Assessing weight and goals after illness

SCoil123

I’ve been sick before but not like this. I had a 24hr stomach bug and then 3 days later got sick again. The doctors office swab confirmed two influenza strands A&B. I have been getting what calories I can in (a few hundred a day for a week now) and staying well hydrated but I’ve lost weight too.

My question is this - I was on my final cut cycle and was planning on switching to maintenance after when I got sick. I only wanted to lose about 10lb and I have lost 6 this week. I’m wondering if I should go straight into maintenance after I get better? Or should I go back to my regular plan for a few weeks and re-assess?

I’m really worried about muscle loss while I’ve been sick and am already at a healthy BMI. Today my fever broke but I still can’t eat normally

steveko89

I'd suggest getting a good 2-3 weeks of "normal" data and see where you fall. Overall I think the risk of actual muscle loss gets overblown for a relatively short lifting hiatus, it probably just feels like it since you've been dehydrated and not getting your usual muscle stimulus to promote glycogen storage. Prioritize full recovery over any sort of weight management IMO, at least for the time being.

Maxxitt

I had a stomach bug recently - fever, etc - wasn't really able to eat much for a week and it was probably 10 days before I had a "usual" eating day. I kept data the whole time. I lost 3% of starting weight initially, but by the the time I was able to eat my usual fare, the actual weight loss was a little over a pound - the rest was just fluid loss. Just concentrate on getting well. You may not feel like eating at maintenance for a time yet, but I think it would be fine to go to maintenance as planned once you feel like it.

COGypsy

I would definitely suggest going into maintenance, at least for a good while after you start feeling better. I had a bad bout of flu as well and 7 weeks out, I'm still getting run down easily and treating the coughing and shortness of breath. If I were trying to eat at a deficit, I really think I'd be in worse shape than I am.

I was worried a bit about muscle loss as well. Especially once I realized I'd pretty much lived on toast, noodles and soup for a couple of weeks! I made an effort to add a protein shake most days, since I still wasn't super hungry. I've been back to my workout schedule the last couple of weeks and other than needing longer rest between sets, I haven't lost anything in my lifts, even after nearly a month mostly out of the gym.

This year's flu is a straight-up *kitten*--just be patient and keep your focus on getting all the way well. So many of the people who've had it this year have ended up with secondary infections like bronchitis and pneumonia. There's plenty of time to decide whether you need to cut more or are ready to maintain!

puffbrat

If your that sick, a lot of the weight loss is probably water not muscle. I would go back to your regular plan and reassess after a couple weeks.

jasonpoihegatama

You know not to hit the weights hard right away and it will take some time to rehydrate If i was at that healthy weight i will take it eazy in the gym see how i feel in 2 or 3 weeks then hit it hard for 2 weeks then maintain! But if you not feeling good after 2 or 3 weeks rehydrating then just go into maintain add it in the plan as d loading.

SCoil123

The reason I’m concerned it is muscle and not water is because I’m basically living off of water and Gatorade. The doctor said I’m not dehydrated when I went to urgent care. I have been able to consume water and gatorade

SCoil123

COGypsy wrote: »

I would definitely suggest going into maintenance, at least for a good while after you start feeling better. I had a bad bout of flu as well and 7 weeks out, I'm still getting run down easily and treating the coughing and shortness of breath. If I were trying to eat at a deficit, I really think I'd be in worse shape than I am.

I was worried a bit about muscle loss as well. Especially once I realized I'd pretty much lived on toast, noodles and soup for a couple of weeks! I made an effort to add a protein shake most days, since I still wasn't super hungry. I've been back to my workout schedule the last couple of weeks and other than needing longer rest between sets, I haven't lost anything in my lifts, even after nearly a month mostly out of the gym.

This year's flu is a straight-up *kitten*--just be patient and keep your focus on getting all the way well. So many of the people who've had it this year have ended up with secondary infections like bronchitis and pneumonia. There's plenty of time to decide whether you need to cut more or are ready to maintain!

Thank you. I think this is what I needed to hear. I have never gone this many days without eating or having a fever that wouldn’t break. I’m glad you’re getting better.

jasonpoihegatama

SCoil123 wrote: »

The reason I’m concerned it is muscle and not water is because I’m basically living off of water and Gatorade. The doctor said I’m not dehydrated when I went to urgent care. I have been able to consume water and gatorade

Sure you would not have been dehydrated to the point where you would of not needed to be treated for dehydrated this would be due to the water and gatorade and the little food you have eaten. but you should feel if you are hydrated to train.

SCoil123

jasonpoihegatama wrote: »

SCoil123 wrote: »

The reason I’m concerned it is muscle and not water is because I’m basically living off of water and Gatorade. The doctor said I’m not dehydrated when I went to urgent care. I have been able to consume water and gatorade

Sure you would not have been dehydrated to the point where you would of not needed to be treated for dehydrated this would be due to the water and gatorade and the little food you have eaten. but you should feel if you are hydrated to train.

Good points. When I’m in my normal routine I get 60-80oz of water a day. Right now I’m getting 48-60oz so it is down some.

jasonpoihegatama

SCoil123 wrote: »

jasonpoihegatama wrote: »

SCoil123 wrote: »

The reason I’m concerned it is muscle and not water is because I’m basically living off of water and Gatorade. The doctor said I’m not dehydrated when I went to urgent care. I have been able to consume water and gatorade

Sure you would not have been dehydrated to the point where you would of not needed to be treated for dehydrated this would be due to the water and gatorade and the little food you have eaten. but you should feel if you are hydrated to train.

Good points. When I’m in my normal routine I get 60-80oz of water a day. Right now I’m getting 48-60oz so it is down some.

Lol i wouldn't know the difference of 60 - 80 oz of water would make between how much water would exit your body and how much water the body would absorb to much thinking for me ! But sounds like you've got this and will be back at it !!! Good one!!!

SCoil123

I'm still sick, although much better than I was and I can eat again. My activity is still low and I'm trying to eat at maintenance for now, at least until I'm 100% healthy if not longer.

According to the scale I lost 11lb in 2 weeks being super sick. According to the math since I still was logging I should only have lost around 3-4lb. I will update once I have a few weeks of normal data to look at.

Thanks again for the support and insights

Maxxitt

SCoil123 wrote: »

I'm still sick, although much better than I was and I can eat again. My activity is still low and I'm trying to eat at maintenance for now, at least until I'm 100% healthy if not longer.

According to the scale I lost 11lb in 2 weeks being super sick. According to the math since I still was logging I should only have lost around 3-4lb. I will update once I have a few weeks of normal data to look at.

Thanks again for the support and insights

Glad you're feeling better. One thing that won't show up is how many calories you burned running a fever. And eating less means there's less mass in your gut being processed, which can add up to a couple of pounds. Just take care of yourself.