Full time nurse and exhausted with current work out routine.

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ValgA
ValgA Posts: 30
in Fitness and Exercise
HI! I'm a full time nurse at a busy cardio unit. Most days I work 7am- 7pm with alternating 8 hour shifts (7a-3-, or 3p-11p). I can work 2-4 days out of the week or even more- depending on how my schedule is fixed (as long as the hours total up to 40).

When I started out with MFP, it was really tough, but eventually I found my niche. I did intense cardio on my days off at the gym- usually 3 times out of the week and I managed to get to my goal weight. I set a second goal, but then a few weeks ago, I hit a plateau so I started running about 4 miles in the evening to alternate with my gym schedule. After about a week and a half, I managed to get over that plateau- so I decided to continue my runs every night after my 12 hr shifts, and then go to the gym on my days off to do cardio and weights.

At first, it was fine- exhausting, but ok, but then lately working out feels more like a burden, instead of the boost it was before.
More often then not, the unit can get busy so I've been finding I'm leaving at almost eight to eight -thirty pm. As a result, I'll start my runs at 9pm or 930pm. My runs are about 48 minutes So I can finish at about 10- 1030pm. Afterwards, I go home, cool down and then I have to plan my meals for the next day. This can take a few hours and sometimes I'll stay up until 12-1am just trying to set everything up. The next day I'm on my feet again all day at work, and by the time the end of the shift comes, I have so little energy. My runs feel slow and non productive and I've begun to hate working out. I've tried going after my 8 hour shifts but these usually come after my 12 hour shift days and I'm exhausted by the end of the day.

I tried giving myself "rest days" (where I don't workout) out of the week, but then I'm finding now that I'm always SO HUNGRY. I was always craving food before, but the intensity had diminished as I developed my routine; but now it feels like it's back with a vengeance. I'm thinking about food all the time and there are times I just can't seem to satisfy my hunger. I end up trying to work out anyway or going over my daily calories.

Can you guys offer any suggestions? I'm desperate to get back on track. I've left my profile open and would love any critiques regarding my diet or my exercise routine! Sorry about the fluctuating calorie's from exercising- I've been attempting to find a good "calories-loss calculator" to accurately figure out how much I'm burning. I don't have way to really monitor my calories loss when I'm not running at the gym.

Replies

  • Darges
    Darges Posts: 6
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    Hitting cardio hard isnt always the answer. You want to find yourself a HiIT (High intensity interval training) routine. They are so hard they usually only take 10-15 minutes and only need to be done twice a week.
    If done correctly you cause an EPOC in your body (Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). This ramps your BMR (basal metabolic rate) through the roof, and you can have upto 13% for 16 hours and a further 4-13% increased metabolic rate over 36 hours. This is far better than standard cardio because you are continuing to burn more calories.

    I dont do any traditional cardio, i do a HiiT routine with my barbell after a weights session. It lasts no longer than 10 minutes and im stripping body fat away.
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
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    Are you eating your exercise calories? Are you eating enough protein? Drinking enough water?
  • ValgA
    ValgA Posts: 30
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    Are you eating your exercise calories? Are you eating enough protein? Drinking enough water?

    Sorry about that! I actually do try to eat off at least some of my exercise calories. Although I have to admit the week where I was running almost daily I was only estimating how munch I was loosing since I was sure how fast I was running- I know for those days I was careful not to over eat on my calories. I've been good about my water intake I think. I try to drink at least 1.5L a day.
  • ValgA
    ValgA Posts: 30
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    Hitting cardio hard isnt always the answer. You want to find yourself a HiIT (High intensity interval training) routine. They are so hard they usually only take 10-15 minutes and only need to be done twice a week.
    If done correctly you cause an EPOC in your body (Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). This ramps your BMR (basal metabolic rate) through the roof, and you can have upto 13% for 16 hours and a further 4-13% increased metabolic rate over 36 hours. This is far better than standard cardio because you are continuing to burn more calories.

    I dont do any traditional cardio, i do a HiiT routine with my barbell after a weights session. It lasts no longer than 10 minutes and im stripping body fat away.

    I know I need to incoroporate a weight routine into my weekly exercise schedule (I've been doing straight cardio lately) but HiiT sounds like something I should try out. How many times do you this in a week?
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    Seems that you're simply under eating.
  • jayb0ne
    jayb0ne Posts: 644 Member
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    Generally (and it is a generalisation), if you're physically exhausted, you're either not eating enough of the right foods or you're not getting enough rest.

    Sleep/rest is a very important part of the bigger picture. It's all about trying to find a balance between eating, exercising and resting that works for you.

    Hope you can figure it out.
  • Darges
    Darges Posts: 6
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    Hitting cardio hard isnt always the answer. You want to find yourself a HiIT (High intensity interval training) routine. They are so hard they usually only take 10-15 minutes and only need to be done twice a week.
    If done correctly you cause an EPOC in your body (Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). This ramps your BMR (basal metabolic rate) through the roof, and you can have upto 13% for 16 hours and a further 4-13% increased metabolic rate over 36 hours. This is far better than standard cardio because you are continuing to burn more calories.

    I dont do any traditional cardio, i do a HiiT routine with my barbell after a weights session. It lasts no longer than 10 minutes and im stripping body fat away.

    I know I need to incoroporate a weight routine into my weekly exercise schedule (I've been doing straight cardio lately) but HiiT sounds like something I should try out. How many times do you this in a week?


    If its done right, you wont be able to do it more than twice because of the recovery period. Also drinking green tea is another way to boost the bmr without doing endless amounts of cardio. Something called Thermogenesis occurs in the body, basically it is a process to generate heat, and it uses fat to do this, thus burning more fat :)

    A sample HiiT routine for running is, a very light jog for 1 minute, then sprint for 45 seconds, back to a jog for 1 minute, sprint for 50 seconds and so on until you sprint for a minute. Do this for about 10 minutes and as you advance go up to 15 minutes say in a few months. Doing this twice a week and drinking green tea i found to be phenomenal fat burning routines. Like i said, i do ZERO traditional cardio, i weight lift 3 times a week which is about 40 minutes which obviously burns a lot of calories too.


    Jogging is regarded by many as a negative exercise unless your training to be a runner. Incorrect posture, bad shoes and high impact can cause some serious damage unless you do it right. I ruined my lower back jogging up a hill one day which is when i found out about HiiT and other alternatives
  • spoiledwife12
    spoiledwife12 Posts: 151 Member
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    I can't see your diary so I'll just add on to the great advice already given. It does sound like you're not eating enough. I fully comprehend how exhausting those nursing shifts are. I only do two a week and sometimes it's too much.

    I know it's often difficult to eat at regular intervals during your shifts but as long as you can eat every few hours and incorporate some protein each time, this should help.

    Turbo Fire and Cathe Friedrich ( among many others) have awesome HIIT routines. Strength training will also build your endurance and give you more energy.

    Just my $0.02 :):)
  • Darges
    Darges Posts: 6
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    And following onto what spoiledwife12 said, strength training will give you extra muscle, and extra muscle means even more fat burned :)
  • ValgA
    ValgA Posts: 30
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    Thanks for the awesome advice guys! Your info has definitely helped! Ehh, let me check my diary settings - I thought I made it public.....^^; s
  • 1a1a
    1a1a Posts: 761 Member
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    bump

    oh, and have you considered trying yoga?
  • ValgA
    ValgA Posts: 30
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    bump

    oh, and have you considered trying yoga?

    I've always been interested/curious about it, but I've been afraid to try since I've had two back injuries from work. I have a small herniation so far and the positions make me worry about injuring myself again.

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