Thursday, December 03, 2009

Thursday Thoughts

I've had some conversations today with a couple different people about how often I get sick and how badly I get sick. My mom and I concluded that (a) my immune system does seem to shut down every couple of years and those years I tend to get sick, sick, sick and (b) when I do get sick I get REALLY sick. I'm hoping that last year was one of the years when I got sick a lot, because I did. When I do get sick I try really hard to get better quickly. I almost always go to the doctor and get on meds immediately. Truthfully, I feel like I do a lot to keep myself from getting sick. I wash my hands often, use sanitizer, use my Neti Pot, recover from my workouts, etc. There are concerns that I'm not going to be able to stay healthy enough to train for Ironman, and frankly, that scares me.

So, what are your secrets to keeping healthy?

6 comments:

D said...

Eating and staying stress free. I think you need to seriously examine both of those. (and I mean that in a loving way!!!)

Molly said...

My secrets are: zero exposure to kids, maximum exposure to dog germs, and a belief that copious amounts of alcohol sterilize my system :) I haven't had the flu since 1999!

GetBackJoJo said...

You already do everything I'd recommend!
You could become a teacher and work with grimy little people all day and then have your own little people who bring home nasty germs every day--and after a few years of being totally, completely sick all the teim, you'd likely be immune to everything. That's what I did.

Liz Waterstraat said...

I agree with D (WHAT!?!). Looking at your diet to be sure you are eating the right things but more importantly at the right time. If you miss the recovery window consistently it adds up to illness. And, stress. Sometimes it is our perception of situations and demands in our life. Make sure you have an outlet outside of sport and photography as both of those now are work for you. There has to be something (needlepoint??).

Marit C-L said...

Hey there - I'm in the same boat as you! Have you had any blood counts taken or blood drawn? Whenever I get sick for an extended period of time, my white blood cells drop significantly...and its way more difficult for me to fight off whatever is affecting me... Usually I bounce back pretty quickly - but like you, every few years I get a doozy of something.

Otherwise...good food and plenty of sleep works wonders. :)

Maggs said...

Just found your blog. I used to get sick all the time (bronchitis every other month). Someone suggested I start taking glutamine. It's supposed to boost your immune system. Recommended to take after workouts. I take it in the AM and then after hard/long workouts. I haven't been sick since I started taking it. Over a year. Hope you get and stay healthy.