Bruised, Battered and Starving!

kholloman

OK, second time on MFP and I've been at this a couple of months now. There is not a day goes by that I'm not hungry. Not "I feel like a snack" but like tummy growling hungry, morning noon and night. I lift 3 days a week and sometimes it is very difficult to get through it. I am bruised pretty much from head to toe and I hurt all over. My wrists feel like they're gonna pop out during dead-lifts and my hands swell. I sit at a desk all day so the most exercise I get for 8 hrs is clicking a mouse and going to the bathroom. All I do is sit here and hurt and count the hours til I can eat again. I have been losing about a pound a week doing this until last week but hey, I cheated a lot and the female hormones were running wild. It happens.

My question is, is it supposed to be like this? Am I supposed to be this hungry? The pain I can deal with but the hunger is driving me nuts. I'm afraid to up my calories without some input because if I see that scale go up again I know I'm gonna panic. I'm afraid to eat and just as afraid not to. I do not know what I am doing and I need some assistance please.

I'm 37yo, 5'8, 183 pounds, trying to make it at least to 160. I do dead-lifts, squats, incline dumbbell flies, military press, push ups, planks, dumbbell press, triceps extension. I alternate to do half on one day and half the next so no, I'm not doing all that in one session. I think I would die!. Mfp has limited me to 1492 cal per day. I'm still learning about the foods I can eat and with 3 teens and a husband I don't always get to make the best choices but I try. I don't do much cardio other than walking or the occasional hop on the elliptical. Mainly because I hate it but also I have arthritis in both feet and ankles from an injury several years ago.

So do I change anything or am I being a big 'ol baby about it?

IveLanded

Stop "trying" to eat good and JUST DO IT. It's all choices.

And.....weights is super hard on your joints. If you can do that, you can do eliptical. My knees and ankles are killed way more my weight training than cardio any day of the week.

No it's not supposed to be that way if you are eating right and taking good care of yourself. Have you tried upping your protein? Are you eating through the day or just 3 large meals? Budgeting in snacks really helps me.

kholloman

@IveLanded

I'm a grazer by nature so what you see in my diary is spread out. I think I do pretty good on eating healthy most days but I am still learning. I am not a mathematician or a dietitian so this is going to take some time. Grams, oz, cups...it's a bit overwhelming.

I try to keep my protein higher than what's recommended since I've read that's important. This week I bought protein bars as a pre-work out snack to see if it helps. It didn't help yesterday but I'm gonna keep trying til I find something that does. Maybe I'm hungry from carb withdrawal? I used to eat tons more of it.

The weights don't bother my knees or my ankles, just my thighs and my butt which is a good thing. Did I mention I hate cardio lol. I can do it , just not for long. Half hour is about as far as I can go for now or I start to swell and the numbness sets in. I've gone flying off the back of a treadmill before and I want to avoid that in the future lol.

Smuterella

Firstly, you don't NEED to do cardio for weight loss. Whoop! Secondly - are you eating back your exercise calories?

jeme3

If all the lifting is causing so much pain, why are you continuing to do it?

Walking is my main exercise, and bike riding. I have a few chronic injuries that limit what I can do, but I have figured out what works for me with out aggravating things.

Strangely enough, and maybe others have experience with this, but I have cut way, way, WAY down on processed sugars in my diet and my pain level has gone way down, too.

I haven't been here very long, but I've been doing a ton of reading, and just found the information about BMI and what a safe/expected weight loss should be. I just adjusted my weight loss goal from 2 pounds a week to one pound a week, and with the up in calories, I feel MUCH better. My husband was pointing out that I was grouchy, and now he says I'm not (any more than usual, any way!)

Are you tracking your exercise and eating your calories back?

deb3129

No, it is not supposed to be that way. You can lose weight and get healthy without being miserable. I have lost 86 pounds, and I absolutely do not sit around hungry. If I am truly hungry, then I eat. You just have to make the right food choices, and then you can eat more food. If you are in pain and starving all the time, you are not likely to stick with it.

skinnybitchbarbie27

Here is the deal, How is your protein intake. you need extra protein and a lot of us do not get enough, hence the hungry feeling. Secondly I do bruise some from strength training but not a lot. I will get some tiny bruises on my upper thighs or sometimes my tummy but NOTHING too serious. I would say you need to go to a doctor. Just to be sure that you are ok. There is something not right in my mind about being able to bruise that easily. When you are starting to feel ravenous get out baby carrots and a protein drink that is lower calories. Your body is obviously missing something and is using hunger as a sign for you to pay attention. Like I said, please go to the doctor, for your safety. This senario doesn't sound right.

Polly758

It does not have to be this way!

You are eating BELOW your BMR. And with all that weight lifting you really need to make sure you're getting enough. If you have told MFP you want to lose weight, I'd recommend changing that to maintenance, which will put you around 1,879 calories. Now I know, I know, you want to lose weight. However if you go on lifting heavy, your muscle mass will increase and your fat will decrease. (It's called recomposition.) Myself, I've been doing this same thing trying to get rid of my squishy parts, and I wouldn't say the difference had been mind-blowing (yet) but I am firming up and more importantly (to me), I've been getting stronger.

No wonder you're tired, all the weight lifting is telling your body to get stronger, but without the food to fuel muscle gains, you're just going to be tired all the time.

Go ahead and avoid the cardio if you want. Take a picture of yourself and take measurements but you don't have to weight yourself. Up your intake by 300-400 calories. See how that goes for a month.

LoggingForLife

More protien, more fiber. Fewer refined carbs. I used to be that way and have flirted with a low carb diet. I started again recently and I have so much energy and hardly any hunger. My hunger now says to me - think about getting up and getting something to eat when you get a break. It used to say - FOOD NOW, do whatever it takes to shove as much food in your mouth at once and act like a horrible witch until you get a chocolate bar.

kholloman

Firstly, you don't NEED to do cardio for weight loss. Whoop! Secondly - are you eating back your exercise calories?

I am confused about that since I mainly do lifting and I've read that doesn't burn many calories so I don't even try to calculate those. On the days I do cardio I add it and I try to eat them back. I get stuck trying to find something to eat that has whatever I need for the day ie: something that has protein but no sugar. I'm trying to stay within the limits but it's hard.

kholloman

If all the lifting is causing so much pain, why are you continuing to do it?

I'm tired of being a weakling for one. For two, I've been skinny before and looked sick. I don't want to be that way again and I'm hoping building muscle will prevent that. 3, I'm hoping this will help prevent boob loss (dead serious) as this happens when I lose weight. Yes it hurts, it's like I have strained everything but as long as I can move I think I'm ok. From what I understand, that part will get better as I get stronger.

kholloman

OK don't know what happened to the quote thing there. Sorry about that.

katescurios

Try eating smaller meals more often. I hate eating breakfast and never get round to taking my lunch break so I have fruit or veg throughout the morning and snacks like pitta bread cut into slices and dunked in salsa. Then my main meal of some kind of leaneat and carb or veg. In the evening I'll have bits of grilled chicken, nuts, fruit or cheesestrings to snack on. I generally stay undet my targrt and don't feel hungry!

Regards the exercise are you warming up well before lifting and are you lifting too heavy? You need to build up the weight, not start with too much!

vim_n_vigor

You are lifting heavy and you are not eating very much food. The calories you are eating a day are not going to fuel hardcore workouts. Eat more food, feel better. You don't need to starve to lose weight.

erickirb

OP, eat more. with only 20lbs to lose your weight loss goal should be 1lb/week at most, and eat back the cals burned from cardio.

danarod23

If you are eating healthy foods there is no way you should ever be starving hungry. Make sure you are logging your exercise and eating those calories too. That always puts me over and I find it hard to eat all my calories that day (at least in a healthy way)

Melolicious

That much pain doesn't sound quite right, even for muscle soreness or DOMS. Do you eat protein post-workout so your body has the materials to start recovering? I've learned that for me, wheat tends to cause joint pain which my family doctor had diagnosed as arthritis and told me to lose weight and it would get better. I went off wheat and most of my knee and ankle pain went away, I cheat and it comes back. I think you have something more going on than just an adjustment phase, consider seeing a holistic nutritionist.

BarbellBlondieRuns

In general, strength training does not burn as many calories as cardio WHILE you are doing the exercise BUT strength training burns calories for several hours after you've finished and cardio primarily only burns calories while you are working out.

MyrianeO

Along with other comments on here, I suggest eating more veggies... when you're hungry, munch on carrots, celery, cucumber, etc. to fill you up.. veggies are practically free and keep you full longer. Watch your sugar intakes (ie lots of fruit) - that can spike cravings and make you want to eat more and less well


Keep on going, you're doing great!

dq_diva

1) Weight training burns LOTS of calories....you need to eat more
2) Do you take 'rest' days? You shouldn't do weights on the same muscle group everyday. That can cause major muscle fatigue.
3) Limit sugar (you can adjust your settings to show sugar intake), eat more protein and fibrous foods (i.e. veggies!)
4) Please see your doctor. Fatigue and bruising could be a sign of something else going on.

All the best to you

MinnieInMaine

OP, eat more. with only 20lbs to lose your weight loss goal should be 1lb/week at most, and eat back the cals burned from cardio.

This.