Completely out of shape starting out anxiety

Ajirvin

I am starting out after surgery and having a child and just a whole year of a break and j didn't work out much before. Well I've started the 30 day shred and I've done the 3rd day today. I feel like CRAP. Not just aching muscles, I expect that. This is my body is shaking and I just feel like crap all day. I drink tons of water, so I don't think it's hydration. Is this normal? I know going from out of shape to in shape is hard work and I want to stick with it, but it's so hard when I feel crappy all day. I am just ready for this hurdle of feeling like this to be over with.

dubird

How's your diet? You don't say what you've done for eating changes, but you may just not be getting enough calories to support a 30 day shred.

As for me, going from out of shape to getting in shape? Yeah, if I try to rush it, I will give up. I hate exercising anyways, and if all I ever feel is horrible and sore and shakey? I'll never stick with it. For me, starting slow and building is the only way I can stick with some kind of exercise.

jgnatca

Zero to sixty in seconds only works on commercials. It takes a while for your cardiovascular and your muscles to catch up to new demands. I personally like to take a day off between cardio activities. You might lift weights in between if being consistent right now is important.

When my body is shaking I am low on blood sugar. If a cookie fixes it, then I know what it is.

Or it could be miserable muscles. Like I've already said, it's OK to give them a day off to catch up.

Ajirvin

Well I don't eat poorly. I didn't eat much though, before I worked out this morning. Some blueberry breakfast wafer things and 3 glasses of water. I can try eating more. I had a day off yesterday because I was so sore that I was limping. Once In a while I do eat crappy though. Mostly though, I eat to tame my acid reflux. I cut out red meat and pork. Pretty much sticking to seafood and chicken.

Tblackdogs

Why don't you start over and instead of doing the workouts you're doing now, start by trying to get 10,000 steps a day. Then you can work up to running or start back up with the 30 day shred. I personally would focus totally on your diet for now. Work on getting the appropriate number of calories and try to include enough protein and then when you feel ready start focusing on exercise. I've recently lost about 10 pounds with little to no exercise besides my normal life. And I feel great!

Ajirvin

Yea maybe that's a good idea. I don't even break 5k steps a day much less 10.

nutmegoreo

Tblackdogs wrote: »

Why don't you start over and instead of doing the workouts you're doing now, start by trying to get 10,000 steps a day. Then you can work up to running or start back up with the 30 day shred. I personally would focus totally on your diet for now. Work on getting the appropriate number of calories and try to include enough protein and then when you feel ready start focusing on exercise. I've recently lost about 10 pounds with little to no exercise besides my normal life. And I feel great!

This works great for some people, and I'm glad it worked for you. To provide a bit of a different perspective though, I find that I choose healthier foods when I am working out, because I want to properly fuel those workouts. For me, it made more sense to increase my activity levels and then have my calories fall in line.

OP, there are different ways to get to where you want to be. Since you are interested in working out, my suggestion would be to do the workouts, and log everything you are eating (use a food scale for accuracy, and make sure you have the right database entry, there are many incorrect ones). As you progress in your workouts, you may find that you need to tweak your food choices to better support your workouts.

Additionally, it sounds to me as if you are not eating enough to support your workouts. Depending on what your daily calories are, you may need to consider eating more, or choosing different foods. How much are you actually consuming each day? You are young, and you don't have too much to lose, so you shouldn't be set at 1200. If you are, you may want to reevaluate this. I am at 1600 (short and older than you) and have been losing consistently, but have also been staying fairly active. Try it for at least four weeks, and then tweak based on results.

sarahdayski

You do need to make sure you eat well esp when exercising. I found i was pushing my body to hard and was constantly exhausted and not eating enough. I now ensure i eat around 2 hrs before exercising and ensure i eat something afterwards and i now have much more energy and feel fit and healthy x

Ajirvin

I eat 3 meals a day. Usually breakfast wafers or oatmeal for breakfast, a small lunch, and a pretty big supper. Usually a protein, cous cous, and a green vegetable. I can try to eat more--maybe add snacks between?

nutmegoreo

Ajirvin wrote: »

I eat 3 meals a day. Usually breakfast wafers or oatmeal for breakfast, a small lunch, and a pretty big supper. Usually a protein, cous cous, and a green vegetable. I can try to eat more--maybe add snacks between?

What are the total calories for this though when you log it?

jgnatca

It doesn't have to be a whole bunch more food. Like I mentioned, a single cookie is just over 100 calories and could be all you need after a heavy duty workout.

Ajirvin

I haven't logged In a long time, when I was logging, I frequently didn't meet my goal of 1200. I need to get a scale. I stopped because I didn't see the point of logging my food if I wasn't weighing it. Also, let's say I make soup...that has carrots, celery, broth, beans, etc...I know how many calories goes into the pot, but how much exactly is in my bowl? Sounds stupid, but seems so tedious..I figure if I don't eat a lot, then I won't have to count calories.

Ajirvin

jgnatca wrote: »

It doesn't have to be a whole bunch more food. Like I mentioned, a single cookie is just over 100 calories and could be all you need after a heavy duty workout.

Yea, I have some nuts and protein bars I can eat afterwards.

jgnatca

Oh, my. If you are close to 1,200 calories a day you might not be getting enough food at all. Soup is very low calorie.

Here's how you can measure the calories in your pot of soup. Weigh the ingredients going in and put them in a recipe. Weigh the pot of soup when done. This is the number of servings (xxx grams) you will put in the recipe. Weigh your bowl of soup (xx grams). This is the number of "servings" you are eating.

nutmegoreo

Ajirvin wrote: »

I haven't logged In a long time, when I was logging, I frequently didn't meet my goal of 1200. I need to get a scale. I stopped because I didn't see the point of logging my food if I wasn't weighing it. Also, let's say I make soup...that has carrots, celery, broth, beans, etc...I know how many calories goes into the pot, but how much exactly is in my bowl? Sounds stupid, but seems so tedious..I figure if I don't eat a lot, then I won't have to count calories.

But if you aren't eating a lot, you get shaky with workouts. If you are chronically undereating there is a whole host of problems that are associated with that including: thinning hair, brittle nails, dizziness, fatigue, weakness, fainting, cardiac issues, decreased bone density, etc.

Buy a scale and start logging, this will tell you so much more than you realize.

As for the soup, each bowl will vary slightly, but what I do is use the recipe builder. Enter each item in. When the soup is complete, I weigh the entire batch and use that as my number of servings. Then when I have some, I weigh the serving I am having, and add that as my number of servings in the recipe. Others will do it differently (divide it into four equal portions to create four servings). When I do the second method, I will sometimes change it to six servings once I see how many calories are in each.

Ajirvin

Thank you, I just wonder about things like...what if, let's say, I put meat in my soup...if I have more Pieces of meat in my soup...it would be more calories....but how many? Or does it not have to be super exact?

Ajirvin

nutmegoreo wrote: »

Ajirvin wrote: »

I haven't logged In a long time, when I was logging, I frequently didn't meet my goal of 1200. I need to get a scale. I stopped because I didn't see the point of logging my food if I wasn't weighing it. Also, let's say I make soup...that has carrots, celery, broth, beans, etc...I know how many calories goes into the pot, but how much exactly is in my bowl? Sounds stupid, but seems so tedious..I figure if I don't eat a lot, then I won't have to count calories.

But if you aren't eating a lot, you get shaky with workouts. If you are chronically undereating there is a whole host of problems that are associated with that including: thinning hair, brittle nails, dizziness, fatigue, weakness, fainting, cardiac issues, decreased bone density, etc.

Buy a scale and start logging, this will tell you so much more than you realize.

As for the soup, each bowl will vary slightly, but what I do is use the recipe builder. Enter each item in. When the soup is complete, I weigh the entire batch and use that as my number of servings. Then when I have some, I weigh the serving I am having, and add that as my number of servings in the recipe. Others will do it differently (divide it into four equal portions to create four servings). When I do the second method, I will sometimes change it to six servings once I see how many calories are in each.

Wow. Yea you're right. Thank you. I doing this to be healthy. I don't want to get worse.

nutmegoreo

Ajirvin wrote: »

Thank you, I just wonder about things like...what if, let's say, I put meat in my soup...if I have more Pieces of meat in my soup...it would be more calories....but how many? Or does it not have to be super exact?

Are you sharing this with others in your house? I am cooking for myself, so I don't worry about it too much. I will be up in cals one day, and lower the next. It all evens out in the end.

Ajirvin

Yes, when I cook, I cook for the family. 3 of us

nutmegoreo

Ajirvin wrote: »

Yes, when I cook, I cook for the family. 3 of us

Then each serving may be slightly over or under. You could also cook the meat separately (although the broth wouldn't taste as good), and then weigh it before adding to the individual serving.

Ajirvin

Yea I could try that. Just hope it comes out good lol.

anl90

It sounds to me like you're rushing into it too quickly. Start off slowly, and work your way up to the 30 Day Shred. It's pretty intense, so your body just probably isn't ready for it. I personally am keeping things as slow as I need to, because exercise has never came easy for me. I walk 1 1/2-2 miles a day, and sometimes when I'm feeling extra motivated I throw in a beginners workout I found. Also, making sure you get the calories hot body needs is super important! Good luck. You got this!!

nutmegoreo

Ajirvin wrote: »

Yea I could try that. Just hope it comes out good lol.

That's why I said, it probably won't taste as good! You could just expect that your counting will be off a bit anyway. It's better than chronically undereating.

Ajirvin

Thank y'all for the advice! I'll be eating more and starting slow on the workouts