Exercising and energy

[jayres14 17]

I'll do the walk of shame and admit that I have not been exercising at all. I have still been losing weight without but I need to start firming up. I am a teacher, and not one of those that sit behind a desk. I am up on my feet teaching seventh graders, constantly walking and dancing around the room, and with what little I eat anymore, I don't have the energy to exercise when I get home. I also have a four year old daughter with special needs at home who takes up all of my evening, which I am glad to give her. I do plan to start using my elliptical soon and get a routine going. The issue I have is finding the energy to get on it, or do any other exercise for that matter. Does anyone have some super ideas on boosting energy since our calorie intake is so low? I get my daily Protein but I feel like it is not enough. Thanks for any sound advice.

[Corrigan 75]

Why not buy a Wii system and involve family members? It has a fairly accurate scale, any number of games and excercises.&lt;br /&gt;I'm not much of a game player, but I enjoy it (with my grandkids).<br />For energy, my nutritionist said that Vitamin B12 helps with fatigue, especially if you're deficient. I am a recovering diabetic and I've been on a kick lately to make people,especally those on restricted, liquid diets aware<br />of the symptoms of low blood sugar. If folks find themselves shaky, nervious, sweating AND hungry, a little glucose may relieve those<br />symtoms: note I said a little, not a box of donuts ; . ). fruit juice, table sugar or even a piece of bread should give temporary relief. Your body<br />graually adjusts to your new blood sugar, and low (over 70) levels are no longer a problem. I went from 150-200 before WLS and now<br />that I've lost 50 lbs, 75-100.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Where is our spell checker??

[shakey88 37]

I am also a teacher, so I understand the no energy when you get home. I often do not have any energy at all when I walk in the door, but I make myself workout and amazingly it gives me so much energy. If I do not exercise, I am in bed by 9 because I can not even keep my eyes open any more, but when I work out, I have to force myself to go to bed!

[Jenn1214 120]

I used to hate exercise. I mean really HATE it, like I would go to any lengths to avoid it. Once my weight loss started stalling, however, I knew I just had to grit my teeth and do it. I have so much more energy now and I literally have to force myself to take a rest day during the week. It's now just a part of my daily routine and I love it!

[jayres14 17]

You are totally right, Jenn. I just need to get it started and the energy will come. I have a Wii but the Wii fit game is so boring to me. I need to find a more exciting game to keep me interested. I did get on the elliptical for 20 minutes today and really didn't get tired on it. I could have gone longer but my daughter woke up from her nap. Congrats to all of you and thinks for the advice.

[SageTracey 608]

The more exercise that you do the easier it becomes and you will find your energy levels growing. It's just taking that first step that is so difficult!

I used to sleep til the alarm went off, and it was set as late as possible every day. Now it is set for an hour earlier and I tend to wake up before it goes off. I am literally bouncing out of bed to head out for a walk, bike ride or swim before going to work. Not having kids that depend on me, plus having a very supportive husband have made this easier for me.

Good luck.

By "Not having kids that depend on me", I mean that they are adults!

Edited November 8, 2011 by SageTracey

[Jachut 487]

Another teacher here who walks in the door to a houseful of kids. I feel like its thevlast thing i want to do but am very good at doing it anyway and itbdoes rejuvenate you. Plus when you get as ive gotten you turn into a bit of a human dynamo. Ive just done a spin class but dh is home and wants a walk so i will do that too!

I wont lie though, things go undone in my house so that i have time for running, its more important to me than clean bathrooms or having all the laundry done and i dont tend to run my kids around to activities quite as much as other mums i know (i still do it of course, they just have to share our family leisure time with me).

[Dream4tc 192]

I work full time as a night nurse 3 days a week, homeschool my teenage son 4 days a week., I have adopted 2 brand new puppies, a 3 yr old dog who desires more attention than my puppies because she is jealous of the new ones, running my son to and from his basketball practices and games, and a husband who works full time and goes to college full time. Needless to say our house is quite hectic and honestly I have no idea why we all haven't just collapsed of fatigue. In order for me to have my energy, I try and make sure when I do sleep, that it is quality sleep with no noisy interruptions. I take my Vitamins and a supplemental B12 which really helps. As far as exercise goes, I get the best workout by using my Kinect which is similar to Wii. I enjoy dancing and the Kinect has a great dancing game called Dance Central which I thoroughly enjoy and also Kinect adventures. The first time I played those games, I was having so much fun that 5 hours had past. Needless to say, I couldn't move the next day because I was so incredibly sore. It does not feel like exercise at all when you are playing it, but I guarantee you will learn about muscles you didn't know you had.

Other ideas for exercise is squats when you put your clothes from your washer into your dryer, toss in some music and try dancing while folding clothes, leg lunges when vacuuming, you can do some stretching, arm curls, and you can use a weight resistance band for your legs. Try to get up and walk instead of sitting down. The more you stand, the likeliness that you will walk. Before getting out of bed, try doing some abdominal crunches, leg lifts, and stretching. Every little bit will burn calories and the best time to get your metabolism running is start your exercise in the morning even if it is only 10 minutes. You can break up a 30 minute workout by doing it in 10 minute increments throughout the day.

There is a great website called sparkpeople.com which is free, and actually gives you motivational articles and short how to video clips and ideas for exercise which is fantastic. I have used that site for many years now and find it so incredibly helpful when I need motivation. :thumbup:

Are you taking your Vitamins? Are you getting enough Protein? Are you drinking enough Water?

Best of luck to you, keep us updated on your progress :seeya: