What to do when you are getting a cold

lilawolf

My throat is getting sore and I'm a little congested. It's not full blown yet, but the deck is stacked against me. Last night, I took a hot bath, took some nyquil and got an extra hour of sleep. This morning I took dayquil and dragged my sleepy *kitten* out of bed. I am supposed to go to Krav Maga (Israeli martial arts) tonight, and I am eating to a goal of 1750 NET cals.

Should I switch to maintenance (~2000) until I feel better? Give my body all of the tools to fight this that I can? Or does it matter? Any studies would be appreciated.

Should I skip Krav? I think that there can be a benefit to "sweating it out" but also to getting extra rest. Unlike lifting weights, I am unlikely to get hurt even if I'm not 100%. I hate to skip class because if I miss more than 4 in a 3 month period then I can't qualify for the next rank.

I'll drink tea, take medicine, make sure my nutrition is extra good etc. My main question is the calorie goal.

LishieFruit89

Take a half day and watch Harry Potter like I am

Hungry_Gurl

take your vitamins!

lilawolf

Take a half day and watch Harry Potter like I am

And put the badassery on hold? Eat soup and chili and ice cream til I explode?

Wiseandcurious

Regarding the food, I would say listen to your body. You are not eating at a horrible deficit so you should fare well on 1750 net, so don't push yourself to eat, but then, if your body wants the cals, eat! I guess that would be more likely to happen after the worst of the cold has passed, though. In my experience, our body tends to want less food (and excercise) when sick, and more as it recuperates.

Not a doctor here, just having nursed a kid through innumerable colds.

Francl27

I would skip the workouts for a couple days, or eat at maintenance.

I have the same issue, I've skipped the cardio workouts (walks really) in the last two days, done the weight lifting eating the same deficit as usual (I went over on Sunday actually), and my cold seems to be getting better (and I lost weight this morning). Just keep in mind that if you don't exercise for a couple days, your normal deficit will be closer to maintenance anyway.

glovepuppet

rest.

also, don't go out places and spread your germs!

andit001

I've just catched a cold two days ago. I try to stick to my calorie goals, but I don't set that limit too hard. Because I know my body needs energy to fight the cold.

I take vitamins, drink some tea, use a(n eucalyptus) salve to put on my breast area which helps and try to keep my body warm with blankets. Apart from solving math equations, I watch some tv series to get hold of the boredom as I can't really move so much now.

amybg1

Well if it's below the chest (affects your sinuses mostly) feel free to exercise but I'd skip Krav or anything super strenuous, if you have weights at home or even go for a short run as some exercise can help kick your immune system into gear and help either reduce symptoms or its duration.

As for calories - there's no point in eating more really, it's not the quantity that matters but the quality, so still eat a deficit but skip any alcohol and ice cream. Feel free to have a bit of yogurt as the healthy bacteria can do you some good.

Listen to your body, work out if you feel up to it but keep it lighter than your norm and stay hydrated. Will help with congestion and besides..Keeping hydrated is important when ill

Supposedly foods that contain zinc helps with fighting a cold, contrary to popular belief eating a chockful of vit C won't make it go away faster BUT eating things such as oranges/clementines can help soothe a sore throat