Keeping on track when under the weather

[alegeglessaligator]

Hoping from some advice/ encouragement on what to do. I'm currently suffering from my annual october cold and I think I'm doing well with looking after myself but i'm suffering some anxiety about breaking my workout habit. logically I know I'm not well enough for the gym and I'll only make myself worse if I try but I've still got the little voice in the back of my head saying that it's an excuse and if I allow myself not to go today then I'm going to completely break the habit and all my progress is going to stall. When you're in this sort of situation what do yo do?

[lucigret]

The best advice I can give you is to listen to your body. You say logically you know you are not well enough. I think your body will thank you for giving it time to heal with out the pressure of work outs that will drain it of energy.

Make sure you eat good healthy foods, if you are off food, make sure you have plenty of fluids, rest and take care of yourself. These colds can be really horrible and hang on far too long.

Hope you feel better really soon and then you can concentrate on getting back into your old routine

[alegeglessaligator 2 stone in reply to lucigret]

Yeah I'm definitely keeping with whole food and drinking lots of fluid. I'm just trying to get my brain to understand why it needs to listen to my body and not to the crazy.

[lucigret in reply to alegeglessaligator]

Maybe just a gentle walk out in the fresh air would make you feel a bit better and your brain might get the message

[Nomash]

If you go to the gym you will be poorly longer and won't make a lot of progress gym wise. You are better off resting and taking care of your body in another way. Then when you feel better, start back gently to test the water.

[alegeglessaligator 2 stone in reply to Nomash]

Yeah the sensible me totally agrees but I struggle with an all or nothing mentality which is tripping me up here.

[Nomash in reply to alegeglessaligator]

I understand what you are saying and conversely not feeling well probably causes you less reasonable thinking!

[S11m]

Hippocrates said:

"If you eat when you are ill, you merely feed your sickness."

so do not feel you have to eat if you do not feel like it, but try to drink plenty.

When you are ill, getting better is more important than getting down to your target weight for the week - but losing an extra pound or three can be a benefit of being ill!

[alegeglessaligator 2 stone in reply to S11m]

Unfortunately (for the weightloss opportunity) if I don't eat or eat very low calories I tend to faint!

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

Take care of yourself and listen to your body now, as the others have said. Keep in touch with the forum; come here every day; there's always someone to chat to on the What's Happening post. Let us know how you're going. If you do all that, having a few days off won't break the habit. You'll just pick up when you and your body are ready

[alegeglessaligator 2 stone in reply to BridgeGirl]

thanks for the encouragement I've just logged my food tomorrow in the daily diary and hopefully I'll start up a new streak.

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to alegeglessaligator]

Good for you

[Annoot]

Hi , sorry to hear you are unwell , it seemed your body needs time to recover and best way get a lot of rest with a lot of nutrious food such as warm soup. Daily walks for fresh air would be useful if possible 30 mins daily until you build your strength for longer walks and eventually back to the gym. Hope you get well soon.

[MIgnonne Restart Sept 2023]

Hi

I hope you soon feel well again, but PLEASE take the advice of the others here. I thought I had to " work through" a similar illness, and ended up with M.E./CFS for over 20 years, with a consequential loss of career, income etc., etc. My life was completely devastated and I'll never get back what I lost, so I always urge people to rest for at least a week after they get better, and then resume exercise at a much lower intensity for a while longer. What's a couple of months of taking things slowly, compared to 20 years of not being able to do anything?

[Sullom100]

I am in exactly the same position, I have a cold and know going to the gym is a complete waste of time because I’m not well, but I have a routine review booked for 2pm, like you I feel I’m making excuses, why do we feel so guilty

[Poggsey]

I too have a cold an not going to the gym today as I know it will be a waste of time, I'm not well enough to work out, I will just get frustrated and prolong my recovery time.

Be kind to yourself and rest.