While no one looks forward to being ill, I’ve learned over the past three days of sneezing, coughing, and intense sinus pressure (seriously, think elephant-squatting-on-your-head type pressure, folks) that there are some benefits to being ill:

• I’ve finally stopped cheating on the Paleo diet. I’d been inhaling Chobani Greek yogurts for the past two weeks, a big no-no on the Caveman Diet, and I finally broke my addiction on Friday. I was eating 2-3 cups of the white toxin per day and it wasn’t until my sinus/respiratory infection settled in that I realized the dairy was a HUGE contributor to mucous-production. I’d always known dairy and colds don’t mix but GOOD GOD, I became a snot-factory after I ate my yogurt on Friday. I had a sore throat and thought it wouldn’t hurt but the subsequent muculence leaking from my face assured me that milk was a very, very bad idea.

• When food has no taste, it has no power over me. Anyone that has followed this blog for more than a few weeks understands that I have a tendency to binge, especially on sweets, so the fact that I have VERY little olfactory capacities right now means that my taste buds are practically paralyzed. I can taste spicy and sour – and that’s about it. So, that being said, I’ve just eaten enough to take my medicine (like a good girl) and that’s about it.

• Your body burns HOT when you’re ill. I’ve been rocking a fever between 99.1 and 100.6 for three days, which means my body is fighting this infection like a champ. Another benefit to kicking some bacterial asses is that you burn more calories with a higher core temperature. I’ve been guzzling Gatorade like it’s my job and yet my weight on the scale – fully dressed and with shoes – was just 135 at the doctor’s office. Yeah. That’s kind of nice.

So, even though I’m hacking up a lung and feel like death warmed over, there are a few benefits to this whole “being sick” thing.

Bon appetit, friends! Or, in my case, NyQuil dreams!

~ Tori