Ugh. I feel it comin' on. That horrible chest cold. Or is it a flu-bug? My husband has been sick for two weeks & is just now sounding "normal" again. At any rate, I feel horrible today, and I know it's the "ick" that's currently going around. Head hurts... feeling super stuffy. And VERY VERY TIRED. Ugh.
So... eating when I'm sick is different while dieting. When I'm sick, my favorite go-to foods are Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup (w/multiple saltine crackers!) and lots & lots of orange juice. Yup - the two things I try to avoid most.... sodium & sugar! - but it is the food/drink that makes me feel better (or at least not so yucky) when I'm sick.
So what do you eat when you're sick? All I want to do at this moment is leave work, go home, climb in bed, and suffer quietly.
I make my own soup with low-fat chicken breast and low-fat, low sodium chicken broth.
Also, I resort to the Trop 50 Orange Juice or I go for Vitamin Water 0 - it still has vitamin C, but 0 calories and 0 artificial sweeteners.
I tend to give my body a few more calories when I'm sick b/c your body needs energy to heal. When you restrict calories, you're putting your body under some sort of stress. When you're sick, you're already under stress, so it's good for your body to give it a little bit of a break.
I also tend to have whole wheat bread with my soup. The body needs some carbs to heal. I don't go overboard, but I don't starve myself.
I make quick chicken noodle soup (I've been known to buy rotisserie or the precooked breasts from Trader Joe's) or just forgo the chicken for chicken broth noodle soup.
I always have the low sodium chicken broth from TJ (70mg sodium) on hand if I don't have my own stock in the freezer.
I usually just sleep and drink a lot of tea. I'm typically not very hungry or expending many calories, so I don't keep track. I'm probably really low in calories when sick.
Will one of you fine women please come to my house & make me some of your chicken soup? Cause see, part of the "being sick" thing? - I don't feel like actually DOING anything. Especially cook. Especially since I hate to cook anyway, so ... see my conundrum here?
I don't sweat sodium when I'm sick. So I gain a little water weight, it'll come right back off. I'm also usually pushing fluids hard, and it all works out.
I tend to get thai soup when I'm sick. Tom yum gai or tom kah gai. I'll order a quart of takeout soup, eat half for dinner and half for lunch the next day. It's hot, it's throat soothing, has a little protein, and all the herbs and chilis have a slight anti-bacterial effect (it'll also drain your sinuses). Even with the coconut milk, the calories aren't outrageous. It is really salty, but again, see sodium above. Plus, the salt will again have a slight anti-bacterial effect on your throat.
Someone sick in our house also means orange or grapefruit juice. I splurge for the fresh-squeezed kind, but mix it with sparkling water (just carbonated or mineral - whatever I have around). Somewhere between 20 and 50% orange juice. The bubbles seem to settle my stomach and help cut the crud in the back of my throat. I drink a lot of hot tea (plain or with lemon and honey, or lemon, honey and bourbon at night to help me sleep).
And as miserable as I might feel - every day, I go out in the sunshine. Even if I have to do it all bundled up at the hottest part of the day. 15-30 minutes of ambling slowly in the sunshine and taking deep breaths to get fresh air deep in my lungs really helps me get better faster.
I don't sweat sodium when I'm sick. So I gain a little water weight, it'll come right back off. I'm also usually pushing fluids hard, and it all works out.
I tend to get thai soup when I'm sick. Tom yum gai or tom kah gai. I'll order a quart of takeout soup, eat half for dinner and half for lunch the next day. It's hot, it's throat soothing, has a little protein, and all the herbs and chilis have a slight anti-bacterial effect (it'll also drain your sinuses).
Since being a mom, I don't think I've been sick to the point that I couldn't get up. Because I'm a single mom, I usually push through enough to drop my daughter off at school so I can sleep it off without interruption.
If you have nobody in your house to cook or bring you soup, ordering broth based soup (takeout Chinese) for delivery would be a lifesaver!
Yeah I just got over what I think you had. I stayed on plan though still but I noticed I really didn't lose anything. I think your body just concentrates on getting itself better.
Just getting over a upper respiratory thing that turned into bronchitis, I feel your pain! Cooking was left up to hubby while I was sick, which meant a lot of noodles and some takeout..So DEFINITELY off plan for about a week and a half!
Good luck with fast healing! Push fluids, and rest =]
That's what I did yesterday (the crock pot) - a whole chicken, some sliced up zucchini, carrots & bell peppers. 10 hours. Dinner was done (& quite yummy!) when I got home.
I'm actually feeling better today. Unbelievable! By the way I felt yesterday, I really thought I was down for the count, at least for 2 or 3 days. Maybe all that Vitamin C is paying off
I do a really bad job of taking care of myself when I feel bad. I tend to eat junk but not much overall, then after I feel better, my diet falls apart--overeating and cravings for bad stuff! So, no advice, just--I empathize!
I do orange juice too! Which is funny because I don't ever drink it otherwise. Also: cup o noodles. Kind of embarrassing, feels like I'm going back to my college days.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beach Patrol
All of that sounds lovely.
Will one of you fine women please come to my house & make me some of your chicken soup? Cause see, part of the "being sick" thing? - I don't feel like actually DOING anything. Especially cook. Especially since I hate to cook anyway, so ... see my conundrum here?
Then you know what? If you have the canned soup, EAT IT. I don't know about anyone else here, but if I'm sick (or *getting* sick) the last thing I feel like doing is farting around making "low-fat" soup. For god's sake, a can of soup or two isn't going to kill anyone.
When I'm sick, I don't worry much about watching what I eat. Your body needs to recover. For me personally, I don't eat much when I'm sick anyway, so whatever I do eat balances out anyway. I also drink orange juice when I have a cold or the flu (which is something I normally don't drink) but I mean...hello, when you're sick, you need to take care of yourself. My advice? (And obviously YMMV, but this is just my experience). When you're sick, lay off on the workouts, eat good things, and take care of yourself. You don't need to be worrying about calories when you're trying to get better.
Eating when you're sick
