Newbie needing help - muscle soreness, sleep, etc

thestoryofangelina
thestoryofangelina Posts: 34 Member
edited June 2022 in Getting Started
Hi there! I am sorry this may be long but don't want to leave any details out. I am needing help with muscle soreness, sleep, what to do with your daily calories when you sleep in, etc...

I am 37, started at 370 lbs and the big goal is to lose 200 lbs. For a girl, I do have a lot of strength (farm kid) but also, a lot of fat obviously. I recently went from couch potato, no activity except one PT session a week and alcohol intake 15+ alcohol drinks a week, 4-5 times eating out a week, averaging 5-6 hours of sleep per day to starting a HITT program (3x 30 min per week), trying to hit 5000 steps a day, 1 time eating out per week, 2-3 alcohol drinks per week and 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

In 5 weeks I am down 13 lbs and while my brain is saying that isn't good enough I know it is great progress (of course we expect to lose it overnight right?)

My questions...
1. Muscle soreness question - As I have started ramping up trying to get more cardio and walking in during the past 2 weeks, my calves are killing me! I have done foam rolling and stretching, putting on icy gel and I've gone for a massage but can't do that everyday... They are fine until at night when I got to bed and then they ache something fierce and I cannot sleep. There is some relief from all of what I am doing but they are still keeping me awake. I aslo want to caveat that I do have good shoes with my orthotics. Any pointers?

2. Sleep - so with this new routine by the time Friday and Saturday come I am beat. I am sleeping for like 12 hours and missing breakfast. Should I try and force awake after 8? What do I do with those missed breakfast calories? Try and eat them still? Or eat them?

4. Speaking of calories... I have MFP set up for the 1.5lb weight loss (not adding back in exercise calories and set at sedentary lifestyle) but because of my current weight that is a LOT of calories. Do I need to eat them all? I find I am some days 200-300 calories short. (usually eating 1800-1900 with suggested 2120)

5. Rest days - I know I have put my body through a shock; so how many of these should I be aiming for? Right now I have the 3 times a week HITT (did that for 3 weeks, then started to increase walking on alternate days to 2 times per week) so are the 2 rest days enough? With being so tired I wonder if I am running myself ragged but also don't want to be lax with such a big goal.

6. Pre-workout - So before my workout I have a protein shake (almond milk, protein powder, tbsp peanut butter) but I find I need a little extra oomph. My trainer said to get some carbs - any tips of good carbs before a workout (I typically go to the gym between 5-6pm)

Thanks in advance for any insight. This has been a very trying 5 weeks but I have better energy when I am not dead tired and am feeling a lot better!

Replies

  • _ORIGINAL_BEAST_
    _ORIGINAL_BEAST_ Posts: 118 Member
    You may just be over working those muscles especially if you're just starting with working out.
    The eating part is a problem for me and im trying to get it under control I just love sweets.
  • _ORIGINAL_BEAST_
    _ORIGINAL_BEAST_ Posts: 118 Member
    And I definitely need to sleep more im around 5 or 6 hours myself.
  • Giddy72
    Giddy72 Posts: 33 Member
    Muscle Soreness : it is important, no VERY important to take 10 minutes to stretch before and AFTER exercise. Google some stretches or even Youtube some videos as you should never bounce, just gradually push the stretch deeper. I played American Football and found that a 'Diorlyte' (a UK brand of salt replacement for stomach upset) sachet in my drink during the game really helped with muscle pain the following day - that worked for me and added 3 years to my career, once I had discovered it
  • capgordon1293
    capgordon1293 Posts: 149 Member
    Hey there you doing amazing first of all . I hear u with the muscle soreness its a pain . But definitely warm up and good stretches and foam rolling is good I invested in a physo gun its amazing but started using ice baths after workouts and wow what a difference just sit in ice bath for 15 to 20 min no only did it help me muscle recover so quick but it almost completely reduced the soreness . As well as that have a cold shower in morning it has help me both physically and mentally and reduced my stress level .
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 873 Member
    1. Muscle soreness: would you be able to get your electrolytes checked? You could add in a supplement like Nuun or Liquid IV or something and see if that helps. But it could also be DOMS, which is generally more about inflammation....just depends. Could be related to rest days as well.
    2/3. Sleep: you should try to keep the same sleep routine/schedule every day of the week. I know lots of people like to stay up later on the weekends...but you should be trying to go to bed and get up at the same time every day. You shouldn't really feel that significantly more tired on a weekend day than a weekday I'd say but there are so many factors that can affect your sleep/energy level. Did you mention specifically WHY you are not eating back your exercise calories??? If you used MFP to calculate your daily calorie goal then you should be eating them back - that's the way MFP is set up to work. So your exhaustion could absolutely be related to undereating. Being 1-200 calories under your daily calorie goal isn't a problem typically as long as it's not an everyday thing --- but it's unclear to me whether you mean 1-200 under your SEDENTARY calorie goal or under the calorie goal that MFP is giving you with your workout added (or are you not logging your cardio workout in MFP?). If you are not logging your cardio workout and are still under your daily calorie goal then you aren't only 1-200 calories below your goal, you are 1-200 PLUS whatever you burned during your workout, which might be way too much.
    4. Rest days: There's not really any way for me to tell you how many rest days you need....you have to pay attention and listen to your body. I personally run 3 days/week (go to the gym and do strength training 2 days either when I run or hike/walk), hike or walk 2 days/week, and then have 1-2 days of actual non-active rest. I base whether I need to rest largely on how I'm feeling (do I feel energetic or lethargic?) and what my running progress is like. For example, my current long run is ~8-9 miles. I went out for my regular long run one day (I knew I wasn't feeling 100% bc I had overdid my weight a little at the gym)...and I got to ~4miles and felt like absolute trash. My pace was trash (like 2min/mile slower than normal)....so I just stopped my run and walked the rest of the way and then actually rested the next 3 days. I typically wouldn't take 3 days of doing nothing...but that's what I needed. You have to sort of figure it out as you go along.
    5. Pre-workout: you're working out a bit late for something like an actual pre-workout supp with caffeine IMO so I'd steer clear of that (unless this isn't a problem for you). I personally am also very sensitive to them. I did a 5k race in the morning at a music festival and used a packet of Celsius pre-workout and I was WIRED, lol so now if I used that I only use half the packet). As far as 'good carbs'...all carbs are good carbs but if you are specifically wanting it for your workout, choose something that is a simple carb vs. a complex carb. You can use a gel or something for like 20g of simple sugar that can give your body readily available energy. You can eat some gummy bears. You can have a serving of mashed potatoes. Really doesn't matter as long as you are shooting for ~20-25 grams of simple carbohydrates.

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