The Importance of Food When You Are Ill

The Importance of Food When You Are Ill

Today, I shall expound on the self-evident, and demonstrate the old adage that 'common sense is not so common'.

As I have been moaning at you all endlessly, for the last three days I have been feeling very tired. I put this down to the fact that the chemotherapy was really starting to kick in, and took myself off to bed. It never occurred to me to wonder if any other changes had occurred in my life that might have had a bearing. In fact, however, I now realise that there had been other such changes, or rather, one, resulting in some amendments to my lifestyle. 

As I had probably mentioned, my Girl Thursday stayed here for the nights of Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This was to give me peace of mind, but it also resulted in a number of other things:

1. she brought me breakfast in bed at about 09.30 
2. she made me lunch in the middle of the day
3. she talked to me, thus making it impossible for me just to fall back to sleep.

Come Monday morning, on my own, and with my cleaner also away for the week, I did not bother with breakfast. I fed the cat, went back to bed, and slept for another couple of hours. When I was finally dressed, I decided I could not be bothered with much. I settled for a cup of tea. Some hours later, feeling slightly off colour, I ate a piece of bread with nothing on it, and returned to bed. You catch the drift? The pattern repeated on Tuesday and Wednesday. By yesterday, I felt distinctly under par. Which is when a little voice in my head said 'Don't you think you ought to eat something sensible?'

I heeded my own advice. Although still very tired, I felt much better. This morning, I instituted a new regime. After feeding the cat, I made myself a sensible breakfast (muesli, berries and yoghurt, if you must know) and took it back to bed with me. I also ensured that I was sitting up in bed by nine. Today, I feel much better.

Now, I am probably extrapolating beyond my data, but I have come to the conclusion that:

1. I need to eat regularly (I think they actually told us that) and
2. too much sleep is not good for you. I have noticed this before. It's as if your body goes beyond what it needs and then starts to do something funny to itself. 

So: new leaf. I have decided that I shall have breakfast every morning, that I shall go to bed in the evening when I am tired but shall not oversleep in the morning, and that I shall have at least one other sensible meal a day. Let's see if I can keep it up tomorrow!