Hello, I’m new here. I’ve done CrossFit for around 4 years and have stopped for around 5 months. I combined it with low-carb eating and got very sick. I’m still very ill from this lifestyle. Symptoms include: severe insomnia with adrenaline wake-ups, night sweats, inability to rest, wired-but-tired feeling, akathisia, zero libido, zero energy, easily agitated, loss of concentration, no joy in life, decreased performance in the gym despite constantly working out super hard, inability to lose belly fat, tinnitus, etc, etc. This has all greatly damaged my life. I finally came to terms with the fact that CrossFit and low-carb eating put me in this condition - I thought I was being healthy!!
Has anyone else had similar issues due to excessive exercise? And did you heal?
Thanks
I healed from extreme exercise—in my case, climbing mountains—in combination with a high-carb, low-fat, plant-based diet, which resulted in half my spine collapsing in my 20s from advanced osteoporosis and having to learn how to walk again, among other things. My doctor at the time put me on an ancestral diet inspired by WAPF principles and it helped snap me out of the plant-based mindset that animal proteins were bad for my health, and as I made up for lost times by giving into my intense cravings for dairy—I averaged 4 liters worth daily—my bone density increased by over 50% within a year. Unfortunately, my doctor had her own set of restrictive beliefs, just like all the other well-intentioned experts and people whose advice I followed that led to the mess I found myself in, and I wound up chasing my tail for years and prolonging my recovery.
I don’t believe in living with regrets but if I had my healing journey to do all over again, I would avoid health and recovery related forums, blogs, podcasts, books etc. and instead, make the practice of self-love my first priority, and then experiment with foods to see which I felt best on and actually liked because sadly, I had been listening to the “experts” for so long that I was unsure of which foods I actually liked and not just convinced myself I liked because of their supposed benefits or lack of “harm.” Once I finally let go and not just dipped my toe in it, my healing really took off and within a couple of months I was training to climb again, something my doctors said would never happen. I want to climb a mountain at least one last time for a special reason and after that, I may not want to climb ever again, however, I want the opportunity to decide for myself.
I wish you self-acceptance and a speedy recovery, DBCoast.