I’m sick damn it (feel free to insert sympathetic sound here).

This is not how I planned to start my week of hard training and good ol’ fashion awesomeness to erase my weekend misdemeanors.. (yes even I have cheat days!) I forgot how traumatizing it is having the pesky flu! Or could be a bad cold – but flu sounds so much more dramatic and serious don’t you think?!

Anyway, while working from home quarantined from the outside world (and feeling like death), it made me reassess a few things. Firstly, how I got sick in the first place! Well I caught it off the boyfriend (thanks Shaun!) but also because my immune system is currently weak and thus making me susceptible to more bugs.

Why is it low? I’m a healthy gal, I eat clean, I train and do everything right –right? Well I am going to admit it, I did stray from my paleo eating style on the weekend (which is usually ok) but turns out it actually made me physically sick (bad strike one).

Perhaps overtraining without adequate rest days? Double bad strike. And lastly, sleep. I don’t get enough sleep and with all the training, working and general life matters, getting at least 7-8 hours of good sleep a day is really important. It is a chance for your body to fully shut down, restore, regenerate and do all the amazing things it does that only occurs when you are asleep.

So what is my grand master plan?

Task one: Firstly I am going to the shops to by a new box of tissues (sigh).

Then I am going to stock up on healthy fruit and veges and cook up a storm! Preparation is everything and if you have pre-cooked meals to save you time during the week (especially at night), your stress and energy levels will thank you. It also removes temptation to eat crap in moments of weakness.

Another good idea is to actually write out a whole week meal plan to ensure you are not missing out on essential vitamins and minerals like servings of fish and certain vegetables.

Task two: Clean the house.

I mean REALLY clean it. The older I get the less I can handle clutter, mess and germs – Mum would be proud!!

Spring is approaching and there isn’t a better time to throw away/donate unnecessary junk that builds up oh so quickly. Going is all the chipped plates and cups. Going is the really really old mattress and pillows (I mean REALLY old). And going is the equally gross and dirty couch – cream colour did not survive the early days of my puppy… Expensive task ahead but thank god for interest free plans and credit cards (hey this isn’t a finance blog!).

Task three: Disconnect.

This is a hard one to stick to but after a certain time each night (in an ideal world 9pm), all electronics – phones, TV, iPad, iPod, laptop – everything is to be switched off. We are so over stimulated today that we hardly get a chance to fully switch off. It is no surprise that we are sleeping less soundly and insomnia is on the rise.

I could go on with more very important steps but in the sake of staying true to disconnecting – I am keeping the task list at a manageable number of three (hey I’m sick).

If you are feeling a cold or flu approaching you really can kill it early if you get on top of it early, which I apparently did not!

I always favour Olive Leaf Extract aiding my road to recovery, plenty of water and green tea (antioxidants), mountains of vege juice with lemon, ginger, greens, carrots and beetroot and extra Vitamin C. Oh and of course, as much honey and lemon warm water as I can muster! Just remember not to pour boiling water on top of the lemon as it will destroy lots of the good properties.

Now to find those tissues..