Hey everyone! I came down with a cold over the past 2 days and have been resting and relaxing and trying to get healthy again. I wanted to make a quick post to talk about what to do when you're sick and still trying to maintain the diet program that you've laid out.
💤 The first major tip is to get a lot of sleep and relax as much as possible. Don't overstress about everything going on around you, your diet, your workout routine, etc. Just take some time to relax and get back to good health. I usually try to get at least 8 hours of sleep when I'm feeling under the weather.
🔢 The second major tip is to keep tracking for your diet program. If you normally track what you eat, you should continue doing so. If you stop tracking and treat sick days more like cheat days, then your bound to have a few hiccups in your diet. I do my best to eat similarly on sick days as I do on regular days.
💦 The third tip is to hydrate! Whether you're on a diet or not, you have to stay hydrated when you're sick. I always make sure to keep big bottles of tea and water around!
🍽 My fourth and final tip to sticking to your diet is to find some comfort food that won't push you out of the bounds of your diet plan. Because I'm on a ketogenic diet, I went out and got some gyros (minus the pita) and really enjoyed it! Gyros won't break my diet and I counted the fat and protein from them and they fit right in with my day, but still make me feel so much better after eating them!
Note About Weigh-Ins After Cheat Days
It's typical to see the scale go up after a cheat day. There are a lot of reasons for this happening other than the simple storage of some of those extra calories. While your dieting and in a caloric defecit, your body will burn through it's reserve glycogen stores and will also tend to lose some water weight. When you have a huge spike in calories (like what happens on a cheat day), then your body will tend to store some water weight and replenish its glycogen stores causing "weight gain".
I usually find my weight to normalize 2 or 3 days after the cheat day, but I always make sure to step on that scale in the morning. It's important to keep the habit consistent!
Day 17 Log:
Weigh-In:
| Start Weight (lbs) | Goal Weight (lbs) | Weight Lost (lbs) |
|---|---|---|
| 198 | 173 | 5 |
| Today's Weight (lbs) | Fat Mass (%) | Body Mass BMI |
|---|---|---|
| 193 | 24.3 | 24.5 |
Workout:
Taking an off day from the normal gym routine to get some rest
What I Ate Today:
| Meal | Food |
|---|---|
| 0 | Coffee 2 TBSP Half & Half, 1 TBSP MCT Oil |
| 1 | 4 Eggs, 6 oz Turkey, 2 oz Cheese |
| 2 | Restaurant Gyros, chicken and beef - 12 oz |
| 3 | 8 oz Chicken with chicken broth and onions (homemade soup) |
| 4 | 1 Protein Bar, 1 Serving of Nuts, 1 TBSP MCT Oil |
Here's the Question of The Day, don't forget to post your answers in the comments!
QOTD: Have you ever gotten sick while dieting? What did you do to try and stick to your diet while you were sick?
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave your thoughts below and I look forward to seeing you in the comments!
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