Feeling Sick (cold symptoms) on CrossFit Days

[RevKT]

Hi All,

I feel funny posting in the athletes forum because I am not one, but I think this is the right place to ask this question.

I do CrossFit 2-3 times a week and have been for a year (with a 3 month time off a while ago). I just finished a Whole30 and during the Whole30 and now being much more strict Paleo, I notice every day I do CrossFit I feel like I am getting a cold later in the day. I get exhausted, bit of a stuffy nose, sore throat, and feel like my body is overheated.

I can't remember if it was in ISWF or on the forums but I read that people like me who are not really athletic, are overweight and want to loose, and don't work out a lot that we should not add in the extra food on workout days, especially starchy carbs, because we do not really need it. I do also get really hungry and angry later in the day though.

Any suggestions on if I should be eating a bit different or something I should be doing? For some of us, even if we are overweight and do not fall into the athlete category can we add in the post workout meal or a bit more food and still loose weight and have a healthier diet?

[Tom Denham]

You should eat enough that you don't get hungry except for a short time before meals. And even if you are not a serious athlete, you should eat lean protein as a post-workout meal immediately after a heavy exercise session. The protein helps with recovery. You may skip eating carbs as part of your post-workout meal if you want to lose weight and if you don't need the energy boost from carbs. However, you can still lose weight if you eat carbs like sweet potatoes. I lost 30 pounds eating post-workout meals whenever I did CrossFit workouts and while eating 4 to 6 meals per day. I lost at the rate of 2 pounds per month for 15 months. I got more muscular over that period, so I probably lost more than 30 pounds of fat, but I was putting something solid back to replace it.

Being hungry is not a part of Whole30 eating. If you are hungry enough to become irritable, you are not eating enough. By the way, lots of people lose more than 2 pounds per month while eating plenty to avoid hungry, but for me the changes were slow.