Advice needed

I'm so sorry for your loss.

For your questions:
-Are you eating or drinking anything before workout? I have to workout on a totally empty stomach or I get sickly, especially if I'm doing moves that have me facing the ground or bouncing a lot.
-Are you going from "nothing to everything" too fast given the break you took? It is ok to get back into fitness gradually and build up your strength!

Also a reminder that you don't have to exercise to lose weight. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate to adjust to, and maybe it would be more habit forming to focus on portion size and nutrition side of the journey for now?

Sorry if that wasn't super helpful =/ Sending you huge hugs and well wishes!

Are you eating something that's making you nauseous or is working out in the morning making you nauseous? I'd try doing the opposite of what you do on the mornings you feel sick. What about going for walks after dinner with your boyfriend and dog? You could also work out at the gym twice during the week and once on weekends. Another option is at-home workouts, just learned about the app FitOn and YouTube has workouts like Fitness Blender.

Could you run with your dog? Either on your own or with your partner. I know nothing of dogs and their sizes so I don't know if this is feasible.

hollyntuttle95 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies! For whatever reason, if I wake up before six I'm extremely nauseous whether I eat something or not and it's been that way for years. I've gotten the mini pouches of unsweetened applesauce to eat before I work out, and it helps some but not a whole lot.

On the nutrition side of things, I feel like I've got a good handle there. My biggest downfall is pop, which as the weather gets colder here in Michigan, I've been trying to switch to drinking hot tea w/ honey instead.

We do walk my dog for about a half hour every work day to get her energy out (she's a year old goldendoodle), I just don't feel like it's enough of a workout for me because it's always been part of our routine.

I've also been trying my friends beach body workouts with her and again I don't feel like they are strenuous enough. My heart rate doesn't get into the cardio zone until the very end of the workout and for a brief period of time. I end up going to the gym before or after. I don't feel like I'm pushing myself too fast too soon, I've actually been feeling great other than the early morning nausea. 😞

There's nothing magical about heart rate zones, when it comes to weight loss. Any activity, including walking your dog, burns calories.

Exercising more intensely burns more calories per minute, sure. But exercising too intensely tends to make us fatigued. If we overexercise to the point of dragging through the rest of our day, maybe even resting more, that wipes out some of the calorie benefits of the exercise.

The "fat burning heart rate zone" is irrelevant for weight loss. If we're in a calorie deficit - eating fewer calories than our all-day burn, including job, housework, exercise and everything - we'll burn stored fat. The "fat burning zone" is only about how activity is fueled at the moment we're doing it, and is really only important for endurance athletes and their fueling strategies. For dieters, our bodies will balance accounts using up stored body fat, sooner or later during the day.

Just try to add activity in ways that are practical and enjoyable for you, and eat the right number of calories to lose at a sensibly moderate rate for the amount of activity you do. That's how weight loss happens.

For fitness, gradually increase activity type, duration, frequency and/or intensity so that you're always challenging yourself a manageable bit (but not becoming burned out, drained, or exhausted), and you'll progress.

Best wishes!

hollyntuttle95 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies! For whatever reason, if I wake up before six I'm extremely nauseous whether I eat something or not and it's been that way for years. I've gotten the mini pouches of unsweetened applesauce to eat before I work out, and it helps some but not a whole lot.

On the nutrition side of things, I feel like I've got a good handle there. My biggest downfall is pop, which as the weather gets colder here in Michigan, I've been trying to switch to drinking hot tea w/ honey instead.

We do walk my dog for about a half hour every work day to get her energy out (she's a year old goldendoodle), I just don't feel like it's enough of a workout for me because it's always been part of our routine.

I've also been trying my friends beach body workouts with her and again I don't feel like they are strenuous enough. My heart rate doesn't get into the cardio zone until the very end of the workout and for a brief period of time. I end up going to the gym before or after. I don't feel like I'm pushing myself too fast too soon, I've actually been feeling great other than the early morning nausea. 😞

You are getting in your own way. You have set a standard for exercise and activity that does not belong for burning calories. Every muscle you engage for any reason is burning energy from the smallest gesture to the most rigorous exercise.

You also need to be careful how you phrase things because some people feel fortunate to do what you dismiss as not enough. I was once one of those people.

Allow yourself to move through phases of change instead of jumping ahead. Think of it as building a house. You don't install the windows while you currently need to be laying blocks for the foundation.

Are you going to sleep earlier so you can still get enough sleep when you are planning to wake up earlier to work out? If not, you may need to shift your sleep schedule a bit at both ends. It may also be good to try a more gradual transition into early rising and workouts. Maybe just start by waking up 10 minutes earlier than usual and do some body weight exercises at home before you get ready, then slowly build onto that?