sluggish, unmotivated, heavy, cumbersome...
DaysFlyBy
Posts: 243 Member
I feel like a big heavy old cow during my workouts now. I don't feel like working out at all to be honest. I pretty much stayed in a chair or on the couch all day, haven't gone for a walk with the kids in weeks, I just feel sluggish. I feel like I did before I started losing weight, actually which is what scares me. I was so pumped up for workouts, for hitting the parks with the kids, taking long walks, etc, I was just go-go-go all the time. The more I lost the more excited I was about life and moving and being seen in my light weight skinny body. Now I feel sluggish, unmotivated, and too fat and flabby to want to leave the house. I feel depressed. I don't own enough weights yet to lift heavy and don't have the money to do anything about it right now. Please tell me there's an energy surge coming any day now. Tell me my body will drop this new flab and uncover the muscle definition I had worked so hard on in my VLC days. In my head I look in the mirror and I just see a disturbing amount of back sliding. I want my vim & vigor back.
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Replies
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I'm sorry you're having a hard time, but there is hope!
If you're doing the metabolism reset, many people have reported feeling tired or lethargic during the first part.
For me it hit the end of the 2d week. I'm now at the end of the 5th week and have my energy back (it lasted a little over a week).
It does get better, if you don't think you can handle a workout, then do something light, like a walk or swim.
I don't know what you consider heavy, but some times on craigs list, you can find weights and equipment for almost nothing...sometimes free! Check community postings, the classifieds, yard sales, and don't be afraid to haggle!
You're gonna do just fine, just give it a little time.:flowerforyou:0 -
Ack. How long have you been at it? You're fully resetting, right?
I have no idea how your body is responding, but I do know that in the long run you will want to be at your goal weight and body fat % WITH your glycogen stores pumped full and retaining the bit of water that goes with.
To be honest with you - and I don't know if you know this - but even fitness models cannot maintain their cut down bodies all the time. They cut to remove the fat and water for competitions and photo shoots and then go back to eating at TDEE afterward and they puff up too. Their weights fluctuate the same 10 (and I've heard even up to 30!) lbs the rest of us can retain in our muscles.
Hang in there. How much longer?0 -
Well I always ate decently calorie-wise, I would just work that net down to almost nothing (thought that's what I had to do to beat my fat @$$ into submission, and it worked beautifully). Anyway I started slowly increasing my nets to > BMR around May 16. I'm trying to net closer to TDEE but I don't even know if my numbers are right, to be honest.
What I put into Scooby is:
Female
61.5 inches
120 lbs (which I WAS before this EM2LM business, now it's more like 127 ::bawl::)
Goal: 15% cut
Activity level: 3-5 hours mod act.
With these set my BMR is 1294 and my TDEE is 2007. My 15% cut then will be 1705. Oh, and my goal weight is 115, although I don't give a CRAP what I weigh as long as I can comfortably rock a size 3/4.
I know I was working out > 3-5 hrs/wk but I wouldn't call it ”strenuous” (to me that's like Insanity or HIIT) and the next level up from moderate is strenuous, so WTH?? Anyway moderate is more in-line with what I can reasonably maintain for the foreseeable future so I am striving to bring my activity level down to it as I don't want to work out 2 hrs/day 7 days/week forever (although again, for me it was awesomely effective at getting the body I wanted).
I'm trying to get on this schedule:
Mon: 60 min lower body strength/weight
Tues: 60 min cardio (very fast paced walking, I refuse to run unless my life is in danger lol)
Wed: 60 min core strength/weight
Thurs: 60 min cardio (same as before)
Fri: 60 min upper body strength/weight
Sat: only enough cardio to bring my total wkly burn to 2000 if needed, otherwise it's an OFF day
Sun: OFF
Again, I know the time spent is more than ”moderate” but the energy expenditure is less than ”strenuous”, so I don't know.0 -
Anyone...? :frown:0
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Keep in mind that much like the MFP calculator, the Scooby calculator doesn't know you, can't talk to you and can't see you. You might find that your TDEE is somewhere in the middle of those two categories. You may have to experiment a bit to see what maintenance looks like for you (which you'd probably have to do anyway when you reached the point of maintenance).
I myself discovered that while I might burn close to 3100 on some days, I'm probably burning closer to 2700 on most days. Therefore, I need to stick closer to 2700 to maintain than to go up.
Keep at it. Remember that if you want this for the long term, you want your body to be healthy and fueled. What would your body look like in the next 10 years if you continually underfed it (and that's assuming you weren't still trying to lose weight in the next 10 years)? How much calcium, protein, skin elasticity would you be missing because your body needed nutrients?
At least that's what I keep telling myself. I'm 27 right now and I want to look good at 37 (and 47 and 57)-- not just be skinny or strong, but to look good and healthy.
Hang in there!0 -
Keep it up. It will get easier, you will see.
Many of us doing the reset or even eat at their cut have experienced the tiredness. But you will see, one day you will just wake up and the energy kicks in. Just be patient a bit longer.
As for the numbers. It does not matter weather it is strenuous or not it's about how many calories you are burning.
I used to do Insanity 6 times a week and cut down now to three times and three times lifting. I put myself in the strenuous category. So when I cut back I though I would be moderate. Well I got a FitBit and it turns out that I am burning even more then in the strenuous active level. It is not only the workout, but what you do all day long.
Just don't give up. you can do it. Stay strong0 -
It does not matter weather it is strenuous or not it's about how many calories you are burning.
I used to do Insanity 6 times a week and cut down now to three times and three times lifting. I put myself in the strenuous category. So when I cut back I though I would be moderate. Well I got a FitBit and it turns out that I am burning even more then in the strenuous active level. It is not only the workout, but what you do all day
Well my goal is to burn 400 cal/day or 2000/wk and lately I can't even hit that. I'll have a better idea I suppose what my actual burns are once my HRM gets here on Wed. I have a Fitbit but cannot use it as my only internet access is my phone.0 -
I understand b/c I am going through that right now myself...I was on a routine of lifting 3x/wk and doing some type of cardio the other days with one rest day but for the past few weeks my routine has gotten all screwed up and it seems so hard to get started again now...I feel fat, lazy and fat again!!! But, I know I am doing the right thing b/c I was eating VLC for years and I still became overweight.
My activity level before was somewhere between light and moderate since May b/c my 3yr old is with me 24/7 now - Now I am more at the light level maybe even a little sedentary I think....For you it sounds like you may want to take the average of your TDEE of moderate and strenuous and use that number instead...You don't have to do one or the other exclusively, you can go in the middle if needed...Try that and see if that helps somewhat and maybe even take your Saturdays as a rest day as well...It sounds like you do a lot of exercise through the week - give your body a good rest on the weekends and make sure you still eat your TDEE amount each day and don't let your NET go below your BMR....I hope this helps and good luck to you!!!
It WILL get better!!! We CAN do this!!!! :flowerforyou:0 -
Actually when I'm not working out I'm quite sedentary to be honest. Especially lately. And my weekly burn goal is only 2000 calories thru exercise and I'm frequently not even hitting THAT. Not even burning 400 cal/day so I certainly wouldn't call it 'strenuous'. It's all so confusing. I just hope this is actually going to kick in and start working for me before I pack on any more fat onto the thin pretty body if worked so hard on, and yes it's fat, I can grab fistfuls of it now. I'm embarrassed to even go out and more the lawn. :[0
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I would say it is ok to take a little time off from exercise, even a few weeks if necessary. I had an injury recently that prevented me from exercising for a few weeks. It was torture but I have to say I have a ton of energy and am completely motivated again now that I had that rest. Your body is telling you to rest in my opinion. You will be motivated and energized soon enough and your body will let you know when it is time to get going again.0
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Listen to weightbattlewarrior - It took her a long time to do it but she finally took a much deserved break and her body is now thanking her for it...Btw, I am proud of you Lara!!!
After I read what she put I think I need to back up and say what I said a little differently and after seeing your response...I would keep your calories at moderate and take that Saturday and Sunday off for sure....But add that like she said - Maybe give yourself permission to take a nice relaxing break...Just take walks if you want or whatever but slow it down for a bit...It sounds like you really do deserve it...You will get back into it soon enough...I truly hope it gets better for you soon...We all have our 'down' times..
PM me if you even need to vent or just talk...I am good at listening or in our case - reading...lol
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