One For The Ladies...

taijade

Hiya fellow MFP Ladies,

It is that time of the month for me and I'm also suffering with a flu-type bug; both of which are seriously messing with my appetite.

For the first 4 days of the flu, I barely ate to the point where I was shaky and felt dizzy and my OH was getting fairly worried about me; I was still drinking a ton of water and green tea but food was just not something I really wanted - I would eat a token amount but just didn't feel like anything at all.

I'm still suffering with this bug and yesterday marked the start of that time of the month :grumble: the first two days of which my appetite rockets and I feel like eating a ton of food.

So, my poor body is a bit confused here - the flu makes me not want to eat, the time of the month makes me want to eat like a horse and to add to it I've felt so awful from the flu that I've not been able to do anything but sleep and rest...

The cravings for chocolate are driving me mad (I keep 80% cocoa chocolate in the house for times like these however it's just not doing the job for me right now!) and the fact that this has all come together is really confusing my appetite and body; not to mention stopping me from doing the short walk after dinner that myself and OH had started doing.

What can I do to help even my appetite out a bit?
How do you control the cravings, the appetite swings and what do you do for exercise when things like the flu hits you and totally drains you?

HELP!!

Kindergirl77

You could try a green smoothie... it should help with cravings- since its nutrient dense and the sweetness of the fruit will satisfy that sweet tooth! Its light but filling and should help your appetite adjust. I just went through the same flu bug and could n't eat for a couple days but then was starving! So the green smoothies helped my body adjust.

Just throw in a blender a banana, some pineapple (if you have it), a cut up apple, orange, handfulls of spinach, and some water and ice to blend it all together. Its sweet and gives you the nutrients you have lost while sick! You can also add romaine but spinach is the best tasting in my opinion- because you don't taste the spinach- just the sweet fruit! If the color messes with you, add some frozen blueberries.

TheKitsune6

Well, when it comes to the flu all you can do is just wait until you recover. My mother was a big believer in diet sprite and gatorade. We'd eat something very light (low-sodium soup) and easy to digest just to make sure we still had nutrients. It's hard to stay on track with calories when you've got the flu.

I guess my suggestion is just wait it out and hop back on board when you do feel better. It's a minor set back, just don't let it get you down.

I hope you feel better soon!

taijade

I do love smoothies - Im making one tomorrow to drink throughout the morning with a small banana, white flesh nectarine, strawberries and low fat strawberry yogurt so I'm hoping that helps a little bit in sustaining me!

I did blanche a bit at the thought of spinach in a smoothie; but I will give it a try and see how I go with it. I like spinach anyway so I'll get some to have with a meal next week and chuck the rest in the smoothie.

TheKitsune - thank you and you're right, it is SO difficult to keep on track because one day you're not eating and the next you're eating double the amount...My poor body has no idea what's going on!!

I shall get some soups in and some soft fruits (apples etc are killing my throat at the moment) and hopefully I'll be back on track soon!