Fat, exhausted, lazy and getting bigger

[PodgyPufferfish]

I have a 3 hour round trip commute every day which leaves me shattered.

I used to be regular sized, towards the higher end of the BMI scale but I felt good and did Parkrun every Saturday, cycled most Sundays and would do a short jog mid week. I would cook fresh food from scratch every evening and batch cook on Sundays. I feel like I used to have bags of energy back then.

18 months ago I injured my ankle and was banned from running. My podiatrist helped me with physio and recovery but I was unlucky and each time I tried to start running again I would injure something and then that's 6 weeks of rest before starting the process again.

At the same time my job changed and became much more stressful with basically no down time.

I get home exhausted and am too lazy to cook anything anything healthy, it ends up being tuna pasta or rice and veggie sausages with broccoli.

I am now lethargic, exhausted, lazy and clearly not motivated enough to change, even though I've tried many times since the start of the year.

I'm avoiding the scales but last I checked I had gained about 8-9kg.

I'm so frustrated I could cry. I'm just so tired and I don't understand how to get back to how I used to be. DP took a photo of me asleep on the sofa last night and I cried in the shower because I looked like a semi-melted seal.

I hear you op it is miserable to feel like that. It's horrible when work takes so much out of you little is left. Have you had a health check/ bloods recently? Something might have changed there.

I was like you except it was a bad virus which laid me low for 6 weeks. I had been going to the gym 4 evenings a week and just loved it. I thought that was my life for ever.
I haven't been since November. I cannot get up and go. I come home from work wrecked and sit around dozing. I find in that situation my eating habits go to pot as l use sugar to get me going.
I am going away on a weeks holiday this weekend. We always walk a lot and cycle on holidays so l am hoping this will get me up and going again and back to gym when l get back. That's the dream anyway.
Doing a 3 hour commute is mad. No wonder you are wrecked. Could you do something in your work town before you head off? I find doing the exercise reins I'm the bad eating.

I have so much empathy OP. I have a hideous commute too, and I regularly cycle through getting into a great routine, then something knocks it and I am back in the bad habits, regularly losing and gaining the same stone or more over and over again.

It's been happening for decades, and I really hate it. The stupid thing is I love the way I feel and look when I am eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep. I love to cook from scratch too . I just find it really hard to maintain long term.

Not much in the way of advice, but loads of empathy.

junebirthdaygirl

I could potentially, trouble is that I commute into London and the gym prices close to me are insane. When I had a gym membership at home it was £20/month, in London it's more like £60. I don't earn a huge amount to begin with, so I suppose I just need to think about whether I can prioritize that spend.

And thank you for the empathy everyone

Is there a branch of The Gym near your work? I only paid £18 per month in outer London.

How old are you OP? It does get harder to keep weight off as we age, but perhaps some gentle exercise like swimming? Would your ankle manage that?

QRCode

Unfortunately I'm working in central London.

brokenpromisesorlies

Only 27, nearly 28 which feels extra frustrating.

I can't swim, but that's by the by. My ankle is much better now and I can do 3k comfortably. I'm just exhausted and can't keep up any sort of routine.

Hi, I also live in an expensive area and found the gym too costly. I just my leg swimming (swimmers knee apparently) which made me cross as I thought it was a gentle thing! So I empathise.

Not sure if any help to you at all, but found these videos online which might be good. I have also heard good things, on MN about yoga with Adrienne. www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-fitness-studio/body-blast-arms/