A Sick Christmas

Since awakening to health about 10 years ago, not only have I paid much

attention to diet and exercise but also monitored every sickness. I've

recorded the details each time I felt under the weather for the past five years.

Typically, I would get two or three colds per year. The last was in Feb 2022.

 

Recently, I started regular juicing. I invested in a masticating juicer a while

ago. It worked well but cleaning was a hassle. As a result, I didn't use it as

often as I would like to. This year, maybe it was age, I became more patient and

was able to treat juicing like a practice. Watermelon was great in the summer and

since fall, I make sure Tim and I have our daily juice from a cantaloupe.

 

I have exercised consistently with four or five days of grappling and one

weight-lifting per week. Out of the two dozens of jiujiteiros, quite a few got

hit by Covid throughout the year and had to take time off and yet so far I was

untouched by that virus. Into Dec, I began celebrating in my mind and secretly

hoping that I could get away with one cold this year.

 

But that was not meant to be.

 

Dry throat came upon me on Wed Dec 21 but I was strong enough to attend the last

jiu-jitsu class of the year the next day. A terrible sleep Thu night kicked off

the three-day battle.

 

I managed to do a few things around the house on Fri. Sat was Christmas Eve and I

decided on a two-day fast. Steve Maxwell fasted each time he was sick and I do it

around New Year's Day anyway. I still feel good. If the 2nd Covid jab dealt 100

units of pain, today it only felt 20.

 

Sunday morning, with a faster heart rate and runny nose, I felt warm, no fever,

no pain, and clear-minded. At noon, I walked for about an hour on the Adobe Creek

trail. It was around 60 degrees with light air. The sun was bright but the clouds

were already cast for a rainy week. The crowd was out, mostly families and

couples, and the trail was busy. I felt tired but my spirit was high. It seemed

the battle with the cold/flu was near the end.

 

I had enough energy to make good progress in reading the dictionary during the

day but toward the evening I felt weak and light-headed which could come from

the cold or the fast. I broke the fast with cantaloupe juice and bananas followed

by chocolates, peanuts, and cheese.

 

Monday morning, energy rushed back! I did yoga and hanging leg raises. I coughed

a few times and still have a running nose. I tested for Covid at noon: negative.

 

I wonder what I could have done, though, to thwart the cold. What if I fasted on

Dec 21 when my throat felt dry? I would have missed a day of training for sure

but would it make a difference? Or maybe letting the virus run its course was

already the best outcome? I should be thankful.