Does a person need more calories when sick?

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2004Jessica
2004Jessica Posts: 113
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a bad cold, have for a few days and I've been wondering. :sick:
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Replies

  • christy_frank
    christy_frank Posts: 680 Member
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    I would think you would need less because you are just laying around and not as active.
  • livi_cowgirl
    livi_cowgirl Posts: 198 Member
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    I was wondering this too actually. Because my mum is going into hospital for an op soon and I was wondering if she would be able to stick to a low calorie limit without it affecting her recovery. x
  • UrbanRunner81
    UrbanRunner81 Posts: 1,207 Member
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    I don't think you need more, but you do need more liquids when you are sick.
  • megz4987
    megz4987 Posts: 1,008 Member
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    That's a good question... I've heard of "feed a fever" or "feed a cold", whichever it is...

    I hope someone has the answer!
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    Less b/c you are absolutely sedentary. You need lots of fluids so live on low-sodium chicken soup and orange juice with as little preservatives as possible for a couple days and you'll feel better and the scale will be better as well! (sure it's usually water weight but like a fad cleanse its a nice kick-start motivator)
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    I'd say you probably don't ''need'' more, but if you are that sick, it's likely that your appetite is pretty suppressed so you may eat less...if that makes sense??

    Lots of liquid, and vitamin c might help.
  • mamashatzie
    mamashatzie Posts: 238 Member
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    I tend to eat more calories when I'm sick, but healthy foods only. Your body needs extra fuel to fight the infection. Being sick is not an excuse to pig out on pizza...but it is a good time to eat extra veggies and protein.
  • akaChuck
    akaChuck Posts: 233 Member
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    Good question, I always wonder too...
  • poustotah
    poustotah Posts: 1,121 Member
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    I would think you would need slightly more because your body is working to fight off the illness and I know that when I'm sick, I eat all the time. But I'm not for sure what the technical - medical answer would be.
  • veganempress
    veganempress Posts: 53
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    You will need to eat less calories. Giving your digestive system a break allows your body to use the energy in other places. In your case the energy can be used for healing. Eat foods that are low on the digestive scale. Fruits, soups, smoothies... etc. When you eat foods that take longer to digest your body sometimes borrows energy from other systems to help process the food. So just be mindful of that. I hope that you start to feel better. Also load up on Vitamin C. Also not consuming diary (because it causes mucus) can also help you heal faster.
  • thecountess
    thecountess Posts: 12 Member
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    i have problems and my dietion advises that when poorly you need suitable foods for your illness ...maybe with a cold i would imagine those foods of better quality with more vitamins
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    That's a good question... I've heard of "feed a fever" or "feed a cold", whichever it is...

    I hope someone has the answer!

    The saying is “feed a fever, starve a cold” however it comes from a phrase in the 1500’s that advocated the opposite, FEED A COLD – not sure why that’s the saying if its wrong, weird. Apparently it stems from the fact that eating boots immune response needed to fight off the common cold.

    I guess that negates my above comment, LOL! Still, you are extra sedentary so technically you need less but that still doesn’t mean you should be eating 300’ish cals. If you can get to 1000+ cals that’s a good plan.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Feel a cold, starve the flu.
  • Swedeloka
    Swedeloka Posts: 6
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    I would eat the calorie amount that you should eat just to keep you going when you are staying put . The calorie amount you are given here is lower than that so that you should loose weight by just sticking to it. I wouldn't worry about not losing weight when sick. I'd rather give my body what it needs to make sure you're not stressing your body or lacking in nutrients when healing. Then when you're well again you can go back to exercising or just stick with the calorie deficient plan.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    I do.
  • Helice
    Helice Posts: 1,075 Member
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    You do burn more calories getting better, than you do, doing nothing..
    So your bmr will be higher...
    but if you normally have a active lifestyle, then being bed ridden will mean you should eat less calories..
    I think it just depends on ur life style!
  • fudgebudget
    fudgebudget Posts: 198 Member
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    I don't think you need to eat more, just eat smart, and get plenty of fluids. Also, zinc is proven to help get over a cold faster :)
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    The saying is "feed a cold, starve a fever" but I don't think that necessarily means you need to eat more, just that you need to eat. I actually found this interesting article about what to eat when you're sick with a cold or the flu: http://health.infoniac.com/top_foods__eat_during_cold_and_flu.html

    ETA: I found "yogurt" to be the most interesting item on that list. I've started eating Greek yogurt on a fairly regular basis and my last cold was much easier and shorter than usual. I also didn't get the last cold my husband and son both had two weeks ago and I was liberally sharing water bottles, etc. with my husband while he had it. I have to wonder if the yogurt wasn't a factor.
  • keiraev
    keiraev Posts: 695 Member
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    That's a good question... I've heard of "feed a fever" or "feed a cold", whichever it is...

    I hope someone has the answer!

    Starve a fever ;)

    Personally I wouldn't eat for the sake of it.

    When I have a cold all I want to eat is soup anyway- esp if I have a sore throat.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    Last time I was sick my BodyMedia Fit readouts didn't show any increase in my normal calories burned while sitting/laying around than when I'm healthy. So the old theory that your body is burning more calories while working to get you healthy doesn't seem very likely. I also experienced the same non-change in numbers while recovering from injury. (another time folks like to say your body is workin harder) I haven't had any major surgeries or anything like that, so I can say if it burns higher or the same at those times.

    But overall, it would seem that whatever your body normally burns when you're healthy is what it burns when you're sick. The only thing to account for is likely being more sedentary than usual. So if you have your MFP settings to anything but sedentary, you could probably eat a little lower than that and be fine. If you're already set to sedentary, I'd say eat based on that and on what your body tells you it wants or needs. And, as folks above said, keep the focus on healthy, non-dairy foods. (if you don't have any throat/chest symptoms a little dairy is probably okay, but keep it low still)

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