covid took me down to my goal weight, now what?
December 24, 2023 5:23 PM Subscribe
TW/CN for food/body talk!
To maintain my current (lower) weight after an illness, do I just recalculate my TDEE, or is there more to it? Question is mostly for nutrition, training, & fitness experts!
The bad news is I got covid after years of avoiding it, the good news is I'm feeling much better now and have lost six lbs in the past 2 weeks, bringing me to my goal weight. I am 5'1 and athletic, so small losses like this are visible for me.
Note that my pre covid weight and current one are BOTH considered within healthy range for me, and this is strictly about how I want my body to look.
The obvious issue is that I assume, once I resume my normal food intake, I will gain it all back. I was eating while sick (mostly soups, fruit, and protein shakes) but certainly at a caloric deficit from usual, as my appetite was much lower. I was also not going to the gym, and I will be resuming my workouts (regular lifting, pilates, daily walks) soon.
I'm going to recalculate my TDEE, but I wonder:
a) if covid itself OR post-viral weight loss, in general (consuming much less AND moving much less for 2 weeks) has changed my metabolism in one direction or the other temporarily - what's the research on this?
b) how much of the 6 lbs is just "water" weight (or a combo of water, muscle and body fat) and what to do with this information as someone interested in keeping/gaining lean mass. I don't have immediate access to getting my bf% measured (and it's been a while since I've done that anyway, so I don't know how useful the pre/post covid comparison would be) I know my pants are looser and I look less bloated, I want this to continue to be the case.
The bad news is I got covid after years of avoiding it, the good news is I'm feeling much better now and have lost six lbs in the past 2 weeks, bringing me to my goal weight. I am 5'1 and athletic, so small losses like this are visible for me.
Note that my pre covid weight and current one are BOTH considered within healthy range for me, and this is strictly about how I want my body to look.
The obvious issue is that I assume, once I resume my normal food intake, I will gain it all back. I was eating while sick (mostly soups, fruit, and protein shakes) but certainly at a caloric deficit from usual, as my appetite was much lower. I was also not going to the gym, and I will be resuming my workouts (regular lifting, pilates, daily walks) soon.
I'm going to recalculate my TDEE, but I wonder:
a) if covid itself OR post-viral weight loss, in general (consuming much less AND moving much less for 2 weeks) has changed my metabolism in one direction or the other temporarily - what's the research on this?
b) how much of the 6 lbs is just "water" weight (or a combo of water, muscle and body fat) and what to do with this information as someone interested in keeping/gaining lean mass. I don't have immediate access to getting my bf% measured (and it's been a while since I've done that anyway, so I don't know how useful the pre/post covid comparison would be) I know my pants are looser and I look less bloated, I want this to continue to be the case.
Everything I’ve heard about the science of weight tells me that it’s not likely you lost much fat during two weeks of convalescing. You really ought to talk to a doctor before trying to use an illness as a turbo boost to achieving or maintaining your goal weight.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 12:29 AM on December 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 12:29 AM on December 25, 2023 [5 favorites]
I heard an interview with Luigi Fontana recently (possibly on ABC Radio National). He is a longevity researcher at the University of Sydney. He spoke of a trial his group conducted where people (middle aged, overweight but not obese, sedentary) were randomised to either an exercise program or a diet program.
Once daily maintenance calories were calculated, the exercise group was required to exercise daily to burn roughly 25% of their daily calories (he said it's about an hour on a bike) and the diet group was required to reduce their caloric intake by ~25% with diet only. Lots of outcomes (both groups lost the same amount of weight, for example) but one key difference was that the dieters actually shifted their basal metabolic rate (I think this was measured by one of the thyroid hormones) so needed fewer calories after the trial, whereas the exercisers lost weight but didn't change their BMR.
The studies he described are very long - 6 months, 8 months, a year, etc. I'm not sure if 2 weeks would be enough to alter your metabolism? [but I have no idea whatsoever].
Sorry no links but he has lots of papers and studies and articles. One of their big studies was the CALERIE study, but I'm not sure if it was the one described above.
posted by lulu68 at 2:42 AM on December 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Once daily maintenance calories were calculated, the exercise group was required to exercise daily to burn roughly 25% of their daily calories (he said it's about an hour on a bike) and the diet group was required to reduce their caloric intake by ~25% with diet only. Lots of outcomes (both groups lost the same amount of weight, for example) but one key difference was that the dieters actually shifted their basal metabolic rate (I think this was measured by one of the thyroid hormones) so needed fewer calories after the trial, whereas the exercisers lost weight but didn't change their BMR.
The studies he described are very long - 6 months, 8 months, a year, etc. I'm not sure if 2 weeks would be enough to alter your metabolism? [but I have no idea whatsoever].
Sorry no links but he has lots of papers and studies and articles. One of their big studies was the CALERIE study, but I'm not sure if it was the one described above.
posted by lulu68 at 2:42 AM on December 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
I am not sure how helpful this anecdote will be but I have recently been through something similar.
A little while ago, I asked a question on the green about losing weight, and then a week later got an exceedingly brutal case of covid which meant I couldn't eat or do much else but lay in bed for 1.5 weeks. Predictably, I lost a couple of kgs, which I assume was a mixture of fat, water and muscle. I also assumed, like you, that it would come back after returning to normal eating. Interestingly, it has not. In fact, I've lost more weight since then, but that seems to be because covid has altered my appetite so I am nowhere near as hungry as I was pre-covid. I still eat of course, but I'm just eating veggies and lean protein until I'm full (which happens a lot sooner these days) and sometimes having meal replacement shakes to supplement between meals.
I'm generally feeling back to normal so it doesn't feel like eating less is having much of an effect on my day-to-day energy levels. I have been trying to take it easy due to the risk of long covid, but this is just a precaution; I feel quite capable of all the physical activity I did pre-illness. I don't know if my metabolism has slowed but I suspect it wasn't 100% optimal before this. If the lack of appetite persists, I probably will talk to my GP and ask for a blood test. Like you, I feel way less bloated though, which has been nice.
posted by BeeJiddy at 7:39 PM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
A little while ago, I asked a question on the green about losing weight, and then a week later got an exceedingly brutal case of covid which meant I couldn't eat or do much else but lay in bed for 1.5 weeks. Predictably, I lost a couple of kgs, which I assume was a mixture of fat, water and muscle. I also assumed, like you, that it would come back after returning to normal eating. Interestingly, it has not. In fact, I've lost more weight since then, but that seems to be because covid has altered my appetite so I am nowhere near as hungry as I was pre-covid. I still eat of course, but I'm just eating veggies and lean protein until I'm full (which happens a lot sooner these days) and sometimes having meal replacement shakes to supplement between meals.
I'm generally feeling back to normal so it doesn't feel like eating less is having much of an effect on my day-to-day energy levels. I have been trying to take it easy due to the risk of long covid, but this is just a precaution; I feel quite capable of all the physical activity I did pre-illness. I don't know if my metabolism has slowed but I suspect it wasn't 100% optimal before this. If the lack of appetite persists, I probably will talk to my GP and ask for a blood test. Like you, I feel way less bloated though, which has been nice.
posted by BeeJiddy at 7:39 PM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by thereader at 11:29 PM on December 24, 2023 [1 favorite]