I know I'm doing to much but feel so guilty if I miss a workout - How can I stop feeling so bad

kmab1985

Hi Everyone

Please don't everyone start "shouting" at me or telling me what I probably already know which is I think I'm doing to much exercise but I feel so guilty if I don't work out.
I've joined a new gym and this week I did the following but prior to my new gym, at the my old gym I did Insanity, Spinning twice and Bodypump (Tues, Weds, Thurs & Fri)

Mon: Bodycombat
Tues: Spinning
Weds: Bodypump
Thurs: Kettlebell Class
Today: I should've been going to CXWORX class but just have no energy!

All week in the evening I've literally crashed and burnt at 8.30pmish every night, I sort out my son then as soon as I know he's asleep I just fall on the bed and can't get up and fall asleep. I then wake up any time between 11.30pm and 3am and can't get back to sleep for ages, I eventually fall back off and my alarm goes off at 6am ready for school run and work etc and I feel even more tired though having broken sleep.

Today I feel dreadful, I could literally just crawl back into bed and fall asleep for a few hours.

I KNOW I've done to much but how can I get myself out of this bad feeling if I don't work out, some will say "why dont you go for a stroll or a walk on the treadmill instead" BUT its the not doing a good sweaty/muscle burn workout that makes me feel like I've done nothing!

I know rest days are important but I'm finding it very hard to have a rest day in between my workouts because I only workout on my lunch hour so my rest days at the weekend but by the weekend i.e. today, I feel exhausted!

Last night I was craving CARBS, I love carbs and I do eat them, but I was thinking of bread, chocolate, icecream, full fat coke (which I never drink), you name it... anything high carbs or with high sugar I wanted it....

I'm quite a good eater although this week I have found myself having the extra bad of crisps or that bar of chocolate....I eat fruit and veg, I try to eat meat and fish etc....

I'm just fedup of feeling bad if I miss a workout, don't get me wrong I LOVE working out but I'm torn on the days I want to work out but my body says "No" I must rest!

CoachJen71

I overdo as well. I am addicted to my fitbit step count, so don't rest my knees as I should. I can't give you answers, but I can support you in search of your answer, since I seek it as well.

MissClaireWych

I don't think it's a problem with how much exercise you're doing. You're sleep pattern is all over the place, which means your body and mind have little time to recover from the stresses of the day.

It may also be that you're diet doesn't meet your body's needs, carbs are an important part of every diet, perhaps you need to look at the types of carbs you are eating, do they give you a slow release of energy or are they spiking your sugar and then making you crash?

kmab1985

Mmm I never looked at it like that MissClaireW...I always tried to follow the macros that MFP have given me and some days/weeks I have found a good balance, other days I've gone over fats or calories etc but nothing major!

And over the last few weeks I've eaten salads with meat for my lunch after my workout - maybe this isn't enough!

kmab1985

Also my sleep pattern never used to be like this, only in the past couple of weeks its been like this, I think I'm so tired come 8pm that I fall asleep and by 12 midnight my body thinks its time to wake up, maybe I could try falling asleep a bit later??

KarenJanine

I've checked your diary and you're eating 1400-1500 calories most days. With that much activity you could probably afford to eat more and still be at a deficit to lose weight.

Exercise requires fuel to avoid burnout or injury, especially exercise of the intensity that you are doing.

glevinso

KarenJanine wrote: »

I've checked your diary and you're eating 1400-1500 calories most days. With that much activity you could probably afford to eat more and still be at a deficit to lose weight.

Exercise requires fuel to avoid burnout or injury, especially exercise of the intensity that you are doing.

This. Eat to fuel the work. You aren't actually doing that much actual work though. 5 hours of "gym classes" a week is not a lot.

faithyang

Argh, that sounds so much like me. If I don't hit the pavement running every single morning early in the morning I feel like I've done nothing. I had a foot injury from over strenuous exercise that left me out of action for 2 weeks now and I cannot even walk properly. I've compensated by using the elliptical and the exercise bike and it still feels like I've done nothing in the day.
I crave carbs, sweet foods obsessively and have amassed thousands of recipes. I sort of manifest this craving thankfully by baking and cooking for my loved ones and not allowing myself to indulge in these things except sometimes on weekends, but end up feeling incredibly guilty over it. Worse still is my recent non-exercise days.

I'd say take it slow and don't pressurise yourself too much. If there's one thing with people like ourselves its thriving on pressure to push oureslves and guilt ourselves into exercising and building up and feeding an anxiety. Instead, try to mindfully remind yourself that one or two days of non-exercise/toning it down isn't so bad. I've tried to do this in light of my foot injury as an opportunity to tell myself if I don't tone it down my foot injury would get even worse and put me even further from getting back to my daily running routine.

If its about weight loss, try to allow yourself 4-5 days of exercise spread out flexibly on days of your choice instead of an over-rigid schedule which will work to reduce your anxiety as you are still meeting your 4-5 day exercise routine but on a less pressurising scale, and on days you are exercising, substitute any meal with carb to a meal with no carb.

FitFitzy331

glevinso wrote: »

KarenJanine wrote: »

I've checked your diary and you're eating 1400-1500 calories most days. With that much activity you could probably afford to eat more and still be at a deficit to lose weight.

Exercise requires fuel to avoid burnout or injury, especially exercise of the intensity that you are doing.

This. Eat to fuel the work. You aren't actually doing that much actual work though. 5 hours of "gym classes" a week is not a lot.

^ Agreed. I know if I don't have enough to eat I could easily nap afer a run, wake up an hour or so later and not fall back asleep again. With only 11lbs to go you should only be aiming for 0.5lbs-1lb a week weight loss, try adjusting your goals in MFP and you should see some results.

LKArgh

Give yourself a break and listen to your body. Several months ago, by stupidly ignoring my body trying to tell me I was overdoing it, I ended up with a serious injury. I am still not 100% recovered and it had force me to completely change and slow down in my workout routine. If you are feeling tired, remember that skipping one workour, or one week, is better in the long run than skipping several months.

kmab1985

Thanks all for your advice, how would I know which macro's to eat more of i.e. less carbs, more protein, or more fat, more protein, my weight loss has been great...before I joined the gym in Jan I'd already lost 25lb on diet alone and since working my weight on the scales slowed down but I lost inches and its only since I joined MFP a few weeks ago that I've lost about 3-4lb but still continuing to lose inches, lost another inches from waist, hips and bust when I did my measurements on Monday and that was since the beginng of May...I'm happy with the way my body is starting too look but this week its just been awful tiredness...

yopeeps025

glevinso wrote: »

KarenJanine wrote: »

I've checked your diary and you're eating 1400-1500 calories most days. With that much activity you could probably afford to eat more and still be at a deficit to lose weight.

Exercise requires fuel to avoid burnout or injury, especially exercise of the intensity that you are doing.

This. Eat to fuel the work. You aren't actually doing that much actual work though. 5 hours of "gym classes" a week is not a lot.

For some that can be a lot of extra activity. For folks like you and me 5 hours of exercise a week is nothing.

ninerbuff

Assuming that your gym work is all in the evening? It MAY be the reason you have a hard time falling asleep. Also, sleep disruption totally affects how your body loses body fat. The body burns more fat during sleep than any 1-2 hour hard workout.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

kmab1985

My workouts are midday on my lunch hour...

Yeah well spotted "yopeeps025"....5 hours is a lot to me but I also know theres people who workout way more than that, everyones different....

Pinkranger626

Macros can vary by person. It can also be different depending on your goals and how your body reacts to them. I personally don't do well with low carb as I do a lot of endurance workouts (running etc.). 50% carbs, 20% fat, and 30% protein could be one option. I find playing around with it and making notes to see how you feel will give you a better understanding of what works best for you. Maybe change it for a week taking notes about your energy levels, hunger/satiation levels etc. If you don't think that's the right balance then tweak it and repeat until you find what your optimal percentage is.

You may also need to increase the amount of calories you take in. Although, 1500 calories may be fine if you're only doing the 5 classes per week. What do you do for a living? Are you doing any other workouts on top of the classes?

kmab1985

@workoutgrl87 I tried low carbs a few months ago and it was awful, what I do notice though is if I eat more protein for lunch, it seems to satisfy me longer so maybe I could up the protein and see how that makes me feel..I definately don;t think I could go without carbs though...

kmab1985

Oh and I have a desk job and only work out on my lunch hour but I did only start working out for the first time ever in my life in Jan 2015 so I am pretty much still a newbie to all this...

jgnatca

I think you need to reconnect to your love of exercise and turn off the obsession. Read up on all or nothing thinking. I think your crashing early in the evening followed by a mid-evening insomnia is a sign that you are under significant stress.

http://panicdisorder.about.com/od/livingwithpd/tp/All-Or-Nothing-Thinking.htm

I think you can find your fun again. See if you can rephrase your fitness and health goals, avoiding the language that comes along with all or nothing thinking. For instance, you can write out what you want to accomplish, then take a highlighter and mark words like, "always", "never", and "can't". Replace those black and white words with softer language like, "sometimes", "find it difficult". See how your edited goals come out and if you can believe that.

glevinso

yopeeps025 wrote: »

glevinso wrote: »

KarenJanine wrote: »

I've checked your diary and you're eating 1400-1500 calories most days. With that much activity you could probably afford to eat more and still be at a deficit to lose weight.

Exercise requires fuel to avoid burnout or injury, especially exercise of the intensity that you are doing.

This. Eat to fuel the work. You aren't actually doing that much actual work though. 5 hours of "gym classes" a week is not a lot.

For some that can be a lot of extra activity. For folks like you and me 5 hours of exercise a week is nothing.

Agreed. But in absolute terms it is not a huge amount of activity for a human body to undertake. Might feel like a lot for some but that isn't anywhere near "too much" in the sense of possibly overtraining. That is why I suggested eating a little more to compensate, rather than back off the work.

brendak76

I've had to tone down my workouts after years of doing too much. After giving 100% of my energy to my workouts, I had little to give to the rest of my life. The thing that's helped me the most is learning to be honest and count calories accurately (weighing all food). If I am confident I am eating in a deficit, taking a day or 2 or 3 off at the gym isn't guilt inducing anymore. I've found I'm much less hungry overall now that I'm exercising in moderation. (Moderation for me is light low impact cardio 3-4 days week, 30 minutes of weights 3x week, and a lot of walking instead of marathon training and racing). I'm sleeping better, losing weight, and feeling much better overall.

kmab1985

So do u recommend I eat more? But I already have 1290 plus any exercise calories I earn x