Thanksgiving is generally a time when we all worry about unwanted weight gain. However, this Thanksgiving (as described in my Mom’s story below) our family was faced with a whole other challenge: How to keep our hard earned muscle mass while sick with the stomach bug. As personal trainer and nutritionist (and Brad a fitness model) our lively hood revolves around maintaining a lean and muscular physique. Getting a gut wrenching stomach virus has the possibility to hinder the hard work we put in on a daily basis and set us back in our physical gains. However, by following these five simple steps, we kept ourselves from falling into a huge setback.
In order to best prevent the loss of muscle during times of illness try theses remedies:
1. Believe it or not, when you are sick your metabolism speeds up (even if you aren’t moving) in order to help repair your body. So, adequate nutrition is a MUST. Start with a bland diet (bananas, rice, apples, toast) and add protein as you can stomach it.
2. DRINK plenty of water and try pedialyte or gatorade to get vitamins, minerals and electrolytes back in your system. Also, while your caloric intake is low, try drinking 5-10g of BCAA’s every 2-4 hours and 1-2g of buffered creatine (Kre Alkalyn) up to two times a day.
3. Take a probiotic. (IF you’ve had a run with the stomach virus, though you’ve cleared out all the bad bacteria in your system, you also cleared out all the good bacteria. Take a probiotic to reintroduce those vital good bacteria to your system.)
4. Eat or drink adequate protein. Try a vegan based protein powder, Greek yogurt, and bland chicken (when you are able to stomach it).
5. REST and get plenty of sleep. As mentioned above, your body is in overdrive working to overcome your illness and thus is going to need plenty of rest for your quickest recovery.
The story below was written by my Mother and Aunt, two other victims (of the 11) to our Thanksgiving fiasco, who also fought the good fight back to HEALTH and preserved muscle mass along the way by following these simple steps to recovery.
Script and pictures by Nancy Blue (Nana) and Kathy Blue (Aunt Kathy)
You are now hearing the voice of Rod Serling…..
You unlock this door with the Key of imagination….
Beyond it is another dimension.
A dimension of sound…
A dimension of sight….
A dimension of mind….
You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance…..
Of things and ideas…
You have just crossed over into ….
DOO-DOO-DOO-DOO…..DOO-DOO-DOO-DOO…DOO-DOO-DOO-DOO—-
It was an ordinary day in Brevard North Carolina, much like any other day just before Thanksgiving…..
The weather was exceptionally nice for a late November day and the Blue family was busily preparing for a joyous holiday weekend of fun and feasting.
As the guests began to trickle in from Dacula, Atlanta, and Cashiers, all were happy to be reunited and to share in the joy of the new baby Graham.
Festivities were enthusiastically underway as pies, cookies, casseroles and a grand Turkey were lovingly prepared, and a beautiful table was set to perfection.
Yes….it was a picture perfect setting….you could say, just like a Norman Rockwell painting…until……IT HIT !!!
The HORRIBLE, HORRENDOUS… the HORRIFIC…. HEBERLING 2-0-1-2 VIRUS….
Now officially documented by the CDC as THE H 2-0-1-2 … a sinister, insidious virus with NO KNOWN CURE !!
First to fall was Nana… hardly finished with her Thanksgiving meal….she was hit hard…..
Followed shortly by Big Mike….it wasn’t a pretty sight!
Next to go were Aunt Mandy and Aunt Taylor, forced to huddle together on the bathroom floor, shivering in the night.
And FINALLY…… the last to go…. Brad and Aunt Kathy. We thought they were in the clear, but NOTHING escapes the deadly grip of
THE H 2-0-1-2 VIRUS !!!!! Yes….it was a ghastly sight…..
And there were many casualties…….
Then,as swiftly and unassumingly as the Heberling family came, they disappeared down the misty mountain road back home taking with them, their
secret biological weapon…..
Leaving only some “Sick Supplies”…….
And a note which read…… ”We came…We infected… We ate… and… We left….We Love You!”
Well, it is said that Love can be expressed in many different ways…..so next year….
the family will be ready for whatever expressions of “Love” may come their way !!!
And so…..until then….. “Village Under Quarantine For 30 Days” !!!
And so, my friends, goes another Thanksgiving in…..
Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S.
We decided we better give Santa fair warning…
…
“ Well, here I am at the Heberling’s……good kid, that Graham, but germy…..”
