Are You Listening To Your Body?

Especially if you are new to working out, it's important to make sure you are listening to your body.  At first there are so many changes going on in your system, you won't notice anything about the body's signals.  However, after you perform consistently for a period of time, you will begin to notice things. This is where your power of observation will be sharpened.

People who have spent the majority of their life overweight are not in the habit of listening to their body.  Over time many different signals have combined.  For the most part people who are habitually overweight have confused what these signals mean.  As you begin to exercise on a regular basis you will notice that the signals are not what you thought.

This is where you need to re-learn your body.  Take the time to experiment and begin to see how your body responds so that you can better work to increase your health.

For example, after working out for a while, you will likely experience the feelings of fatigue and tiredness.  Unfortunately, many people will stop working out and when they begin to feel better, they will stop working out because they like how they feel now.  This is a mis-reading of your body's signals!  What's happening is that your body is finally beginning to process everything as it should.  Because of this, your body is increasing the signals for what it needs.  You are just used to reading hunger, tiredness, and fatigue.  Your natural inclination would be to say, I'm tired so I'll sleep.

I suggest you begin to experiment with different things to figure out what your body is needing.  In our fatigue and tiredness example the body could be asking for several things.  First, it could need more water.  In order for the body's processes to work correctly and efficiently, you need to have a lot of water in your system.  If you get dehydrated, your body may signal that you need to slow down because the processes are getting slowed down and it responds as if you are over doing it.  Make sure you are drinking adequate water and avoiding excess salt and drinks that act as a diuretic.  If you are staying adequately hydrated and you are still experiencing the fatigue and tiredness, then you should look to your nutrition.  Are you eating right.  What is "right" anyway?  This is a very good question, and really beyond the scope of this blog, but in general make sure you are eating whole foods that are not just meat.  When in doubt, vegetables and fruits are a good place to be.  Concentrated foods like processed foods, meat, cheese, etc. are a drag on your system and can cause tiredness and fatigue as well.

Lastly, if these first two things are in place and you still are fatigued and tired, consider that you may actually need more sleep, or you may need to take a break.  It's perfectly normal for the body to need time to rest.  About every two months or so you should take a break for a few days, maybe a week.  If you haven't worked out a lot in the past you may need a break at the end of one month.  Try taking a day off of your normal schedule and then go back to your normal schedule.  If you are eating well and staying hydrated, you should have energy to spare.  If you are still dragging, your body is trying to tell you something.  Make sure to pay attention and make small adjustments that don't involve quitting exercising forever!