# Stomach flu recovery; need lots of calories, help.



## BlueCorsair (Mar 7, 2008)

Heya lads, ladies

Have spent the last week barely eating anything (we're talking a few hundred calories per day, tops) and expelling most of anything I managed to get down. Gastroenteritis (i.e. the stomach flu) is a pain, as I'm sure lots of you know, and this was a really bad one that included a trip to Emergency due to nasty dehydration.

The body damage? I'm only *just* beginning to feel better, but I've lost at least four pounds, which for a relatively small guy like me is huge (I weighed in at 138 lbs before the virus of doom hit). I realize some of the weight lost was water, but I definitely *look* leaner, and I'm sure some muscle went to waste.

For the following couple of weeks, I'm not too concerned about 'clean' eating... well, not overly stressed at least. I'm a hardcore ectomorph (I literally have the bone structure of a 12 year old girl), so what I want is maximum caloric value for some meals. I also feel weak as a kitten, so I'm hoping to eat to boost my energy levels.

Can anyone make some suggestions? Whole wheat pasta by the truckload? Throw in a pizza or burger here and there? Should I just take my regular meal plan (a good five meals per day, balanced) and jack the calories a bit? I'm not too worried if I put on a pound of fat or so, and that's almost impossible for myself anyway  . As a real hard-gainer, I'm not entirely wild about waiting a couple months to put this back on, so I'll take speed over perfection.

Oh, and as a last question - how long would you suggest waiting before actually lifting again?

Sincere thanks!


----------



## ebp123 (Mar 7, 2008)

In my experiences, there is a level of weight your body will not go under if you are just eating when you are hungry. Im 6'2 and i wont go below 158 with a very shitty diet only eating when i want or when im hungry. When i do go below that because of sickness or depression, i can always get back up to that weight by eating. I will not on the other hand go above it without lifting weights. You just need to understand your genetics i guess.


----------

