Too tired to exercise so don't - am i right? - PaleoHacks.com

Too tired to exercise so don't - am i right?

2012-10-13T08:39:52Z

I've been Paleo for a few weeks now but with a few wobbles when I ate non-paleo things. Initially I was making good progress and my sleep had reglated really well so I was waking early enabling me to go for morning workouts. The past week and a bit though I've been like a zombie in the morning I just can't wake up or get out of bed and this fatigue eases as the day progresses but lasts majority of the day. Maybe I am not eating enough but when I do its high fat moderate to high protein and low carb although I eat lots of veggies they're all low carb choices like broccoli, lettuce, cucumber and cauliflower....actually hose are pretty much the staple! I eat twice a day say 12pm and then again around 8pm. Each meal is either cooked in lots of coconut oil or has lots of extra virgin olive oil poured over it with avocado. I take a multi vitamin and fish oil and have 2 cups of coffee a day in the morning with coconut milk or coconut cream.

My main issue is that I am aware how fatigued I am in the morning and so decide not to exercise for fear of raising stress levels which is detrimental.

1) Am I right to or should I just plough on? Is it best if I'm too tired in the morning to forego exercise and just rest? 2) Is it pointless to exercise in the afternoon or evening as I read its best to exercise fasted and in morning? 3) Can you have late onset carb flu? I'm getting headaches now too but that's just been in the past couple of days.

I'm scared if I listen to my body I'll become a couch potato! I want to be Paleo for health reasons but also to drop body fat % and lean out.

Answer by dmi for Too tired to exercise so don't - am i right?

2012-10-13T08:46:03Z

What kind of exercise do you want to do? You can do low level exercise like walking or slow biking without increasing stress levels and most likely improving your state. It's not pointless to exercise in the afternoon/evening, not sure where you've read that nonsense. You should exercise when you're feeling most energetic, whether this is in the morning or evening is not so relevant.

Note that it takes some time to adapt to lower carb diet, and this can be more than a few weeks depending on how strict you've been with it. So that might explain why you're feeling tired.

Answer by Jade for Too tired to exercise so don't - am i right?

2012-10-13T09:04:02Z

When I began eating Paleo I gave myself a month and a half before I headed back to the gym, because I had read that my energy levels might fluctuate as I was adjusting to the changes, and that strenuous exercise might interfere with the process. I opted for some slow walking each morning instead. Perhaps allowing yourself some more time to get used to the diet would be a good idea. I've seen people indicate that it has taken them anywhere up to 3 months to move past the carb flu stage.

That said, have you tried to workout regardless of how you feel? There are mornings when I wake up and feel so tired that at every point of my journey to the gym I have it in my mind to just turn around and go back to bed. Right up until the point that I actually begin to workout. As soon as I start, I feel fantastic. Not to mention that I find I have significantly more energy on the days I do workout vs days I don't

Answer by JeJ for Too tired to exercise so don't - am i right?

2012-10-13T14:51:00Z

If you feel better exercising in the afternoon, do it in the afternoon! If you've changed your workout routine to the early morning, you might be cutting into your sleep time or cycles so that you feel very, very tired. This might be your body just trying to catch up to your sleep disruption.

Another possibility, is you are undereating. Try bringing your calories up a bit and see how you feel in the morning. When I started tracking my calories I was shocked that I was eating so little because most of my food was watery veggies (it was summer, salads galore). I added in an avocado a day, and energy went waaay way up. I also adapted a more "Perfect Health Diet" approach with moderate carbs.

Answer by booyainyoface for Too tired to exercise so don't - am i right?

2012-10-13T15:04:36Z

eat a few extra carbs (squash and pumpkin are great right now) and see if that helps you out a little- especially if you aren't trying to go into ketosis. when i started strict paleo i needed a little sweet potato or pumpkin to help me get out of the slump... i would second the above- make sure you are eating enough- when i started i realized i wasn't eating enough (1200 or less daily) it was challenging for me to adjust to eating HUGE portions of veggies, moderate meats, and moderate fats to meet my caloric requirements.

also if you are too tired to exercise i would say don't. the seasons are changing and our bodies are adapting to a change with all of the new winter bacteria and viruses and sometimes we just need more sleep. work out in the afternoon if you feel so inclined, or just move more during the day. i bought one of those blackout eye masks too- i found that made a HUGE difference with my sleeping.

good luck!

Answer by thhq for Too tired to exercise so don't - am i right?

2012-10-13T19:20:29Z

Total up how many calories you eat in a day. You don't need to start doing it all the time, but do it once to find out if you're undereating. A lot of the veggies you listed are considered "negative calorie" foods, and while this is specious reasoning they have very little food value. I'd expect you should be eating 2000 calories a day to do much exercise and not feel tired out.

Answer by OmNomBacon for Too tired to exercise so don't - am i right?

2012-10-22T11:25:00Z

Thank you so much everyone for your help; my energy levels are fluctuating at the moment and I think it's going to be just a matter of getting used to it. I am introducing some turnip, parsnip and squash into my diet so we'll see how those go for me. Thank you!!