Head Colds Sapping Will Power

[IrishMartian]

Just getting over a three week long head cold with intermittent fever and general soreness. I had about two weeks where the gym was no go, but last week got back to it, but I feel destroyed after a regular session.

 

The worst thing is, whenever I get sick like this, about once a year, my will power drops to zero and I binge eat. probably packed on about 3-5 kilos over the last month. How do I fellow rebels cope with viral illness and the cravings that come with it? The prevailing wisdom is not to do any serious exercise when sick but is there an alternative?

[Raincloak]

If you have a fever or symptoms "below the neck" (eg, a lung infection or a stomach virus) you should not exercise. However, if all you've got is a sore throat and stuffy head, you may exercise. You don't have to give it your max effort though, since your body is already working overtime on healing. Moderate exercise can help you recover faster by kicking your immune system up a notch. Too much stress will have the opposite effect.

Also, there is rarely a sickness that is so bad you shouldn't go for walks. If you're too sick to go for a walk, you will know it, because you'll be in bed or on the couch with no appetite. If you have enough appetite to binge on junk food, you are well enough to exercise. And you should be controlling that urge with mental stimulation, or hydrating and nutritious things like tea and soup. Junk food may actually prolong your illness (by burdening your system, increasing inflammation, and depriving your body of nutrients that you could get from vegetables etc.) so that's another good reason not to eat it. You can't do anything about the past but you can definitely do better in the future, starting now.

If you were sick for three whole weeks and your last workout seemed really hard, it's not because you lost all your conditioning. It's because you are still getting over being sick. Keep working out but don't expect to return to your prior performance for another week or two.