Over training?

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OnlyHuman55417
OnlyHuman55417 Posts: 14 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
HI I'm not really all that new to this site. Two years ago in August my young healthy mother died and for two months after her diagnoses and death, I ignored an inner ear inflection and ended up with Meniere's Disease. I held my own for up until this October until the doctors gave me steroids, a big dose too. Out of nowhere I gained 22 pounds.

I prior to this disease I worked out daily 7 days a week. I ran 5 miles a day, did other cardio about 30 minutes and was in the weight room for at least 45 minutes. My workouts continued and occasionally I would miss a couple of days a month due to getting sick.

I was very athletic and very fit. I don't eat processed foods.

This weight has slowed me down entirely. For about 2 months I was so dizzy and so overweight that I couldn't even make it to the gym.

I've now been intentionally deafen in my left ear so I won't get so violently ill. I'm "car sick" all of the time.

When I try to work out hard, I'm exhausted and I can barely function at 7pm. Today I was short on time and did mostly weights and only 20 minutes of cardio. I'm feeling fine-not exhausted. (I can't run any longer because my vision field is like watching a two year old with a camcorder.). I normally do an hour of cardio instead, with my hr at 158-164.

What the devil is over-training and I'm doing that and is that why exhausted? Any suggestions to how I can fix this?

I can't believe that things have gotten so out of hand. I want to go back to my fit self now.

I'm 45 year old female.

Thanks for any input.

Replies

  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    I can't see your diary to see how much you are consuming however do you have vertigo? If you have / had issues with your inner ear it can turn your world upside down! Normal things become harder due to balance.

    If you are on a very low cal / restrictive diet you could be missing some vital energy resources which adding in exercise can wear you out pretty fast.
  • OnlyHuman55417
    OnlyHuman55417 Posts: 14 Member
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    Chasetwins,

    I'll open up my stuff. Just let me figure out how...
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    Settings - diary settings - scroll down to diary sharing
  • OnlyHuman55417
    OnlyHuman55417 Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks....

    I can't change the age either...that's wrong too.

    Anywho, my food diary and exercise diary isn't entirely up to date. But the general idea is there.
    The last couple of days is correct, I believe today especially

    BTW I don't have that violent vertigo any longer since they deafened me. I'm confused because I didn't know that they were going to do that. I now am just generally car sick and I can't handle extreme motion. I'm hoping that I can adjust to start running again.
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    For energy and I find this for myself - I need a good balance between carbs and protein. Do you restrict your carbs for any medical reasons? If not maybe try increasing those.

    Also to keep your body fueled equally maybe having a snack or two through out the day in addition to your regular meals.

    Also your initial cal goal is set below 1200?? Women should never go below 1200 - do not know your stats so guessing here - however maybe increase your calories up to 1500 net and see how you feel.

    If you get motion sickness - this can affect your total well being. Exercise can become more difficult for you than the normal person and this in itself can cause you to feel weak faster. Take your workouts slow until you feel 100%.

    I think keeping your workouts slow until you adjust and increasing your cals (and carbs) I would hope you will start to feel better :) -
  • momma2azoo
    momma2azoo Posts: 50 Member
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    Wow, did a quick read on Ménière's disease and it sounds pretty awful. Sorry you're having to deal with it, and sorry for the loss of your Mother.

    It appears that diet can worsen your symptoms. Have you found that to be true for you? I would think that if you've made major changes/restrictions to your diet it could have a much greater impact on how you're feeling than it would for someone without your disease. 22 lbs is a decent amount of weight (especially if you're a really small woman), but honestly, it's not THAT big of a gain. 22 lbs alone shouldn't leave you feeling like you're so fat you can't function. I have way more to loose than 22 lbs and I'm pretty active and have plenty of energy. Not knocking you while you're down, just pointing out that I think something else is going on.

    I was in a major accident the tail end of 2010. Very major. It permanently messed up my vision in my right eye. Vertigo sucks and can really take a lot out of you. Coming back from an injury is also hard. Fitness after an injury can be lost frighteningly quick. It's frustrating to not be able to do what you used to. You have to realize that it will take time to rebuild your body. The slower you do it, the better your body will feel during the process and the less likely you will be to cause additional injuries that will further side line you.

    If doing less leaves you feeling like you can function at the end of the day, do less. This isn't a race. Slow down. You're not doing your body any favors if you're working it to the point of exhaustion without enough time for it to rest and recover. Rest time is when muscle rebuilds. Without adequate rest, all you do is continuously break down muscle until your reach the point of injury.

    Make sure you're hitting your nutrition macros and slow down. See how that leaves you feeling.
  • OnlyHuman55417
    OnlyHuman55417 Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks Ladies! I appreciate your input.

    Momma2azoo, I'm very sorry for your accident! Vertigo is an horrid thing! I oft time wonder if this Meinere's was added by an accident that I had when I was expecting. I was rear ended at 55 miles an hour whilst sitting still at a stop light. The only thing that saved me was that I was driving a long bed truck. That was 9 years ago.

    I'm extremely accustomed to pain, but tired and dizzy...no not really.

    The diet that I have is what I've pretty much what I've always had.( I'll try to keep both journals more up to date.) On occasion I'll splurge. On Friday, I'm taking my son to dinner after the science museum and we'll go to Famous Dave's. I won't care too much what I eat.

    I have a difficult time eating carbs, although I'll try. I've learned which ones will mess with my system and which ones are fine. What this means is, if I eat an apple, I get so "effervescent" that I embarrass myself on the tread mill-now other cardo machines.

    In 1994 I went on the PURE Original Adkins Diet and I lost 50 pounds right off the bat. I started working out and I lost another 20 pounds. So at one time in my life I had a hard time getting under 195 pounds. After the birth of my son I could not get below 130 pound if my life depended on it. So I gave up with getting back down to 115-125. I accepted it. I was wearing a size 4 not a 2, I dealt.

    Now at 155, I'm bugged beyond belief. To me it's a race because I have a closet full of clothes that I cannot wear. When I drop things off at Good Will that my boy has outgrown and other things, I go in an look for clothing that might fit me. It depresses me.

    I'm super small. I'm 5'3". So with 22 pounds I've gone from a size 4/6 to a size 10/12. YIKES!

    But you might be right, this disease probably is aiding the exhaustion. It's exhausting to keep my balance in the weight room.

    Thanks again, ladies for letting me vent and for being so kind to take my issue into consideration.

    Regards
    Marie
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    Hey now be nice I am in a size 10 haha ;) Coming from where I was...I am quite happy with that ten tee hee!!

    I understand though as you were at a very much smaller size before - i have never been smaller than a 10 so to me it is success. Take small steps..with the medical issues your diet will need to change from what you are used to. I know the Atkins diet works however most if not all of the people I have seen utilize that diet can not stick to it long term. Stay away from the carbs that bother you and load up on the ones that you like and have no issues with :) I avoid apples because they do not fill me..however pears I am addicted to! I avoid oatmeal again not filling to me unless I have 5 servings so I have two slices of toast instead. Find what works..take notes of how you feel each day so you can match it to your diary.

    Keep exercising but keep it light!! Over exerting yourself will only lead to stopping which as I understand is the complete opposite of what you want. You hit a hard point in your life - you have to take it slow to get things back to normal or at least in a manageable way.

    Famous Daves!! ohhhh YUMMY!!!!! They closed the one near us a few years ago - I was so mad lol!!! The closest one is hours away now. My Mother orders us a case of the sauces every so often but it is not the same :/ Enjoy!!
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    How long were you on steroids that you gained 22 lb?
  • OnlyHuman55417
    OnlyHuman55417 Posts: 14 Member
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    Hey now be nice I am in a size 10 haha ;) Coming from where I was...I am quite happy with that ten tee hee!!

    I understand though as you were at a very much smaller size before - i have never been smaller than a 10 so to me it is success. Take small steps..with the medical issues your diet will need to change from what you are used to. I know the Atkins diet works however most if not all of the people I have seen utilize that diet can not stick to it long term. Stay away from the carbs that bother you and load up on the ones that you like and have no issues with :) I avoid apples because they do not fill me..however pears I am addicted to! I avoid oatmeal again not filling to me unless I have 5 servings so I have two slices of toast instead. Find what works..take notes of how you feel each day so you can match it to your diary.

    Keep exercising but keep it light!! Over exerting yourself will only lead to stopping which as I understand is the complete opposite of what you want. You hit a hard point in your life - you have to take it slow to get things back to normal or at least in a manageable way.

    Famous Daves!! ohhhh YUMMY!!!!! They closed the one near us a few years ago - I was so mad lol!!! The closest one is hours away now. My Mother orders us a case of the sauces every so often but it is not the same :/ Enjoy!!

    Your weight loss is impressive. I remember how much of a challenge it was to loose that first 50. I am always bewildered at people saying that they can't stick to Adkins. I had no problem, even in restaurants. My going out-I don't-mind-what-I'd eat, even was pretty close to the original diet. Believe it or not, prior to Adkins I was a vegetarian. I weighted 195-198. Because the results were so good, it never occurred to me to eat a piece of bread or a fry. However, I did do it on RARE occasions. My cheat became dark chocolate and red wine-which is still pretty low in carb content. That low calorie thing was for the birds. I guess one could say that I try to stay away from sugar alcohol carbs or processed carbs. I do eat an occasional piece of pizza but I pay for it by way of embarrassment at the gym the next day.

    There's NOTHING wrong with a size 10.:flowerforyou: In fact, it's a good size.

    I'm just really small. In 1993 I used to wear a size 18, 1994 size 12, 1995 size 8, 1996 size 2. In 2006 NO MATTER WHAT I DID I stayed at a size 4/6. Now I'm in a 10/12.

    I'm sorry that Dave's closed next to you. We live in MN and there are very few good barbecue places around here. We go to the "first road side southern cooking shack" in Linden Hills that Dave opened. I am originally from Lawrence Kansas and I can tell you that it's hard to find good bbq here in bland MN. I was so happy to see it show up in the mid or late 1990s. Can't remember.

    I really appreciate your time and efforts in responding to me.
  • OnlyHuman55417
    OnlyHuman55417 Posts: 14 Member
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    It only took three weeks of high dose steroids to gain this type of weight. I've been told that others can reach over 20 pounds in a week of the same dose. One day I was sitting at my computer at work and I was a size 6, by the end of the week I couldn't get into a 10. It was unbelievable. I could understand if I gained this weight by eating nothing but milk chocolate and french fries. However my lifestyle of working out and eating right had not changed one bit.

    Here's the fun part: :devil: It did NO GOOD. It did not help my seizures.
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    ugh!! Ya Steroids are awful!! Are you still on them?? If so how long do you think you will have to continue taking them? Maybe concentrate on maintaining with a few bonus losses until they are done. This way you do not stress over it.
  • OnlyHuman55417
    OnlyHuman55417 Posts: 14 Member
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    I stopped taking them in November. Then I went back in and they (ENT) deafened me in the left ear and I was sick until the first part of Feb.

    I won't take them again, no matter what.
  • spfldpam
    spfldpam Posts: 738 Member
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    Any exercise is better than none is my thinking. If you can only do 20-30 of just walking that works. I wouldn't go under 1200 cals a day either. Before I had my sleeve WLS I lost 47 pounds from Feb to May by eating 1200 cals a day and walking 30 minutes a day as my only exercise.
    I hope you get to feeling better. When I have had steroid shot for my knees or other joints it always makes me super engerized for 2-3 days. The pills do too when I have had them prescribed to me. Most of mine have been cortisone shots in my knees mainly. Since loosing all this weight my knee hasn't been hurting and no shots since Feb 2012!
    Good luck!
  • OnlyHuman55417
    OnlyHuman55417 Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks for the nice words! Wow! You've got some real progress there! Congrats!

    Glad you're feeling good too!

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