The Common Cold

Last winter, I got a cold every few weeks. From November through about May, I'd have a cold (or the stomach flu, or bronchitis...) for about two weeks, be well for a week, and then find myself waking up with the sniffles all over again. Part of this definitely had to do with the fact that I started working on the floor at the museum 20+ hours a week (meaning I was constantly touching stuff little kids were touching all the time, which I don't do quite as frequently in my current position) and upped my dance teaching schedule (i.e. my contact with 3 and 4 year olds). I had a cold on Valentine's day, visited Karin in Maine at the beginning of April with a cold, and brought a cold with me to London in late May. Joe joked that I was going to the doctor virtually once a week. The cycle didn't stop until I got back from Europe and all of a sudden it was summer.

Since the summer (so, about July), I've had two colds - one in September that lasted a full two weeks and I lost my voice completely and another teeny-tiny cold I'm not sure is even worth mentioning in December. My throat was a little scratchy and I had a bit of a cough, but nothing to sneeze about (ha). 

So what's changed? Two big things I think - I'm exercising more and eating better. 

I'm fortunate enough to live right next door to a really great gym that has a lot of fun classes that fit into my weird schedule. While it's a little expensive, I think it's worth it because I feel motivated to go because it's so near my house that there's no excuse not to drag myself out of bed for a morning workout. As a result, I've been (at minimum) getting the recommended 30mins/5 times a week of exercise, usually more.

Last winter, I think I ate a lot frozen pizza, stir fries with just rice, edamame, oil, and soy-sauce, pre-packaged indian food, and granola bars from a box. Not a great range of whole food nutrition. In the month of January, I've had a smoothie once a day, every day. Right there is a helluva lotta fruits and veggies (mainly spinach) that I wasn't eating at all before. Cutting out cheese has forced me to move past my staple quesadilla lunches and replace them with more nutrient dense foods (i.e. green beans, brussel sprouts, brown rice, sweet potatoes, black beans, etc.). I've also had to become more creative with what I bring to work since I can no longer pop a frozen mac n cheese in the microwave. I really like carrots and hummus. Sweet potatoes reheat well. 

Anyway, so that's my theory as to why I am not getting sick as much. Not eating as much sugar is helping too, I think. Watch, I'll end up with a cold this weekend and it will negate all of this but oh well. I can't imagine any of these changes are hurting me. I certainly feel more energized on a day-to-day basis so I'll stick to it for now!