Dorothy’s Place: Sick Day Diets and Emaciation

By Dorothy Denne

She said, “Oh my, I’ve lost weight. I’ve not been well for a couple of days and I just don’t feel like eating anything. I have no appetite.” Well, yeah, okay. If she says so.

I may have to reanalyze our friendship. Anyone who can lose weight in a couple of days, sick or not, just might not meet all the regulations for being my friend. And, personally, when I get sick my appetite is the last thing to go and the first thing to return. When it goes, it rarely takes any weight with but if it does, it can always be counted upon to bring a little extra when it returns.

I feel kinda’ lousy today. I have a gurgly cough and a head full of mucous. I really don’t feel like doing much – just want to lie around, read, maybe do a little writing, and eat. Why shouldn’t I be able to eat? It is my head that is congested, not my stomach.

Sick diets require a little special planning. No, correct that subject. Sick diets don’t require planning, sick-day diets do. Sick diets just come naturally. I’ve been on a few of them. Never did any planning for them at all – just ate pizza, fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, big hunkin’ omelettes smothered with cheese, maybe a little sweets after any of them.

Sick-day diets are a different story. They have to serve at least two functions. They have to sound like they will help me get well and they have to pamper me. Since I’m not feeling well, they can’t require much work to prepare. A little frozen orange juice fits the bill. It is healthy and I just slip it in the blender. Sick-day diets need to have things that take a long time to eat because I have lots of time on my hands. Peanuts are good. I can eat them one at a time. Cashews are even better. They are bigger so I can spend a little extra time biting them in half and chewing each half separately. Ice cream is a good accompaniment. The sugar balances the salt.

Planning is good – I’m feeling better already just planning what I’m going to eat. Antibiotics, cough medicine, and inhalers be damned. They are what the doctor ordered so I’ll do it, maybe – but salted nuts and ice cream, now that’s a prescription that works so I’ll do it, definitely. I’ll eat them and pack on a couple of pounds in reserve, just in case I lose my appetite before this is all over. I wouldn’t want to be emaciated when I find it again.

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