Exercise for beginners

shabori2688

I started working out 2 weeks ago, and I noticed that I need to sleep for longer hours to feel fully energised through the day. Is that normal? Or do I need to reassess my nutrition?

deannalfisher

it could be a combo - are you eating back exercise calories? (MFP is designed so that you do eat at least a portion back); your weight goal/rate of loss could be too agressive

RoxieDawn

Could be a mix of deficit and exercise. How many calories do you eat per day? Do your eat back your exercise calories? What do you do for exercise? How many pounds are you set to lose per week? Are you carb restricting?

jjpptt2

Impossible to say, too many variables and too little information. As with most things though, it's probably a bit of both.

mikeandcris

Think of your body as a race car. When you're out racing (training), you're engine and parts are working hard and basically breaking down. When you're in the garage (sleeping) the engine is being rebuilt, parts changed, oiled, etc. The car comes out of the garage able to perform a little better. A race car can only keep going if it gets attention in the garage. An athlete can only keep going if he gets time to repair (via sleep) the damage caused while training.

shabori2688

Thank you for all your responses! So here is more information. I am 29, I work around 8-9 hours a day. My job is sedentary (on most days. I am a journalist so not always). I do a mix of boxing, MMA, strength and conditioning, yoga and kettlebells. Each session is generally for 50 mins. And I try to get at least 5-6 workouts in a week.

I am 5'7", weight 170.9 pounds, and working towards losing 2 pounds per week. My current goal weight is 154 pounds.

I dont always eat the calories burnt by exercise. I generally use that extra calorie margin if I feel like having some dessert. I have a sweet tooth.

Yes, I restrict my carbs a lot, and honesly dont miss it that much. I cannot do without protein though.

I do tend to sleep later than usual, and generally get like 6:30-7:00 hours of sleep. Which was sufficient for me before I started on my lifestyle change.

I am really sleepy all the time, and its so annoying! I though exercising should make me all pumped up!

deannalfisher

with a goal of only 15lbs under your current weight, then 2lbs a week is too agressive of a weight loss goal - .5-1lb would be more appropriate

RoxieDawn

shabori2688 wrote: »

Thank you for all your responses! So here is more information. I am 29, I work around 8-9 hours a day. My job is sedentary (on most days. I am a journalist so not always). I do a mix of boxing, MMA, strength and conditioning, yoga and kettlebells. Each session is generally for 50 mins. And I try to get at least 5-6 workouts in a week.

I am 5'7", weight 170.9 pounds, and working towards losing 2 pounds per week. My current goal weight is 154 pounds.

I dont always eat the calories burnt by exercise. I generally use that extra calorie margin if I feel like having some dessert. I have a sweet tooth.

Yes, I restrict my carbs a lot, and honesly dont miss it that much. I cannot do without protein though.

I do tend to sleep later than usual, and generally get like 6:30-7:00 hours of sleep. Which was sufficient for me before I started on my lifestyle change.

I am really sleepy all the time, and its so annoying! I though exercising should make me all pumped up!

The bolded is way too aggressive of a deficit and add in not eating back your exercise cals I can see why you may be having side effects such as being more fatigued/tired.

If after increasing your calorie goals, keep in mind that carb restricting may or may not be the right strategy for fueling your exercise and handling of your day to day responsbilities, so playing with macros that better suit proper energy balance is something you can experiment with as well.

shabori2688

Thanks a ton @deannalfisher and @RoxieDawn ! This helps!

mbaker566

i would also agree with maybe dialing it back. but if you just started working out, you need your rest. your body will even out but you are expending extra energy.

AnnPT77

+1 to slower weight loss being more appropriate.

Also, if you weren't working out at all, or not very regularly, and two weeks ago went straight to intense 50-minute sessions pretty much every day, that's a lot for your body to handle all at once, particularly if the calorie restriction started at the same time.

Personally, I think there's value in ramping up exercise duration, frequency and intensity gradually - maybe starting with more intensity every other day, with walks and stretching/yoga on the alternate days, at first. Your call, though.

To be sustainable, exercise should be fun and energizing, not brutal and exhausting.

Plenty of time for daily high-intensity exercise to become fun as general conditioning improves!

shabori2688

AnnPT77 wrote: »

+1 to slower weight loss being more appropriate.

Also, if you weren't working out at all, or not very regularly, and two weeks ago went straight to intense 50-minute sessions pretty much every day, that's a lot for your body to handle all at once, particularly if the calorie restriction started at the same time.

Personally, I think there's value in ramping up exercise duration, frequency and intensity gradually - maybe starting with more intensity every other day, with walks and stretching/yoga on the alternate days, at first. Your call, though.

To be sustainable, exercise should be fun and energizing, not brutal and exhausting.

Plenty of time for daily high-intensity exercise to become fun as general conditioning improves!

Hey!

Yes I wasn't working out earlier at all. I changed my diet back in November 2017. So it's been sometime. So the workout and food changes did not coincide. I mix yoga every now and then in my work out (I love yoga!). My workouts right now are not exactly brutal, but yeah I agree my body is pretty confused with all the changes I am trying to make for a healthier lifestyle.

Update on the aggressive weight loss plan: so I tried to up my calorie intake in the last two days, and it did help. I am less exhausted. So thanks a ton, everyone!!