I’m going from sedentary to active and I’m not sure how to gauge what amount of fatigue is normal.

[rc0617]

Hey everyone! 23F here and I’ve been trying to start exercising again. I’m 5’2” and 117lbs. I have no known health issues at the moment other than asthma, and I was diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency. I want to start exercising to improve my anxiety, OCD, and depression. I’ve been dealing with mild to pretty bad fatigue before exercise and have a hunch it might be because I’m so sedentary. My current vitamin D levels are 31 ng/mL and optimal is around 40-80 ng/mL.

My average steps daily are anywhere from 1000-3000 a day. I’ve been trying to get more active and hit at least 5000 to 6000 daily but it feels so taxing on my body. I don’t know if I’m “doing too much” straight off the bat, but it feels like at my young age and at my weight I should be able to do it just fine. But basically, I’ll do an inclined treadmill fast-paced walk at the gym for 20 minutes and feel so tired after. Like enough that I have to fight back a nap or staying in bed all day after. I also get sore very quickly after a workout. My legs felt sore after that 20 minute treadmill workout, and I did 15 squats today and felt very sore basically immediately.

I’ve gotten a lot of tests done. Right now, I have a sleep study and and endoscopy and colonoscopy in order for July. I’ve gotten tons of blood tests to figure out the cause of my fatigue and basically everything has come back 100% perfect. Like LOTS for inflammation in my body and autoimmune blood test markers. So, I’m just trying to figure out if anyone else has been in my shoes prior and how long it took for them to improve their strength, endurance, and stamina. I want to push through it but I’m scared to do so, since I don’t know if it’s really normal or not or if anyone has gone through the same.

Thanks!

 

[anonymous18]

@rc0617 How much do you eat and sleep?

 

[rc0617]

@anonymous18 i sleep 8 hours a day, every day. i sometimes go over but usually don’t go under because i’d feel way too exhausted to even get up.

my food, honestly, might be a problem. since i’m an anxious person i tend not to eat much because my appetite is killed. i do take a multivitamin daily to keep up with the vitamins and minerals i need.

 

[anonymous18]

@rc0617 You also need the calories to get through the day. Start tracking how much you actually eat every day, and see if it meets your expenditure

 

[girl88]

@rc0617 Asthma might be playing a role in your fatigue

 

[veroch]

@rc0617 I have major issues with fatigue too. I could easily sleep 14 hours a day. For me, it's a combination of sedentary lifestyle, dehydration, caffeine overdose (dang espresso fix), not enough calories, not enough protein, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, GERD, and good ol' vitamin D deficiency (9 ng/mL). No other issues found in my body, thankfully! So I've been addressing all my current issues and have been feeling a LOT better.

In my opinion, I think you're going too hard too fast. This is what the BEGINNING of my exercise journey has been like, including a full body warm up before each activity:

• Treadmill three times a week on zero incline with easy walking for 30 minutes, then jogging at full speed for 1 minute
• Every other day low weight/high rep weightlifting to practice form (I had no choice... I could only lift 2 lb dumbbells)
• LIIT dance exercise videos
• Beginner yoga

Now I can treadmill for much longer and with an incline, I lift high weight/low reps, I can do HIIT, and I've also added swimming laps to my week. Twice daily I do a full body dynamic stretching. On rest days, I do heavier cleaning/chores.

It's amazing that I don't pass out anymore from doing laundry. It took me about 3 months to get here.

 

[rc0617]

@veroch holy crap! you sound EXACTLY like me with that entire first paragraph. i could totally be tricked into believing i wrote this myself. i have all of that, too! even the GERD which i’m newly on PPIs for. and i can’t go a single day without making myself a latte!

i will closely follow this, thank you so much. it means a lot to hear that someone has gone through the same things, and while i’m still on my “ruling everything out” journey, it’s still very reassuring to hear. i seriously feel like my body is made out of glass and breaks into shards on an inclined treadmill and lifting any dumbbells heavier than 5lbs. thanks again!

 

[mommajulesberry]

@rc0617 if you are getting a quarter of the recommended steps per day yes i imagine anything extra (even simply working up to normal step count) will take time to adapt to. take every improvement as a win. i wouldnt rule out medical issues but patience is likely to work

 

[waylon101]

@rc0617 Its normal to be tired when starting new activities like this. Make sure you are eating enough food and good food too, not mcdonalds, make sure you are drinking a decent amount of waterr and getting a decent amount of sleep. And push through it. If it persists for more than a month or so AFTER making sure your food intake is proper, your water intake is good and your sleep is proper, then you should see a doctor about it.