What to Eat to Heal an Injury Faster After 40

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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.

Hey, you guys. What's up? Welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkiey Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. 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, Nikkiey Stott, and welcome to today's episode, episode number 205. And guys, really quick, can any of you recite that opening with me? Because after 205 episodes, I can totally do that in my sleep, randomly throughout the day. I'm sure you guys, after listening to 205 episodes, probably follow along and recite it back with me when I say it.

Anyway, today is a light topic, but I'm sure you'll find it interesting. I believe this one came through when I posted my Instagram story, the little questions box where I ask you what topics you want to hear that are worthy of a 20- or 30-minute conversation I can bring into an episode. And this one is around nutrition and why it matters as you're recovering from an injury.

What I'm going to talk about is obviously what's going on in your body during an injury. I want to share a little bit about what foods you should pay attention to that will help with the healing process. And then I want to give you some tactical takeaways that will help you if you track your macros pretty diligently and you're consistent with it: 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. And it's totally individual for everyone, so I'm just saying that now. But I want you guys to have some of that insight in today's episode.

So what we're going to focus on is the role of nutrition in supporting and speeding up the recovery process, and some things you can take away from that in terms of what to eat and how to maneuver your macronutrients in the day slash week. Maybe you've hurt your back, right? I've heard that a lot. Maybe you pulled something and you have to take a week or a week and a half off to allow the inflammation to go down and the pain to subside. Maybe you have a strain, maybe you sprained your ankle. Who knows? Maybe you dropped a dumbbell on your foot. You know what I mean? If you have any of these annoying little aches 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 against an injury, they don't eat. Honestly, I wish I'd calculated the data a little bit more. I'm sure there are research studies and all the things out there. But I've seen the healing process take way longer for somebody who doesn't necessarily choose not to eat, but almost forgets to eat throughout their day, because they're not in the flow of eating right, tracking macros and working out. They're just recovering. Compared to when somebody actually eats and pays attention to still tracking their macros during this time.

I think that is the overarching message of the episode today. 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 aid in the recovery, and you can still stay on track with your goals and maintain them as your body is healing. So that's the main thing I want to get across. Please, please, please don't forget to eat while you are injured. I'm going to give you the strategies to take away at the end.

But first, what's happening, so you have an understanding of what's going on in your body and why nutrition is so crucial for the recovery process. Think of the injury you have, and think of the way people recover from an injury when they focus on physical therapies like rest, icing, maybe even some stretching or some light exercises. You can totally do that, and those things will help. But I say nutrition is the king and exercise the queen. In this respect, nutrition is the king, and icing, resting, stretching, light exercises, heat pads, whatever, that's the queen.

When you're injured, your body is going through specific stages to repair the damaged tissues, whether it's a damaged ligament, a damaged bone, or maybe you're post-surgery. In those stages, it repairs the damaged tissue, it reduces inflammation, and then it rebuilds strength. In order to do this, it needs fuel in the form of key nutrients, that being your protein, your fats and your carbs. And the right foods can help your body control the inflammation, repair the tissue damage and restore your strength.

There are also wrong foods that can actually slow down your recovery. And like I said earlier, there's also the aspect of people not giving their body enough of those key nutrients to fuel this process. That will slow down and prolong your injury recovery. A lot of people get into this mentality of, oh my God, I'm losing all my progress. My progress is going to be lost. I'm not hungry. I forget to eat. They focus on what not to do while they'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 from proper nutrition. By paying attention to what you're eating, you're giving your body exactly what it needs to repair and rebuild more effectively and efficiently.

So here are a couple of things I would say you need to make sure of. And this is 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. 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. And when you're injured, your body's protein needs actually increase.

So this would be a tactical takeaway: I would recommend you bump up your protein a little bit more, because it's being used way more. It's the same way as when you're repairing your muscles, but an injury is a little more painful, so there's a lot more going on internally. Aiding with more protein is going to help speed up the recovery process for you. So I'd be doing around 1.2 grams of protein per your body weight, or maybe a little bit more, depending. This is so individual to the person, but I would probably do that because it's going to help aid in the recovery process.

You can get protein from chicken, turkey, fish. You can have eggs, Greek yogurt, plant-based proteins, chickpeas, lentils, all of those. Actually, not lentils, lentils are a carbohydrate. But seitan is really good. Tuna. Those types of protein sources. I'm naming them off the top of my head, but those are really good to help you when you're recovering from an injury.

And going back to that mentality of not being hungry, because I know that's a lot of you when you're healing from an injury, protein shakes or protein bars are really convenient. But I would only say one of each in a day, because you don't want too much processed protein. It's a convenient way to still meet your needs if your appetite is low or you're on the go and moving around. So those are some things I would recommend, but definitely keep your protein in, because it is a building block for the recovery process.

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Another thing I would recommend is omega-3 fatty acids, because they help reduce inflammation. They're anti-inflammatory fats that help manage any type of swelling you're dealing with, or any type of pain that often comes if you've injured yourself. So if you're feeling overly inflamed in one area... I think about this with me specifically. I've been doing one day of running a week, and my knee is so agitated by that. So I take omega-3s every single day in pill form, but you can also get omega-3s in salmon, sardines, chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts. Those are really good sources of omega-3s and a good way to get your fats in. You could also consider a fish oil supplement, which is an omega-3 fatty acid as well. What those are doing is allowing your body to focus on healing rather than being stuck in an inflamed state. So some things to consider there.

Something else I would recommend is zinc. Zinc is really good at speeding up tissue repair. It's a powerful nutrient for recovery. What does it do? It specifically plays a role in cell division and tissue repair. So when you're deficient in zinc, the healing process will actually slow down. But if you're giving your body enough zinc, the recovery process can speed up. You can find zinc in foods like beef and pumpkin seeds. I just thought about that because Halloween was a couple of weeks ago, and a lot of you maybe scoop out all the seeds in the pumpkin and make something from them. Chickpeas are another really good source. Lentils are another really good source. So it's important to include some of these types of foods in your routine so you can help the whole recovery process and speed it up.

There are also some other things you can include, like vitamin C, which you get from fruits like strawberries, and bell peppers, kiwis, oranges. That's going to support collagen production, or you can even take some collagen as well. So those are some of the things I would recommend when you're injured: adding in more of these types of sources so your body can use these nutrients to aid in the recovery process.

Some things I would recommend limiting. Going back to not eating during this time, you're going to find yourself craving things, because you're not giving your body the nutrients it needs throughout the day. So it's sending signals: hey, I haven't received enough nutrients, so here are some cravings, because I'm hungry. And you'll find yourself thinking, oh, I'm not working out, I'm not as active, this is just for the 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 as well. They're like, oh, I'm injured, I can't do much, so this is my time to revert back to old habits. And those habits will creep up on you, and they will creep up on you fast.

So if you find yourself in a position where inertia is trying to find its way back in, I'd recommend you recognize that, bring awareness to it and say, no, I'm going to stick to my nutrition. I'm going to follow 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 Nikkiey just mentioned. And limit 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. And these things provide little to no nutritional value.

So it's not about being overly restricted during this time, but it's about focusing on foods that will support the recovery process and avoid slowing it down. Really, it's making sure you are eating, and then making sure you're eating enough of the right nutrients. And then play the 80-20 rule. It's like, okay, cool, I've been doing that the majority of the time, but I still want a little snack. Or I'm bummed out because I can't work out. You will feel your feelings and sometimes eat your feelings, and be okay with that, because you will find yourself in that situation. But 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 get back into the gym and back into your routine.

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So some tactical things I would recommend. This is how I've navigated situations with my clients in the past. It's completely different for every individual, and I want to specifically reiterate that. Because if you find yourself with an injury, I don't want you to get off this podcast and say, okay, Nikkiey said to decrease X, Y and Z calorie-wise, and then you do it and you feel like poop and you're not giving your body the right nutrients it needs. If you're working with somebody, if you're working with a coach, if you're inside of WarriorBabe, I would consider having this conversation with them, because it may look completely different in terms of what you specifically need during the process.

For example, this isn't really an injury, but it's something one of my clients went through about three weeks ago. She was getting her eyebrows microbladed, so she couldn't work out. And I treated it the same way I would treat an injury. A couple of months ago her lower back was bothering her too, so I did the same thing. I keep the protein where her numbers are at, or I would increase it to around 1.2 times her body weight and give her a little more protein. Specifically when she was getting microbladed, I didn't. But if it was an injury, as I'm talking about here, I would recommend increasing it a little bit, as I already spoke to.

Then, since she's not doing that much energy expenditure, whether that be cardio or strength training or working out, I would pull back her carbs anywhere from 100 calories to maybe 150. And then I would pull back her fats, depending on her and her needs, about five to maybe seven grams. Or I could do the inverse and give her a little more fat to help aid in the recovery process. The main thing is knowing that she's not putting out as much energy expenditure as she normally does on a daily slash weekly basis. So there's no need for her to overconsume, because she's not burning that many calories. And if I give her too much food, it will result in her being closer to maintenance, not necessarily in a deficit, or even going into maintenance.

See what I mean? There are so many different tactics and strategies one could use to go about this individually through an injury recovery process. But those are some of the strategies, right? Protein increased, carbs pulled back, and fats either pulled back too, or slightly increased to help give her the right nutrients she needs. The overarching principle is keeping in mind that she's not burning as many calories as she was while she was working out on a regular weekly basis. So those are some tactical things I would say.

Some other practical tips so you can stay on track during recovery: still do all of the things you would do if you were not injured. What I mean by that is still prep your meals. Prep easy meals, so you don't feel like you have to cook elaborate meals, and especially if you're injured, you're not going to want to. If you focus on easy, nutrient-packed options with fats, proteins, some carbohydrates and some veggies, all without tons of prep, it's going to be easy for you to stay on track. Prep them the night before and have them ready for the next day, or whenever you prep your meals throughout the week.

Keep snacks on hand so they prevent you from reaching for processed food out of convenience. Keep a protein bar with you. Keep a protein shake with you. Keep things with you so that if you feel cravings coming on, you can easily grab something that's actually healthy, not something that's processed and just there out of convenience.

Another thing is staying hydrated. It's so important to still drink your water, as you normally would if you were not injured, while you are recovering, because it helps transport nutrients to the injured area for recovery. So make sure you're drinking water throughout the day. Include some electrolytes if you feel you need to. You don't have to, but it's so important to stay hydrated.

And the last thing I would say is take it day by day. As I said throughout this episode, it's totally normal to feel frustrated. It's totally normal to feel like 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 you're post-surgery, which could take a period of time. You are still in control of your nutrition 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 not tackle this injury with the right mindset and the right strategies, so the next time it happens, you already have a sense of knowing what's in your control from last time, and you'll just do it again.

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 overindulge, 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, like I said, it's also going to set you back in getting the recovery you want so you can get back into the gym. Look at it like this: every meal is an opportunity to support your body's recovery. So you have the ability to choose. You have the ability to still show up for yourself in that aspect. You have the ability to stay on point no matter what while you're going through a healing process from an injury, and that is going to benefit you now and in the long run. You have the choice and you have the control.

So I want you to marinate on that. You can take that into what I said about microblading. You can even take that into the holidays, you guys. If you're not training because you're busy, I get it. But at the same time, this is the best time for you to nail consistency, because if you can nail it down in a busy season, you'll have the ease of nailing it down when you're less busy. That's the way I look at it. And if you're busy during the holiday season, and that's the story you're going to tell yourself, and you're not working out as often, you still probably wouldn't eat as much, because you're thinking about the energy expenditure you're putting out. If you're not doing the intense workouts on a weekly basis, you don't need as much nutrition to recover from them.

And then my brain just went down a different avenue too, so take this with a grain of salt, because it's completely different for everyone. Some people, and I've done this with clients, I will leave at maintenance while they're in recovery, just because their body and their metabolism are so efficient that they can handle staying at maintenance and actually maintaining while they go through recovery, which just gives them more nutrients to aid in that recovery process. But then there are some people aiming for a goal in eight to 12 weeks or whatever, and they find themselves injured for six or maybe seven days out of those eight to 12 weeks. You still want to stay in a deficit at that point, so you're still on track to your goals by focusing on nutrition. So it's completely different, right? It's so case-by-case and individual. So take all that and marinate on it.

Overall, the main important thing is that you are eating while you are injured, and you're eating enough of the right nutrients. That's going to fuel your body during the healing process. Give yourself the right types of foods, as I talked about, and play around with those strategies I mentioned, so you can either stay on track or just maintain while you focus on recovery.

So again, to wrap things up, nutrition is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your tool belt when it comes to injury recovery. Make sure that is ingrained in your brain. All right, my friends, I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Short, sweet and light, like I said at the beginning of the episode, but also informative. So take it and run with it, and I'll see you in the next episode.

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