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How do you maintain the Energy needed to exercise.

Hi All,

This is my first post here. I haven't been banded but have decided I want to. Unfortunately this is the first time in my 24 years of existence I haven't had insurance. I was laid off last year.

I wanted to know how you all maintain the energy to exercise. I can usually exercise for two weeks and sometimes up to three months but sooner or later I just do not have enough energy to make it. I usually work out 3-5 times a week walking around 3mi a day in about an hr. Does anyone else experience this? Is this normal?

I always here you are supposed to get to a point where you can do more but I just never seem to get there.

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I know personally I get enery to exercise by eating a good deal of protein. A workout will be tough if you are not getting in the right amount of nutrients. Good luck to you.

I know personally I get enery to exercise by eating a good deal of Protein. A workout will be tough if you are not getting in the right amount of nutrients. Good luck to you.

+1

The first few trips you run off of stored energy. After that, you need to make sure that you eat at least a small amount of balanced nutrients up to an hour before a workout that contains a decent amount of protein and carbs. You must have the carbs for the energy. Even just a Zone bar or similar are fine, just watch out for excessive sugar in some of those bars. I have these bars called Detour, they taste like crap but are good energy with lower sugar than most. Some of the Protein shakes are a decent mix as well.

I had the exact same problem, talked to a nutritionist, and have had no issue with workout energy since.

As I've upped my exercise, I've upped my Protein and I always have plenty of energy to do my workouts. I am up to 120 g of protein a day.

I do eat carbs around the time of exercising but I don't go nuts on them.

I eat a carb based diet and always have. If I drop the carbs I have very little energy to exercise. I'm a runner and I run moderate distances, so I dont need to absolutely carbo load, but my typical day will be Cereal for Breakfast and a sandwich for lunch or Soup loaded with lentils or Beans, fresh fruit and vegetables and only moderate Protein - like 60 or 70g a day.

You know how they say that exercise gives you energy - well I foudn that for six months, I really had to force it, I didnt start experiencing that energy boost until I was really quite fit. In fact none of the benefits of exercise were all that noticeable to me until I'd really gotten fit - I think its not the exercise, its the fit body that makes you feel good, so you have to kind of hang on for that.

Now its a positive cycle, in running an hour a day or so I can easily afford to eat about 1800 to 2000 calories to maintain my 148lb. So my band is loose and I eat plenty.

I also eat plenty of carbs, just not junk carbs, for energy but for my activity level that is just not enough. I found out earlier in the year when I started a 6 day a week workout schedule that involved lifting and intense cardio that i was exhausted and passing out every night at 8:30 pm the second the kids were in bed. I have since bought GNC's AMP protien powder and it tastes great with just water. I do just 1 scoop instead of three and get an extra 20 or so grams of protien. I already get around 60 grams in my regular diet but I just cant eat anymore and the extra 20 I get from the gnc powder gives me a boost. If I stop taking it I get tired again and my ass is dragging. I did not work this hard to have muscles to be to tired to enjoy it!

The way I look at it is that all calorie are fuel. However, all fuel isn't equal.

A good campfire uses embers -- low heat but steady fuel that keeps the fire going -- these are kind of like the fats. Fats aren't readily available as a quick fuel source and a little goes a long way.

You also use tinder to get a campfire started. These are the carbs. Carbs provide quick energy, but they burn out pretty fast. You can down a gel during a run and get a burst of energy, but then it's gone. A fire made from all tinder needs constant replenishment and an enormous quantity of fuel.

In between, we have the logs on the fire and these are the heart of the fire. These are the most like Protein. They are there, providing heat and energy all throughout the day. They can be used when other sources are not available, such as carbs. Plus, they last a lot longer.

It's not a perfect analogy because, once you get a fire going, you don't keep adding tinder, but you should be eating carbs to fuel your workouts. But you need to eat the protein the rest of the day to give yourself a base of energy to pull from. This is especially true if your job is sedentary -- carbs aren't the kind of energy you need to do a desk job!

  • 2 weeks later...

Ahh...I was needing to hear this. I have been doing a tough bootcamp for the past month and really struggling with energy...so I increased my Protein and that worked for a little while but I was still dragging. I started tracking what I was eating and on average...EKKK!!! Not enough calories. I have been trying to eat more frequently and force myself to eat (not hungry). Hope I can get back on track...sure would like to start losing again! :tongue_smilie:

Anyone have other suggestions? food wise? cheese and crackers, apples and Peanut Butter are getting old for Snacks.

Thanks for the wisdom people.

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