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. 

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