Newbie question: loss of motivation or in need of a rest day?

[Nopefactor]

I started with the Fitbit on Sept 1. I'm a 36 year old mother, 5'8", weight on Monday was 220 and my goal is 130. I've been logging all my food and yesterday was the 7th day in a row I met each of my daily goals. But today I have zero energy. I have however been very hungry, which is a first since starting. I've struggled all week to get enough calories and just have had no appetite. This meant that I had a calorie deficit higher than the 1,000/day I was aiming for. I figured that was probably OK in the short term as my body adjusted, and I'd be where I wanted by day 14 or so. I'm wondering though, could today's complete lack of energy be due to not eating enough all week? I've walked just over 1,000 steps today, that's how exhausted I think I am. But I'm also wondering if I'm reverting back to old habits and rationalizing being a lazy bum today. I'm trying to figure out if I should push myself to go walk a couple miles to meet my goals, or if I genuinely should take a rest day. I'm still learning how to tap into what my body is telling me, I'm not there yet and so I'm over analyzing everything which is causing confusion. Has anybody else gone through this when they started? Did you push to meet your goals, or take a break day? Any advice, comments, or words of wisdom would be appreciated! Thanks, guys.

[russsss]

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@Nopefactor wrote:
I started with the Fitbit on Sept 1. I'm a 36 year old mother, 5'8", weight on Monday was 220 and my goal is 130. I've been logging all my food and yesterday was the 7th day in a row I met each of my daily goals. But today I have zero energy. I have however been very hungry, which is a first since starting. I've struggled all week to get enough calories and just have had no appetite. This meant that I had a calorie deficit higher than the 1,000/day I was aiming for. I figured that was probably OK in the short term as my body adjusted, and I'd be where I wanted by day 14 or so. I'm wondering though, could today's complete lack of energy be due to not eating enough all week? I've walked just over 1,000 steps today, that's how exhausted I think I am. But I'm also wondering if I'm reverting back to old habits and rationalizing being a lazy bum today. I'm trying to figure out if I should push myself to go walk a couple miles to meet my goals, or if I genuinely should take a rest day. I'm still learning how to tap into what my body is telling me, I'm not there yet and so I'm over analyzing everything which is causing confusion. Has anybody else gone through this when they started? Did you push to meet your goals, or take a break day? Any advice, comments, or words of wisdom would be appreciated! Thanks, guys.

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Hi Nopefactor !!!!!  

Pushing to meet goals ... of course I do, most people do unless the goals are way to easy then there's no need to push yourself but what would be the fun in that .  

Break day(or even days) ... you need to do that and it's fine to be a "lazy bum" for a day . Actually tomorow, (oops today) will be a break day, the first since august  28th so I will NOT be going for any walks, no gym, nothing, nada, zip and I may or may not eat some stuff that I probably shouldn't .  

Consider that I've been using fitbit since May of last year and I was taking 2 days off a week for quite awhile and it was over 2 months before I could get 10,000 steps reliably but now doing 12 to 15k is the norm and I'm working on my pace and stride .  

CAUTION !!!!!!!   you need to be very patient with yourself and accept the fact that there will be setbacks along the way that you will need to overcome and also you must truly know that you can and will overcome them .  do not rush, take the time needed and have multiple goals ... i.e - increased fitness, less body fat, more muscle mass, and greater stamina  .  

late and i'm off ... best of luck and enjoy it 

[A_Lurker]

When you say you've had a higher deficit are you talking say 1200 calories less instead of 1000 less.  Or are you talking about 2000 calories less?  Obviously I've posted extremes, but the answer would be different depending on your answer.  If you're only 1200 less then I'd suggest you try higher bulk / lower calorie foods (ie. broccoli) and make sure you're getting a decent amount of protein and fat.  Both help with hunger.  If you're say 2000 calories less I'd say eat more.  Adding a handful of nuts is an easy way of raising your calories slightly without adding a lot of bulk.

However, a rest day isn't such a bad thing.  The catch is with a rest day you need to lower your calories as well.  Using myself as an example - I usually burn 3500+ calories a day and I eat 2500, stopping at that point.  I hit the 3500 most days, and if I don't I'm usually pretty close.  In fact, looking back, I've only not hit that number twice in the last month.  I'd already half decided that today would be a rest day (crappy weather, didn't get as much sleep last week).

You've got a long way to go (I say that being further from a goal weight than you are).  It's a gradual journey, not a race.

[emili]

So first, I don't know if you set a realistic goal for yourself. I am 5'7 and 134 pounds and most people refer to me as skinny (I laugh each time). Adding on another inch of height and dropping 4 pounds will put you really underweight. I think a more realistic goal might be 140. As far as fatigue from not eating enough. That does happen, but it usually happens the day of. If you are lacking nourishment you will feel lethargic, tired, foggy in the brain, sleepy- just general low energy. Have a snack and see if it improves.  walking isn't really considered highly active movement so I don't know if you need a rest day. If you have been walking 5 miles everyday for two weeks, you may want to cut down one of the days to three miles or take a day to lift weights, but I wouldn't cut out all activity. Good luck reaching your goals and remember to have fun along the way. It shouldn't feel like a chore and something to get through. It should feel like you are taking care of yourself and treating yourself right.