Need more energy

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Soldato
Joined
14 Jul 2007
Posts
3,443
Looking for a bit of advice. This time last year I lost quite a bit of weight through healthy eating and exercise. Went from a high of close to 17 stone down to just under 14. Over the last few months I've put a bit back on purely as a result of slacking off maybe about 1/2 stone - 1 stone but I'm back into it again now. It seems that with a bit of effort I can lose weight quite easily and generally feel much better.

Unfortunately due to a back problem (which is finally getting resolved with injections soon) the only exercise I've been doing is walking. I don't mind this at all, in fact its quite nice. I go for an hour in the morning before work and then another hour after work or in the later evening. This is all very do-able and I'm happy to carry on like this for the next while until the injections for my back when I can hopefully vary things a bit and do some more high impact stuff for shorter periods.

Heres the slight issue though. Because of the way i'm doing things I end up feeling a bit tired and lacking in energy. I'm getting up pretty early (5.30-6am) and then doing a full days work and going out again in the evening. By the end of the week its taking its toll a little. I'm pretty clueless about what I'm doing so I'm wondering is there anything simple that will give me that little bit of extra energy? I think I'm getting enough sleep but I'm not sure if I'm exactly eating the right foods, or if there is a timing of eating that could help or even taking some multi vitamins or the like? Its not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but if its an easily resolvable issue then I'd like to do it.

As its only walking as exercise I haven't looked at it in the same way as someone who is doing a full gym workout every morning, I get up go out , come back, have maybe a shake for breakfast, Soup and a roll for lunch and a full dinner (meat, potatoes, veg) with the very occasional snack thrown in.

Any general hints and tips for me at this end of the exercise/fitness scale?
 
Do you track your intake? You're possibly not eating enough. On top of that, more sleep will almost certainly help.

Finally, if you're doing a lot of walking every single day then it's normal to feel a bit drained by the end of the week. Do you track your speed/HR at all? For all you know you could be getting faster and faster so although you're feeling more tired you're actually getting fitter.
 
FrenchTart said:
Do you track your intake? You're possibly not eating enough. On top of that, more sleep will almost certainly help.

Finally, if you're doing a lot of walking every single day then it's normal to feel a bit drained by the end of the week. Do you track your speed/HR at all? For all you know you could be getting faster and faster so although you're feeling more tired you're actually getting fitter.
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I was tracking my intake originally and I was operating in a calorie deficit but that was when I was really trying to lose weight and was skimping on the carbs! Now I'm not really tracking anything but suspect I could still be in some sort of deficit I guess, possibly just as a result of cutting out things like sweets and fizzy drinks.

I'm definitely getting fitter and faster. I'm walking a fixed distance in the morning cos I need to get back to the house and into my routine to go to work and its gone from taking me close to an hour to round about 45-50 mins. Its only about 6km so its nothing great but on the weekends I'll do 10km at a time when I have no time constraints and if I slow down or take longer it doesn't matter. In the evenings I'll do anything between 7 and 9 km depending on what else I have to do and how much time I have.

Thanks for the reply.
 
It doesn't sound like you're getting a lot of food in for a start or the right food for that matter, what's in your morning shake? Soup and a roll are pretty devoid of anything great unless it's proper homemade stuff with a ton of veg and some protein or something thrown in.

Also it may just be that you're not used to that tired feeling which is going to come if you're exercising everyday.
 
tom_e said:
It doesn't sound like you're getting a lot of food in for a start or the right food for that matter, what's in your morning shake? Soup and a roll are pretty devoid of anything great unless it's proper homemade stuff with a ton of veg and some protein or something thrown in.

Also it may just be that you're not used to that tired feeling which is going to come if you're exercising everyday.
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Yeah could be as simple as that.

Shake in the morning will typically be frozen berries and assorted fruit with a bit of granola, greek yogurt and milk.

The soup at lunchtime is from the office canteen which is prepared freshly every day and does usually have a fair bit of veg in it. When I was going for the weight loss thing last year I was cooking a chicken breast the previous night and having that with lettuce and green beans for lunch but I was finding that while good for a short period it was taking up a fair bit of time in the evenings between walking, showering then cooking the following days lunch so I felt that the soup and a roll from the canteen was a bit more practical. Am I just being lazy and I should go back to doing the chicken do you think?
 
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You want to start with the basics and improve diet and sleep. You said sleep was ok but you might be able to get it better/more consistent.

Then unfortunately you need to spend a little energy to gain energy - simple short workouts usually leave you feeling better off.

If you don't find things picking up, avoid stimulants. It may also be worth going to the doctor and getting a check up and basic blood results too (full blood count, liver, kidneys, thyroid etc). Who knows something could be a little out of whack.
 
I had blood tests done not all that long ago as a precaution after a nasty virus (I'm making myself sound like a wreck!) and they were all spot on so I'm reasonably sure there isn't anything serious going on.

I think perhaps it is just a bit of a shock to my system to be being a bit more active again.

Aside from that does any have any eating advice just for being a bit more healthy? In general with exercising (not walking per se but more active stuff) is it better to eat before to give you energy or afterwards to reenergise? Are there any foods know to give you a particular boost? Sorry if these are really basic questions, if they are covered elsewhere just let me know and I'll read where directed!

Thanks again.
 
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I had blood tests done not all that long ago as a precaution after a nasty virus (I'm making myself sound like a wreck!) and they were all spot on so I'm reasonably sure there isn't anything serious going on.

I think perhaps it is just a bit of a shock to my system to be being a bit more active again.

Aside from that does any have any eating advice just for being a bit more healthy? In general with exercising (not walking per se but more active stuff) is it better to eat before to give you energy or afterwards to reenergise? Are there any foods know to give you a particular boost? Sorry if these are really basic questions, if they are covered elsewhere just let me know and I'll read where directed!

Thanks again.
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Fats and brotein.

And a bucketload of sleep. If you are exercising you should be heading north of 7.5hrs at a minimum per night. :)
 
I'm probably getting about 6-6.5 hours of sleep a night realistically. I have a full time job but no commute (live in a small town), stay by myself although split my time between my own house and my girlfriend's house which is slightly annoying as sure a fate I'm never in the same place as my food or my stuff no matter how much planning I put in!!

I tend to be at work for 7.30 and leave around 4 (flexi) so I think i'm doing ok there.

Can I ask what people eat for breakfast as its the meal I struggle with most.
 
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