Why am I getting sick?

alixmp

So I have been eating clean for about a week now and the past thee days, I feel like I'm fighting something. I have sore throat, stuffy nose, the works. This happens EVERY time I eat healthy!! I'm rarely sick when my diet is total crap, but when I start healthy, I always get sick with something!!! WHY????!!? Isn't healthy eating supposed to make you feel better??? So frustrating!! I don't want to give up again, but I don't want to be sick either. Can anyone shed light on what the hell is going on!?!????

rushfive

Have you been checked for allergies.?
May be allergic to something you are eating.

lostone7

Omg I'm in the same position. I get mad nausea after eating a healthy meal. But that didn't happen when I was eating unhealthy. I'm getting some blood work done cause I have low iron. But I'm just so confused.

OldAssDude

Are you going from full crap to full healthy?

Maybe you should do a slow transition and give your body some room to adjust. In nature, slow is best.

Francl27

Clearly you're not cleaning your food enough.

rushfive

Francl27 wrote: »

Clearly you're not cleaning your food enough.

haha.... need some antibacterial soap on that kale....

SarahLeeB23

Your process of cleaning up your diet might also involve you eliminating some sources of nutrients your body desperately needs.

macgurlnet

I tend to get sick more often when I'm losing weight than when I'm maintaining. What I'm eating hardly changes unless you count eating 1 slice of bread instead of 2, lol.

Are you getting enough sleep? How aggressive is your weight loss plan?

~Lyssa

kgeyser

I would also wonder about allergies, but what you're describing sounds like congestion, which I normally don't associate with food allergies. Usually issues with a change in diet are more of the gastrointestinal variety. Do you suffer from seasonal allergies? We're starting to see the effects of that here again.

Can you give some examples of what you ate before, and what you are eating now? Also, does you change in eating style coincide with any other changes (like starting to go to the gym or fitness classes where germ exposure could explain the illness)?

Spice1973

I don't know what it is either but the same thing happens to me too. I don't go completely clean though just clean up my diet some. Mine does go away after 4 or 5 days and doesn't come back until I eat like crap again for awhile and then clean it up some again.

Blueseraphchaos

What you have described sounds like what i go through every single spring, and i always thought it was illness until one day, i actually went to my doctor....who told me it was allergies. (in my case, to pollen of random things) so that's worth a look. It could also be a lack of certain nutrients or maybe just too aggressive a calorie deficit. If you've looked at your calorie deficit and General diet and see nowhere you can change that, maybe see a doctor and have a chat. Good luck!

atypicalsmith

What is healthy eating to you? It might not be so healthy, as evidenced by your getting sick. I eat anything I want as long as it fits into my calorie goal. Perhaps you should do the same.

jgnatca

Are ordinary foods like bread on your clean list? There's the Keto flu for instance, if you cut out a lot of carbs at once.

shanek1990

Francl27 wrote: »

Clearly you're not cleaning your food enough.

Haha! That gave me a good laugh. Thanks

esmesqualor

There is sometimes an allergy-like response when you give up foods that are causing you problems that your body has compensated for. For instance, some people respond with body wide inflammation to the vegetables in the nightshade family (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers). This can be causing low grade skin eruptions, mild joint discomfort, congestion (basically any body response that is "inflammatory"). Oddly enough, when you discontinue these foods there is often a 2 week period of flared symptoms. I was told this a year ago by my reg M.D. when she suggested I go on an "Anti-inflammatory/Elimintaion Diet" in order to rule out food intolerances (much more common than actual food allergies). So, if your "eating clean" is eliminating a food or foods that you body does not handle well then you are very likely to have a 12- 18 day period of time when you have flared symptoms. If you can ride this out you may very well feel really great in a few weeks.
Good Luck!

KrisiAnnH

atypicalsmith wrote: »

What is healthy eating to you? It might not be so healthy, as evidenced by your getting sick. I eat anything I want as long as it fits into my calorie goal. Perhaps you should do the same.

Yep I do this. I used to get ill a lot before I started using MFP; headaches, nausea, colds etc that appeared 'random'. Now that I've cut my calories to lose weight I very rarely get ill, I'm not eating 'clean' or anything, I've just been eating within my goal. Maybe try not restricting yourself as much and see how that goes?

SergeantSausage

IsaackGMOON

mbaker566

bcalvanese wrote: »

Are you going from full crap to full healthy?

Maybe you should do a slow transition and give your body some room to adjust. In nature, slow is best.

I found this was important.
And check for allergies

_Terrapin_

alixmp wrote: »

So I have been eating clean for about a week now and the past thee days, I feel like I'm fighting something. I have sore throat, stuffy nose, the works. This happens EVERY time I eat healthy!! I'm rarely sick when my diet is total crap, but when I start healthy, I always get sick with something!!! WHY????!!? Isn't healthy eating supposed to make you feel better??? So frustrating!! I don't want to give up again, but I don't want to be sick either. Can anyone shed light on what the hell is going on!?!????

If you are eating with a northern window open then you're facing Smithers. Nothing good comes out of Smithers. Close the northern window and open a western window. Allow the ocean air to improve your breathing and the ocean will open your sinuses. You could always open your diary. . . .I mean. . .so we have perspective instead of guessing blind.

ninerbuff

Another possible reason is that too much of a deficit can apply to this. When the deficit is too high, the body will break down it's own tissue to supplant needed essentials. And that lowers your immunity.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Blueseraphchaos

_Terrapin_ wrote: »

alixmp wrote: »

So I have been eating clean for about a week now and the past thee days, I feel like I'm fighting something. I have sore throat, stuffy nose, the works. This happens EVERY time I eat healthy!! I'm rarely sick when my diet is total crap, but when I start healthy, I always get sick with something!!! WHY????!!? Isn't healthy eating supposed to make you feel better??? So frustrating!! I don't want to give up again, but I don't want to be sick either. Can anyone shed light on what the hell is going on!?!????

If you are eating with a northern window open then you're facing Smithers. Nothing good comes out of Smithers. Close the northern window and open a western window. Allow the ocean air to improve your breathing and the ocean will open your sinuses. You could always open your diary. . . .I mean. . .so we have perspective instead of guessing blind.

Poor Smithers. What's wrong with him?

Syleyna

Your body is adjusting. Give it time. If you're still sick in a week then get checked out.
I get a similar thing if I fall off the wagon and have to restart my diet plan. Generally lasts a 4-8 days.

azulvioleta6

Correlation is not causation.

Try viruses and bacteria. You haven't been on your new diet long enough for it to be causing you problems.

_Terrapin_

Blueseraphchaos wrote: »

_Terrapin_ wrote: »

alixmp wrote: »

So I have been eating clean for about a week now and the past thee days, I feel like I'm fighting something. I have sore throat, stuffy nose, the works. This happens EVERY time I eat healthy!! I'm rarely sick when my diet is total crap, but when I start healthy, I always get sick with something!!! WHY????!!? Isn't healthy eating supposed to make you feel better??? So frustrating!! I don't want to give up again, but I don't want to be sick either. Can anyone shed light on what the hell is going on!?!????

If you are eating with a northern window open then you're facing Smithers. Nothing good comes out of Smithers. Close the northern window and open a western window. Allow the ocean air to improve your breathing and the ocean will open your sinuses. You could always open your diary. . . .I mean. . .so we have perspective instead of guessing blind.

Poor Smithers. What's wrong with him?

Smithers, British Columbia. . . . ..argh. . . ..ha r-u-m-p-h

Blueseraphchaos

_Terrapin_ wrote: »

Blueseraphchaos wrote: »

_Terrapin_ wrote: »

alixmp wrote: »

So I have been eating clean for about a week now and the past thee days, I feel like I'm fighting something. I have sore throat, stuffy nose, the works. This happens EVERY time I eat healthy!! I'm rarely sick when my diet is total crap, but when I start healthy, I always get sick with something!!! WHY????!!? Isn't healthy eating supposed to make you feel better??? So frustrating!! I don't want to give up again, but I don't want to be sick either. Can anyone shed light on what the hell is going on!?!????

If you are eating with a northern window open then you're facing Smithers. Nothing good comes out of Smithers. Close the northern window and open a western window. Allow the ocean air to improve your breathing and the ocean will open your sinuses. You could always open your diary. . . .I mean. . .so we have perspective instead of guessing blind.

Poor Smithers. What's wrong with him?

Smithers, British Columbia. . . . ..argh. . . ..ha r-u-m-p-h

Hwell, I'm a lowly Pennsylvanian.....ahem.

rwhyte12

You could try a detox with juice. The one I've done is one third unsweetended cranberry juice and two thirds unsweetened orange juice. You know it's working if you get a headache. You can just do it for seven days, then stop.

oh_happy_day

rwhyte12 wrote: »

You could try a detox with juice. The one I've done is one third unsweetended cranberry juice and two thirds unsweetened orange juice. You know it's working if you get a headache. You can just do it for seven days, then stop.

No. That's ridiculous.