Unplanned rest days (kind of rambling)

[Erica H.]

Originally Posted by Taiga

In my fitness journey, I have seen so many women derailed by fear of rest. Fear is just another word for cortisol production and it is absolutely counter-productive. Over-exercising can produce cortisol and even lead to adrenal fatigue (electrolyte imbalances are common with this) and immune suppression. If you have abnormal labs, dizziness and exercise intolerance/dread, those are big flags to REST. Those are specifically some of the symptoms that doctors and coaches monitor to determine recovery periods for high tier athletes.

I know you're right, but after a lifetime of struggling with over-exercising and trying to keep my weight/body fat low, it's impossible for me to let that go. I've never hit the wall like this before, though.

Erica

[Taiga]

Originally Posted by Erica H.

I know you're right, but after a lifetime of struggling with over-exercising and trying to keep my weight/body fat low, it's impossible for me to let that go. I've never hit the wall like this before, though.

Erica

If you have truly hit the wall, you no doubt landed flat on the floor. Grab a yoga bolster and stay there for a week Don't see it as permanent----just a 1 to 2 week experiment to start. If you end up feeling less hungry and actually lose wt/have better energy, then you can question your strategy.

FYI--Cathe actually builds week long rest weeks into STS. I easily drop pounds during those weeks. Not during the weeks of strenuous lifting, but when I'm resting.

[fanofladyvols]

Erica I hope you find some answers soon..not having them is certainly causing you additional stress. They say exercise is actually stress for the body we control.

You have some great suggestions upthread about lowering intensity, and changing up the exercise time (if you can) to help you manage it differently. I want to echo the classical stretch suggestion.

(And I just took a rest day today )

[Erica H.]

Originally Posted by Taiga

If you have truly hit the wall, you no doubt landed flat on the floor. Grab a yoga bolster and stay there for a week Don't see it as permanent----just a 1 to 2 week experiment to start. If you end up feeling less hungry and actually lose wt/have better energy, then you can question your strategy.

FYI--Cathe actually builds week long rest weeks into STS. I easily drop pounds during those weeks. Not during the weeks of strenuous lifting, but when I'm resting.

Originally Posted by fanofladyvols

Erica I hope you find some answers soon..not having them is certainly causing you additional stress. They say exercise is actually stress for the body we control.

You have some great suggestions upthread about lowering intensity, and changing up the exercise time (if you can) to help you manage it differently. I want to echo the classical stretch suggestion.

(And I just took a rest day today )

I know that cutting back and allowing my body to rest and recover is the sensible and smart thing to do. But as a borderline compulsive exerciser (I used to have exercise bulimia), it's impossible for my brain to allow this without causing great anxiety. If I knew something was truly physically wrong, I'd be a lot kinder to myself, but I have this terrible fear that it's psychological and I'm just being lazy. Maybe I'll just get my lab work done earlier than scheduled and get some answers.

Thank you all SO much for your responses and support.

Erica

[Taiga]

Originally Posted by Erica H.

I know that cutting back and allowing my body to rest and recover is the sensible and smart thing to do. But as a borderline compulsive exerciser (I used to have exercise bulimia), it's impossible for my brain to allow this without causing great anxiety. If I knew something was truly physically wrong, I'd be a lot kinder to myself, but I have this terrible fear that it's psychological and I'm just being lazy. Maybe I'll just get my lab work done earlier than scheduled and get some answers.

Thank you all SO much for your responses and support.

Erica

Prayers and well wishes as you sort it out

[Erica H.]

Originally Posted by Taiga

Prayers and well wishes as you sort it out

Thank you! I'll try to remember to update once I get the lab work done.

Erica

[BunnyHop]

I'd say to just cut yourself some slack and maybe try to quiet the critical voice in your head.

Women seem to be trained from birth not to listen to themselves, not to value their own opinions, not to make time for themselves, to criticize themselves far too harshly, etc.

Unlearning those lessons is a job of work in itself, and yes, that work is worth doing, no matter how hard we've been trained not to believe it.

We're all of us only human, and life can be complicated.


I do hope you get some useful advice from the doctor, and that everything resolves itself easily.

[donnamp]

Originally Posted by BunnyHop

I'd say to just cut yourself some slack and maybe try to quiet the critical voice in your head.

Women seem to be trained from birth not to listen to themselves, not to value their own opinions, not to make time for themselves, to criticize themselves far too harshly, etc.

Unlearning those lessons is a job of work in itself, and yes, that work is worth doing, no matter how hard we've been trained not to believe it.

We're all of us only human, and life can be complicated.


I do hope you get some useful advice from the doctor, and that everything resolves itself easily.

Very good advice, and exactly what I was going to say. It has taken me a long time to learn to trust myself...and to treat myself the way I would treat a friend or loved one. Imagine you had a friend who came to you with the same issues you are facing, what would your advice be to her?

And, I swear, I don't get kickbacks from her, but I highly suggest Pahla B on You Tube. Even if you don't do her workouts, she has a lot of good things to say about mindset - she does a weekly podcast and monthly Q&As on You Tube. They are worth listening to for the mindset advice she offers. Our brains tell us all kinds of things that may not be true and that are just habitual thoughts that we need to turn off and re-train our brains to think differently.

Hang in there - I hope you get answers soon. But even if your issues are "all in your head" they are still totally valid and a sign that your brain and body may need a break from what you have been doing and may need to go in a different direction in the future.

Donna

[kat999]

Originally Posted by Erica H.

But as a borderline compulsive exerciser (I used to have exercise bulimia), it's impossible for my brain to allow this without causing great anxiety.

Girl, I have been there. It's really, really hard to give yourself a break. The times we're living in can definitely add to the stress which drives one to seek out compulsive exercise. I've been a little guilty of this lately, too. But realize that the things that mess up progress you're making have less to do with taking a rest day from exercise and more to do with d*et, so whenever you feel like you need to be more gentle with your body, be more mindful about food.

[Erica H.]

Originally Posted by BunnyHop

I'd say to just cut yourself some slack and maybe try to quiet the critical voice in your head.


I do hope you get some useful advice from the doctor, and that everything resolves itself easily.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by donnamp

Very good advice, and exactly what I was going to say. It has taken me a long time to learn to trust myself...and to treat myself the way I would treat a friend or loved one. Imagine you had a friend who came to you with the same issues you are facing, what would your advice be to her?

And, I swear, I don't get kickbacks from her, but I highly suggest Pahla B on You Tube. Even if you don't do her workouts, she has a lot of good things to say about mindset - she does a weekly podcast and monthly Q&As on You Tube. They are worth listening to for the mindset advice she offers. Our brains tell us all kinds of things that may not be true and that are just habitual thoughts that we need to turn off and re-train our brains to think differently.

Hang in there - I hope you get answers soon. But even if your issues are "all in your head" they are still totally valid and a sign that your brain and body may need a break from what you have been doing and may need to go in a different direction in the future.

Donna

Yes, I do think of that a lot as far as the advice I would give someone else is totally different than I'm comfortable doing myself.


I definitely need to retrain my brain to think differently. I just don't see that happening after a lifetime of thinking/feeling the way I do.

Erica