Very sick day after working out

SarahMorganP

I just started lifting weights a few weeks ago. In the past anytime I tried to lose weight I only did cardio. I hate cardio so this time I am trying weights and have found I really love them. Right now I am only using the machines, not free weights. Anyway on Monday I did 30min on the stationary bike first and then 45min on the weight machines. I do 3 sets of 8 with as heavy weight as I can get through all reps. Tuesday I felt bad. I was able to make it through work but was so exhausted and yucky feeling that I went to bed at 6pm and slept until 6am Wed. I felt find all day so I did my work out again Wed night. I did an hour on the stationary bike and then did the 45min on the weight machines. The next day I was so sick. I felt like I had the worst flu of my life. I couldn't make it at work and had to leave at 1pm and got home and just stayed in bed until dinner. I was starving and at almost 1500 calories of spaghetti at dinner. I instantly felt better.

I thought I was eating enough, I aim for 1500 calories a day and do eat some of my calories back after working out. My protein has been at least 100 every day, I drink a 26g of protein shake after all workouts as well. I seem to burn way more calories than other people say on here. Most people say that this site gives you way too many calories but my heart rate monitor always gives me pretty much the same or sometimes way higher than this site. The bike at the Y will say I burned 100 calories and my hr monitor will tell me 400. The bike obviously doesn't know my height/weight or hr though. It seems my hr is higher than others for the same exercise too. On the bike my hr will be 170 the entire time and that is only going around 70rpm on a low level. Walking 2.5mph gets my heart up to the 160's.

I did go back and look at the days I worked out so much and it says my net calories were only around 900. I assume that is what is making me so sick? I want to continue lifting weights because I like it but I want to make sure that isn't what is causing me to be that sick. I simply can't feel like that, I couldn't function. So by eating more will that be enough? Or can just lifting weights cause flu like symptoms?

shadowfax_c11

Sounds like you are pushing a little too hard and your body is having trouble adjusting. I did something like that when I first took up martial arts. You can either adjust your workout to not be so intense and let your body work up to it or you can just keep trucking and eventually your body will get used to it. However if you keep up at this rate you are going to be a lot more prone to injuries that could sideline you and get in the way of making progress. Make sure you are allowing your body enough recovery between those heavy workouts if you intend to continue. The second day after a heavy workout is always going to feel much worse than the first. If by day three you are not able to get back in the gym you need to slow it down.

Your caloric intake needs and how much you burn during exercise depend a lot on other information about your current weight and activity level. It could be that you need to eat a bit more than you are getting. I know I can't function at all if I eat less than about 1750 a day and I need closer to 2000 on workout days.