self medicating with food when sick

brenn24179
brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
in Motivation and Support
I have had a terrible cold for a week. It seems to linger on, I know intellectually food is not helping me but I keep eating. Especially salty foods. It is like I lose my mind I feel so bad coughing, sneezing and pick up my bad habits. I will pick up chips at night, trying to log but going over 500-700 every day.

I know this wont last forever but I also know I am not taking care of myself the right way. I guess I got tired of chicken soup. Stuck in the house, I always have this problem when I am sick, how about ya, the ones who want to eat when sick. How do ya cope?

I seem to lose my discipline when sick, cant think straight, it takes a lot of work to watch your weight and I don't want to when I am sick. Just don't want to gain 15 lbs over the winter months like last yr. Got to make myself get focused, help

Replies

  • Gioooo
    Gioooo Posts: 301 Member
    Drink more flluids & take your vitamin C's!
  • tanyatabone9
    tanyatabone9 Posts: 39 Member
    I was struggling terribly earlier in the week. I was craving salty foods as you can really taste the salt when your nose is all stuffy and your body is losing important salts so craves them more than usual. Here is what I did:
    Chopped ginger, garlic, fresh chili, carrots and celery. Throw in a pot with some boiling water. A little bit of honey, a little bit of vegemite (optional, I'm an Australian, you can us any yeast extract spread or leave this out completely). Sea salt (I used himalayan, if you have it that's great). Then I threw a whole lot of parsley in. Sprinkle a heap of lemon juice in as well, then add a heap of water and sip on that all day. It is very low calorie (really just a broth with one carrot and a piece of celery), but really helps to line your stomach and stops both the salt and sweet cravings as it returns these things to your body. Also, the chili helps to clear you out. And while you have one of these in your hand it has a great smell and is warm and comforting. I hope you feel better soon. If you slip up but you try to at least get all your nutrients to help your body get itself back to health then you won't be sick for as long. Good luck
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    i find it hard to eat when I have a cold. the sniffles are gross. my throat hurts when I swallow. the coughing fits make me feel like I may lose my last meal. sometimes I have to take a spoonful of honey before eating just so the cough allows me enough of a break to eat.

    I find it odd and awe inspiring that you can eat during a cold. i wouldn't know how to say to stop. except to say maybe think of those sniffles. that might kill your appetite.

    I do get the babying yourself though. I tend to think during a headache that the next food I pick for whatever reason is gonna cure me. it will have just enough caffeine to cure the headache. or just enough protein so Im' not having a starvation headache. or just enough fiber so I"m not having an i'm backed up headache. or whatever. I just think eating will cure it. so maybe that's what you're thinking....something like all these nutrients and cals are gonna cure me. Feed a cold starve a fever type thinking.
  • Gidzmo
    Gidzmo Posts: 906 Member
    Usually, when I'm sick, I just want to do NOTHING but sleep. Or just rest. There have been times when all I wanted was a light soup.
  • ukulelist
    ukulelist Posts: 33 Member
    There's an old folk adage, "feed a cold, starve a fever", which there's probably some kernel of truth to. When I have a bad cold I usually eat as much as I'm hungry for---it's actually taking your body a bunch of energy to fight off the cold, so trying to diet strictly during a cold might make it take longer to recover.

    Especially if your goal is at a relatively low number of calories and you're not exercising (because you have a cold :) ) to get more calories to eat back, it could be that you're not meeting your nutrient needs to recover. Maybe you can just plan to eat over that while you feel sick---possibly try to eat more nutrient-dense foods like fruits and juices and whatever proteins are palatable and so forth, to reduce the amount of chips you're then hungry for later :) Unless you get terrible colds all the time, it won't set back your diet very much to eat closer to maintenance for a week as long as you can hop back on the diet when you're feeling better.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    When you are sick, your heart rate is increased (i.e. you are burning more calories). Also, your temperature increases and again, you are burning more calories.

    There is no reason to log strictly when you are really suffering. I have found in the past, that I feel MUCH better if I increase carbs while I am sick. It is nothing short of miraculous.
  • mrsamanda86
    mrsamanda86 Posts: 869 Member
    I know when I'm sick I eat like crap. I eat the saltiest foods I can find cuz it's usually the only ones I can actually taste.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    Soup is the best thing ever when you have a cold, especially soups with a broth base. They're salty, nourishing, and the steam opens up your sinuses. Plus you get extra hydration. It's good to eat when you're sick and your body needs to fight.

    My favorite food when I'm sick are noodle soups, like wonton, or pho.

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