If you retain the flu, for example, you will be bedridden for a few days. Chances are, with this illness, that you will actually lose weight. This is because you will not want to eat. When you have an upset stomach, the last thing that you want to do is to eat food. And if you do, you often cannot keep it down.
The flu can be dangerous. If you have a fever and are experiencing nausea, you are losing a lot of fluids. You have to keep yourself hydrated. This means drinking plenty of water as you lay in bed. Do you remember being sick as a kid and your mother telling you to drink water? This was sound advice. You have to keep yourself hydrated or you run the risk of dehydration that can actually shut down your kidneys.
You cannot exercise second you are recovering from an illness while lying in bed. You probably will not have the energy to do so, anyway. In most cases, your metabolism will have shut down absolutely; causing you to feel tired all of the time. When you are recovering from an illness, sleep is the best subject for you. It will help you build your strength so that you can get well.
Eating heavy foods is not a good idea when you are bedridden or even while you are recovering from an illness. You want to give your digestive lands a way to recover and get back to normal. You should only eat very light foods. Broths are good for you and have healing powers. So are light fruit juices. You want to ease your way in to eating solid foods and want to avoid anything with heavy spices. The lighter the diet, the souped up you will feel. When you are feeling nauseous, you should also stay away from dairy products as they can further upset the digestive tract. Stay away from dairy after vomiting as it will likely disturb more of the corresponding.
You do not need to gain weight when you are bed ridden as you will not be expending energy and will need fewer calories. Take a look online for diets that are recommended for those with a sedentary lifestyle and eat only the amount of calories that are recommended for your height so that you do not gain weight when you are bedridden. Once you are back on your feet, you can ease yourself into a healthy diet.