Covid diet

[Anonymous]

I had covid starting on Oct 10th. For three days, I didn't eat anything due to the horrible sore throat I had. So I basically did a 3 day fast. Since then, my appetite hasn't fully returned. I haven't been fasting but I have only been eating 600-1000 calories a day. I also was an avid tea drinker - drinking black teas 4-6 large mugs a day and I haven't had a tea since I got covid either. I have had one diet coke but otherwise no caffeine. I don't feel hungry or weak. I feel fine. I haven't done any intentional exercise but have left fine with normal daily activity (3000-5000 steps a day). I have no idea what happened in my body with covid but it seems to have reset me! I have a BMI of 29 so about 30-40 pounds to lose. I have lost 7 pounds since I got covid (almost 3 weeks now). Am I fine to keep going with this reduced caloric intake if I feel fine or should I be ensuring I eat 1200 calories a day to avoid this weight yoyoing back on if my appetite suddenly returns?

[Anonymous]

Well, I would certainly focus on getting as much nutrition as you can with the appetite you have. That needs focusing on vegetables and fruits, nuts, lean proteins.

[Anonymous]

I mean, that’s neither a safe nor sustainable calorie diet long term.

I’ve got Covid right now and have been up and down with my appetite, but I’m under no delusion that any weight loss happening right now is actually going to stay off.

[Anonymous]

Make sure you’re actually listening carefully to your body and giving it the fuel that it needs, and not accidentally beginning to delve into the realm of disordered eating.

Eating such low calories per day for an extended period can tank your metabolism and make future weight loss attempts even more difficult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had covid starting on Oct 10th. For three days, I didn't eat anything due to the horrible sore throat I had. So I basically did a 3 day fast. Since then, my appetite hasn't fully returned. I haven't been fasting but I have only been eating 600-1000 calories a day. I also was an avid tea drinker - drinking black teas 4-6 large mugs a day and I haven't had a tea since I got covid either. I have had one diet coke but otherwise no caffeine. I don't feel hungry or weak. I feel fine. I haven't done any intentional exercise but have left fine with normal daily activity (3000-5000 steps a day). I have no idea what happened in my body with covid but it seems to have reset me! I have a BMI of 29 so about 30-40 pounds to lose. I have lost 7 pounds since I got covid (almost 3 weeks now). Am I fine to keep going with this reduced caloric intake if I feel fine or should I be ensuring I eat 1200 calories a day to avoid this weight yoyoing back on if my appetite suddenly returns?

If nothing else, making you cut back on your tea consumption is a good effect. That much black tea daily is really unhealthy. Could lower your iron absorption, cause anxiety and poor sleep and give you heartburn/reflux.

[Anonymous]

Hey, just saw this- I was about to post something similar. I had symptomatic COVID for 3 weeks and lost almost 10 lbs... since then I've continued losing (at a much slower pace) just because I'm not hungry and even skip meals sometimes, which is not normal. I'm also not exercising like I was pre-COVID though, because I'm still not feeling great.