Love this cartoon - it came in my Facebook feed this week conveniently as I was struggling for a way to discuss logical fallacies we sometimes commit when we feel less than our 100% perfect selves.  Are you sick, are you allergic to something, or is the food plan ‘making you sick’?

You may safely assume I don’t believe the food plan makes you ill :).  There’s an old adage in medicine, “When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.”  It’s difficult to make a case for clean eating being the cause of sickness as compared to the horrors of the average American diet.  So to what do we attribute general malaise?

Some of the most common symptoms I hear in both my daily life as a nurse and my role as a nutrition coach are: fatigue, headaches, respiratory crud and ‘stomach problems’ (which I break down into bloating, reflux, constipation and general upset stomach.)

Depending on the timing of these symptoms in your plan and what else is happening in your life, the most common causes for people on the Meltdown are: insufficient fluids (NUMBER 1!), insufficient sleep, carb/sugar withdrawal (usually only in the first week if you are following the program faithfully) meal timing being off (too close together, too far apart, too near bedtime - this can cause acid reflux), PMS (self-explanatory), or _occasionally_ allergies or intolerances to certain specific foods or ingredients (whey is probably the most common although it is still rare - you can try eliminating it with one of the non-whey shake options and see how you feel.  Trial and error is usually the way most intolerances/allergies are ruled out.)

Your body gets energy from three sources - food, fluids and sleep.  An imbalance in one will trigger a correcting stimulus from the body to try and make up for that deficit.

To quote my dear friend, “Ya gotta eat!” :)  All five meals.  No excuses.  If you don’t, your body will ask you to sleep to make up for the calorie deficit.  Your workout intensity will suffer.

Water is huge - mild chronic dehydration causes fatigue, makes us more susceptible to passing viral and bacterial infections, can exacerbate your normal soreness from exercise, and wreak havoc on your digestion (not to mention increasing the risk of kidney stones.)  It will also stimulate your hunger.  The fluid intake we ask you to strive for is a critical piece of the Meltdown plan for all these reasons..

Finally - you have to rest.  Turn off your cell phone and IPad and TV and go to sleep without something glowing or dinging or buzzing at you every 10 minutes.  It’s a rule in the Tidwell house that we don’t have a TV or other electronic devices in the bedroom.  Consider making yours a haven away from the electronic leashes that bind you all day.

And sometimes?  You’re just plain ol’ sick.  In Bloomington, 99% of us suffer from seasonal or environmental allergies at least part of the time.  My usual autumn crud was reignited in February when three days of high winds blew up enough dead leaf dust to feign fall.  And there is no shortageof viruses and bacterial pits lying in wait year-round; fever of 100 degree plus may accompany these and should be viewed as invitations not to be a plague upon your coworkers and fellow Meltdowners :D.  Know that feeding your body the right fuel and exercising boosts your immunity as surely as a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet breed disease.  But when in doubt, call your healthcare provider. ;)

Marcey Tidwell is a Registered Nurse and a 25 year veteran of health care.  She believes the best medical plan is, "Don't get sick," and loves promoting wellness in her role as an accountability coach since joining the Meltdown Nation in 2011.