Will I always be absolutely destroyed after a workout until I’m out of the obese category?

[tchan777]

@thornbearer

it doesn’t seem like protein is very important at my extreme obese state

I'm going to stop you right there.

I'm all for the veggies but you need to have some lean protein with those veggies. Grilled chicken is almost always a great addition there.

Also, your macronutrient ratios don't matter so much as raw calories in versus calories out, carbs are going to make your brain work better and make you feel better, and give you energy for your workouts, healthy fats are going to help your heart and your brain as well, especially omega-3s, and protein is important not only to build muscle but also to fuel normal bodily processes like creating enzymes and such.

 

[kgaines1984]

@thornbearer You want to lose weight, but you have to still feed your body! Exercise and food patterns can’t become a punishment for where you are now, or else they won’t last. Cut out the garbage, find your CICO limit and actually stick to it (aka get comfortable with being hungry sometimes and not reaching to satisfy it immediately), and take it easy with exercise. Your body is gonna feel like garbage when you ask it to do something physical it hasn’t done in a long time (or ever)—what you’re doing is building muscle, which is done by them literally tearing themselves down to be built back up; there is no part of that that should be comfortable. If you were ripped, a good workout should challenge and tire your body out; it’ll just last longer and do more before it hits failure.

Remember, recomping can be tricky to wrap your head around. If you’re cutting cals dramatically from what you’re used to, but also working out, that can be hard to manage as someone new to both. Exercise makes you hungry and wears you out—two things that’ll make you want to reach for comforts, which may or may not be good. You 100% can lose weight simply by watching what you eat, so if the exercise is adding a layer on top that is going to demotivate you from EVERYTHING, cut it down or out. Do 15min on 3incline, or walk outside and listen to a podcast. Moving will always be better than not, but if you bite off too much too fast, you risk dropping the routine altogether, and the only way you can see results is by sticking with what you’re doing day-in and day-out for at least a year. So set yourself up for success! Make a plan for the next 90 days, and reassess from there

 

[nancyleejay]

@thornbearer Until you get a bit more fit, you will be sore. DOMS usually hits the hardest two days after a work out. Extreme soreness really sucks! However, the worst soreness I have gotten with new exercise routines goes away after the first few weeks of working out. After that, I generally only get mild soreness, the "feels good, like I did something!" kind.

If the soreness is as bad as you describe, I'd try going every third day for a while, and just walking or stretching in between. I have found I am less sore when I eat more protein in my diet. I don't think it is because of your weight--it is because of your fitness level. I say that because I get the same kind of "oh no, I can barely move!" soreness from beginning a new form of exercise, even if I am at the lower end of a normal weight range.

 

[pilgrim8926]

@thornbearer Hard work is hard work. You will make huge progress if you keep at it, and your brain will get conditioned too, but it’s never easy. Your capacity just gets higher.

 

[heavenly777]

@thornbearer Definitely add protein. For your height I'd shoot for about 60g per day minimum. Also, when I'm coming back from a hiatus I personally do best on an ever other day schedule. For whatever reason with the extra rest day between the soreness is worse.