Almost half way folks! (I know by there time some of you read this you will be already half way!) Just keep swimming (No physically, you’ll probably get pneumonia if you end up in a pool, but metaphorically.)
Which brings me to today’s post. One of my bootcamp buddies had to put her 40 day dreams on hold because she has been diagnosed with bronchitis. (Sorry Gwen! ): ) A couple of other ladies have been coughing and sneezing and spluttering (Not from excessive cardio but from disease.) . I am also starting to feel a slight tickle in the back of my throat but I refuse point blank to succumb to the cold!!! I will NOT! So I thought I should suggest some remedies to fight of the flu.
*Disclaimer: I am NOT a doctor. I am just a regular person (Well I’m a teacher so I’ve had to develop an immune system of steel as well as a cold fighting routine.) Some of these ideas are my own and some are from our ever reliable source: google. I’m sure there are tons of other things that work and that’s awesome. Whatever works for you :)
1. Get enough sleep. Your body needs time to heal and to rest. Basically how this works: You use energy while you are awake: moving, thinking, speaking (in my case this is where most of my energy goes!) all take up some energy. When you are sleeping you use less energy so the extra energy can go into fighting off disease. (There a whole lot of other technical stuff too but that’s the gist of it!)
2. Drink enough water. Your body is roughly 70% water . You need water for your body to function properly (including to fight off bugs!). Again there are tons of technical reasons here - but I don’t wish to bore you. If interested follow the link: https://www.livestrong.com/article/415493-why-do-you-need-to-drink-plenty-of-water-when-sick/ But basically stay hydrated - you don’t need to be dealing with the side effects of dehydration too!
3. Drink a delicious warm beverage: I like to drink a magical concoction I came up with a few years ago. I really helps me too feel a bit better and healthier (I think it works but it could all be psychosomatic!) I like to have some rooibos tea with a slice of fresh lemon, mint leaves, some pepper, a hunk of ginger and some honey. You should make sure to use ‘raw/unpasteurized honey/ non irridated’. This means it hasn’t been treated so it still has all the natural antibacterial properties of honey. Treated honey is basically just sugar.
4. Dress warmly ( I like to wear a scarf to cover my chest.) Ok so the reason behind this is not about the cold giving you a cold. It’s just about energy use again. If you body is busy using energy to keep warm then there is less energy available to fight off infection. (In the same way - walking around with wet hair doesn’t ‘make’ you sick it just doesn’t help.)
5. Take Vitamins. I like to take viral guard but the choice is yours. I would love to be able to get all the nutrients and vitamins I need from my food but I don’t. (For whatever reason - I’m too lazy to cook veggies. I’m to broke to afford salmon. I don’t want to eat broccoli every day. Whatever the case I take a vitamin supplement as a ‘backup’. Also with my digestion its better to be safe and have some extra vitamins!
6. Eat some soup. Soup is delicious and warm and full of good things like veggies. Which all help it making your body strong. (Yes it’s all very scientific!)
7. I keep hand sanitizer in my bag and on my desk. I come into contact with 150+ different people a day. Some of them don’t wash their hands, some of them sneeze/cough into said unwashed hands and then want to have me touch their books. So I tend to sanitize my hand regularly. There is a school of thought that says we need to be exposed to germs in order to have defense mechanisms. Well I’m 30 something now and have been teaching for a while. I’ve got enough defense mechanisms in place in place thank you very much. I don’t need 150 more students worth of germs floating around my body.
8. Listen to your body. I’m a firm believer that your body “tells” you things. If you are stressed you don’t feel great - that’s your bodies way of say “Woah Lady. I need to chill.” If you are staring to feel sick you don’t have lots of energy - that’s your bodies way of saying “Um, Lady. I need some help here. I’m trying to fight of the bad bugs but I’m not sure I’m winning.” Make sure you pay attention to your body. (Except when you are feeling lazy. that’s your body saying, “Nooooo I don’t wanna do another pushup!” and that should be firmly ignored!)
What will not work: Antibiotics. Colds and flu are virus’s. Antibiotics fight of bacteria. Bacteria and virus’s are NOT the same thing. Often your immune is weaker from fighting off the cold or flu which makes it more likely that you will get a secondary bacterial infection which could cause an array of things. In which case antibiotics may help.But otherwise you are wasting your time and your money. (You have been warned.)
Taking meds that help relieve your symptoms is probably a good plan. (Helps you to feel less like death personified and more like a human being.) Whether you take my (unasked for) advice or not. Whether you agree or not, what i’m basically trying to say is look after yourself. Take care of your body. (After all isn’t that what boot camp is about?)
Yours a 30 something chubby girl
