By: Dr. Stacie Barber
I Thought I Knew What Recovery Meant Until I Was the One on Crutches
As a physical therapist, I’ve spent my career helping others navigate the recovery process. I’ve rehabbed athletes through post-op setbacks, managed nagging overuse injuries, and guided people back to the sports and lives they love.
But nothing prepared me for the emotional and physical challenge of healing my own body.
When I ruptured my Achilles tendon, I thought I could “out-discipline” the injury. I couldn’t train like I used to, so I figured I’d take the opportunity to lean out. I cut my calories, tightened up my food choices, and treated my nutrition like a cutting phase. I assumed that injury meant inactivity, and inactivity meant I needed fewer calories.
What I didn’t realize was that healing is one of the most metabolically demanding things your body can go through. I was starving myself right when I needed fuel the most.
Healing Is Not a Passive Process. It’s Demanding Work
Being in a boot and on crutches made me feel like I was doing nothing. But beneath the surface, my body was doing everything.
These aren’t passive processes. They require energy. They require nutrients. They require intentional fueling.
I didn’t fully grasp that until I realized I was actually regressing. My rehab sessions felt harder than they should have. I was constantly exhausted. I couldn’t build tolerance to load. My sleep suffered. My mood plummeted. The discipline I thought I was showing by eating less was actually stalling my recovery.
Under-Fueling During Injury Doesn’t Just Slow Healing. It Risks Everything
Here’s what I now know, not just as a PT, but as a patient.
When you under-eat during injury recovery, you put yourself at risk for muscle loss, especially if the injured limb is immobilized or non-weight-bearing. Tissue repair suffers because tendons and ligaments need adequate calories, amino acids, and micronutrients to rebuild. Low calorie intake can also suppress thyroid function and increase stress hormones like cortisol, leading to hormonal disruption that impacts everything from energy to mood. On top of that, your nervous system becomes more reactive and less resilient, increasing your sensitivity to pain. And mentally, being in a calorie deficit during a tough recovery makes it even harder to stay positive.
I experienced every single one of those before I finally adjusted course.
What Helped Me Finally Start Healing
I didn’t just start feeling better—I actually started healing—when I increased my food intake.
At first, I moved to caloric maintenance, then eventually added a small surplus, especially on rehab days or when my activity level increased. But the biggest shift came from prioritizing protein.
I increased my daily protein intake to around 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, spread across the day. That gave my body what it needed to preserve lean mass, repair tissue, and support my immune system.
I also stopped fearing carbohydrates. Instead of viewing them as something to minimize, I saw them as fuel for my therapy sessions. They helped stabilize my energy levels and got rid of the constant sense of “flatness” I had felt during the early weeks of eating less.
What I Ate While Recovering
Once I stopped under-eating, my meals became simple, consistent, and supportive of healing.
Breakfast was usually a mix of eggs, oats, berries, cottage cheese, and a scoop of collagen peptides. Mid-morning, I’d have a snack like an apple with peanut butter. Lunch might be chicken thigh with jasmine rice drizzled in coconut oil, followed by a banana and whey protein in the afternoon. Dinner was typically steak, a roasted sweet potato, and whatever vegetable I had in the fridge.
It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t perfect. But it was enough. And that made all the difference.
Progress Looks Different During Injury. But It’s Still Progress
One of the hardest parts of recovery is redefining what progress means. It’s easy to get wrapped up in aesthetics, scale weight, or chasing personal records. But recovery is about something deeper—restoring function, rebuilding tissue, and regaining confidence in your body.
Fueling your body during this time doesn’t mean you’re letting yourself go. It means you’re giving yourself the best possible chance at a full, strong return.
The turning point in my recovery wasn’t a new rehab technique or some fancy tool. It was the moment I stopped trying to restrict and started trying to support. That shift—from control to care—changed everything.
Final Thoughts
If you’re injured right now and tempted to cut calories or “tighten up” your diet to compensate for less movement, I get it. I’ve been there. But trust me—your body is doing some of the most important work it’s ever done.
It needs fuel.
It needs protein.
It needs you to show up and support it, not punish it.
Let yourself heal. Eat enough to rebuild. You’ll be stronger for it.
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