SHOULD I FEEL BAD??? HELP!!!

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frannyannemum
frannyannemum Posts: 142
in Chit-Chat
I am a bit of a fitness fanatic. I normally burn 600 to 800 calories a day, either walking for about 90 minutes pushing my baby and my toddler in a buggy and/or attempting a fitness DVD, jogging or elliptical trainer. Today, I have only managed to burn 500 calories. I just haven't got the energy. I normally try to do about 100 adominal crunches also and have only got the energy to do 10!!!

I know I should give my body a rest now and again but have been stuck at the same weight for over a week and now feel guilty that I haven't been able to accomplish what I would normally. HELP!!!

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  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    You should never feel bad about your choices. They do not define who you are. They are just a moment in time. Sounds like you are similar to me . . . it is all or nothing.
    I have had to relax a bit and give myself the gift of patience at times in this journey, somthing it sounds like you could use as well.

    Seems like you are doing great so definately give yourself a break some days!
  • HeatherShrinking
    HeatherShrinking Posts: 805 Member
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    I think your body is telling you that you need a rest day
  • Kelsey214
    Kelsey214 Posts: 24 Member
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    Way to stay so motivated to keep exercising. Your body may just be wipped out, maybe a day of rest or some light exercise will do you good. Great job on exercising
  • CarrieAbbey
    CarrieAbbey Posts: 378 Member
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    Don't feel bad, Take a day of rest. You have to remember this is for the long haul, so there will be days that you don't feel like doing anymore and that's okay. Rest up today and you'll feel re-energized for tomorrow. :smile:
  • 4hotmama
    4hotmama Posts: 112 Member
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    I am in the same slump, sorry no help!! I burn about 600-700 calories per day also with my work outs, jogging, biking, elliptical. When I first got on MFP I dropped wieght right away, now it seems to be coming off more slowly, even though I have only been on here since the middle of January. Yet my friend that I exercise with every morning is dropping at least 2 pounds a week. I have not changed much looking back at calorie intake.

    The only thing is I realized when my time of month was coming I did not lose any weight that week or two before and then two days into when I got it I dropped like 4 lbs.
  • baghdaddymama
    baghdaddymama Posts: 3
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    Working out is definatly a science. Yesterday I was so sore I thought my arms and legs would break off. I really wanted to work out the next day, but listened to my body and gave myself a rest instead. So today when I worked out I was ready to rock and roll and did rather well and felt good. Recovery is a VERY important thing for your body to build muscle mass. If you don't give your body time to recover you will actually hurt yourself rather than help. You will not be able to work at the intensity that you wish for and you won't give your body a chance to build either. It can in fact depending on your diet start burning your muscle instead of fat depending on how you are working out and eating and what supplements you are taking. But another thing, do not step on a scale everyday. Especially with us being women we flutuate everday anyhow. Try to go on more how you feel, how you fit in your clothes and step on a scale maybe once every two or three weeks. And take pictures of yourself. I am doing that every month. Because I'll tell you, there are days where I feel like I have worked SO hard and not gotten anywhere. But if you see it for your self side-by-side you will see where and what you have done or what you need to improve on :) Good Luck to you!
  • dababers
    dababers Posts: 135
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    Exhaused all the time? Are you eating enough calories? Drinking enough water? Perhaps you are low in iron....that will make you feel wiped out. Maybe you need to give your body a rest day.
  • ashleighk2010
    ashleighk2010 Posts: 135
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    I've been in that place before, I burn similar calories on my workout days, but I find that I need one or two 'rest days'. I typically use one as a day normal calories/low exercise and the other as higher calories (from 1200 normal to up to 1600) and no exercise. It's kept me pretty steady losing at least 2lbs a week, last week almost 4lbs.
  • bobball
    bobball Posts: 57
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    First let me answer your question...no. You are trying which is better than most folks out there who really could not give a hoot whether they are in shape, so don't quit but do rest. Secondly, the only way to lose weight is to eat less than you burn, that does not mean you need to work out every day. Your body needs to rebuild the muscle (REST) so you can be stronger tomorrow. You should not exercise the same muscles every day, you should be resting them so they can recover. Overtraining will cause problems and can cause injury. I usually get sick when I overtrain, so take care of yourself. Change up your routine, try something new that works different muscles in a new way.

    Now that I have encouraged you, let me get real too. The "calorie burn" you are talking about as though it is accurate really is a TOTAL GUESS. Walking for 90 minutes does burn a lot of calories but how much depends on how often you do it, how in shape you are, how tired you are, what temp it is outside, the terrain, how much sleep you had the night before...etc. None of that is factored in.

    Walking is great but if you do it a few days a week or even once or twice a week for more than a month, your body adjusts to the exercise and burns a LOT less doing that activity. The human body can adapt really easily to exercise. It usually takes 3 weeks and the muscle memory makes you much more efficient, thus you burn a lot less if you stay doing the same activity.

    Change it up for the best burn. Rest, and watch your calories on the rest day. Get some extra sleep for a return of your energy.

    B
  • PeachyKeene
    PeachyKeene Posts: 1,645 Member
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    Take a little break! Don't beat yourself up about this. You working really hard on your fitness goals and you need a break every now and then. You should at least give yourself a day of rest. Everyday is to much, even for the most aggressive body builder. Giving your body a rest willl help it to kick back up your losing.
  • PeachyKeene
    PeachyKeene Posts: 1,645 Member
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    Walking is great but if you do it a few days a week or even once or twice a week for more than a month, your body adjusts to the exercise and burns a LOT less doing that activity. The human body can adapt really easily to exercise. It usually takes 3 weeks and the muscle memory makes you much more efficient, thus you burn a lot less if you stay doing the same activity.

    Change it up for the best burn. Rest, and watch your calories on the rest day. Get some extra sleep for a return of your energy.
    Agreed!
  • frannyannemum
    frannyannemum Posts: 142
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    Thanks very much for all the help and advice. I do have to take my eldest to nursery tomorrow but other than that, I am going to have a rest day. On Friday, will start plannig different exercise regimes and maybe think about how I can add changes to my diet.

    Thanks again and good luck to you all in your weight loss/gain/maintaining venture! :)
  • amyoliver85
    amyoliver85 Posts: 353 Member
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    I am a bit of a fitness fanatic. I normally burn 600 to 800 calories a day, either walking for about 90 minutes pushing my baby and my toddler in a buggy and/or attempting a fitness DVD, jogging or elliptical trainer. Today, I have only managed to burn 500 calories. I just haven't got the energy. I normally try to do about 100 adominal crunches also and have only got the energy to do 10!!!

    I know I should give my body a rest now and again but have been stuck at the same weight for over a week and now feel guilty that I haven't been able to accomplish what I would normally. HELP!!!

    Take a day of rest. I typically do 6 days a week and then rest one day. Sometimes I don't. But when I don't do a rest day, I cut my burn back on 1 or 2 days so I don't overkill the exercise. That can actually make it harder to lose weight anyway.

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