Need an Energy/endurance boost

[Hangman_mi]

Hi ,

 

I am a healthy 49 year old male. I have played sports all my life but also have been carrying about 8-15 extra pounds . I never had an unhealthy diet but love carbs and love eating late at night. Always had great endurance and high energy levels.

2 years ago, I had an injury and did not exercise OR play sports for over 6 months. I was able to recover from the injury but my endurance has not come back. I used to play racquetball for 2 hours straight and now can barely hang for 30-45 minutes. I have also seen a significant decrease in energy levels. All my health indicators are fine - have had a detailed physical and found that my testosterone levels are low. Everything else is great. I figured it has to be the diet and started the Whole 30 to address my endurance/energy levels. 

I am on day 7 and enjoying the diet. The prep part really helps me avoid the late night carbs/binge eating. For the first time, I understand the benefits of fat. I am shocked that I was not aware of this all these years. Never really tried to manage my diet. Can anyone recommend the right fruits/vegetables/protein to boost energy levels? I feel that once I increase my energy levels, I should be hitting the gym more and endurance will build up...

 

Thanks in advance

 

[ThyPeace]

 

Hiya, Hangman_mi!  Welcome to the Whole30. You're right that as you increase your activity levels, your endurance will build up.  However, doing that at the same time as starting a new diet can sometimes present some challenges.  I suggest being really gradual with your gym work buildup.  I am also 49, and I can say for sure that working out now is not quite the same as working out when I was 30.  The major difference being that I need more rest and recovery time, and warming up has become absolutely critical rather than just a nice idea.  If you want to get back to the point of 2 hours of intense activity, I suggest starting by seeing what you can actually do for two hours.  Can you walk for two hours, or do two hours of yard work?  If you can't, then that's the place to start.  Intermingling that with short bouts of higher intensities (jogging, digging, racquet ball, whatever) will build your endurance.  Expect it to take a while, though.  If you try to rush it, all the little niggling aches and pains can quickly turn into injuries.  (Yes, I learned the hard way and probably you will too, but at least you'll have warning and know to lay off faster than you would have otherwise.)

I will also say that for me, getting enough protein and building blocks (bone broth is my friend) is really important for recovery.  I have had to more than double my protein intake since I started this whole process, and am still struggling to actually get to amounts that work optimally for me.

ThyPeace, it's worth it, though!