Trying to start again but always tired

craigp1981
craigp1981 Posts: 10 Member
in Getting Started
Hi,

Any advice here. I am trying to start my clean eating/exercise regime again for the umpteenth time but every time I do I fall victim to what I call the tiredness bug which will be partly (if not all) down to my poor diet and lack of exercise. My diet is pretty poor to say the least - pizza and chips (fries for you US folk) to name a few. I've gone from 15 stone two years ago to 20 stone now. Doing even half an hours cardio means I'm shattered the next day and when I'm shattered I am prone to poor food choices.

Any tips on how to break the cycle?

Replies

  • streamgirl
    streamgirl Posts: 207 Member
    It sounds like you have it all listed out here. Eat better foods which give you more energy. Don't worry about "clean eating"--whatever that means. Just eat less crap. Scale back cardio until you get the food figured out. Walk for 30 minutes. Set a goal that you can attain so you don't feel that you've failed. Eat more vegetables and walk 30 minutes every day for a week. If you get that, add on.
  • katrinajucohernandez
    katrinajucohernandez Posts: 1 Member
    try a step by step plan.

    week one - give up something you know is bad and replace it with something - ie when you want a soda, replace it with orange juice - natural sugar for energy and citrus to curb your appetite.

    and go week by week slowly adding new commitments, saving the hardest of course for last.

    as for the excercise, try doing it first thing in the morning. it keeps you energized all day. and work your way up. also look into bcaa, amino acids, and protein shakes.

    bcaa comes in fun fruit flavors and it will help your muscles replenish - they wont hurt as much. you can also drink it pre-work out to give you more energy.

    lastly , water. i find if i commit to drinking as much water as i can- having a full glass of water with me at all times, and willing myself to finish the water thats in front of me, it cuts down my cravings.

    and a tip:L your body craves whatever it does the most of. understanding that will hopefully give you a reason to commit. you wont always want pizza and chips. but you will keep wanting it if you keep eating it.
  • aamb
    aamb Posts: 377 Member
    have you had a check up at the quacks?
  • dee_nc
    dee_nc Posts: 3 Member
    What is baca?
  • Kristie354
    Kristie354 Posts: 85 Member
    craigp1981 wrote: »
    Hi,

    Any advice here. I am trying to start my clean eating/exercise regime again for the umpteenth time but every time I do I fall victim to what I call the tiredness bug which will be partly (if not all) down to my poor diet and lack of exercise. My diet is pretty poor to say the least - pizza and chips (fries for you US folk) to name a few. I've gone from 15 stone two years ago to 20 stone now. Doing even half an hours cardio means I'm shattered the next day and when I'm shattered I am prone to poor food choices.

    Any tips on how to break the cycle?

    I have zero advice for you lol but I will say, I feel your pain!! I am with you at the very beginning and am struggling with having zero energy. So instead of trying to do it all at once I'm going to get the eating right first then start the exercise in 14 days. I know if I'm under too much pressure I'll give in so that's my grand plan so far :)

    Good luck!!
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    Exercise is for fitness, so if exercise "shatters" you right now by all means don't do it. Focus first on losing some weight, all you have to do for that is eat less than you burn. Which, incidentally, you can do while still eating pizza and chips, you just have to moderate your intake.

    Tell you what - start out just by developing the habit of logging your food. Don't worry about cleaning things up for the first week or so, just eat as usual and log it. At the end of the week you'll have a solid picture of what you normally eat and how much, and you'll have an actual frame of reference for what you can do without, where you can cut out a few calories (oh, I ate 5 slices of pizza! Next time I'll stop at 2 and add a salad.) It's advice I wish I'd received and followed when I first started out, it would have been well worth my time to establish a baseline from which to make small, sustainable changes, instead of jumping in headfirst and being completely overwhelmed.
  • beatyfamily1
    beatyfamily1 Posts: 257 Member
    Limit how much of those types of foods you eat. Replace with vegetables as often as you can or something that doesn't make you tired. For me foods like pizza and fries make me tired and make me feel like crap. I'm not saying you can't have it, but limit how much of it you eat. Exercise will help you build your energy up, but you have to get the motivation to do it. Most of the time I have the best workouts when I feel like not doing it. Once I get going I feel like doing more. Make sure you get your B vitamins. They help convert food in to energy.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    You've got the answers right there. You've identified the problems as well as the solution.
    Remember those days when it was hammering down with rain but you'd tell yourself to "suck it up buttercup!" and you went out there and got the job done... You need to find that person again. He's still there and probably has more will power than you think but needs a kick up the backside. ;-)
  • mmmpork
    mmmpork Posts: 133 Member
    eat a salad?
  • girlonfire10
    girlonfire10 Posts: 41 Member
    I'm having the opposite problem, I started running 3-4 days a week in addition to my strength training and I have more energy than I know what to do with. Plus I am hungry all the time. I'm with you, I love the pizza and the chips...
  • tryasimighty
    tryasimighty Posts: 131 Member
    an iron supplement would be a good start!
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    Good advice here already. I'd just add - can you rearrange your day so you do your exercise early? A lot of people have troubles doing it at night after work and family stuff or whatever.
  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
    I love pizza too. I made a pizza last night with a cauliflower crust that was a healthy alternative to the thick crust pizza I love. Pick and choose your battles :)
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    tryasimighty wrote: »
    an iron supplement would be a good start!

    not without knowing if you're actually deficient first via blood testing, though...

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