I Feel Like Death

I feel like death too, but I LIKE that feeling. Maybe it's just a personal preference thing... I will say I wasn't born loving it. It was an aquired taste. Give it a couple years like I did, and you'll be hooked.

How long have you been working out?

Are you eating properly to fuel your workouts?

Since I can't see your diary, this is just my opinion...

If you're just starting out, and going at it too hard -- especially in the first week or so -- you can feel like death.
But if you've been doing it for a little while (even for just a couple of weeks), and that feeling hasn't passed, you might need to eat more, drink more, or dial the workout back a little bit.

Everyone feels like they have to "drag" themselves to the gym sometimes...but the only times I've felt like that CONSISTENTLY are when I was over-training, or not getting enough fuel to make it through my workouts especially if the workouts got tougher. When everything is in balance for me, I feel like SUPERWOMAN.

I get that a lot, but it seems to depend on my mood. Sometimes I have to drag myself to the gym and feel liek I just ran a marathon after 1/2 hour. One day, I was all changed and at the front door of the gym, but I felt so crappy and unmotivated that I turned around and went home! Then there are the days I work my tuchas off and feel pumped afterwards (it's short-lived, but I'll take it). If you make working out a natural part of your weekly (or daily) routine, the death feeling will wear off a bit and, hopefully, it'll turn into a I-just-worked-out-sweatfest feeling.

Good luck!

Here is my thoughts. When I went to the gym, I had to force myself on a treadmill. I hate running and even walking stationary. However, I do love to swim laps, take walks in the woods, and most recently mountain biking. Maybe, the gym scene isn't your thing. The only way I could stand to sit on a machine (elliptical) was to watch the Simpsons... and after 30 minutes I was off. I liked the gym for the camaraderie, and the weight lifting side of it, but I could never get used to sitting still and doing cardio.

If your gym has a pool, try swimming some laps. Swimming can be great exercise, and very relaxing too. Exercising outside may help you get the thrill of a workout. Unfortunately, now the weather is turning sour so, you might want to run a bit faster.

Good luck!

I want to throw this out there and see if it's just me...

My whole life I have been told by everyone around me that if you exercise you will feel better after, or that after establishing a fitness routine if you miss a day you will feel like crap. ...Well this isn't true for me. If I don't go to the gym I feel relaxed, and if I do go I have to force myself every step of the way and afterwards I feel like death... Is this just me?

It sounds like you need to find a form of exercise outsie the gym.

This was going to be my suggestiong too. You obviously don't like going to the gym, maybe look into some other form of excercise, biking, swimming, hiking, boot camp, team sports, cross fit, yoga, there are a lot of other options that you might enjoy better.

Yes I am eating plenty of calories including making up for the ones I burn at the gym. I am drinking plenty of water almost a gallon a day. I have been working our 6 days a week for about a month and a half and I WAS running for an hour each time (about 5 miles), but when it didn't get easier I cut it back to speed walking for a half hour (about 2.5 miles) 5 days a week and switched from interval runs to a weight loss program run which is similar but not as extreme, but it hasn't gotten any better. I don't know if it is just a state of mind thing but it doesn't seem to be effected by my mood... no matter what kind of day I'm having I still hate going, I still have to force myself for every step, and I still feel like I'm about to die when I get home...

Maybe you just need to find a workout that you love! When I was first starting out, I tried running. But even as a skinny kid, I HATED running, and could never even do a mile in less than 13 minutes (in that elementary school fitness test every year). So I stopped running, and started doing Zumba. I NEVER miss my Tuesday class, and most weeks, I'll go on Thursday, too. During a really good week, I'll go Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, just because I love it.

I'm not saying that you should stop running all together, and take up Zumba, lol. That's just what worked for me. But try some classes, or a bike, or the elliptical! Working out shouldn't be dreaded, and make you feel crappy. It just takes some time to figure out what is right for you. Good luck!

If I was running on a treadmill I would feel the same way. I love to run outside but I hate treadmills. I can spin and be happy with it indoors but I can't do the treadmill.

Yes I am eating plenty of calories including making up for the ones I burn at the gym. I am drinking plenty of water almost a gallon a day. I have been working our 6 days a week for about a month and a half and I WAS running for an hour each time (about 5 miles), but when it didn't get easier I cut it back to speed walking for a half hour (about 2.5 miles) 5 days a week and switched from interval runs to a weight loss program run which is similar but not as extreme, but it hasn't gotten any better. I don't know if it is just a state of mind thing but it doesn't seem to be effected by my mood... no matter what kind of day I'm having I still hate going, I still have to force myself for every step, and I still feel like I'm about to die when I get home...

Hmmm....Not to over-react, but have you had a stress test, or an EKG with your doc, or at least a complete physical? Maybe there's something going on physically that's wiping you out....?

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism a year ago, and it took two years of talking about it and repeated testing to figure it out, and I felt exhausted all the time. My father and his brothers had bouts of that kind of exhaustion, and they all had hereditary blockages in their arteries (nothing to do w/how well they ate, or worked out) and didn't know until a doc found it and had all the others tested.

Maybe your body is trying to tell you that something else is wrong...?

remeber that you don't just lose water and calories when you workout. You also deplete your glycogen and possibly sodium. try eating some quick absorbing carbs about 30 minutes before exercise. Then have a good post-exercise snack, that includes lots of carbs and protein. You also may need to eat something salty if you workout for a really long time and only drink lots of water.

I get terrible post-exercise HA's when I'm out of shape. They go away when I'm in shape though.