Hi All,

Okay, I had been doing really well. 2 1/2 weeks on this new LC WOE and I had already lost 8 lbs! Then I got sick. Cold/flu ickiness that made my appetite go bye bye. The thought of eating meat or, even worse, salad was painful. I think 2 days straight all I ate all day was a bagel w/ cream cheese and lots of water. The sickness began on 9/17. I was absolutely miserable until 9/24. Then it was craziness at work (Quarter end yuck), and a chock full weekend this weekend, including my baby brother's 1 year b-day party! Needless to say, I stayed HC until today. Back on the wagon as of this morning!! I can't tell you how gross I felt this morning trying to get dressed for work. Totally bloated, nothing looked good, must have changed my clothes 10 times, and I still hate what I'm wearing right now! I had 2 eggs, 2 sausage patties and a slice of amer. cheese for breakfast, my 1 c of coffee with milk/splenda, and have already drank 32 oz of H2O. So, I'm getting back on track. Will start back at the gym tomorrow too, now that I'm healthy again, and work has slowed down.

Has this happened to anyone else? Been sick and totally off the diet due to lack of appetite? What did you all do to get back on track?

Thanks in advance for any help y'all can give me!
~Kate

When you are sick it is very hard to deal with a high protein diet. My advice, if you ever get sick again, is just help yourself through your illness first, that is what matters. If you have to eat saltine crackers to settle your stomach or can't eat at all, just get your fluids, and worry about low carbing later, don't knock yourself out. So don't beat yourself up about it, but if you get sick again, as soon as your tummy is back in tune, get right back onto the wagon and eat for your WOL. Just don't worry about low carbing if you have the flu, heck when we have the flu the last thing we can do is eat.

Take care and now you are back on the wagon so don't fret about the past.
Good luck
Cindy

Hiya! Hope you're feeling better. Here's my MO when I'm sick, and it works nicely:
<ul>
<li>chicken or beef broth, and other LC soups. Live on soup for a few days.
<li>tea
<li>at nighttime, make a Hot Toddy: tea + some lemon extract or juice + a touch of splenda + a shot of whiskey. Clears your sinuses and helps you sleep.
<li>coffee - the little energy boost feels good.
<li>cooked veggies
<li>garlic. Swallow it raw in small chuncks, like pills. It's gross, but it works.
<li>echinaceae. Be sure it's the 1000 mg stuff.
<li>Buckley's Mixture, if it's available in your area. It, too, is gross, but works. Avoid other medications if you can - it's best to let your body do it's thing and get rid of the bugs.
<li>Rest, and don't exercise. Exercise stresses your immune system. You can get back to your workouts once you're better.
</ul>

I suggest trying to stay LC, even if you don't feel like having a lot of fat or protein. Bacteria love sugar, and by keeping it LC, you're helping your body fight throat and lung infections that can hit you during or right after a cold or flu virus. I had bad asthma when I was a kid. Even though I've pretty much outgrown it, the lung damage is permanant, and every time I get sick, I get very bad bronchitis that takes forever to go away. But since LCing, guess what? No bronchitis. My colds have disappeared within 48 hours. Hmmm.

I wanted to add this about echinacea~ it is considered nature's antibiotic, and is very effective with zapping the yucks... It helps the body's white blood cells, and is an effective immune booster. I know many ppl who take it all the time, but after more than six to eight weeks, it becomes ineffective. Echinacea can become effective again following a break from it of at least two weeks.

There are also some ppl who shouldn't be taking echinacea: allergy to plants in the daisy family,(it is in the daisy family of plants),tuberculosis,lupus, multiple sclerosis,connective tissue disorders,collagenosis,leicosis and other auto-immune and severe systemic disorders>

I am quite familiar with this plant. It grows in our area, and is commonly known as snake root because Native Americans use to use the root for snake bites, among other things. This plant is dug here for a crop, and it grows all over the place. It is worth more dry than wet, but some ppl sell it wet (freshly dug) as well.

Anyone who wants to take echinacea, I would advice looking up some information about it, as there are many sources on it. And good point Kristine, about how much bacteria love sugar. That is all the more reason to stick to the LC w/o/e... starve them lil buggers, and they will leave sooner!~