How to eat when you're sick :(

justesje

Hi guys, I am finding it truly hard getting motivated as I have the flu at the moment. I need nutritional foods to fight off the illness but I am scared I would gain back the little weight I've lost. I think I am well over my caloric intake for the day as I've been dosing up on juice. Now as you know the flu makes your body ache and I was not able to workout today. I walked to the Dr though. What do I do guys?

VictorianJade

V8.

Seriously. Gives you your veggies, and lots of vitamins, and it's not THAT bad, calorie-wise.

KatieM7

I would worry about getting yourself over the flu and then when back to normal then worry about getting back on track! You need to rest plenty and drink TONS of water. I really wouldn't worry about the calories at the moment.

weaklink109

Hydrate with WATER, not juice. You are better off with more water, and eating some fresh fruit, as it will have fiber. Chicken soup is usually easy on the tummy. Don't be so hard on yourself. Concentrate on getting better and don't obsess over your calories. Suplements like vitamin d and c help your immune system work more effectively to fight the bug.

The last statement does NOT mean get a large dish of ice cream and fudge sauce and watch a movie. You will feel better faster continuing to eat healthy food.

xonophone

I had a nasty bug last week and while I had virtually no appetite, when I was hungry, my body craved fresh fruit. And protein. So On day 3 I dragged myself to the market and bought $30 worth of fresh fruits: berries, grapes, oranges, apples, bananas, as well as a store-cooked rotisserie chicken. The rest of my diet consisted of a few pieces of low-calorie whole wheat toast (there are a few good ones out there that are 35 calories per slice) with smart balance, lots of tea with local honey and fresh lime juice, and "soup" that I made with sodium-free chicken buillion, fresh spinach and egg noodles. When the week was over I actually lost 2.5 pounds.

Soon2beskinny73

I have always been told by my nutritionist to get well first and foremost and not to worry about your calorie intake when your ill. Drinking LOTS of water is what I would do in place of the juices Eat when you can and get LOTS of rest. After your well then you can get back on plan. Hope you feel better soon

fiendiish

Juice is NOT the best thing for you to drink. Water! Water! Water! Juice not freshly juiced is not real juice...it's water with HFCS, and flavoring. The sugar will just aggravate your symptoms. Suck down that water! Especially if you have fever.

As someone else suggested, V8 is exceptionally good for cases like this. If you don't like it, at least drink the Fusions or Splash.

Try munching on 100% apple sauce, pear sauce, yogurt...try at least a PB Sandwich...or whole wheat toast...almond milk would be a good one too....jello?

Oh and just FYI...it's an old wives tale that you can't drink or eat dairy with a fever.

I hope you feel better soon! Flu sucks! Don't worry about your workouts...I think your body will understand. Besides...it's burning calories like CRAZY to fight off the funk.

fiendiish

Juice is NOT the best thing for you to drink. Water! Water! Water! Juice not freshly juiced is not real juice...it's water with HFCS, and flavoring. The sugar will just aggravate your symptoms. Suck down that water! Especially if you have fever.

As someone else suggested, V8 is exceptionally good for cases like this. If you don't like it, at least drink the Fusions or Splash.

Try munching on 100% apple sauce, pear sauce, yogurt...try at least a PB Sandwich...or whole wheat toast...almond milk would be a good one too....jello?

Oh and just FYI...it's an old wives tale that you can't drink or eat dairy with a fever.

I hope you feel better soon! Flu sucks! Don't worry about your workouts...I think your body will understand. Besides...it's burning calories like CRAZY to fight off the funk.

weaklink109

Juice is NOT the best thing for you to drink. Water! Water! Water! Juice not freshly juiced is not real juice...it's water with HFCS, and flavoring. The sugar will just aggravate your symptoms. Suck down that water! Especially if you have fever.

As someone else suggested, V8 is exceptionally good for cases like this. If you don't like it, at least drink the Fusions or Splash.

There ARE 100% juice options that are not "freshly juiced" as this same poster demonstrated by mentioning one of them in their next paragraph. If you decide to do V8, I recommend the low sodium variety.

The best way to be sure of what you are getting is read the label.

justesje

Thanks for all the advice guys. I am going to the market to get a lot of fruit and fresh soup. I'm on the water thing now. Hopefully I will feel better soon. I will get on the exercise race again when I am fit and healthy again.

kwardklinck

I had a stomach virus one day. I still logged my calories. It was easy to stay under because most of them came from crackers and ginger ale and soup. It doesn't hurt to log. You might actually be surprised by how well you're doing.

xonophone

Don't worry sbout the exercise, you'll get back to it eventually. I have only exercised 3 times in the last week since I recovered and they weren't intense workouts at all. My plan is to hit the gym a little harder today I did log my calories while I was sick too, and found it was hard to eat all of them with my fruit, soup & toast diet! As another poster said, your body is still burning fuel to fight off the virus. I hope you feel better soon!!! :flowerforyou: