Mama Gets Sick
What to do when you get sick - and you're in the middle of "dang! my fitness plan is lit!" zone...
Yes, it happens to the best of us. Sometimes the Sick Fairy lands on your pillow one night and coughs and splutters all over you, gifting you the wonderful head cold, or full-on flu, or 24-hour vomiting bug, or something equally as nice.
It's never convenient being sick. I'm yet to think of any time in my life when being a little under the weather has served me at all. Not even those times when being sick has cost me / gifted me a couple of days off work, can I see any good times.
When I'm sick it's usually the case that I'm really sick. I'm not one of those people who fall sick easily - nor do I visit doctors regularly. I'm very, very lucky that thus far I have had very few days of proper illness that has rendered me useless. (I'm touching wood as I type!!!)
But when it does happen what should you do? It would seem almost obvious to say: well, you rest. You switch off, you call in sick and you lie in bed. Resting.
Sounds good. But since we're in the Fit Mama hub I'll assume, like me, you're a mother. And when you're a mother I don't think you'll have another "in-bed, resting" day again in your life. Sorry to break it to you. They just don't exist!
So when you're in the pits of head cold zone, or you're chatting gaily to the white telephone through a vomiting bug, here are some top tips:
FORGET ABOUT EXERCISING!
I know this might sound oh, so, obvious... but you'd be surprised. When you're on a fitness roll and you're in "the zone" and suddenly you're forced to take a 3-day break (and not in Ibiza lapping up Champers), it can throw you for a "should I sweat my way through this?" or "was sweating out a fever at thing?".
It most definitely is a time of rest and recovery. Okay, perhaps being tied to your bed and watching reruns of Friends whilst being served homemade chicken noodle soup is unlikely, it's not far off.
When your body is dealing with a bug or illness it cannot and should not be trying to deal with other things too. So keep your heart-rate nice and low, keep your respiratory system clear and free and forget about exercising for a couple of days.
Fluids UP!
Keeping your fluids up and that means plenty of water... and if you're vomiting you might need to replenish the lost nutrients in your body - so bear that in mind and drink plain fluids or powders that are specifically for sickness. The body can survive without food but it cannot survive without water / fluids, so try to drink little and often and stay clear of caffeine-based drinks.
Typically when I'm sick I'll stick to boiled:cooled water, ginger tea, lemon tea or hot water. I occasionally need to have a bit of sugar to boost my energy and I'll take that through honey!
Self Care!
When I designed the Fit Mama method I did it so that we could equally offer fitness, health and wellness - which translates to: exercise (fitness); food and nutrition (health); and goal setting, creating habits, life coaching, mental wellness, postpartum depression/anxiety/overwhelm, and return-to-work strategies (vitality). This was done to perfectly flow with the realities of life and after working so closely with clients and observing how life truly works. It's not rigid, or fixed, or easy. We, as mothers, need to be able to ebb and flow as day-to-day challenges and issues arise.
This means that we might not always be balancing everything equally. We might need to give 80% to our food and nutrition, leaving 20% to straddle our fitness and vitality. Other times our food planning might be on point and we are pushing our physical boundaries with our fitness programmes - and so the flowing goes.
When we hit a sickness wall we should be able to flow with that and "park" fitness and pick up self-care. No guilt, no disappointment, no stress, no worries. Simply park and pick up later once you're back on your feet.
Self-care whilst you're sick could be everything from meditating, sleeping, bathing, resting, walking, listening, reading. Whatever you need at that precise moment is where you focus your little energy - without even a second of guilt.
And then?
Once you feel back to your normal self you can slowly pick up some fitness sessions. Take the first 7-10 days extremely slowly and work up your fitness strength in small, short doses. You'll recover your fitness very quickly - but you should take time to do that in short sessions lasting 10-15 mins maximum. I would do one day walking, one day short LIIT (low-intensity interval training) session, one day walking, one day barre session, and so on.
Once your body is back to 100% normality you'll feel the urge to "do more" and you can!
When you're a mother and if you're also a working mother, then things change drastically when you're sick. It probably won't happen often, but when you're sick you'll still have a child to care for, and house to tend to, and a job to work at. Where possible reach out at the earliest opportunity for help - so as soon as you are starting to feel sick, call in the back-up! And forget all about fitness for a few days.
Michelle Caira is the Founder and CEO of Fit Mama Fitness Inc, a community contributor at Thrive Global and a certified Master Personal Trainer. Michelle launched Fit Mama, a digital platform for mothers, in 2018. Its goal is to equip women with the fitness, nutrition and mental wellness solutions and tools they need to thrive - at home and returning to the workplace. Passionate about women in business, Michelle is an entrepreneur with a global vision, and committed to help create a world where women thrive, regardless of any and all other factors.
www.fitmama.io