85. Navigating Sickness in Your Fitness Journey

This is day seven of not feeling well , actually feeling pretty much like shit for the entire seven days , and I had the idea a couple days ago when it was the day that I was supposed to record podcast for this week , and I'm just like , well , I'm gonna sound raspy and ridiculous , so I might as well just talk about like I'm gonna have to mention that I'm

sick , obviously . So I might as well just talk about how I'm dealing with being sick and how I deal with that on my fitness journey and the advice that I would give to , and do give to , my one on one clients when they're sick . I can just talk about that on this episode and I was really excited about it . I am really excited about it .

So it was like the day to record podcast came and I pretty much didn't have a voice for two days , two , three days at that point , and so I'm recording this like the same day . I need to edit , upload , get it all done for it to show up for you in the morning . So I'm like really pushing it here , but I just literally have not felt well .

I have not been able to talk like this amount of time without coughing or sniffing , sniffling or sneezing .

And my clients already know , because my one on one clients especially I tried to message everyone , think like last Thursday maybe I sent quite a few voice messages and I just sounded absolutely miserable and they were all like , girl , you did not have to message me , but I just really wanted to , but it was rough .

So I'm going to try to get through this the best that I can . But , like I said , this is day seven of me being sick . I actually do have an appointment , finally with the doctor today . So at first I just thought it was allergies and it's gotten worse .

And anyway , what I really want to talk about is kind of how I have navigated this myself honestly in the last seven days , what goes through my mind , what I try to do , how I think about it .

And this is exactly how I would share with my clients and I do share this with my clients when they come to me and ask , they tell me how they're feeling and they want to know should they skip a workout or should they push through , their nervous to push through or they're nervous to take a rest day , because they'll think that they're making excuses and then

they'll fall back into this trap of making excuses in this cycle , and so I just really wanted to talk about this as much as I can today , because I think it's something that I personally had to .

Like everything else in my fitness journey , it seems like I had to figure out for myself what works , and it works for like every single one of my clients , pretty much the way that I teach them and walk them through it , and so I think that it's just something , that it's not a cut and dry like a should I take a rest day or should I work out and push

through ? There's not an answer , because I'm not standing in front of you knowing exactly how you sound , what you look like , how you're feeling , and even if I was looking at you and I don't know what's in your head and how you're feeling and sometimes for myself that's a blurry line too .

So let me dive into the last seven days for myself and I'll kind of walk you through what this looks like . So I tried to work out . I was kind of I think I was coming up on feeling sick a little bit before that . I just didn't really notice because probably my appetite was off , who knows .

I just didn't have a lot of energy in my workouts and so , if I'm being honest , I could probably pinpoint it a few days before that to where I was trying to work out and I just was struggling , struggling , struggling and felt like just laying on the couch and being lazy and it was really nice .

But when my sickness came on , like I said exactly seven days ago , it came on almost instantly . Actually , my best friend was here . It was her last full day here . We had just gone out to eat , we're having a great day and all of a sudden we're sitting on the couch .

We're actually supposed to record podcasts together and I instantly just started feeling like my ears were hurting , my throat was hurting , I wanted to go to sleep , I did not feel good and I just kept saying like I do not feel good , something is wrong . I don't feel good .

I just kind of thought it was allergies , because I do get seasonal allergies really badly . That's not uncommon , but I had been taking my medicine , so it was really weird . So a few days into this , I realized this is more than just allergies . But I'm not the kind of person that's like let's just go to the doctor .

Like , I'm still like it's probably just a cold , it's fine . Mind you , I still haven't been to the doctor . I actually do have an appointment today . But , um , I'm not someone who like is like I'll get over it and not go to the doctor . I truly just thought that it's not that bad and I'll be fine .

But the more I talk to people , they're like you sound so sick . I actually tried to voice message my clients back , or voice message my 101 clients , not back necessarily , but just to talk to them . But I didn't really have a voice and I sounded terrible and I was sneezing and sniffling and coughing and it was just such a mess .

And I think when they all messaged back and were like , girl , you do not need to message me , like , take it easy , I'm like , wow , I really do sound terrible . But anyways , how this looked was I the first few days I did . I just thought it was allergy .

So I went in the garage and I'm trying to work out and I'm just feeling pretty shitty , like I'm not having a good workout . But I'm out here trying kind of a thing , and that's kind of what I do . I know my body well enough to know , honestly , when I should push through , and when I shouldn't , I will at least usually show up .

If I think I can push through a workout , I will at least show up for my workout . I will do a lot of stretching , do some yoga poses , just kind of take it really easy , start with lighter weights and build up if I feel like it . Well , this , I was just not feeling it .

So I'm lifting lighter weights and I'm just like , okay , I'm not feeling , well , that's fine , you moved . So we bought a walking pad or a walking treadmill , so I was trying to walk on that , pretty out of breath and just struggling .

So by the time I'm , you know , three to four days into this , I realized that I'm actually sick and I need to start taking actual rest days not walking on the treadmill , not walking outside , not working out just off off , because my voice was gone , my throat was really hurting , I was coughing so badly , so often that it was . It was pretty bad .

So I knew that I needed to take some rest days . Two days ago I did finally get in a workout , so , like day five , I was like , okay , I feel okay physically , like from the neck down right , like I should be able to lift some weights , I should be good .

I went out into the garage and the second my heart rate would get up and I needed to like catch my breath . In anything . I would start wheezing because I had to take a deep breath and then I would start coughing and it was so frustrating that I started crying .

My husband was in the garage working out with me and I'm just , I wasn't sobbing , I was just really frustrated , like , okay , I'm sick of feeling like shit . I want to be able to work out and move my body and I'm trying to do that right now in the garage , like in a way where it's respecting my body .

I was not pushing myself hard , but any moment which let me just tell you I didn't realize that my workouts were like that hard , I guess , when I'm just because I'm just lifting , I'm not even doing any cardio moves or anything but my heart rate was still getting up to where I was just coughing and sniffling and sneezing and it was so bad and I'm like , okay

, first of all , my workouts are really good because I'm , you know , getting in that cardio effect for my lungs but I'm not jumping . So I was like , okay , this is really great . I didn't realize how much my heart rate was actually up just through lifting .

So I mean , I know that technically , but when I'm doing it I'm just so used to being able to like whip through it . So this is also to reassure you that if you are doing strength training and resistance training– you are doing an amazing job . Like you will be out of breath . It's , that's enough .

But I was getting really frustrated so I did cry , I did take a minute , I did feel sorry for myself and then I was like , okay , lift slower , take longer rest . You got this and so I did finish that workout a little bit . It was shitty . The next day , same thing .

I just was very careful to not get to the place where I had to take a deep breath , which is so hard when you're working out . Like what's the point ? But also the point is to build the muscle , not to necessarily have to be wheezing and coughing and breathing so hard . Right ?

So I got my mind right there finish that workout and Today I'm taking another rest day . But so that's kind of how I felt as far as workouts . I did try a little bit . And then there were days to where I was like , absolutely not , I need to rest . But by day five of resting I was like , okay , I have not worked out in five days .

It's been a long time since I've not worked out for five days like , let's go try . And then I tried and then I cried . So that's what that looks like . My appetite has been fine , so I have been able to eat enough and hit my macros and Control what I can . That's one thing I want to stand out to you in this episode is control what you can .

I felt so shitty . I'm coughing , I'm sneezing , I'm wheezing , I'm all the things I can't work out . I can't move my body . I'm sleeping , you know , taking two like three hour naps a day . I'm just so tired but my appetite is still there . So while I can't work out and while I'm not feeling great , I'm still able to eat .

And so always control what you can . When you're sick , if you're literally Down and out right with the flu , just vomiting , fever , whatever , there's nothing you can do about that . But when you can , in any circumstance in your fitness journey , control what you can , and that's what I did and I feel really good and proud about that .

I know that I'm doing the right thing for my body and so Hopefully coming out of this particular sickness episode here with some medicine from the doctor that I get this afternoon . Please , fingers crossed that I will just be coming out of this . So this is what the last seven days , literally , have looked like for me .

It's been frustrating , it's been , you know , but I also understand why I'm resting and what's going on and all of the things . But let me say that years ago I felt like a failure if I missed one day in the gym , let alone five .

I would really struggle with feeling like , if I'm not hitting my workouts , that I might as well not eat , you know , for my goals . Like I might as well eat like shit , like kind of like I fuck it all . Right , if I can't do one thing right , then I can't do anything right . I'm not making any progress . Like I had this all or nothing mindset .

I just don't have that anymore , and that's because I trust my body . So the next thing I want you to take away from this episode is the only way to really know if you should push through a workout or Take a rest day , because I actually got this from a client on my app yesterday . It was so crazy I don't have it in front of me .

But she was just like , hey , girl , kind of wondering your thoughts , like how you deal with when you're sick . Should I take a rest day ? Should I push through when I have a cold ? Like what does that look like ? And I'm like , oh my god , I'm actually recording a podcast episode about this tomorrow , but I'll , of course , talk her through that personally .

But I know that it's something that comes up and like this we're coming into fall , the weather is changing , it is quote-unquote flu season , six season , whatever , and so this is going to happen . So you have to . This is so much easier when you trust your body . You have to be in tune with your body .

You , when you're sick , you are truly the only one who knows if you should take a rest day or push through . And the fact that you aren't sure and you have to Ask me is fine , that's good , and I'm a good person to ask , because I will be genuine and honest in my response with you .

But my goal for you as my client , is for you to be able to trust yourself , like there's no , no doubt in my mind on those days when I took absolute rest days while I was sick , while I am sick . That that's what I needed to do . I , there's no question , and I love being in that place with my body .

So you have to listen to your body , you have to trust your body , and this comes with so much time . This comes with practice . This comes with , you know , showing up in the gym and crying through your workout and being like , eh , wasn't quite ready yet that's , and I'm still doing that .

And this also comes from taking your rest day and then , a few hours later , being like , wow , you really could have worked out today . Shame on you , that sucks . You know , I'm beating yourself up Like that's kind of the , that's kind of what we have to go through .

Those are the steps , unfortunately , but I really encourage you to just understand that this entire journey comes back to trusting yourself and being in tune with your body , because I knew exactly when I needed a rest day and when I could try to push through , and even when I cried and I was like , oh my gosh , I'm doing , I'm not doing good at this , I feel

like I'm going to cry , I'm struggling . And then it was just like I know just to back off . Right , instead of quit , I don't have to quit , I can just back off . So if you're not used to listening to your body , you will feel conflicted , like should I rest or should I work out ?

You are the only one that actually knows that , and that's where these hard questions come in is like am I being lazy or do I actually need to not wake up this morning and work out ? Right , am I really needing to take this rest day or am I using this as an excuse ? And only you can answer that question . Only you know that for sure .

I can't say I think you should . I would actually always err on the side of sleeping in and giving your body rest . I would , I would 100% always tell my clients you should take a rest day If you're questioning it . I would never say push through .

Because when I started to look at this a little bit differently and I'm going to explain this to you this is when , for me , it made a lot of sense and this is how I never looked at it . No one ever told me this . I just , I just , it just is what it is .

I don't know when you are sick , your body is using calories , and this is the same thing I explained when you're like , when you're that time of the month and your menstrual cycle . For my clients , this is the same thing . I say like we're tired , we're grouchy . We don't understand .

When you're sick , you're tired , you're grouchy , you don't have any appetite , you don't have any motivation , you don't have any energy whatever . Like that is facts . And so when you're sick , your body is using calories that you give it to fight the illness and to get you back to feeling better . That's your body's job .

Therefore , you have less calories to use as energy . So there's a lot of different ways you can look at this . For me , I look at it like okay , if I'm not feeling the best today , do I want my body to be able to use the extra calories that I give it to fight off the illness ? So I should go take a rest day .

I should maybe actually take a nap , literally rest , so that my body can use the energy that , the calories , the fuel that it has to fight the illness , right . Maybe I take two days off to let my body use those extra calories to make me feel better . Then I can get right back on track , right , and maybe feel better faster .

Or I have my body you know , I give it the certain amount of calories . It's taking a lot more of those calories to fight for my body and get feeling better . And I'm also trying to go for a run and work out and use those calories to feel my workouts .

That's not going to work and so , therefore , your body has less calories to use as energy to fuel your workout when you are sick . So when I looked at it that way , I was like okay , I have a certain amount of calories every single day that I'm feeding my body and I want my body , when I'm sick , to be able to use those calories toward getting better .

I want to rest and I want my body to be able to use those calories for what it needs not lifting weights right now , right , not burning fat , not building muscle . I can get back to that in a few days .

So when you look at it that way and it's the same , like I said , when you're on your period like your body needs those extra calories to get through what it's going through , right , to go through that process , and so you have to be able to look at it as like , okay , I'm honoring my body and giving it rest because it's sick , so that's fine , like it's

not that I'm missing a workout necessarily . It's not that I'm a failure , it's not that I'm not sticking to my plan . It's that I'm honoring my body and by doing that my body will get better faster , hopefully and I will be able to feel better faster , and then I will be able to honor my body with movements and workouts and hitting my protein right .

So it's all about giving your body what it needs instead of like , oh my gosh , I just signed up for this program and I have to hit every single day .

So once I understood and I began to look at resting while sick differently as a necessity , as a thank you to my body , please help me get better , and here's a nap to help in that right , your body will recover faster if you give it that rest .

That's why rest days in general in your program are so important , and especially when you're sick , giving your body rest is like you have to do . That . That's working with your body and ultimately , that's what this is all about . So that's kind of the overall gist of how I want you to look at things when you're sick .

So when a client comes to me and says you know , hey , I'm not feeling well , I've been sick for a couple of days . I'm just really struggling . I'm trying to get my movement in . I'm not feeling . You know energy . What am I supposed to do ? I will ask you know , how long have you been sick ? How are you eating ? How are you feeling ?

I really think you should take a rest day . Like , as your coach , I'm giving you permission to take a rest day and not feel bad about it , because your body needs the rest . Rest up , use that time when you're resting . If you can't sleep , read a book . Plan out your meals . Plan out your month . Plan out your evenings , plan out your workouts , like .

Use that time where you're down and out to do something productive , to where you know you don't just have to lay in bed and watch TV . That's amazing too , and please do that . But if you're feeling like I'm just not doing anything to work towards my goals , then do something while you're laying down to work towards your goals .

I mean , we all say like we don't have time to meal plan , we don't have time to , you know , plan our workouts . We don't have time to fit things in Like . Use that time to make a list of all the things you have to do and who can you call , who can you text ? Who can you unfollow on social media ?

Who can you say no to I'm not going to help you this week , like , do things like that , maybe while you're laying around right and resting ? No-transcript , that's how I personally deal with being sick on my fitness journey .

But this wouldn't be possible , like this attitude that I have towards it , wouldn't be possible without all the years that I struggled , and so I'm really thankful that you have this episode to listen to so that the next time you're sick even maybe now you're questioning that .

Right , maybe this morning you took a rest day , you slept in , and now you're thinking maybe I should have worked out , feeling like a you know , lazy loser . I'm feeling better this afternoon . Maybe I should have got up and worked out . It's fine , like , let it go . You gave your body what it needed . You did yourself a favor . It's fine .

Pat yourself on the back , move on tomorrow , right ? So in that same context , when I do have clients that will say you know , hey , I skipped a workout this morning . I used it as a rest day . I'm not feeling well , should I try to make up that workout or should I just move on ? Just move on , don't .

So if you're , you know you missed a workout one day and the next day you're . You know you're back at it . Don't try to make up that workout right away .

Just go on to the next workout , do what's on your calendar that day and if you get a couple days ahead and you have a rest day and you're like or like a built-in rest day and you're like I feel like I could maybe make up the workout that I missed , go ahead and do that . But you don't have to do that . I never make up missed days anymore .

I'll be honest . I'm just kind of at this place where , yes , I actually need to get my ass back in gear , but I we've traveled and then I got back and I was getting back into the groove and then my best friend came and then I got sick . So I'm just all over the place , but I'm not making up any workouts .

I'm not beating myself up like it is what it is . When I feel good enough to work out again , I'll open my calendar , I'll do the workout on that day and I'll look forward , always , always , always , look forward . Don't beat yourself up for what you did this morning . Don't beat yourself up for what you did last week .

Who cares , move on like eyes up , eyes up and out . We're looking forward . So I want you to think of being sick on your fitness journey as something that will happen . You guys , if there's one thing that's inevitable in your journey , you will get freaking sick , and this is how we're gonna deal with it .

Right , you will get better faster if you sleep , if you rest . Who cares ? Take the rest day it's good for you and have your body use those extra calories that you're giving it , or use the calories that you're giving it for energy to get better , so that you can get better faster .

Because if you just push and push and push a little bit each day , you're gonna feel like shit for a lot longer , whereas you could just take two rest days and feel better instead of taking , you know , five half-ass workout days . Then you're gonna it's gonna take five days to feel better . That's what I did for years .

But just having this relationship with your body , where it trusts you , you trust it . You know that even being off track for a week for me , I was like , oh my god , it's literally been five days since I worked out like this is crazy . I could hardly remember the last time that I hadn't worked out for five days and yet I didn't care .

I'm like , yeah , I'm gonna lose a little bit of muscle and yeah , I ate like a ton of golden oreos if you saw my Instagram story . So , yeah , I'm probably gonna . You know , things are gonna flip flop as far as my fat ratio to my muscle ratio to be expected when I haven't hardly moved my body in five days .

But I will move my body for the next , you know , five days when I get feeling better and things will even out like it's not a big deal again . When you have this attitude , that's like it's life-long , then five days really doesn't matter . It's really it's five days , ain't shit when you look at the big scheme of things , right ?

So I hope that this gave you a fresh perspective . I hope my voice didn't drive you too crazy . I'm so sorry I have to record next week's episode , in a couple days , so I could sound like this again , who knows ? But I really do hope that this gave you a new perspective , a fresh perspective .

I hope hearing exactly how I deal with this in my own journey helps you , because I love to just want to be real and tell you like I didn't work out for five days straight . I tried to work out and I cried . It is what it is like it happens . I know I'll feel better .

I'll get back on track as soon as I can , but for now I'm using this to just teach you , and I think that's really important too . So when you become under the weather , it's okay . Keep eating . Control what you can . If you have an appetite , keep eating . Use those calories to rest and have your body .

You know , fight whatever is going on inside of you and get better and just keep showing up in a way that you can . But also keep giving yourself , keep listening to your body . Use that as an opportunity to be like man . What do I really need ? You know ? Sit with yourself , really ask yourself are you tired or are you being a baby ?

And if you are tired , go to sleep like , just give your try , giving your body what it needs , instead of always fighting with it . I think that was always a something that I did too , and it's really nice to be able to say , like what do you need a nap ? Okay , we're taking a nap and I don't feel guilty about it .

So I hope you enjoy this episode and I can't wait to talk to you next week thanks for listening to today's show .