dieting while ill..? do you do it?....

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alleycat41
alleycat41 Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
just curious as to what members do differently when they get sick..colds,sore throats etc.? what temporary changes do you make to your diet and exercise routine to help you recover from an illness, if any? what would your advice be to new members if they get sick while dieting? what changes should they make until recovered?

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  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
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    Chest cold, flu, some other bad illness

    Rest
    Hydrate
    Eat

    When sick I feel like eating less nutrient dense foods, but i try to make myself eat the more nutrient dense foods.
    I usually lose that battle and move on.

    You aren't going to gain 2, 3, 10 pounds over 1 or 2 days.

    Sore throat, and/or a head cold - Business as usual
  • Kr1ptonite
    Kr1ptonite Posts: 789 Member
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    I still stick to the same routine. If i can still eat my normal food i do, and if i can still train i do. Id have to be really sick to miss out on a training day, or ill just still train but not as intense.
  • Revcminor
    Revcminor Posts: 42
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    The saying goes, "Feed a cold; starve a fever."

    When I'm sick I tend to want carbs....not sure why. I try my best to limit them. But when you are sick a piece of toast, slathered with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar hits the spot.
  • Cathalain
    Cathalain Posts: 424 Member
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    I tend not to eat at all when I'm truly sick - all I want to do is sleep. Which, of course, is not a good thing.

    If I do eat, it's mostly soup (any kind, but I love tomato bisque especially). I'll sit up, drink soup, take Nyquil, and back down again for another 8 to 12 hours. I'm usually REALLY sore afterwards because I've spent hours sleeping.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    When I'm sick, I take garlic, acv, and honey (unless its a stomach bug.) I take the opportunity to have a rest, which is what I think my body needs most to recover, anyway. I also usually make a healthy vegetable soup. For a stomach bug, I take bentonite clay and eat things like plain rice, boiled chicken, tea, toast. Kinda like the BRATT diet, but don't usually go for the apple sauce and banana, they just don't appeal to me then. Coconut water is also really good, or just go for the oldy--Gatorade.
  • euronorris
    euronorris Posts: 211 Member
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    Came down with tonsillitis and ear infection on Thursday last week. Saw doc, got antibiotics, and then rested in bed for that day and the next two. Didn't eat much, cos, well, it hurt like hell to eat. Sunday, the pain had eased (antibiotics had started to kick in), and my appetite came back with a vengeance! So, I ate a ridiculous amount of food, went out for a short, slow walk (to get some fresh air).

    Monday, was back to business as usual. Back on diet, back to MoonWalk training plan (albeit, I took it slower on the first day), and all seems to be going well. Tonsils are almost completely healed too, so my approach can't have done any harm.

    PS. I did ask the doc if I could carry on with my training plan, and he said that I could only do that if I was walking slowly (not power walking) for the first few days. Strenous exercise would allow the infection to take a greater hold and make me more ill.
  • greengoddess0123
    greengoddess0123 Posts: 417 Member
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    More rest. More fluids. That's pretty much all I do. I still work out unless I've got a fever or I'm too congested to breathe. If I'm feeling very fatigued due to illness, I'll switch my run for a long walk.

    :smile:
  • Amanda_Gx6
    Amanda_Gx6 Posts: 320 Member
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    Rest
    Hydrate
    Eat

    I drink gallons of fluids ( water, gatorade/powerade). Eat soup, tons of veggies. As much junk television I can tolerate. Give my body what it needs to recover and then get back at it. The more you eat well and exercise the less you will have to put up with colds and such. I heard a saying once "make time to exercise and be healthy or spend that time being sick".
  • MrsG31
    MrsG31 Posts: 364 Member
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    I caught a nasty cold/flu-like illness shortly after I joined a gym. I was too fatigued after a normal day of working and taking care of my kids to work out. Plus I didn't want to go spread my germs arounf the gym. I ate fairly normal, if not less than normal because some days I just wasn't very hungry. Drank lots of water, orange juice, had soup for lunch, and rested.
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,655 Member
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    If it's just a cold, I carry on pretty normally, but my foods will probably include rice and anything made with chicken broth.
    Most other illnesses trigger migraines (or migraine copycat headaches) and nausea, so I can't eat at all during those... I make up for it once I can.
  • alleycat41
    alleycat41 Posts: 19 Member
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    thank you for all the wonderful advice..I am actually putting a lot of it into practice right now..I woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat and feeling like I was hit by a bus and wasn't sure if I should continue my diet while sick so i posted and asked the community..because of all the great advice i have managed today to continue eating things that are good for me and easy on my throat that won't halt my progress as well as staying hydrated and I have felt my energy increasing a bit over the course of the day. I'm not sure if I'm eating nutrient dense foods because I'm not really sure which foods are nutrient dense but i am staying on track so far..I plan to get my workout in after lunch as normal but maybe try for a lower intensity than normal until i can shake this fatigue..thanks to all that posted so far..you are truly an inspiration and have helped to keep me motivated.:smile:

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