QuestionTypical Exercise:
Tuesday through Friday I get anywhere from an hour and half to two and a half hours. Usually at least an hour on the exercise bike, and I go atleast 14.5 miles. Change it up with aerobic dancing videos and some weight lifting videos.
Saturday through Monday I try to get at least one hour of exercise. Usually it's some kind of video.
Typical Eating:
1 serving of oatmeal (150 calories)
1 cup of coffee with a mix of creamer and 1% milk (20 calories)
1 yogurt (100 calories)
1 grilled cheese sandwich on 45 and delightful bread with non-fat cheese (150 calories)
1 serving of all bran crackers (100 calories)
A few bites of hush puppy and a fry (?)
Natural popcorn (150 calories)
1 cup of coffee with mix of creamer and 1% milk (20 calories)
2 strawberries (?)
1/2 c. fiber cereal (60 calories)
1/4 c. milk (25 calories)
1 fat free pudding (60 calories)
1/2 naked burrito with chicken, fajita veggies, rice, salsa, and reduced fat sour cream (300 calories)
1/2 order of tortilla chips (300 calories)
1 pear (90 calories)
2 slices 45 calorie wheat bread (90 calories)
2 tsp. peanut butter (60 calories)
1 T. fat free cream cheese (15 calories)
I hope that wasn't too much detail. My problem is that I've lost a bunch of weight recently (am now 5'0", 112 pounds, and 27 years old), and I am TERRIFIED of gaining the weight back. I feel like I'm on the border of struggling with disordered eating. My weight consumes me at times. I feel like I need to exercise more if I eat anything that might not be good for me or I feel is too much. If I try to cut down on exercising, it makes me cranky, I end up eating too much and exercising too much. Please help me to figure out what kind of nutrition I should be getting for my exercise level along with any kind of tips you can give me. I would like to get this under control before it really controls me. Thank you.
AnswerSarah,
What you are describing is classic over-training syndrome, which happens when a person exercises past the body's capacity to heal itself. Interestingly the physical signs are what you would expect- weariness, muscle and joint pain- the Psychological effects are usually the more troublesome and dangerous, including depression, anxiety, moodiness, and a *compulsion to continue over exercising*.
The best way I can explain why you are craving exercise, even though you need to have less of it is that it is like an addiction- you are physically addicted to exercise.
The REAL downside to all this exercise is that you will make your metabolism dependent on that amount of work to maintain, and then you will have to work even harder as you get older- You don't want to do that.
Your best bet is to take one day off each week. Pick a nice day and go walk in the park for an hour instead. Anything more than 90 minutes working out is too much, so trim your workouts to no more than that each day. Also mix up the levels of intensity- Try some videos that will have a calming effect on your body- like yoga, chi-gung or tai-chi. Active rest like these kinds of mellow workouts actually speed recovery from over training and make it easier to getting back to "normal".
As far as food goes, with your current workout schedule you could be eating up to 2200 calories per day without a problem, so relax. Even if you scaled back your exercise to what I am suggesting you could eat up between 1800 and 2000 calories without much problem. I will note that while you are recovering you might notice some weight gain- that will most likely be water weight due to the healing that your muscles are doing- keep *very well* hydrated and it will pass within a week or two. You need to eat more veggies and fruits, the minerals and vitamins in them will help you recover more quickly, and you need to add more protein to your diet. Try adding a few hard boilded eggs or beans to your daily routine.
I hope this helps,
Lela Simon
http://www.Lelasimonwellness.com
