The battle against inertia

When you’re feeling sick, it can be really hard to get better. Sometimes it just takes time.

When I was sick this past February with a GI illness through most of the month, the last thing I wanted to do was focus on exercise. I lost all of my motivation, and my focus was mainly on sleeping and finishing a manuscript as well as just getting my day-to-day clinic work done. In truth, part of me may have been overall feeling burned out from the end of 2019, our amazing race in New Zealand, and all of the emotional effort that went into that and fundraising for Team PHenomenal Hope. The other part certainly was related to being sick for quite some time.

I am usually very healthy, and hardly get sick aside from the seasonal cold, so this really put me through a loop. I brought back some sort of GI bug from Peru, and for much of the month, I was fatigued and dehydrated, and ultimately needed antibiotics, a lot of sleep, and a multiple days without going to work. And the last thing I could even fathom was getting on my bike again. In fact, I started to wonder if I should just skip this season altogether.

The thing that I most learned about this month, now that I am well and feel the motivation again, is that when you’re sick, it is really hard to will yourself better. You lose motivation, and it is a struggle to get out of bed, put your feet on the ground, and ask “How am I going to get stronger today?” When you’re dehydrated and week, sometimes the answer to that question is to increase fluid intake, and to be super mindful of food, and perhaps not even eat.

When I see patients in clinic who face chronic illness, and we discuss possible lifestyle changes to face metabolic syndrome, or improve energy, I feel like now I have a little flavor of what it means to turn it around, and how sometimes your body has to let you know when the moment is right to do so. And most of all, now that I’ve recovered and feel back to my old self, I have a greater appreciation for health and being well.