sniff sniff cough cough

Like many people this time of year, the past few weeks have been a prolonged battle against a winter cold.  Some of you reading this may be experiencing the same issues.  Severe weather and temperature changes and a strain of pneumonia going around have conspired against me and, even as I write this, I'm not out of the woods yet.  I hadn't really had a "sick day" in well over a year, so maybe I was due.  Regardless:  being sick sucks!

When you are making a conscious effort to make lifestyle changes, nothing can throw a monkey wrench into your plans like coming down with a cold.

I've realized these past few weeks that being ill has an actual and measurable impact on my diet and eating habits.  As can be predicted, I tend to consume less at meals when sick.  What I had never really noticed before was that I ate more sporadically while fighting the flu.  I may not eat as much at lunch and dinner, but I found myself wanting/needing to snack more often ... probably because of the disruptions to my sleep pattern and normal routine.  At dinner time, my body wouldn't say it was hungry ... but then again, I had just taken a three hour nap, so my body didn't know it was time to eat.  Then around midnight ...

On top of that, I quickly realized that I was doing less to stay hydrated than normal.  Whereas I have been quite good at drinking near (or more) than 64 oz of water daily, while sick I was drinking 30 or less!  When I REALLY needed it!

It took several days of irregular sleep, over-the-counter meds and boxes of Kleenex ... (okay, I lied ... rolls of toilet paper ... who has money to buy just Kleenex these days?) ... for me to even notice how out-of-the-ordinary my eating and drinking habits had become.  It took real focus and a few reminder sticky notes to get back on track.

Speaking of "track"

This flu-bug really put a damper on my 5K training.  I had been making it a point to run three or more times a week in preparation for my next 5K (Feb 15th in Baytown) in addition to my normal workout regimen of cardio, yoga and weights.  Once the sinuses were filled and the fever kicked in, I wasn't up for getting out of bed, let alone putting on my sneakers and taking a run.  In fact, four days went by before I did anything remotely close to exercise.

Which got me to thinking ...

Should you exercise while you're sick?  I've heard so many contrary opinions (read: wives tales) on the topic that I wasn't at all sure.  We've all heard some variation on how we can get over a cold by "sweating it out."  On the other hand, we've probably all heard some variation on "the strain of exercise weakens our immune system" making it more difficult to fight off the cold.  So, which is true?  I had no idea.

Without any research into the topic, I decided that, for me at least, whatever I could do would be good and if it was too much, it would be bad.  Science!  Since it was freezing out, I eliminated outdoor running from my options.  As I didn't want to spread germs (and look like a damn fool in public with snot running down my face), I ruled out hitting the elliptical at the gym.  However, my mat was there by my bed and my DDPYoga DVDs in the Blu-Ray ... so I would stick to my daily routine of 30-60 minutes of DDPYoga each day.  If snot started running down my face ... well, there was a roll of toilet paper right there next to my water bottle.

And here's my big surprise:  while admittedly feeling like absolute crap, I had some fantastic workouts on the mat!  What's up with that?

After a week, I did some research ... (you'll learn that's how I operate ... I do a thing for a week or so and then I investigate whether I should be doing it!) ... and found that most experts, physicians and trainers, tend to agree on what's called "the neck rule."  Simply put, if your symptoms are all above the neck, then go ahead and exercise at a moderate level; if the symptoms are below the neck, then take the day off.

Here's a link to a great CNN.com/Health.com article on the Best and Worst Exercises To Do When You Have a Cold.

After four days of laying in bed sick and then four days of exercise while sick, I was starting to feel okay ... not great, but okay.  So I went for a 5 mile run (okay, 4 ½ mile) in 30 degree temps.  I was afraid that the exertion of a long jog and the freezing temperature would set me right back in my recovery, but I am happy to report that hasn't happened.  In fact, after my run I finally had a good, solid night's sleep!

I'm not totally out of the woods yet (sniffle sniffle cough cough), but I feel much better.  I attribute that to equal parts exercise, getting my eating habits back in line and Claritin.

Feeling sick?  Don't know whether to exercise or not?  Take this QUIZ

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January 30 2014
KING RICH
Weight:  190.2 lbs
BMI:  27.5
Body Fat:  26.0%

*  How accurate are these numbers?  Huh ... I don't really know.  But I am using the Weight Watchers by Conair Scales Glass Body Analysis Scale Model WW52 to measure my stats.  I am less concerned with the accuracy of the numbers themselves and more concerned with the change I hope to see in the future.  For consistency's sake, these stats will always come from the same source and appear with my bi-weekly posts. 

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Bedtime for Bonzo

Well …

I guess if I'm going to keep a blog about health and fitness, it is only fitting that I start with my number one obstacle in changing my lifestyle to one that is consistently healthy.  If I'm going to provide advice in this forum, I should address my failings as well, right?  One of the keys to Potamus Power is recognizing one's strengths and weaknesses and attacking them head on.

You're on the Internet right now … open another tab and Google search (or Bing, or whatever the hell the cool kids are using) a few topics:  weight loss, health and fitness.  Go ahead, I'll wait 'til you come back.

La dee da dee da …

Alright, welcome back!

Now, if you spent a little time on the Internet searching for advice on how to lose weight, or how to get stronger, or diets (ugh … we'll talk about diets soon, I promise) then you probably came across a few pages that made some promises that sounded great. 

For example, you may have found a website that sold fitness equipment guaranteed to give you a brand new body!  Wow!  They probably didn't tell you how much it cost either, did they?  Don't waste your money, at least not yet, because no piece of fitness equipment is going to be the single most important thing to improving your health.

Another example:  You may have found a website for a fitness program or instructor that guaranteed that their program would help you lose weight … maybe in as little as 10 minutes a day, 3 times a week for 60 days.  To some degree they are right … what they don't tell you is that if you were physically fit enough to do their workouts, you wouldn't need to lose weight.

There's good info on the Internet too!  Many sites (and I'll point you towards them in future reviews) stress the point that nutrition is 90% of the battle in weight loss.  I don't know about that statistic, but I can't stress enough the importance of nutrition.  You are what you eat!  You can work out ten hours a day, but if you're eating garbage, you're gonna feel like garbage!

But what about the real deal?  What is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT element to losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle?  What is the SINGLE MOST DIFFICULT thing you are going to have to manage (it is for me, at least)?

Sleep!

For years researchers have known that adults who sleep less than five or six hours a night are at higher risk of being overweight. Among children, sleeping less than 10 hours a night is associated with weight gain.

… and I LOVE sleep!

A fascinating new study performed by Sleep researchers from the University of Colorado suggests that the link may be even more insidious than previously thought. Losing just a few hours of sleep a few nights in a row can lead to almost immediate weight gain.

Oh crap!

The researchers found that staying up late and getting just five hours of sleep increased a person’s metabolism. Sleep-deprived participants actually burned an extra 111 calories a day, according to the findings published in March of 2013 in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  But even though we burn more calories when we stay awake, losing sleep is not a good way to lose weight. The light sleepers ended up eating far more than those who got nine hours of sleep, and by the end of the one week the sleep-deprived subjects had gained an average of about two pounds.

“We found that when people weren’t getting enough sleep they overate carbohydrates,” says Kenneth Wright, Director of the University’s Sleep and Chronobiology laboratory. “They ate more food, and when they ate food also changed. They ate a smaller breakfast and they ate a lot more after dinner.”

Ah jeez … that sounds familiar!

In fact, sleep-deprived eaters ended up eating more calories during after-dinner snacking than in any other meal during the day. Over all, people consumed 6 percent more calories when they got too little sleep. Once they started sleeping more, they began eating more healthfully, consuming fewer carbohydrates and fats. Dr. Wright noted that the effect of sleep deprivation on weight would likely be similar in the real world although it might not be as pronounced as in the controlled environment. The researchers found that insufficient sleep changed the timing of a person’s internal clock, and that in turn appeared to influence the changes in eating habits. “They were awake three hours before their internal nighttime had ended,” Dr. Wright said. “Being awakened during their biological night is probably why they ate smaller breakfasts.”

I'm guilty too!

I've been tracking my sleep since the first of 2014 and, thus far, have had only one night where I've slept for eight hours or more.  Is this playing a role in my weight loss and fitness goals?  You bet it is … and it is the toughest thing to change and correct.  Work, family, ever-changing schedules and a history of being a night-owl all conspire against me as I am sure they do with you.

So, if you're going to follow my lead and join the Potamus Power movement … do what I'm about to do:  brush your teeth and go to bed!

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January 16 2014
KING RICH
Weight:  191.6 lbs
BMI:  27.7
Body Fat:  26.0%

*  How accurate are these numbers?  Huh ... I don't really know.  But I am using the Weight Watchers by Conair Scales Glass Body Analysis Scale Model WW52 to measure my stats.  I am less concerned with the accuracy of the numbers themselves and more concerned with the change I hope to see in the future.  For consistency's sake, these stats will always come from the same source and appear with my bi-weekly posts. 

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter