Fitness Journal - Family Sick Day

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

08 Jul 2007 10:10 AM

There's nothing worse than waking up not feeling well. Okay, there's one thing that's worse - when you wake up not feeling well and the rest of the family appears to be suffering from the same malady that you are. That makes it pretty rotten - all the way around. As a mom, my first duty is to take care of the kiddo, but when you're feeling rotten - - it's hard to find the energy.

Don't Exercise When You're Sick

A good rule of thumb is to not exercise when you're sick. But like with many other things in life, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. In my case, walking was one way to help shake off some of the cold medicine and the doldrums. I needed to do this because caffeine doesn't seem to do as much for me as it does for others.

I've gone cold turkey off caffeine before and not noticed it. I don't even tend to get the headaches that other people do. I actually drink half-café or decaf coffee most of the time. So when I am ill and exhausted, I can't just drink caffeine to fight the drowsy feeling the medicine gives me. Instead, I have to exercise or eat a ton of sugar.

I try to choose exercise when I can because I don't want that much in the way of sugar.

My exercise program was limited to just the thirty minutes of relaxing walking today - no sense in pouring it on when I didn't have the energy to pour into it. My husband got steadily worse throughout the day and spent most of his day in bed. My daughter did the same. It makes it tough when everyone is sick and all you want to do is curl up.

Still - once I had everyone settled, I chose sleep for my next fitness option. A good long nap is a great way to recharge the mind and the body - and considering that everyone else is sick - I'm glad my sofa is comfy.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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