Lost weight due to flu - what now?

impromark

Hi everyone, in the last week I came down with the mother of all flu viruses. Couldn't talk, couldn't walk, stuff was shooting out of multiple orifices - it was terrible. Now on a cocktail of miracle drugs, I'm back at work and struggling to be productive.

Moreover, this morning I hopped on the scale for the first time in a week and found that I'd lost eight pounds in the past week. I was already at the weight I was looking to maintain (~150-155, and I was at 154 last week), but now I'm at 146 as I start really recovering here.

146 is still a healthy weight for my height (I was on the upper end of "normal", according to BMI anyway) and while I don't LOOK any different, I guess it wouldn't be any worse to maintain at 145-150 than the originally-planned 150-155 range. But should I even bother? I would anticipate bouncing back a bit anyway as my appetite comes back, but is it even feasible or practical to jump back on a diet at this point? Obviously my health is paramount here and I don't want to do any damage, but as I feel myself coming back to normal I'm wondering what the best strategy is.

Any thoughts?

Mark

sheltol

Whenever I get sick I always strive (albeit mostly unsuccessful) to eat more than usual. It's my understanding the body increases metabolism in an effort to fight off the infection. So in essence you usually lose weight when sick because your body burns more calories and you are usually eating less. 8 lbs is a lot to lose when you are in a maintenance level or goal weight. I would expect you to gain most of it back over the next week as your muscles rehydrate and you nutrition returns to normal.

I wouldn't strive to maintain that wait. I would allow it to gradually come back with the nutrition plan you were comfortable with.
Best of luck to you. Larry

MeganAnne89

I think there's a good chance that a lot of what you lost is water weight because you were going to the washroom so much, not eating/drinking enough fluids, and then probably sweating while you were running a fever.

So I would just recommend making sure that what you're eating is healthy for you and that you're eating an appropriate amount of calories for your body as well as drinking a lot of water to replenish your system.