illness when getting fitter

shoneybabes

Hi folks

Am wondering how you guys beat the cold/flu/illnesses when losing weight and getting fit?

I take vitamins and would say I eat pretty healthy as I lead a vegan diet.

However before the veganism and when I was working out hard I would always get sick a few times a year or feel run down. How do you work harder without lowering your immune system?

I reckon I got this cold because I got little sleep and overdid the gym at the weekend making me susceptical to catching this annoying head cold :sick:

Any advice would be awesome
Ta

sarahjenkins77

Everyone tells me that you get less colds if you are a runner, I have been running for 6 months now and (touch wood) I have not a single cold yet but will wait for winter to kick and and really test this theory.

shoneybabes

I was running a lot before my injury and I would go through phases of getting colds but I worked with folk who were around kids. I only got really ill around the changes of seasons.

PercivalHackworth

Hi shoneybabes, as I like to remind it, no matter which diet you are on, a deficit carries its load of extra stress to the body. Even if a proper diet may enhance health, not eating enough won't change the fact that a negative balance leads to changes.

Ideally, one should be around maintenance most time of the year (9 months per year is good) and when one decides to be in deficit (like most around) routine should be updated : eating more nutrient/dense rich foods that would not only provide better satiety but also vitamins and mineral intakes.
If this is a concern to you might also review your cooking, some destroy all properties of food, making them less interesting for the body.

- You can also train less but more intensively (for instance shorter sessions)
- Increase seeds consumption - walnuts, kernels, almonds, etc...
- Rest more