Question:
Where do you get the energy needed for exercising?

I have NO energy! I lost 53 lbs in 7 weeks,(is that good?)and I have no energy or stamina to get exercising! I still get tired easily and my heary races to fast when doing certain things. I have sinus tachycardia. My bloodwork came back better than ever! My family doctor said I am in good health and getting better every day. What kind of low impact exercising can I do? I know of walking, anything else for a low energy person?    — Laurie L. (posted on December 29, 2001)

December 28, 2001
Is 53 pounds in seven weeks good? Have you ever lost that much before in your entire life? Yes, yes, it's good. Half that would be good. Sixty-three pounds would be good. We lose at different paces. As for exercise: if we have little or no energy, we don't exercise. If we don't exercise, we find ourselves with little or no energy. The solution becomes apparent: do SOMETHING. ANYTHING. Just get up and move. It's difficult to imagine an exercise that doesn't require effort, movement, sweat, exertion, etc. That's why we call it exercise; otherwise we could all drop pounds while sitting in front of the TV while inhaling a cubic yard of Cheetos. Get up and start walking. You could walk for ten minutes, couldn't you? Only ten minutes? Six hundred lousy seconds? Of course you could. Could you do this for a week? Piece of cake.(Sorry about that.) Could you make that eleven minutes the next week? You needn't worry about speed, just so you're moving. Is that feasible? You bet it is. And then twelve minutes. And maybe two weeks later you could raise it to thirteen minutes. You get the idea. I'm up to thirty minutes a day at 3.3 to 3.8 mph. Sure, that won't prepare me for Olympics, but that's not the reason for it. You and I--all of us--do it for the sheer pleasure of not giving a damn if we have to park way out in the lot, for the satisfaction of not caring if we're seated at a booth or a table, for not checking sizes when we look at clothes, for not having to think about how to go about picking up the keys or papers dropped on the floor, and for not wincing in disgust whenever we pass a full-length mirror. Oh yes, and how could I forget the feeling you get when you cross your legs? Remember the old Chinese proverb about the journey of a thousand miles? So get moving. And hey, you've got lots of company. Hang in there.
   — Chuck O.

December 29, 2001
Try one of these videos. I heard really good things about them from my Kaiser Healthy Ways support group. I just ordered chair dancing but haven't received it yet. I'll post a commentary on my page after I've used it a while. Go Chair Dancing http:www.chairdancing.com or Walking http:www.walk-away-pounds.com
   — J V.

December 29, 2001
Great answer Chuck! My energy comes from knowing that this weight is coming off and that it will stay off if I develop a regime of working out and getting the proper foods. I do a protein shake in the morning, take 32 oz water with me to the gym, get on the bike or treadmill, then do 1/2 hour of good sweating, panting exercise. If I'm not sweating within the first 10 minutes, then I know I'm not moving enough. Find out what your target heart rate is THEN determine if your heart is racing too fast. It might be in the target heart zone and you just may not be used to being there. I am in the ZONE after I work out. I just came back from the gym 1/2 hour ago and have an unexplainable euphoria about me! I just love it! Oh yeah...there are days where it takes everything out of me to get my butt up and out of the door. But I use little incentives to get me there -- like I get a good book and I only allow myself to read it while I'm on the treadmill or bike. That way I look forward to reading it again. Or I make sure I go when my favorite TV show is on (my gym has TVs) so I can watch it while I work out. Lots of little tricks. But the most important thing is that you must make a habit out of exercise. It should be as natural to you as brushing your teeth -- that much a part of your day. So that if you go without brushing your teeth in the morning, you are feeling unclean all day. At some point in the day you will just HAVE to brush those teeth. The same thing with exercise...make it so you are UNCOMFORTABLE with yourself if you don't do it. The way you do that is by going to the gym or wherever on a DAILY basis until it becomes habit. (I've read somewhere that doing something takes 18 days of straight doing before it truly becomes a HABIT). Get going! Good luck and God Bless!
   — Kimberly L.

December 29, 2001
Boy, Laurie, do I know where you are coming from! I haven't exercised in a week and have been DREADING starting again- even though I love it and am actually FIT for the first time in over 25 years:) I did start back today, and I feel so good. My suggestion is similar to Chuck's- start slowly. It is VERY hard to get started, but after I had surgery (2 years ago), I went to the store EVERY OTHER DAY and pushed a cart around. Needless to say, I left my wallet home or otherwise I probably would have traded one compulsion (eating) for another (shopping:). My husband took me until I could drive. I did that until my 6 week check up and then got the Dr.s ok for my treadmill. I could only do 10 minutes very s--l--o--w--l--y, but little at a time, I worked up. As I got more fit, I started doing more fun things like biking, rollerblading, playing soccer, baseball, bowling, golf, etc. You could also try water walking in a pool. That is low impact and it gets you moving. Good luck!
   — M B.

December 29, 2001
I'm almost 8 months post op and just "started" getting energy about two weeks ago. What I really needed was B-12 shots bi monthly and had to fight the doc (not surgeon) for several months in order to get them twice instead of once. Then it took about three months after that for the shots to kick in. What a pain. So here I am almost 8 months out before getting just a trickle of energy. Bummer. Here it is winter and I'm walking out in the bitter cold as I've waited for months to be able to walk! But I'm doing it anyway! :)
   — Danmark