Feeling Lost & In Need of a Compatible Plan

Enchanting_Carrot · August 2023

I'm a 42 year old woman, petite, and on paper I'm where I need to be in terms of weight. As I got closer to my 40s and due to the pandemic, I've gone through some changes and I'm not happy where I am. My endurance is low, I don't feel strong or toned as I used to be. I also experience a lot of aches. Despite being skinny, my fat levels weren't that great. Walking regularly every week has helped lower my cholesterol but it didn't help me feel stronger.

I feel so alone and lost, because whenever I reach out to a nutritionist or a personal trainer, I'm told I don't need to follow a conventional plan for losing weight or toning. I get the impression I'm not taken seriously and I leave without a clear picture of what I need to do. It aggravates my imposter syndrome and I don't feel good. I understand well that I'm not overweight but I still would like to lose just a little bit of weight to help my aching body. I might even be a little apprehensive about mentioning my weight to avoid a reaction that makes me feel bad about myself. I'm currently 125lb (57kg) and I would like to go down closer to my previous weight (119/120lb-54kg). The reason I need and not just want to do that is because I noticed even if I add one extra kg it affects my body aches.

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and my doctor mentioned that each 1kg is the equivalent of 4 on weak limbs. I need more time to heal between workouts than I used to. I've been athletic my whole life but now I noticed I need more time between workouts. I can't workout everyday. Sometimes I need 2 rest days instead of 1. During my monthly cycle, I feel very sore and sensitive. Supplementing with vitamins helped me tremendously but I'm still also trying to figure out how to balance things.

Due to also being around immune-compromised relatives, I don't want to workout at the gym anymore. I have my own gym at home, but I just need to figure out what plan to follow.

I was hoping someone can help recommend a starting point, whatever that is--a book, service, or fitness plan subscription. I feel I need a goal that's broken down week-by-week to build accountability.

If you can relate to any of this, have more experience, or have relevant information to share, I'd love to learn and hear from you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

claireychn074 · August 2023

I’m 49, hypermobile (mild), in perimenopause and also quite petite. I don’t have fibro so what worked for me might not be good for you.

I had put in roughly a stone in two years following a shoulder injury and whilst my BMI was okay, I didn’t like how I looked and felt. I managed to find an experienced and qualified strength and conditioning coach (UK) as I knew I needed more than an average gym instructor (no offence to anyone reading this, but I am a qualified martial arts instructor so I knew some stuff and I wanted someone with more experience than me). My direct instruction to my S&C coach was that I wanted to lose fat and get strong again. I didn’t have to worry about my weight so I said I was happy to weigh the same as long as it was muscle and not fat.

He started me on a series of rehab work, tailored to my injury and abilities. He was so good at working with my body and helping me to recover from illnesses and non-gym related injuries that 7 years later I’m still with him. And he now coaches me in weightlifting comps.

So, the morale of my story is to keep looking for someone that suits YOU. We do need more rest and recovery as we get older but it doesn’t mean we can’t still push ourselves. I lost the stone, have put on about half of that back in mostly muscle (and some fat, but I did get down to about 15% which wasn’t that good for me), am stronger than ever and also have to eat a LOT of calories for my size. Be confident in what you want and don’t get discouraged from finding someone that can help you and work with your condition.

yirara · August 2023

You use kg as unit. Are you in a country where physiotherapy is readily available to you? Maybe it's a good idea to start out with a pt who knows about fibro and build strength from there. You probably have to listen to your body a fair bit and going hard to regain lots of muscle quickly might be counterproductive for you. Can you walk and swim to regain stamina? Or cycle?

Enchanting_Carrot · August 2023

@claireychn074 Your comment and story was so inspiring. Thank you so much. I think I will continue trying to find someone to help me. In most places, the really good ones are so difficult to book, but we'll see how it goes.

@yirara Ironically my experience with physiotherapy was so bad

I tried several places but I either felt worse or did not see good results. I also tried Chiro and that left me in horrible tears and seriously feeling sick. I do well with massages though. I will try to experiment to see what works with me. Walking is great for regaining stamina but it wasn't toning my body or improving my strength. I need to be consistent though to see good results. Thank you for taking the time 🙏🏻

COGypsy · August 2023

What about starting with yoga, at least while you're looking for something more customized? Yoga with Adriene on YouTube does 30-day series centered around different themes. Maybe dive into one of those as a place to start. It would get you moving and help build body strength without as much stress as other kinds of strength training. Something is better than nothing, right?

Enchanting_Carrot · August 2023

@COGypsy It's definitely better than nothing. I'll look up the 30-day series. I don't think I came across it before. Thank you 🙏🏻

karahm78 · August 2023

Hit the weights!

pridesabtch · August 2023

I would suggest a a quick cardio warm up (15-20 minutes) followed by a beginners weight program. One I have used is Strong Lifts for Women. It won't make you bulky, but it will increase your strength and make your body more firm assuming you don't have much weight to lose.

Feeling Lost & In Need of a Compatible Plan

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