jcress Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Hello! I am a dancer at a college dance program. at the beginning of the year I had some hormonal imbalances, and depression that caused me to revert to binge eating habits from the past and stalled all of my progress. I put on 30 pounds in the last year since about march...stopped dancing..you can imagine the state my body is in. I am trying to fight this and get back in shape, to condition myself again so I can feel good in a dance studio and start training. I got extremely lean 2 years ago using the elliptical and I really like it a lot. But with my body in its state right now I don't know what is best for me. ..Ultimately I want to work back up to being the dance/gym person I was (or a NEW version) so I don't know where to start I am on day 4 of my whole30 and I don't have a lot of energy...at all..I am SO fatigued Exercise Question: I want to get back on the elliptical again..but I have zero energy right now..because of detoxing? Im not sure..but do I wait until I have the energy, or do I go for it, and it will help me gain my energy back?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Physibeth Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Exercise can be tough during the first two weeks of your Whole30 because your body is transitioning from primarily burning sugar to primarily burning fat for its fuel. If you were not already exercising before beginning your Whole30 I would advise taking it slow. Maybe add an easy walk into your day until you start feeling more energy and then increasing from there. Another thing to think about as you build your new lifestyle is not just doing steady state cardio. Do some research on HIIT style cardio and look into getting a strength routine 2-3 times a week as well. But first you need to get through those first 2 weeks of the Whole30...be gentle with yourself. While fatigue is normal at this stage in your journey you could post your first 4 days of food, water, sleep (include timing and serving sizes as they relate to your palm size) and we might be able to offer some tweeks that would help with the fatigue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkor Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 You're not becoming more fat-adapted, your carbs are still high with the large amount of fruit you've been eating. The low energy you're feeling is not diet-related. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magso Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 If you look at the timeline for the whole30, it's common to feel that way, so don't worry! I know it's hard when you feel so tired, but maybe start off slow. After your first time, you'll feel more determined to go back. Maybe even try some gym classes like kickboxing or Zumba if you miss dancing. That'll help motivate you too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momlittman Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Thank you for asking this question! I feel so bad (because I'm not running my usual 15-20 miles a week) I just can't get my head wrapped around it. I'm on day 8 I feel really good it's almost hard to explain but you probably know what I mean so I don't have too! I started the Whole30 for multiple reasons but I will admit weight loss was the biggest reason. Even though we are all told this is NOT a weight loss program the end result for most is weight loss in addition to some pretty amazing benefits that I'm already experiencing. So back to the "working out" part... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcress Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 @Kirkor the only fruit Ive been eating is some cranberry sauce and some figs last night...and immediately after I did the elliptical for an hour (very low intensity, its all I could tolerate.) i.e. I am NOT carb loading. I asked the whole30 team and they said even 1-2 pc of fruit a day you can still become fat adapted. other than that @Physibeth here is my daily meal plan..This is what I eat every day so far.. and I love it..I don't mind eating the same things every day. My breakfast: 3 eggs, cucumber sticks, lemon in water Lunch: bag of steamed cauliflower and 2 applegate beef hotdogs and one egg dinner is always chicken salad with approved mayo, verryyy small sweet potato, (like closed hand full) over greens... Snacks: baby carrots with guacamole..and an egg (or 2) if I am feeling reallllly hungry I have to do African Dance twice a week for school so I know some carbs are necessary. Exactly @Momlittman! I want to train so bad!! @Magso: Zumba is a great idea...ill look some classes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFChris Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Are your meals satiating you for 4-5 hours? I would be famished if that's what I ate every day. My specific thoughts:Definitely add more carb dense veggies and more veggies in general: ideally 1-3 cups per meal. Pile it high! Carb dense veggies include potatoes, winter squash, rutabaga, jicama, beets, carrots, plantains and parsnips. Your snack of egg, baby carrots and guac is great, as it meets the mini-meal recommendation of protein, veg and fat. Don't be afraid to drizzle some olive oil on your steamed cauliflower for added fat. Dunk some of those cucumber sticks in some mayo at breakfast. To Bethany's points, are you drinking water in the amount of at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces daily? Are you getting 7-8 hours of sleep nightly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcress Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 @GFChris Thanks for the input! Ill definitely up the veggies. More carb dense veggies won't inhibit my fat adaptation? Yes, I am drinking around a gallon of water a day, (is that enough?) and average of 9 hours of sleep per night..so thats taken care of.. (I think) I am between 150 and 145 lbs, at 5'5'', 19 years old My meals are satiating for 4 hours mostly...But I could use to have them be a little more satiating cause Im noticing since the first few days I am drawn to my carrots and guac snacking more often then not. Also I forgot to mentions some nuts with my dinner: Pistachios one night and pecans another on top of my sweet potato..Yep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 More carb dense veggies won't inhibit my fat adaptation? There are a couple things going on here. When we talk about fat adapted, we don't mean that you only get energy from fat. The ideal is actually to become flexible in the fuels your body is able to use. So, if you eat starchy vegetables before you exercise, that inhibits your body's chances to learn to draw from fat stores for energy, but eating some starchy vegetables at other times of day, say post-workout, or at night, will help you recover your glycogen stores to support your workouts in the future. One thing I've learned is that the amount of starchy vegetables needed can vary a lot from person to person and over time. As long as they aren't pushing other vegetables off your plate, having a fist-size portion at one or all three meals in fine. Just avoid eating them right before your workout (say an hour or so before). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcress Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share Posted December 7, 2014 @missmary : Thanks for the info..I didn't really understand that from just reading ISWF. It seemed like its an all or nothing thing. Awesome. I am adding more veggies and fats to my template..my meals aren't as satiating as they should be. The Vinyasa Yoga I take really pushes me, in terms of strength building. Could that count as strength training? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcress Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share Posted December 7, 2014 PS Last night I did an hour on the elliptical at a low intensity (Literally, avg heart rate was around 130) So I don't think that should be harming anything. Still, thats as hard as I can go right now. Or should I stay away from LISS? Intense exercise does seem appealing OR feel good..interval training might drain my adrenals (I am recovering from adrenal disregulation since about march). Is there a more moderate form of Interval training I could do? I normally do 2 minutes of low or moderate elliptical followed by 30 seconds of intense pushing repeated for 25 minutes..Right now I feel like it would strain me to do that.. Hmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Or should I stay away from LISS? Intense exercise does seem appealing OR feel good.. LISS is fine. It's great actually, but I would walk rather than use the elliptical for a couple reasons. Walking on the ground is a physiologically ideal movement pattern, walking on a treadmill is compromised and the elliptical is even more compromised because it encourages an unnatural movement pattern and muscle activation. Walking on the ground is better for your leg muscles and better for your brain (seeing moving scenery while your body moves). Second, I'm guessing here but my guess is that your elliptical workout is moderate in intensity. Sometimes is it hard to keep intensity low enough on an exercise machine. Low intensity is what you want. If you are recovering from adrenal fatigue, be careful with exercise intensity in general. The key is to go to an intensity level that leaves you feeling energized afterwards, not depleted. If walking is all you can do right now, that's fine. If yoga leaves you feeling great, do that too. Eventually, when you feel ready to add more, I would go for heavy lifting/strength training. The intensity of interval training can wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcress Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share Posted December 7, 2014 @missmary Thanks for your response..my next logical response is: Will I improve my body composition without doing HIIT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Will I improve my body composition without doing HIIT? Yes, it is very possible to improve your body composition without doing HIIT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcress Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share Posted December 7, 2014 @missmary, thanks so much for all of your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary T. Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I'm very interested - how did you make cranberry sauce without added sugar?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marihugo Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 been walking about an hour every day, is it enough or I need to do some more WO?? been on whole30 for 15 days already and doing great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 been walking about an hour every day, is it enough or I need to do some more WO?? Whole30 doesn't require any exercise at all, but adding walking every day is a great idea. That alone is just fine. If you WANT to add more, I would do with strength training one or two days per week. You could use weights or do a body-weight based strength program (some yoga fits this description too), but walking on it's own is fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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