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Hey, ladies!
Ok, I have a confession to make… It’s been a bit of a struggle getting myself to workout the past couple of days. This is for one main reason:
I’m getting sick!
Yes, sick. It’s that time of year. The season is changing, it’s getting a lot colder outside (at least on this coast!), so our bodies are starting to get confused, our resistance is going down, and therefore, we get sick. It’s pretty lame if you think about it…
I figured that instead of sitting around just accepting the fact that my nose is all stuffed up and my head is spinning, I would take one of the things New Balance Fitness Expert Holly Perkins told me to do in my expert fitness tips: be proactive in protecting my health!
Now this may not be exactly what she meant by that, but I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you all the are the things I do when I think I’m getting sick and I want to avoid it or get better (why wouldn’t you?!):
1. Drink lots of water! I know, it seems obvious… But really, most of us don’t drink enough water every day, especially when we’re getting sick! All the time, if you don’t drink enough water, you’ll become dehydrated, and you won’t have as much energy, but when you’re sick that’s even more true. So fill up your water bottle and keep it with you all day – make it a game to see how many times you can refill it throughout the day!
Here’s my water bottle of choice – my mom got it for me for my birthday this year! It’s actually really cool, and says my likes and dislikes, according to my star sign (it’s hilarious too… it says I like Gardening, and dislike “Ugliness, Vulgarity, and Sex Fiends” Among other things…! haha)
2. Get that Vitamin C! This is another tip that seems obvious (your mom’s probably been telling you this for years…), but really, do you drink orange juice every morning? You should – it’s yummy!
Getting enough Vitamin C can help make your immune system stronger, which in turn makes you get sick less! Vitamin C is also in a lot of other fruits and veggies, so pick your favorite and start munching!
Here’s my Vitamin C of choice this morning: so tasty and refreshing!
3. Sleeeeeeeep!! I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but I really can’t emphasize it enough. I am very guilty of not getting enough sleep a lot of the time. But I’m trying to get better, and isn’t that what this new fitness plan is about? Improving? Yesterday I had to get up early (6am! On a Saturday!), and I was super busy all day until 5pm. Then right when I got back to my apartment, I took a nap… for almost 5 hours!! I woke up at 9:45… on a Saturday night…
Which brings me to #4…
4. Don’t force yourself to go out! If you’re tired or sick, you don’t need to go out to whatever party the rest of your friends are going too. You’ll just end up making yourself feel worse! Take a night to stay in and watch a movie by yourself or with a friend (I watched 6 hours of Season 1 of Heroes last night…), go to sleep early, whatever you need! Now I know Halloween is coming up, and this year it’s going to be a 4-day extravaganza (whoever’s idea it was to put Halloween on a Sunday was crazy…!), so I know we’re all going to want to go out and have fun. But maybe during the day take some time to relax, so that your body is well-rested and healthy before you go out at night!
5. Wash those hands! Clean hands = healthy body! Wash them often, and carry around some hand sanitizer with you wherever you go. You probably think that hand sanitizer smells gross and is not the most fashionable accessory… but think again! That was old school hand sanitizer… now there are plenty of hand sanitizers that smell yummy and look cute! Here’s one I found at Bath & Body Words – it smells like cupcakes, attaches to a purse or key ring, and is pink, sparkly, and has rhinestones on it! Really, what more could a girl ask for…!
6. Make being healthy a “To Do”… literally! You probably know by now that I love planning out my week, and making To Do lists. So this semester, the first time I thought I was starting to get sick, I wrote in my planner for the next day: “STOP BEING SICK!” and, lo and behold, I actually stopped being sick!
And this last one might surprise you…
7. WORKOUT! I know, sometimes the last thing you want to do when you don’t feel good is workout… But depending on how you’re feeling, it might be the best thing for you! Thursday morning I woke up starting to feel like I had a cold, but I got myself together and headed to the gym – and ended up doing the Core Conditioning class! It ended up giving me a bunch of energy that I didn’t have before, and I sweated out all of the sickness I was feeling. I didn’t feel sick the rest of the day! Now, if you’re bed-ridden or sick to your stomach, you might not want to do an intense workout… but you can always do something like yoga, or even just some stretching to make yourself feel better!
So stay healthy, HerCampusers! If I think of any more avoiding-sickness tips I will be sure to let you know!
Now I’m off to report at a Quidditch game… yes, I said Quidditch…!
Check back to my blog later, because since it’s almost the beginning of Week 3 of my new fitness plan, it’s time for another installment of… Coloring with Cassidy! a.k.a me planning out my week on paper…