Sick, no appetite page

[Diana Renata]

Ok so I did a really dumb thing. Last week I went on vacation (as some of you know.) We generally ate good food, home-made, relatively Primal. However, there was a lot of home-made bread, cookies and doughnuts at the campsite/festival, and loads of booze.

With that being said, I'm sick.

Head cold, stuffy nose, sinus pressure. ZERO appetite.

Yesterday I managed a cup of kefir and frozen berries, and a bell pepper at lunch.
Today, 30-some hours later, I forced down a pork chop. Meat tasted like crap, but the fat was good to me.

Otherwise it's been bottles of Sobe Lifewater (Zero-cal) just to keep fluid. It goes down 1000x easier than water or tea right now.

Just kind of curious if anyone else has been through this. I'm ok with taking advantage of this repulsion for food to drop some fat, but I don't want to lose muscle too. The trick is finding something my body will agree to let me swallow. I'm sort of freaking out because I'm only about a month from Warrior Dash, and I'm totally not prepared for it physically. This sickness is really cutting into any potential training time.

Or do I just ride it out and hope for the best?

[cori93437]

Make some good gelatin/collagen filled broth to drink as well... and ride it out.
Consider adding a beaten egg or two to the broth you drink, sort of egg drop style, for some protein.

You're appetite will return in pretty short order.

Good luck.

[LissaKa]

I just went through a cold and sore thoat with loss of appetite. I used those Cold-eeze zinc tablets and I have never had such a short cold. They really helped.

[Timthetaco]

I had a random one-day fever a few weekends back. I didn't eat a single thing all day, barely drank anything, and I wasn't the least bit hungry or thirsty at the end of the day. It ran its course and I didn't fight it; didn't feel the need to force food down when my body didn't want it.

Of course, I'm not concerned about losing a bit of muscle mass since I don't have much to begin with, so...

[jammies]

I'm on day two of recovery from a nasty little norovirus. The only thing I could keep down was squirt soda, a peach, and today a tiny bit of ice cream. I say just do the best you can when you are sick. If you aren't hungry don't force it. I am a huge proponent of chicken stock, but just the thought of it made we want to hurl these last two days

Zinc, vitamin c, and vitamin D3 might help shorten it.

[Diana Renata]

Yeah, my dad keeps pushing the broth idea, but the thought of it just makes me want to gag.

I feel better after the pork chop. Maybe food will happen tomorrow.

[Nady]

Why do people insist on eating when their body is screaming *I'm busy ~ stop sidetracking me with digestion!* I'll never understand. When you're sick and lose your desire to eat, it's you body's way of letting you know it doesn't want food. Believe me, you won't starve to death. Appetite and hunger will return when you're on the road to recovery.

[Forever Young]

Yeah, my dad keeps pushing the broth idea, but the thought of it just makes me want to gag.

I feel better after the pork chop. Maybe food will happen tomorrow.

Diana, I wouldn't sweat losing any muscle. It's likely a short term bug of some sort. In any case once you feel good again that muscle bounces back real quick. We don't lose muscle that easily. The big supplement companies created an almost paranoia that we must ingest gobs of protein every few hours or somehow we would shrink rapidly. It just isn't the case. You may be slightly weaker the next time you train but you'll be right back to where you were in no time. Get well and don't force anything down your throat if it makes you want to gag. That is your body telling you that it's working on the problem and it doesn't have the capacity to deal with food at the moment. Listen to that. You'll know when you are coming around.

[jtrain_36]

Why do people insist on eating when their body is screaming *I'm busy ~ stop sidetracking me with digestion!* I'll never understand. When you're sick and lose your desire to eat, it's you body's way of letting you know it doesn't want food. Believe me, you won't starve to death. Appetite and hunger will return when you're on the road to recovery.

I agree, the body can take care of itself in times like this. There's a reason we tend to lose appetite when we're sick, and that's cause it promotes healing of illness. Just let it run its course and you'll be fine in no time

[RichMahogany]

Why do people insist on eating when their body is screaming *I'm busy ~ stop sidetracking me with digestion!* I'll never understand. When you're sick and lose your desire to eat, it's you body's way of letting you know it doesn't want food. Believe me, you won't starve to death. Appetite and hunger will return when you're on the road to recovery.

+1 for this and the subsequent 2 responses. Hope you feel better soon!