Monday, February 7, 2011

Sickness and its role in increasing ED behaviors




This was me on Saturday:


Dance Party!!


This is me today:

Pity Party!! 

If you guessed that I'm sick, you would be correct.  The good news is that I don't get sick a lot (anymore).  However, up until a about a year ago (when I began my healthy eating/exercising regimen) I used to get sick all the time.  I would always catch whatever cold, flu, or what have you, that was going around.

This is a little embarrassing to confess, but, I actually enjoyed being sick.  I would even get a little giddy (secretly, of course) when I felt a cold coming on.  It meant that I had an excuse to not eat much, and it was technically O.K. with others because, well, I was sick, right?

It didn't matter that being sick also meant that I was exhausted and couldn't go out and do fun things.  All that mattered was that now that I might actually not have an appetite during the illness, I could eat as little as possible, and come out of it a little thinner.  When everyone was saying "Aww, it sucks that you're sick", I was thinking 'What sucks about not having an appetite and losing weight?!'.

The wonderful thing is that I no longer get excited about being sick.  When I woke up this morning coughing with a congested chest, I thought 'Ohhh man, I can't be sick!  I need to hurry up and get better so that I can go skiing next weekend!  I don't want to lay around the house doing nothing!'.

Now that is the healthy reaction to an illness.  Because in all (healthy) reality, who actually likes being sick?!  It's sick to enjoy being sick.

So, today instead of trying to eat as little as possible, I grabbed my blanket, some orange juice (which I never used to drink because I didn't want the liquid calories), and ate some deliciously thick bean and noodle stew that I made.  

And I promise you, I cannot wait to feel better!


So, tell me....

What is your initial reaction to a sickness?

What's your best remedy for getting over a cold?


<3
  

6 comments:

  1. This post rings so true for me, Yasi! I wrote a post about this exact same issue a couple weeks ago when I was really sick with a cold. I used to take advantage of sickness of any type because it was a bonus to lose weight and not eat anything. If I did not eat then people did not question me because duh, I was sick and did not have an appetite. You know?

    Then I realized it was not necessarily really healthy to begin with. It was never good to NOT eat anything while sick because then your body had less fuel to fight off the virus/bacteria dwelling in your body. So you ended up being sick LONGER than a healthy person.

    I'm glad you had fun last night! And do feel better Yasi.

    Personally, I would go for a hot cup of tea, chicken noodle soup, and cold medication of any brand. It will help. Hope you'll feel better soon. :)

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  2. I have struggled with this too! It seems so terrible now, but I loved getting sick because it was an excuse not to eat. I was sick this weekend, and I was proud of myself for deciding to stick to my meal plan anyway. I needed the energy to get over the cold!

    I would say take it easy, lots of chicken soup and comfortable pajamas. Don't expect too much from yourself!

    Feel better soon! Keep up the healthy thinking! =]

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  3. I get this -- being sick is so ..troubling. I have always felt that the further we come in recovery the more we won't get inspired to go down a spiral by a few pounds lost and an empty feeling.
    Food is too good!
    That being said, it's hard because you intuitively fon't want to eat but your recovery voice says you HAVE to...I suggest miso soup and smoothies and whatever you can handle. Just keep eating through it for now..too soon to go without!

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  4. Yazi, this is so inspiring! :)
    I was the same way about being sick.. how twisted is that?!
    But it's great that you're drinking those calories (something I hate doing, too btw) and fueling your body! That way you'll be back on the dancefloor that much sooner :)
    P.s. You are looking so healthy in those pics! Keep it up woman!
    <3 Haley

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  5. I love your blog! You're beautiful by the way, your skin has such a warm, healthy glow. I used to feel the same way about sickness!!!!! But after I began eating healthy and exercising my sickness rates have gone way down. It's definitely helped my schooling!

    Hay

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  6. Thanks everyone for the comments. I love you all! <3

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