Getting tired a lot

[ColinJ]

The Bread is quite fattening though, carbohydrates can really pile the weight on.

ColinJ, 1990: Example 'meal' - loaf of bread, plus butter, plus 250 g pack of cheese, plus half a jar of Branston pickle, plus a 6 pack of beer chaser EVERY NIGHT = fattening.

ColinJ, 2020: Example 'meal' - big salad, 450-odd calories worth of pitta breads**, no butter, no cheese, no pickle, tuna in brine, no alcohol EVER = NOT fattening!




** They are biggish ones. I don't have any in so I can't check but I'd guess about 150-ish cals/pitta.

PS I just found the wrapper for the last pack - they are 187 cals/pitta, so 374 cals for 2, or 561 cals for 3. Still not bad for my major energy source for the day.

 

[raleighnut]

loaf of bread, plus butter, plus 250 g pack of cheese, plus half a jar of Branston pickle

You are Mike Gatting AICMFP.

 

[ColinJ]

You are Mike Gatting AICMFP.

I WAS!

I look back on what I used to do to myself and wonder how I am still around. If it hadn't been for cycling, I wouldn't be! The consultant I saw in 2012 when I was gravely ill told me that most people as ill as me were DOA, or DSAA (dead soon after arrival) and she had never seen anybody that ill still walking (or staggering, in my case!)... It was only my underlying fitness from cycling that enabled me to survive.

PS And that is why I don't drink alcohol any more and watch what I eat now!

 

[Lovacott]

There's only 100 or so calories in a pitta. Dry things too, I'm much less inclined to overeat those than say nice thick toast smothered in butter and marmalade

Bread has always been the killer for me. I eat tons of the stuff.

My BMI is in the "normal" range at the moment but that is due to me being very restrictive for 5 out of 7 days of the week and clocking up around 90 miles on the bike over hill and vale.

But on the days when I am not being restrictive, I eat a shed load of bread. I always go for wholemeal (still as many calories but it does have some nutritional value). I slather on the butter and eat it with everything. I even have three or four slices to mop up the gravy from the Sunday roast.

What saves me is that I don't have a sweet tooth. I don't take sugar in tea or coffee and I rarely eat ice cream or chocolate.

Given the choice between a Mars Bar or a doorstep slice of thickly buttered fresh bread, the bread wins every time.

 

[Lovacott]

I WAS!

I look back on what I used to do to myself and wonder how I am still around.

I was pretty bad about three or four years ago. Sit down job, sit down and watch telly home life. Drove everywhere.

Life was just a slog. Traffic jams on the way in to the job I hated, traffic jams on the way home to sit down and watch crap on the telly and eat beige food. I'd be kept awake some nights listening to my blood trying to fight its way through my constricted arteries.

Then one day, I got an email from my local practice inviting me for a "wellman" check so I went for it. They did BMI, reflexes, blood samples, blood pressure, SpO2 and all that other stuff. I hadn't had anything like it for over ten years and when the results came back, they were scary.

BP in the high range, cholesterol in the high range, BMI in the high range etc. etc.

So I made some changes. I swapped out liver sausage on toast for Avocado on toast, started walking anywhere which was less than a mile away and I gave up fried eggs for poached eggs (I could write a book about poached eggs). I ate a red pepper for the first time (I now eat over ten a week).

I started to feel better about myself, started to feel better about my job, started to feel better in general.

Then, when the Covid lockdown started and mindful of the progress I had made, I dusted off my old bike and went out and did ten miles every day (on the flat on a nice cycle path). Gradually, I increased my distance, varied my route, learned how to ride again and gained more confidence.

Just shy of six months later and I am a new man. I have re discovered the hobby I had as a kid (bike fettling) and I've turned my daily steel coffin commute into an open air adventure where I get to see all sorts of stuff which I would never get to see on the main road whilst stuck in a cage in a traffic jam. I've seen more hares, foxes and stags in the last week than I have in all of my lifetime up to March this year.

I can't wait to go back to my GP and look at his face when he takes my BP.

 

[ColinJ]

Brilliant - keep it up!

 

[VAB_Ride]

How hard are you riding? Your body would soon adjust to a gently 20 miles a day without a rest day, a hard 20 would be different. Also I feel 400 calories an hour an is maybe a better estimate.

I wouldn’t say I’m riding that hard, breaking a sweat - definitely not pushing myself

 

[VAB_Ride]

Ignore Strava power values. It’s laughable in many cases.

In order to get fitter you need to have recovery days built into your week. You also need to have recovery weeks about once every 4 or 5 weeks. If you don’t have enough recovery then you can end up in a situation of overtraining. Overtraining isn’t good and can leave you with the fatigue you describe.

So I’d start with just taking a complete week off, no bike rides. Just go for some gentle walks and don’t be tempted to up the intensity. Then after a week see how your energy levels are.

If energy levels have improved then you can re introduce the cycling but don’t go mad with the volume and intensity of it. Try slowing down to 10 mph, and just do it 3 days a week and see how that goes. If it goes okay then once a week try cycling the 20 miles as fast as you can, but only once a week. Stick with that for a few weeks. Once it feels easy and energy levels are good, try a bit more distance or introduce a fourth day of cycling.

If you are pushing the intensity and volume every day then that creates a situation where the stress hormone cortisol is continually circulating in the blood. Whilst the hormone is good for promoting muscle growth and repair , sustained elevated levels of it can lead to systemic inflammation in the body. That is isn’t good. You need a mix of hard days, easy days, and recovery / rest days when it comes to exercise with the emphasis on most days being easy.

That’s really interesting knowledge, thanks. This seems a case of less is definitely more and I should take this knowledge and apply it to my routine.

Thanks

 

[VAB_Ride]

Are you 'warming up' before a ride (or at the start of it) if you go 'flat out' straight away it is more tiring. I also find that the harder I try the slower I go, maybe I tense up but if I relax and just keep turning the pedals I can go much faster and far further.

I’d say I feel I ‘warm up’ too much/long

 

[VAB_Ride]

Are boredom/a lack of fun/a feeling that losing weight ought to be hard and a bit of a punishment regime a factor in any of this?

A target of 2lb a week weight loss is very high over the long term and it will be hard to have enough energy to enjoy life including your bike rides.

I've been on a healthy eating plan since Jan to lose weight. I didn't weigh myself to start with; however I reckon that my average weight loss is 0.5 to 1lb per week. I have scarcely increased my laughable activity levels. I have no idea how far I ride nor at what speed or elevation. I do know what I am eating each day and when and why I am eating it.

Maybe pause and focus on the quality of your diet and the reasons why you were overeating. It's hard to exercise your way out of bad eating habits. Good luck!

Given the prediabetes diagnosis I think 2lb was the right weight loss but now I am in the normal ranges again perhaps I should start to reduce this down to 1lb a week!

 

[ColinJ]

Given the prediabetes diagnosis I think 2lb was the right weight loss but now I am in the normal ranges again perhaps I should start to reduce this down to 1lb a week!

I read a suggestion that losing 1% of body weight per week is a sensible maximum and that makes sense to me. 1 kg (2.2 lbs) a week from someone who weighs 100 kg (15 st 10 lbs); 0.7 kg (1.5 lbs) a week from someone who weighs 70 kg (11 st 0 lbs).

 

[CXRAndy]

Around 2lb weight loss per week is recommended amount so as not to lose muscle mass.

Any faster after the initial water loss of the first few weeks will result in lost muscle

 

[bagpuss]

I found this thread very interesting and informative .
About 3 weeks ago I was out riding and felt knackered , even so I push on thinking stupidly I would pick up in next mile or so. It did not happen.
This day my ride was about 50 miles . Not fast just pottering as I call it at 12mph as an average . Since then no riding, full stop .I have not really missed it ,which is very unusual for me . Had a blood test which was all ok . No outward sign of depression {got the T shirt for that .}
General fatigue me thinks .
Back story.
During summer I clocked up good mileage most weeks . As I am retired I have plenty time to get out and about . A normal week would see me riding 4 out of 7 days,clocking up some fair distances over a time period of between 4&6 hours per ride .
Now as former audax rider, to me distance is part of my cycling and how many cafe stops can I build into my ride .
I try to eat the right things . Drink plenty of fluids when riding and ride conservativaly.
The one thing missing for me {as with many others} this year was a complete two week break from routine .
Taken to walking as a complete break for one month .

Hoping my mojo will resurface.
Any pointers welcome

 

[Lovacott]

I found this thread very interesting and informative .
About 3 weeks ago I was out riding and felt knackered , even so I push on thinking stupidly I would pick up in next mile or so. It did not happen.
This day my ride was about 50 miles . Not fast just pottering as I call it at 12mph as an average . Since then no riding, full stop .I have not really missed it ,which is very unusual for me . Had a blood test which was all ok . No outward sign of depression {got the T shirt for that .}
General fatigue me thinks .
Back story.
During summer I clocked up good mileage most weeks . As I am retired I have plenty time to get out and about . A normal week would see me riding 4 out of 7 days,clocking up some fair distances over a time period of between 4&6 hours per ride .
Now as former audax rider, to me distance is part of my cycling and how many cafe stops can I build into my ride .
I try to eat the right things . Drink plenty of fluids when riding and ride conservativaly.
The one thing missing for me {as with many others} this year was a complete two week break from routine .
Taken to walking as a complete break for one month .

Hoping my mojo will resurface.
Any pointers welcome

When my dad retired 25 years ago, he went from being very fit and organised to very fat and sloppy within about six months. Then he saw a poster in the local newsagents looking for volunteer hospital visitors and drivers.

He only does a couple of hours per day, but it gives his day a structure and it helps him keep track of time.

He's now well into his eighties and fighting fit.

My own plan is to never retire but I don't think my bosses would allow that.

 

[byegad]

pre diabetic, losing weight, tired?
Doctors, ASAP!