Unintentional Weight Loss Due to Illness

Xiao_Ya_

I just got through a short bout of illness that had me resting all day for three days, but I am more or less fine now except for low energy and a mild cough. However, even though the entire ordeal lasted shorter than a week, I lost about 6-7 pounds while being sick. As I was just over 100 lbs before being ill and am now 96 lbs, it seems like a lot of weight loss for just a week. Should I be trying to gain back some of the weight since I lost it so fast, or should I continue trying to lose the last tiny bit the way I was losing before? Knowing my body, I would have to make a conscious effort to regain weight or I will not get the weight back. At first glance, it looks nice to only be a couple pounds away from the final goal rather than 10 pounds away, but I really didn't want to lose it this fast.

spiriteagle99

It is probable that some of that weight loss was water, due to sweating with fever and underhydrating while ill. Once you start eating and drinking normally, the weight will likely come back. Make sure you drink things that will replenish your electrolytes.

csplatt

I would wait a few days and weigh again. You are probably really dehydrated, which can make the scale go down. Granted, 100 is low already but we don’t know your height.

middlehaitch

As others have said-
Make sure you are well hydrated and your electrolytes are balanced.

You are close to your goal weight so just start eating your goal weight maintenance calories now. This higher calorie intake will help with your recovery and should settle your weight out in the next few weeks as you recover.

Should be 4-6 weeks before deciding if calories need to be adjusted up or down.

Cheers, h.

westrich20940

Just go back to your normally scheduled plan. It's totally possible that a number of those lost 'pounds' is just water weight...if you were decently sick. I know people definitely try to hydrate well when they are sick but honestly if you're just lying in bed or on the couch...you are likely not taking a drink of water often enough to really be properly hydrated. So, just go back to what you were doing with a minimal calorie deficit. Sounds like you're well on your way.

I know you didn't say whether you had covid or not (and you don't have to) but I have been reading some about 'long' covid and it appears that a possible contributing factor may be people who don't rest enough while they are sick or recovering. So, there were people who didn't feel very sick (like their covid was a mild cold or it was only a day or two, etc.) and they intentionally pushed to get back to their regular activities/level of activity/workouts either WHILE they were still sick or very quickly after feeling like their symptoms were gone and it is looking like it's *possibly* associated with long-haul symptoms. So that makes me think more seriously about making sure to rest enough with any illness I have moving forward. Just some food for thought.

cwolfman13

Give it a few days of being normal and eating and drinking normal. You can't evaluate anything right after an illness. Most of that is water. I lost around 8 Lbs in a few days prepping and having my colonoscopy done...it was water and I was back to my previous weight within a couple of days of eating and drinking normally.

AnnPT77

Another vote for "go back to normal plan" . . . though there's an argument for eating maintenance calories for a while, until your fatigue and any other symptoms abate. Calories are part of the formula for recovery, after all.

Xiao_Ya_

Thank you, everyone, for the advice. I have definitely been working on staying hydrated, but I'm having trouble eating back at normal amounts. It seems that about the maximum I can consume right now is about 400 calories below what I would normally be eating for slow weight loss, and I've just been losing more weight. Once I get back to eating more normally, I'm looking forward to see if the weight evens out a bit.

westrich20940

RyotaFujikawa wrote: »

Thank you, everyone, for the advice. I have definitely been working on staying hydrated, but I'm having trouble eating back at normal amounts. It seems that about the maximum I can consume right now is about 400 calories below what I would normally be eating for slow weight loss, and I've just been losing more weight. Once I get back to eating more normally, I'm looking forward to see if the weight evens out a bit.

If you feel like it is appetite that is causing your undereating (you don't have an appetite or feel less hungry than normal) try adding in some low volume/high calorie foods that won't make you feel like you are about to burst but have some extra calories in them. Like dates (or other dried fruit usually has a high caloric punch for a small volume of food), nuts, peanut butter, etc. Something that would be small in size but larger in calories.

Alternatively, if you usually use low fat or otherwise 'lite' versions of things like cheese/milk, butter, etc....you can for your next shop, get the real/full fat stuff. That can be an easy way to up your calorie intake without actually changing what you are eating - but that depends on if those types of foods are part of your current diet anyway.