, they are in recovery just because their body is so efficient and their metabolism is so efficient and they can handle, um, staying at maintenance and actually maintaining while they're going through recovery, which is just giving them more nutrients to aid in that recovery

24:11process. But then there are still somebody that some people that are like, like aiming for a goal in eight to 12 weeks or whatever. And they find themselves injured for six, you know, maybe seven days, uh, out of those eight, 12 weeks. And you still want to stay in a deficit at that point so that you're still on track to your goals by focusing on nutrition. So it's completely different, right? It's, it's, it's not completely different. It's so case individual. So take all that, marinate on it.

24:41Overall, the main important thing is that you are eating while you are injured and you're eating enough of the right nutrients. It's going to fill your body during the healing process and you're giving yourself the right types of foods as I talked about during the healing process and to play around with those strategies, as I mentioned, so that you can either stay on track or you just maintain while you are focusing on recovery. Okay. So again, to wrap things up, nutrition is one of the most powerful tools that you can have

25:17in your tool belt when it comes to injury recovery. Make sure that that is ingrained in your brain. All right, my friends, I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Short, sweet, light, like I said, the beginning of the episode, but also informative. So take it, run with it. And I'll see you in the next episode. Hey, really quick before you go, I have one small favor to ask. If this episode brought you value or sparked something in you, take just a moment to hit that review button.

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