DAAAAAAAMMMMNNN IT.....
I was pretty stacked at about 205 with ~10%BF prior to all this jaw stuff. I had an injury prior to my surgery (hernia and hip issue) that resulted in a significant change in my workouts (less weights, no heavy deads or squats, etc) for about 4 - 6 months. I started hitting KBs hard and doing functional training solely. I got down to about 185 - 190 but was pretty ripped. Then jaw surgery....
I lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks! At week 3 I started really pushing my intake up and starting taking long walks and doing a warm up/mobility routine I do to get things moving again. I was very careful about not clenching my jaw or holding tension in my face. Right before my revision (between week 4-5 I think) I was starting to do some body weight stuff. It felt GREAT. It was probably much earlier than most surgeons would suggest but I feel pretty strongly that in general, we underestimate our bodies need for movement and work, even when injured or recovering from surgery. You have to be very careful, cautious, slow, and conservative (relatively here, obviously). It drastically helped my mood and my swelling actually appeared to decrease with my efforts.
Since the revision, I was back to liquids (vs thicker blender mush) which really hit me hard again. MY body was not super happy about having the assault of another surgery so soon after my first one. I've lost a good 20 lbs from where I started 6 weeks ago!
I'm 10 days out from my partial revision and I'm starting to take longer walks again and am doing some stretches/mobility work. I do a few very easy gentle body weight squats every ~45 minutes or so when working on research from home. I also have a standing desk which I highly recommend.
So....
I think the general advice from surgeons will be to wait about a month before you start really moving again, 6-8 weeks before you lift anything much more significant than your body/limbs, and 3+ months before you start really building up to more challenging work.
"You should always listen to your surgeon." I said it. That's for you.
If you're ME, though? I listen very closely to my body. Generally, I start doing progressive mobility/walking within a week or 2 of major surgery (of course, depends on the surgery), start body weight stuff at week 2-3, progress to more difficult/challenging body weight stuff and may add very light lifting around 4-6 weeks, and then I"m back on the horse around 8 weeks.
