I feel so exhausted today....and that's a danger zone for me to turn to eating! Help!

I have really upped my exercise this past week....and added weight training. I thought I should feel better, afterall, it is one of the promises of exercise isn't it? But I feel physically so tired.

I am trying to tell myself that it's OK to have a rest day....my body needs to recover and build all that new muscle tissue....but tiredness can lead to wanting more calories....I'm 46, so I may be a chick, but I'm not a spring chicken anymore!

Any advice? Is this normal?

Thanks,
thinkerbell

Oh yes, your muscles do need a rest period! That's why some folks do upper body one day and lower body another. Some even do a four day split.

Muscle is built when teeny tiny tears heal. They won't heal healthily if you work them too often (simple, perhaps not accurate explanation, but close)

If you're tired and sore from working out, drink lots, eat something healthy. A few extra calories won't hurt much. And instead of lifting today do something more gentle like walking or stretching. Yoga?

Weight training, especially when you first start it or really ramp it up is EXHAUSTING. It really is. But you will get past it.

Are you eating enough protein, especially immediately after each workout? You should eat something with protein in it within an hour of your weight lifting if at all humanly possible. It will really help with the tiredness.

Also if you're weight lifting, it's ok to add a few extra calories to your diet, at least at first. You shoudln't expect to lose any weight when you first start weight lifting anyway - due to the water retention in your muscles and so forth.

I'd say allow yourself a few extra calories, lots of protein, and make sure to rest your muscles. This will pass ... but yeah you'll feel exhausted for a little bit until your body becomes accustomed.

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I think maybe your body is telling you something. 1. i think you need to give it a rest day. It needs time to repair the muscles 2. like photo said you might want to up the calories just a tad and make sure you are getting enough protein.

Thank you candykisses, photochick and susan for your supportive replies....they really do help.

And it does make sense that my body may be asking for extra calories as the engines have been turned on full steam.....my muscles are probably in shock! "Hey what's going on here!".

I don't want to give the impression that my weight training is intense ....I am following Denise Austin's strength training routine in her book Jumpstart.

I appreciate the advice about the water retention though....I had expected to see a bigger loss this week for all the output....but I think your right, the body does things like that to compensate...I'm about 3 weeks in to being "serious" about the eating and exercize....and it really is a danger zone for me.....I want to feel great and lose quickly.....I need to keep trusting the process!

I also need to make sure I drink my water.....and help my body to flush away all that lactic acid that comes from muscle-building.

Thanks for the support...it helps, it really does!

Happy Thanksgiving....I am very thankful to this forum!

thinkerbell

Heh. You know ... 0 to something is just as "intense" on your body as moving from something to squatting 100 lbs or whatever.

Def drink lots of water and keep things flushed out. You'll be fine and before long you will feel that rush of energy after working out! )

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"0 to something" LOL! I love that! So true!


thinkerbell

Great thread! Good advice and review for all of us here.

Thanks for the question thinkerbell and thanks to everyone for the replies!

One thing I know about weight training....it isn't good for an instant results thing on the scale. What it IS good for is a revved up metabolism long term when you keep a consistent workout schedule.

So - no freaking out if the first week isn't too impressive on the scale. Keep an eye out for inches lost, tho.

Great point here. Your body composition, even if you see no weight loss, is likely to change - even if only ever so slightly.

If I am recalling correctly from my reading on this, as well as my personal experience, it takes about six weeks of strength training before you will begin to see significant results. Of course, stuff is happening before that, but the difference will begin to show around that time. Once you up that lean muscle mass, however, it really does get easier to lose weight...and you will look better too. Six weeks is really not that long. Just power through this initial phase, drink your water, eat your protein, make sure each muscle group gets a day of rest between resistance training workouts (cardio can be an every day thing unless you are doing some seriously killer cardio...), and you will be feeling more energetic and stronger in no time...with an amped up metabolism to boot!

Thinkerbell I am with you. The first couple weeks have been pretty easy for me and I've seen the scale move quite a bit - I know that this won't last forever so I'm sensing a bit of a danger zone myself. I really have to keep telling myself "trust the plan."

We can do it!

Don't think about taking a day off as slacking off. A day of rest is a necessity in a well planned workout routine.

The exhaustion is pretty normal for me. I've had to stop and start the lifting due to injuries (not caused by lifting), and every time I start up again, I'm pretty worn out for the first week or two. As everyone said, getting that extra protein helps, but also just time will cure it, as your body gets used to the new demands and you improve your fitness level. Keep going, and in a week or two you will have that energy back.

WTG on starting the lifting! Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for the support.....I did rest and felt much better....I do think it was 3 pretty intense (for me....0 to something!) work-out days in a row...and my body was just pooped! I am feeling better and back on track....well except for the Thanksgiving feast....no I need to straighten out the food plan.

I have realized that introducing even small amounts of white flour does start me on a craving cycle....oh, well....lesson learned! I really really like how I feel when I am eating on plan....lighter, brighter....need to remember this as Christmas is coming!


thinkerbell