Post Covid

cmbdlh

Hi there. I had Covid in December. I wanted to come on here and ask the community if anyone is struggling after Covid. With healthy eating, exercise & supplements I’m gaining about 5 pounds a month. This is not normal & it’s started to worry me. Any insight would be helpful

Lietchi

I think a bit more info is required:
- you say you're gaining 5lbs a month - how many months has this been going on? Since you had Covid in December? How much do you weigh?
- your diet: you say you're eating healthy, but you could still be eating too much. Are you eating the same amounts/foods as before you had Covid? Or is this a new way of eating for you?
- your exercise: what kind of exercise? Did you start recently?
- Are you counting your calories? If so, how many calories are you eating?

dragon_girl26

You say you're eating "healthy", but what does that mean to you? "Healthy" eating is not required for weight loss, but being in a calorie deficit is. How many calories are you eating and what is your calorie goal? Were you losing weight prior to COVID as well? How much do you have to lose? How are you determining your serving sizes? It can be very easy to be overeating if you're just guesstimating portion sizes or using measuring cups.

Zimm7

If you're gaining 5lbs per month, you are in a calorie surplus. Take a good look at your calorie intake.

Theoldguy1

Covid from has nothing to due with your weight gain unless you are emotional eating due to some stress from the illness.

I personally had Covid, maybe lost a pound or so when I had it because I didn't feel like eating but that's the only change.

AnnPT77

Have you felt fatigued since being ill? Had sleep issues? Depression?

ruqayyahsmum

My weights been going up and down the same few pounds since I had covid in december

I think for me it's the fatigue. I'm so sluggish my exercise is no where near my usual amount which is putting me near maintenance since I havnt dropped my calories

My doctor took bloods yesterday which have been flagged so I have to go for a chat with my doctor to see what's wrong

kshama2001

ruqayyahsmum wrote: »

My weights been going up and down the same few pounds since I had covid in december

I think for me it's the fatigue. I'm so sluggish my exercise is no where near my usual amount which is putting me near maintenance since I havnt dropped my calories

My doctor took bloods yesterday which have been flagged so I have to go for a chat with my doctor to see what's wrong

If you have low iron let me know - I can expound on that at length

kshama2001

cmbdlh wrote: »

Hi there. I had Covid in December. I wanted to come on here and ask the community if anyone is struggling after Covid. With healthy eating, exercise & supplements I’m gaining about 5 pounds a month. This is not normal & it’s started to worry me. Any insight would be helpful

There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

corinasue1143

I don’t have personal experience, but my friend who had covid For a looong time gained weight after. She went from 3 jobs pre-covid to working from home in her pajamas post covid. She went from normal eating pre covid to barely eating during during covid to “I want it all” post covid. She went from no formal exercise but lots of running around pre covid to grocery shopping is a big event post covid.
I’m sure you haven’t changed your habits as much as she did, but have you changed them?
ETA you said you’re exercising, but what about moving outside formal exercise?

LDemi333

Hi, I was positive with Covid March 16th........so nearly two weeks of recuperation so far and a way to go. The fatigue, joint ache, chest ache, coughing and I have gained weight. Everything smells wrong and food is only just starting to taste like it should. I lived on sweet tea and biscuits which was all that tasted as it should and I hate sweet tea!) have re-joined today.
However I will be only counting calories while I get some strength back. I can't imagine exercising and coughing at the moment and going out for a walk involves a mask which is difficult to cough with. PM me if you wish.

33gail33

I didn't have Covid - but I did have some sort of virus in July 2020 that triggered a post viral reaction/inflammation, chronic headaches, fatigue, muscle twitches , facial pain, insomnia etc ... basically similar to what you hear about post Covid (except I tested negative). And brain fog - god the brain fog was awful sometimes I was barely coherent before noon.
I gained a lot of weight basically because I felt miserable for months and just ate what I wanted and stopped exercising.
It took about 4-5 months (and a round of steroids) to finally snap out of it, and I gradually started feeling better around November. Began with walking again every day, then moved on to intentional exercise and calorie deficit. Since January I've lost 20 of the 30 lbs I gained.

riffraff2112

I recommitted to fitness Jan 1st (the typical...this is the year thing!), I was doing great and lost about 8lbs.

I caught Covid in late January, my symptoms were not 'critical' but definitely ran the gambit from extreme fatigue, muscle soreness, no appetite, confusion, coughing, breathing difficulty. I lost about 5 lbs during the 3 weeks of 'isolation' and being away from work and routine. Lack of appetite, despite being bedridden caused me to eat very little throughout the day.

My experience has been that it took nearly a month to see any progress again (in terms of weight loss) as the scale barely budged despite consistent efforts and dedication. Finally a few weeks ago the scale started to move again and I appear to be losing at the same rate I was pre-covid. I figure my body just had so much internal work to do, that it was holding on to a lot of weight.

the only lingering effort would be tightness in the chest when I breathe deeply so I haven't felt safe to do any strenuous cardio and am sticking to walking, cycling and using an elliptical trainer (but not pushing super hard). My strength has returned and I am able to push really hard with my weight training.

ruqayyahsmum

kshama2001 wrote: »

ruqayyahsmum wrote: »

My weights been going up and down the same few pounds since I had covid in december

I think for me it's the fatigue. I'm so sluggish my exercise is no where near my usual amount which is putting me near maintenance since I havnt dropped my calories

My doctor took bloods yesterday which have been flagged so I have to go for a chat with my doctor to see what's wrong

If you have low iron let me know - I can expound on that at length

My last lot of bloods were deficiencies in vitamin D, calcium and iron
I'm not sure I want to know what's gone south now 😂