Long story guy needs some advice

I'm in Spring just North of Houston. I say this with love....

Are you crazy? :bigsmile:

It's hotter than hell out there at midnight! If I go longer than a mile I feel my pulse pounding in my face and get the wah-wah's.
Until it cools off I've let the outside stuff go.

You could try shorter walks twice a day. AM and PM.
You can YouTube some great things in the meantime. Leslie Sansone or the 30 Day Shred from Jillian Michaels.
Target has a selection of workout DVD's (near the bikes and sporting goods) and weights, mats. Anything you'd need to get started. Kettlebells are great too. I imagine Academy and Sports Authority would as well.

Congratulations on your success so far! Best of luck to you!

It's really not normal to feel that way after exercising. This is just a guess but maybe you are getting down on yourself for having such a hard time finishing the walk.

You should instead feel good about yourself because whatever state you are in now, you have taken positive control to improve things. Lots of people never do that. Also, you have made great weight loss progress in a pretty short time so that's another reason to feel positive.

The walks will get easier as your condition improves and the weight drops off. And as you said, it will soon be cooler.

Scott: I sometimes have the same symptoms after exercise -- including the "introspection" -- and it happens when my blood sugar level drops precipitously; I'm diabetic-- are you diabetic or pre-diabetic? That could be it, but of course it probably could be a million other things too, including simple exhaustion in the Houston heat and humidity! It's finally starting to break here in Memphis: hallelujah!

First of all, congratulations on the weight loss, and the determination. It's not easy.

I think that your feeling depressed might be because you are so hard on yourself. It must make you feel like a loser, or a child that was scolded. You seem to focus on the things that you can't do instead of the things that you actually can. Switch your mind around!

First, calculate the amount of time you DO walk and congratulate yourself on it. It's not easy! I started at 10 minutes walks!! And I was proud of myself to be able to do it. After, I got to 15 minutes. I started to jog just a little. All little steps that made me proud of was I was doing and the good I would bring to my life with it.

You are doing a great job, for you and your health. Tell yourself that!

And when you get to the last stretch of your walk, when you are really tired, instead of yelling at yourself, talk to yourself like you would to somebody you love and want to see succeed. "You can do it, I know you can, I know it's hard but I am proud of you. I am proud of you!"

Finally, I think that having reasonable goals is also important. Maybe 40 minutes is too hard for now? Maybe doing it in the sun, when it's really hot outside, is harder? (I like to go walking at 6:30 AM when it's quiet and not too hot.)

Take care and continue on your journey!

Try easing back a little - maybe walk every other day? Exercising shouldn't be easy but if you have to work that hard to finish maybe your body is telling you you're overexerting?

I would check with your doctor to rule out any of the medical explanations, but I know I crash pretty hard after a strenuous workout if I don't eat a ton before and afterwards. I keep a bag of beef jerky (I refuse to care about sodium) in the car, and chow down on that the second my butt gets out of the gym. That tends to keep me occupied. Also, I really began to enjoy my workouts much more when I started thinking of them as me-time instead of an obligation. Instead of focusing on how many calories I burned or how long I'd been out I set a distance goal and concentrated on having some quiet time all to myself where the only person I had to give a darn about was me me me
The other thing I like to do is make a music playlist or download a podcast that's the same length of time as the workout. I'm a big fan of short stories and live storytelling, which tend to be the perfect length and hold my attention really well and keep me from thinking things like, "ARGH THIS IS CLEARLY ENOUGH FOR ONE DAY" and "I WANT TO KILL A SKINNY PERSON WITH A LOW CALORIE HATCHET".
You are doing such a great job. I don't think I could ever match your willpower - the idea of walking outside in Baltimore in the summer is bad enough, but dear lord - TEXAS? On the other hand, I would burn a ton of extra calories lugging around the generator and air conditioner.... Does whining burn calories?

Just a few suggestions...
1. Are you drinking plenty of water before/during/after?
2. Small snack before/after?
3. I use the treadmill at my gym that has the TV's on it. I turn the TV so I can see myself in the reflection of myself in the screen, when I want to slow down or stop I mentally yell at myself too...lol

took the words right out of my mouth...
THANK GOD MY GYM HAS MINI FANS ON THE EQUIPMENT AS WELL AS TV'S WITH HEADPHONE JACKS....

It looks like there is plent of advice for you, so I just want to say
CONGRATULATIONS! Way to power through your walks! Keep your head up! You have lost a fifth of a person already! Av 150 lb...
How amazing is that?!?!

YAY!

Yeah, I exercise and I am cranky all the time too. Downright curmudgeonly.

Hi Scottr35! I am sure humidity and heat has a lot to do with how you feel. It is so draining! Hopefully, your endurance will pay off when it cools down, and then you'll feel great out there!

I know you eat good protein.. Just wanted to see if you heard of quinoa? (pronounced keen-wah). I just found out about this protein rich grain (when cooked becomes fluffy). You can use like rice as a side or mix it with other food. I found that eating a little of this (1/2 cup to 1 cup cooked) in morning helps me a lot when I feel need for energy. I often eat it as a snack especially before demanding activity, like heavy yard work. It's packed with protein so it keeps me from feeling hungry as quickly.

Are you eating after? It is important to have a meal with a balance of protein and carbohydrates after a workout to replenish your energy.... I know my husband gets cranky if he doesn't eat enough sO I would make sure you have at leaset a protein bar or some snack after your walk

^^^^This!

And
ARE YOU KRAZY?

And;
Drink a lot more water!

Working out releases happy endorphins, having the opposite affect is truly troubling and shouldn't happen. Can you try scheduling your work out at a different time when the weather isn't so brutal?

And..

High Five!

I think it is normal, I get moody when I'm hot and tired too. But it's really not a good idea to be out for long in extreme heat because you could suffer from heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Taking a cool shower as soon as you get home (someone else mentioned this) is a good idea. There are a few other things you could try as well;

Take 2 shorter walks rather than one longer one. You'll still get in the workout but maybe be a little less exhausted afterwards. Or else take a 10 minute break half way through and sit in a shady area. Better yet, do your walking on a path in the woods or something where there's trees on both sides so you can stay out of the direct sunlight.

Be sure to take a bottle of cold water along both for drinking and for splashing on your head, face or neck when you feel overheated. Get one of those gel filled things that you soak in cold water and tie around your neck. And soak your shirt in cold water before you start your walk.
Perhaps you should think about swimming instead of walking if there's a pool nearby that you could use, you can do water aerobics without breaking a sweat but still getting a good workout.

Good luck, you're doing great so far!

Someone noted about checking your blood glucose on the forum. I have been type one diabetic for 26 years and when my blood sugar falls, I'm a super *****.....After your walk, eat a piece of fruit or some crackers to see if that improves your mood. I would carry a juice box or something when I walked.....

All the tips you've received on eating, blood sugar, hydration, etc. are great. If it's at all possible to do some of these walks in an air-conditioned space, that might be better too--a gym, a mall, etc.

It can be very emotional to work out, especially if you've not been active in a very long time. So many of us have spent years or decades loathing our bodies and trying to ignore them as much as we possibly could that the sudden intimacy of working out just opens up floodgates of emotion. If we're exercising, we are much more aware of our body, its capabilities, and its limits, how we've punished it through neglect, and are astounded by the fact that the darned thing is still willing to try to work for us when we ask it to do so. It's impossible to ignore our bodies when exercising, and that's much more intimate than many of have been with them in quite some time.

It could also be that the time you set aside to exercise is distraction-free, so you may be more aware of any painful emotions that you have avoided. From what little I know of you, you have a high-powered, high-pressure career and a busy family. You've spent most of your life working to achieve all you have from an inauspicious start in life. As far as I can tell, you've been going 100 miles an hour for as long as you can remember. So yes, hitting the pause button for a half hour to work out could unearth a lot of things! Most people who are that driven and busy are working as hard to run away from something as they are toward something better. Perhaps some of what you were running from became visible in the rear-view mirror during the relative quiet of your walks?

Hang in there, Scott. You can do this!
.