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Dear Sarah,
As you begin your comeback divide you fitness plan into three equal parts. The first part is your weightlifting program. Depending on the type of injury you have you will need to design a work out that will get your major muscle groups working again. There may be certain exercises that you will need to avoid. Consult your doctor or physical therapist to determine which exercises you can perform. The important thing is to keep you body moving. The longer you are inactive the more difficult it is to get back into the grove again. Lifting weights will automatically boost your metabolism and prevent atrophy-the loss of muscle mass. You may need to start with very light weight but don’t get discouraged. Concentrate on proper form and build a good base so that the muscles get the work out, not the joints. You can increase the weight over time.

The second part is cardiovascular training. You have been inactive for a long period of time which means you are only burning a minimum amount of calories. It’s time to get your body moving again. It doesn’t matter if you walk, ride the stationary bike or use the elliptical machine as long as you’re doing something.

Your injuries may prevent you from choosing certain types of cardio so you will have to experiment to see what works for you. I have found the stationary bike and the elliptical machine to be good choices for people that are injured because they are low impact. In other words they don’t violently jar your body back and forth like running or jogging.

Start by doing your cardio for short periods of time. If you’ve been injured you can’t expect to jump on a machine and do 45 minutes of cardio right away. Instead start somewhere between 5 -15 minute sessions 1-3 times a week. The time and frequency will depend on the seriousness of your injury. Increase you cardio session about five minutes every 2-3 weeks until you’ve reached a maximum of 30-45 minutes. As you become more mobile you may want to add a fourth day of cardio depending on how you are progressing.

The third part of you program is learning to eat healthy. You may have noticed that I did not use the word diet. The problem with diets is that you can’t stay on them forever. Many diets deprive you of the nutrition needed to sustain muscle. You will eventually have to stop dieting and go back to your old habits. When you do you will most likely end up fatter than you were in the first place.

You’re right. In order to increase your metabolism you will need to eat several times a day. I think the best way to explain it is to have three meals and two to three snacks throughout the day. This will help keep your hunger satisfied and your blood sugar levels up. Try to space your meals two to three hours apart so that by the time your body is done digesting food it’s being fed again. As far as how long it will take to notice changes depends on the individual. Each person will respond differently depending on their body type. Take your time and learn to eat properly and you will be much more likely to succeed.