SS and exercise advice needed

[gemjar]

I've been on SS for 5 weeks now and have attempted to go back to some form of exercise now that my body is used to VLCD.

Pre-Cambridge I used to go to the gym and do a variety of cardio and weights for 50mins 4/5 times a week.

My councellor advised me to wait for 2 weeks before trying to exercise, whch I followed. My 1st 10mins at gym (doing reduced levels, weights and times) I ended up feeling very faint. I haven't been back until this week.

Again, I did 10mins on bike on a low level and then did 10mins on the vibrostation, you know, reasonably low level exercise...I had to sit down for 15mins until the faint feeling passed.

I'm at the stage where my body has lost weight enough to tell and things need to be toned up, I don't want to lose loads of weight and be saggy.

Any advice?:sigh:

 

[ElaineD]

Build it up gradually. I've been running from week 2 and I'm fine. First week I tried to do some but felt really faint. After that I just built it up, adding 5 minutes per session

 

[gemjar]

You're right to say build the exercise up gradually. Think I'm frustrated that I used to go so often and now I can barely do even a third of what I used to do stamina/time wise.

A friend of mine who did Cambridge recommended that you drink a can of diet coke before you exercised, anyone done that and does it work?

I shall try again and see what happens tomorrow!

 

[ElaineD]

The diet coke would make me throw up
I have a shake/bar about an hour before I go, that seems to give me enough energy to manage

 

[Cerulean]

I used to drink a black Americano before I ran anyway as it gave me the pep I needed to run more than 5k. I've been on SS for weeks and I do long slow exercise rather than short sharp intense - I'm happy to walk up to about 12 miles on food packs and I regularly swim miles. I'm on 810 this week so I've started the 30 day shred...but I'll be SSing after about day 4 of the shred so that'll be interesting! I may have to stay on level one for a while longer than expected. I've done Body Pump and 4 hour yoga workshops on SS - water, caffeine and having a foodpack within an hour of starting intense exercise is my tip and yeah - some days you will feel faint for no reason other than your body ain't converting the fat to ready energy quick enough and you need to let it catch up. That said - I really can't run more than 40 mins on SS - I used to have the odd sneaky banana (I haven't this time as I'm not training until I get down to about 13st) to get through my long runs for my 10k training whilst still in theory SSing. I'm not a cheater, but I figure when you're buring 600 cals an hour in cardio and you can't afford to drop back your long runs, the odd cheat is worth it. I also ate protein the day after a long run whilst SSing was crossing over with my 10k training.

 

[flab fighter]

Try low impact such as swimming, pilates or yoga. I wanted to do zumba but you can burn off up to 800 cals in a session if doing it properly that would make negative cals in a day don't think I could do it YET!

 

[gemjar]

Ok, so...
- low levels over a longer period.
- eat a ss meal an hour before exercising.
- Possibly a strong coffee lol! (Been living off them this week!)

Sounds like a plan! I shall try again tomorrow! Thank you all! I am tempted to go back on the vibrostation tomorrow; if I'm not aching like crazy lol!

 

[JeFeDe]

I find the Vibro ok - it's cardio I have issues with on SS

 

[AOGG]

doing hard exercise on SS is just bonkers. You should only being doing walking, your all crazy

 

[Jayellekay]

I find power plates are fine. Cardio is too hard for me.

Maybe go up to an SS+ day?

Let us know what works for you once you've tried a few plans out!

 

[muhly]

i agree you're crazy. guess where your body gets energy from if it cant metabolize fat fast enough...? your bloody muscles!

810 and above is the official rules and it has to be that way for a reason.

i'm not saying you cant tone up or be sensible, but hammering the gym isn't wise at all on only 400/500 cals

 

[gemjar]

i agree you're crazy. guess where your body gets energy from if it cant metabolize fat fast enough...? your bloody muscles!

810 and above is the official rules and it has to be that way for a reason.

i'm not saying you cant tone up or be sensible, but hammering the gym isn't wise at all on only 400/500 cals

No way am I hammering the gym; don't think I could even if I wanted to! Light exercise and toning is all I want but just can't find the balance is all. I shall keep on trying different levels, times and eating before I go and see what happens. I'm still far too achey from yesterday lol!:faint2:

 

[Cerulean]

I would suggest when commenting on posts that criticism is objective and fact-based rather than 'You are all crazy'. The muscle loss comment is inaccurate and misleading - in fact after 12 weeks I can give you my stats. I have PUT ON a 1lb of muscle. I certainly haven't lost any. If you have a lot to lose you need less muscle to carry your bodyweight and so muscle loss is often necessary for people who start off with a BMI over 40 - if you are 20% muscle at 250lbs that means that 50lbs of your body weight is muscle - if you go down to 140lbs and keep every lb of that muscle you would be 35% muscle - that's not normal!!!

I've moved house whilst on a VLCD - 3 days of carrying 20kg boxes down and up 3 flights of stairs/5 mins walk down the street. No one told me I was crazy, I just took it easy and got through it - life happens on a VLCD! Just cos it's not in a gym doesn't mean that life won't present you with exceptionally physically demanding days.

Cambridge encourage activity and trying out new things, I bet you most of the people on LL and CD don't walk the 5 miles a day that both diets state that you are supposed to do (I know I don't do it every day) I would not recommend a weight-lifting programme or running distances over 5k without food.

Gemjar stated how active she was and that she is a few weeks into SS - from experience, after these few weeks you can up your exercise especially if you are already a regular exerciser. The official CD line is that of all exercise programmes - check with your GP.

Off SS I usually do 20 miles of hill walking in a day. On SS I choose routes with less hills and limit my unaccompanied walks so I will never do more than 13 miles in a day (I regularly burn 1500 calories in exercise in a day and keep well hydrated and have never felt dizzy - I built up to my distance over 4 trips to check that I could do it). I said what my limits are at the gym and I stated that at that level you will probably need to eat to fuel it and help with muscle repair - some people doing SS are already very fit - fit/fat are not mutually exclusive.

I want to finish by saying that I don't think it's on to use negative language with fellow Minis. The board is for sharing personal experience in a measured way, not slamming down what you don't agree with.

 

[AOGG]

I think that it is a fact that you need to fuel your body properly if you want to build muscle and tone your body up. I eat around 1500cals a day and exercise daily, I would say that i have built up muscle mass which is why i weigh heavier but fit into a smaller dress size than someone who weighs the same. My losses have been as impressive as being on a vlcd, I've lost 22lbs in 40days an average of 4lbs a week there is a reason they don't reccomend excessive exercise on a vlcd becuase of your low calorie intake which is why it also comes with side effects such as hair loss etc. I think that there is nothing wrong with losing weight on a vlcd, infact it is better than staying obese and at risk of lots of health related problems, but I am proof that you can eat 1500cals a day and as long as you exercise you can lose weight quickly and be fitter too good luck on whatever journey you take as all diets end up the same finishing line, to be thinner, healthier and happier