beyond frustrated

Congrats on the huge accomplishment of losing 40 lbs! That's a big deal, and you should definitely be proud of it.

Kudos to you for working out with a trainer - that shows serious motivation and persistence. But if it were me, I'd talk to him/her and see if your workout can be modified a bit to make it more bearable. If you are getting sick and dizzy when exercising, you aren't likely to want to continue.

Consider whether you are fueling your workouts properly.

It happens to all of us! I am actually quite a fit person (I participate in adventure races and have been training hard for a few years now) but I still get super puffed and sometimes get the "vomit burps" during a Personal Training session. They are there to push you to your limits! Don't feel bad, it just means you're going at your hardest which some people do not do! You go girl!

(I'll add here that I actually have vomited during workouts in the past. And I know my trainer, who is my sister, has too. It's not pleasant but it means you're pushing yourself hard, so don't beat yourself up about it! Just take a rest and a sip of water)

jofjltncb6 wrote: »

MireyGal76 wrote: »

How many calories are you consuming a day, and what is your current weight / height?

Is it possible that you aren't nourishing your body adequately for the work you are asking it to do?

Congrats on the weight loss!

^ exactly my thought. Perhaps you aren't eating enough calories to sustain your level of effort in the gym. If so, then no, you won't be able to improve your conditioning like you could if you ate sufficient calories.

I was thinking this same thing when I read your post. After 60lbs lost I hit a plateau and actually increased my calories to accommodate my workouts which were pretty strenuous. It seemed like I was eating enough, but when it came to running and weights, it was not sufficient. These two posters make a very good point.

Lestan48 wrote: »

I was seeing a dietitian and she said "no less than 1900 calories" Well she was fat and did not understand my training.
My pharmacist told me to see Brian a Sports Nutritionist who worked at the pharmacy.
He worked out "No more than 1700 calories average per week, more when over 500 calories training a day, less when less than 500 calories training, NO training then 1700 food calories"
In 2 weeks I have LOST over 1.5 kg LOST 1.2% BF and GAINED 2% muscle
He told me to have 1 slice granary toast + banana before cardio in morning and then have breakfast, wait one hour and do weights and then have protein shake.
Prior to him I was getting up, doing cardio on empty stomach and burning glycogen in muscles NOT fat, then having breakfast.
I was a body builder for years and work out only at home now, much easier, I am 66 and happy with my progress.

Each person is different. I weigh 120, 5'6 and could not maintain my level of training on so few calories. Since I have very little extra body fat, I can't afford to go that low. Not to mention, my performance suffers when I don't get my cals high enough.

A few thoughts from a runner...

#1. Check your schedule to make sure you're giving yourself rest days. It sounds valiant to work yourself to the bone day after day, but it actually doesn't help long term. Workouts and training literally tear your body down. In the running community, we talk about rest days (non-running) and cutback weeks (where all of training is reduced by about 25-50%). Rest days and cutback weeks give your body time to rebuild. It feels lazy... emphasis on feels. Rest days and cutback weeks are anything but lazy. You're giving your body the energy it needs to rebuild. It's like letting a concrete foundation cure for a while before you try to build on top of it. The cool thing with your body is that when it rebuilds, it rebuilds stronger than it was before. That's the basic principle of exercise and training: Workouts tear the body down, and the body responds by rebuilding stronger. Rest days and cutback weeks give your body extra energy to rebuild more effectively. Make sure you're resting adequately.

#2. As others said, make sure you're fueling enough before your workout. I know I have a strong tendency to want to wait until after I've logged a workout before I let myself consume any of the calories burned. I've learned the hard way that it's not a good habit. Your body needs calories to burn calories. You need to make sure you're not going to dip below your basal metabolic rate (the calories your body needs to do basic things like breathing and pumping blood) during your workout. That's a guaranteed way to make your body flip out. When I ran a half marathon, I knew that feeling weak, lightheaded, and nauseous was a sign that I should have eaten one of my energy foods a few miles back. Thankfully, I had stuff that would kick in quick, but it's so important to make sure you fuel your workouts. If you're worried that eating before a workout will make you queasy, make sure you give yourself enough time to digest (about an hour, if you can) and try different foods. I know everyone is different, but a lot of runners have something like a banana and a small bowl of oatmeal or piece of toast about an hour or so before a long run and feel fine.

#3. This is a big one: Know that even the most elite athletes have days like that. So many times, I've read articles and books and interviews with Olympic athletes, and I can't tell you how often I hear them encourage others by talking about their bad days. Kara Goucher is one of the top female runners in the US. She's tough as nails, and she openly talks about days when she went to go for a run and ended up scrapping it after just a few miles. The woman runs marathons at the Olympic level, and she has days where she just can't do a few miles. It happens to absolutely everyone. Don't let it get you down.

"Strength does not come from physical capacity - it comes from an indomitable will." - Ghandi


Best of Luck!
Michele

Congrats on how you are doing so far. You may not need to get as much intensity in your workouts to see progress. Some of my workouts make me see stars, but I have yet to vomit, and have lost almost 110 lbs (20 before MFP). It takes time to build muscle, but it is worth the time.

I get frustrated with myself, and tired, and my progress is not linear. I try to get motivation by my increased range of motion, higher energy levels, overall faster jogging speed (does not apply to all jogs), higher weights used in resistance exercise, etc. It never seems like enough in the moment, but when I look back, I've made a lot of progress.

I'm not happy with the way I look, but I have lost 13 inches in my waist and 16 in my hips, and I really believe that the next 40+ pounds will make a big difference.

You are doing a great thing for yourself, and you will see amazing returns on your investment. Stay strong

MireyGal76 wrote: »

jofjltncb6 wrote: »

kassiesauntie wrote: »

im eating between 1250 and 1300 calories a day sometimes on a "bad" day i eat 1500 but thats pretty rare

I'm making a lot of assumptions about your current weight, but that seems to me to be way too low...especially if you're active in the gym. I would expect you should be eating closer to at least 1800 daily.

What you're calling a "bad" day, I would call "closer to optimal".

(All of this assumes that you are accurately weighing and measuring your food.)

I've been speaking offline with the OP and completely agree with Jof... the drastic calorie drop is contributing to the weight loss, yes, but it is putting her body under a lot of stress.

In situations like this, where you have a higher amount of weight to lose, don't forget that you also have to allow your mind and emotions time to adjust to the losses. Sometimes a slower loss is easier on your body, mind, and soul - and way easier to sustain in the long run.

Congrats, OP, on your dedication to change - but I encourage you to take your time.

Awesome. OP, please listen to what MireyGal76 says in your discussion. She knows her stuff and will get you on the right path. You've already made some incredible progress and taken the toughest (aka first) steps to reaching your goals. The good news is, with a few tweaks that I expect she'll lay out for you, the process will actually get much easier...and you'll start seeing that progress in the gym you're wanting.

I'll look forward to an update post from you in a month or two describing all of the benefits you've experienced from making this adjustment.

kassiesauntie wrote: »

im eating between 1250 and 1300 calories a day sometimes on a "bad" day i eat 1500 but thats pretty rare

Tbh this sounds crazy and as i thought and others said before you need to make sure your body is fueled. It doesnt sound like you are eating enough generally or for your workout.

Also at your weight and im guessing here, then your trainer should be making sure you do appropriate exercise, it needs to push you, but you cna keep on witn intensity and duration as you go along. You need to build up fitness over time and it will come.