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Bobbie's Blog: Self-Medicating With Food When You're Sick

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A month ago in a feverish state, I veered into McDonald’s and ordered a Coke and a cheeseburger. Strep throat left me feeling dehydrated and nauseous which resulted in my impulsive behavior. My body was craving sugar and greasy food and in the back of my mind, I thought it was okay - as if I was given the green light to give in to my craving. While I felt guilty, the other part of me felt it was better to eat something than nothing and I was treating myself. All the wrong logic, but I wasn’t prepared to be sick—the house wasn’t stocked and I didn’t have the energy to prepare anything, leading to a prolonged recovery. Once I was better and back on track, I decided to be proactive and prepare some healthy options in the event we got sick again. Here are things I did to avoid the stress of impulsive eating:

Homemade Chicken (No Noodle) Soup*

Using unsalted chicken stock I found at Meijer and Target, I made a large batch of soup loaded with chicken, carrots, onions, celery, fresh parsley and garlic.  If you love salt, you may notice a slight difference in the taste, but the fresh produce makes up for the reduced sodium.

My whole family ate this and no one complained about the lack of noodles or the flavor. If the kids want noodles, they just add them to their bowl.

*To make this recipe compatible with your meal plan, use MWLC Chicken Bouillon Fiber as the base for the soup.

Great for the body and the soul!

Freeze Extra

I froze individual servings in 2 cup containers, so should sickness creep up again we have fresh homemade soup on hand.  Ziploc containers even have measuring lines so you could freeze as little as one cup and know exactly where to fill the container.  If you don’t get sick, you have lunch or dinner in the freezer. Much healthier than canned soup that often contains your total daily allowance for sodium in ONE can!

Read your labels!

Stock Up & Plan Ahead

Nothing worse than running out of fresh food, especially if you get sick. Keep your house stocked to avoid unhealthy temptations. The fruit bowl in our house is loaded with oranges, lemons and the occasional pineapple so we don’t run out.  I just started making a week’s worth of lunches on Sunday night also. No more excuses should we get sick, busy or stressed!

Sunday meal prep for the week

We buy medicine and band-aids for the unexpected, but our nutritional choices shouldn’t be different. Preparing for the unexpected while you’re healthy, eliminates stress and helps you get back on your feet in no time.

What are your tips to stay on track when you've been sick?

Bobbie

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When you enroll in a Medical Weight Loss Clinic program, the length of your program will be determined by you and the staff based on the amount of weight you want to lose and how quickly you want to lose it. Your actual weight loss will be determined by many factors, including, but not limited to: your medical circumstances, the plan you choose, adherence to the meal plan and use of nutritional supplements. Your goal and program duration information will be given to you in writing at the time of enrollment. As your program progresses, the rate you lose weight may change and you will have the opportunity to discuss this at every daily visit with your weight loss consultant, where changes to your meal plan and/or program can be made.