The Best Diet to Prepare for a Hip Replacement

You might be asking yourself: what's the best diet to prepare for a hip replacement?

There are no secrets to food. Just eat the good stuff. Avoid the marketing and the bright colors. Educate yourself. Whole foods. It isn't hard — it just takes some quality discipline and consistency.

Treat the grocery store like a sport

Everything good you throw in the cart is points. Hits. Touchdowns. Whatever works for you.

You're winning when most of what's in there is fruit and vegetables, some lean meat and fish, decent bread with something actually in it — seeds, whole grains, not the $2 white loaf — quinoa, nuts, beans, seeds, coconut oil, cayenne, turmeric, cinnamon, maybe some hummus.

Get crazy with a Snickers or an ice cream now and then when you know you've been crushing it in the gym.

Keep the fundamentals simple and clear: mostly fruit and vegetables, some meat but lean towards fish. Stop it with the frozen aisles. Stick to the outside of the store — something I learned from Core Performance by Mark Verstegen, a book I'd recommend to anyone regardless of fitness level.

The list

These aren't the only foods. They're my staples.

Fruit

People say fruit has too much sugar. Personally, I don't care. It works for me. I usually eat fruit as dessert when I can.

Avocado (classified as a fruit, apparently), mango, pineapple, oranges, pears, blueberries, blackberries, watermelon, bananas, apples, kiwi, lemon in water, lime in beer. Pretty much any other fruit — try them all.

Vegetables

Sweet potatoes (the best, especially if you're athletic — and we should all be athletic), Brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, kale, spinach.

Those six should make up the majority of what you eat, as much as possible. Eat at least one of them every day. Ideally two servings of at least three of them.

Then romaine, onion, tomato, carrot — and again, any other vegetable. Try them all.

Meat and fish

Chicken, tilapia, tuna, salmon, lean ground turkey mixed through whole wheat pasta, steak here and there.

Whole grains

Quinoa, whole grain pasta, couscous.

Nuts, beans, seeds

Almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, peanuts, walnuts. Lentils and black beans — avoid refried, avoid anything super salty. Sunflower, flax, chia and hemp seeds.

Oils

Flaxseed, coconut, avocado if you can stand the price. Never canola or vegetable oil.

Everything else

Greek yogurt. Marinara for the pasta — not especially healthy, don't care, it's too good. Almond milk for smoothies. Raw cacao, cayenne, chlorella, spirulina. A green drink every morning. Raisins mixed with almonds or peanuts, bagged up and kept in the car for fuel on the go.

And, of course, ranch dressing. It isn't healthy. It's amazing, and it makes me eat more vegetables and more salad, so it stays.

And beer. Must have beer. Sometimes.

On sugar

You shouldn't have sugar sitting in your cupboard. If you want to bake cookies, go and buy what you need that day. It isn't a staple.

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None of this is new information. It's all over the internet, and there are far more comprehensive lists out there. This is just what I've come to buy.

I'm not perfect, but I'd say 90 to 95% of the time I practice exactly what I preach. These are the foods I've trained myself to love. The energy that goes into eating what you know you should eat radiates through everything else and empowers you.

So do it because it feels good.

Start. Right. Now.

Go get it.

Isaac