Thursday, December 22, 2011

Wombat flu and is an inch an inch?

Inventive girls that we are, Kek and I came up with an ingenious way to prolong the shared travelling experience.

We may now be back in our separate countries, but we are both doing the same thing: Downing copious amounts of the products to the left. Yes, we both have the wombat flu or perhaps the roo flu.  Even if it's just a regular old human flu, it's gross. Really....

I knew something was up when I went shopping at the mall and wasn't feeling it. The only thing that seemed good was to head to Theobroma and find myself a chocolate frappe.  That's when I realised my throat was feeling hot and scratchy.

Just the thing.
Since then I've quickly traversed the headache, nausea, double blocked nose followed by snot-fest, achy body, night sweats and all the other fun things that come with a viral infection.  I admit, I was a bit relieved to find that Kek had it too. Not because my misery needs company, but because the symptoms were so severe I wondered if I was having a re-run of Glandular Fever, especially when my spleen started aching.. (not good).

Just to rub it in, I had to cancel plans to go and cuddle my cousin's new baby.  Just . not . fair. 

After three days of a concerted attack involving a range of symptom-reducing medicines and virus crushing supplements, I seem to be on the mend. The holy trinity of virus clobbering is lysine, vit C and Zinc. It's also important to keep up nutrient dense nutrition (not chocolate frappes, haha).

As regards other supplements, it is well documented that arginine can activate certain viruses, so it's worth stopping supplementation with that if you get a cold or flu - this is why some people get cold sores when they take an arginine supplement that is not balanced with lysine.  I knew all those years in the supplement industry would pay off one day. There you have it.

Nutritious, easy lunch for sickies. Eggs and courgette pan-fried in a little butter and olive oil.

Is an inch an inch?

While at the mall window shopping, I thought about something that was recently a hot topic over on the Whole Health Source blog. Clothes sizing. It's pretty obvious that vanity sizing for women is getting out of control. Depending on where clothes come from, I am anything from a size 2 to a size 12, or an 'extra small' to 'large'. There's no consistency. However, as these sizes are arbitrary, I suppose that manufacturers are free to interpret as they wish.

I didn't realise that this trend is also a problem for men, after all, their pants actually specify a waist size in inches or cms. However, as Esquire magazine found, 'downsizing' occurs in male clothing too. In other words, manufacturers just reinvent the meaning of an inch in order to not call their customer fatter than other manufacturers do. I can see their point: if you are a 32 at one store and a 36 at another, which pair of jeans will you buy? The one that makes you feel good about yourself, or the one that upsets your day?

Waistline vs. Actual Size. Source: Esquire Magazine.

What do you think? Is this a bit crazy? 
Have you found that your clothes size has gotten smaller even though you haven't?


  1. Sorry to hear about your flu/cold! Now to top it off with more quakes! However glad you had fun in Melbourne. Right now I'm close to 80kg due to faults of my own with a wobbling uncomfy gut.........occasionally can fit some size 12 pants. Back about 1996 when I was the same height, - 16 years old, 68kgish I was a size 16 back then! I haven't ventured near the scale in a few weeks as I really don't wanna see a number starting with '8' so I need to be sure I'm a way from it before I step on them! So sorry to hear about the quakes......and hope Xmas turns out to be as good as possible!

  2. I find that when I just 'know' the scales are going to be upsetting, it's best to just concentrate on doing the right thing for a short period of time. Just three days can set you on the right track without being further alarmed by seeing some scary numbers on the scale. Just give it a few days, it can make a big difference. Then when you DO weigh yourself, you may still be alarmed, but at least you are mentally strong and can tell yourself 'but, at least I'm on the right track now'. That's my method, and it works. You've been through a lot and I totally know you can get your fitness back. For now, maybe just really focus on the mental work and making small changes in the right direction again. YOU CAN DO IT! XX

