It seems everywhere I turn here in New York City, people are coughing and sneezing. On the subway, at the deli where I get my morning jolt of caffeine, in my office and oh yes, at the gym.

I was one of these people on Monday, but I’m happy to report at the end of the work week, I am back at 100 percent. This is the first time in forever I can remember winning the battle against a bug so quickly. I’m convinced it’s because I did the one thing that’s nearly impossible for so many of us to do in our ultra-busy lives: I listened to my body.

Monday morning, I woke up with a scratchy throat, a severe case of the sniffles and a few chills. I never really woke up all day. I went to Walgreens, picked up my first bottle of  Zicam® and started popping the dissolvable tablets every four hours. I also doubled my normal water intake. Then at quitting time, even though it was Motivation Monday, I made the difficult decision to skip the gym. Instead, I went directly home after work, took a hot shower, made some hot soup and crashed on the couch. I even backed off on my social media chatter.

To my pleasant surprise, I woke up on Tuesday feeling much better. I continued the regimen of Zicam, water and more clementines than usual. I did go to my Tuesday night strength class, but lessened my weight load just a bit. By Wednesday I felt strong enough to make it to a high-intensity group exercise class, where I’m pretty sure I sweat out whatever germs were still in my system. As I sit here writing on Thursday, I feel like I’m back in fighting form!

I realize we can’t always beat a bug and I’ve heard all the reports about the severity of this season’s flu virus.  My hope is that this post reminds everyone about the importance of listening to your body when it needs a break. Yes, we all have daily responsibilities, but there are times when you just have to say “no” or take a rain check on that extra activity on your to-do list. As a fitness junkie, I know how hard it is to back off from the endorphin rush sometimes. However, I hope this post shows the power of taking just one day off when it comes to staying on track with your plans to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!