Will I gain weight if I'm too sedentary, don't eat, or my sleep schedule is off?

TurtleTop08

Day 2 of my stomach flu and all I've been doing for the past day and today is lying in bed. I have a fever, I've been eating light but not much because everything is going right through me [TMI] but I don't want to slow my metabolism so I've been forcing some bran foods and fruits. And I keep taking naps. By night time I didn't fall asleep until 2am because of all the sleeping I did earlier in the day. Will I gain weight from all of this? I'm usually active, eat more, and have a set sleep schedule but this flu hit me out of nowhere.

SideSteel

You won't slow your metabolism with a few days of not eating.

You are only going to gain weight if you start consuming more calories than you burn, with the exception of some initial weight gain that you'll likely encounter when you are able to eat again, simply because you are rehydrating and increasing the amount of food volume moving through your GI system.

LAWoman72

I've never noticed a slowed metabolism after a stomach flu. Feel better.

geneticsteacher

Food recommended for stomach flu - BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). I would stay away from other fruit and fiber until any diarrhea/vomiting stops.

As SideSteel said, you will not gain weight by eating less.

dragon_girl26

Priority #1 needs to be getting yourself better. If you have the stomach flu, I wouldn't try forcing anything down too much..let your body tell you what it needs. Rest as best you can and try to stay hydrated, as stomach flu can dehydrate you quickly if you aren't careful. Your metabolism will be fine. Everything is passing through you, more than likely, so weight gain won't be an issue. If anything, you're probably losing water weight lbs, which will return once you're feeling better.
Take care of yourself and don't worry about it too much..

CattOfTheGarage

My experience suggests my calorie burn is lower when I am ill, but I think that is just because lying under a blanket all day does not burn much, even when compared to my usual fairly sedentary habits.

I think you need to stop worrying about this and just go with it. When you are ill, you need to postpone your fitness goals and cut your body some slack, as it is already under considerable stress fighting the infection and will do better without the additional stress of controlling your eating (or physical exertion) and worrying about your fitness.

I know when we're losing weight we can get used to the idea that we need to fight our bodies and control them, but when you are ill you need to realise your body is handling something very complex, and it will adjust your appetites and inclinations to help that along. It knows what it is doing here. If it wants food, give it food. If it wants to fast or eat less than usual, let it. It will not do any damage. Yes, your progression towards your goals may stall while you're ill, and that's ok. You caught a virus, that's a serious matter, and fighting it is your top priority until it's gone. Once you've recovered you can pick up where you left off. A week or two will not ruin anything.