Mild depression symptoms, weight and energy struggle since Mononucleosis infection

jayalilly

jayalilly

New member
AIn short, I have been struggling with my weight for a few years now. Mostly since going through depression a few years ago - so dealing with sleep issues, lack of energy, and lack of motivation. I got through having Mono a year ago and have only now started to feel like I am close to my 'old self'. I find that after I have had an exercise routine for around a month or so I start to feel really tired in general even when I'm exercising. This leads me to see the GP who recommends I rest whenever I can for a few weeks. This helps a great deal but then I'm need to get into an exercise routine again.

I wonder if there is something like a supplement that would give me the energy I need without impacting on my health like an energy drink would. I enjoy doing weight training, but I've been told that cardio is the key to loosing weight but this also makes me tired in the long run.

I have been dealing with a lot at the moment with my mum being diagnosed with cancer and my bottled feelings of frustration and anger towards her for the way she's treated me my whole life. I'm 26 and newly married and still trying to work this stuff out. I feel angry, very angry at times. But on the whole I am so very easily frustrated, running helps but I'm not motivated enough to make a routine. I run when I'm extremely frustrated or know I will be over the course of the day.

I know this is complex, but I thought someone may have some helpful advice I could try. I'm disgusted with my body and I can't do this on my own. Please help :dupe:
 
does your husband / wife exercise? Get them into the routine. That might help.

Cardio is part of losing weight, but equally important is weight training and healthy eating. You can't be successful, in the long run, without all 3 components getting equal attention. Diet and exercise can also play a huge factor in battling depression.


Are you sure you aren't going too hard on the cardio? Or not eating enough beforehand? If you keep getting exhausted after a month, slow your pace a bit. It's much better to maintain a consistent pattern of exercise, even at a slower pace, than to have to take time off after a month.
 
AI've tried to get my husband into exercising with me, but he doesn't think it's realistic. He's got his heart set on running in the mornings when he has energy (once a week). I could do this but I'm an asthmatic, I don't always have an attack but most of the time I do and it's not worth it.

He knows I'm frustrated but I don't think he understands how hard it is for me (it sounds like he thinks I'm just complaining). I even tried changing 'our food' like not buying as much chocolate and ice cream but he's a cookie monster so it needs to be in the house. So I decided to download a food diary that has been helping me the last few days to keep my calorie count down and recognise foods that have more calories than I thought!

I exercise mostly in the morning to burn more fat, I mainly exercise on the wii fit because aerobics, and walking tend to drain my energy more. When I got the most exhausted from my routine I was walking approx 3.5 - 4km 4 times a week before breakfast where I felt like I almost dozed off while exercising and really tired throughout the days (even when I didn't exercise) but I felt fitter so I continued until I was too exhausted to carry on and that's when I saw the doctor.

It's good to know that you need to do weights as well as cardio and diet to loose weight - I never really heard that before. We don't eat fruit because it's expensive. I'm a student and were paying off debts so i take multivitamins instead. Do you think this could be something related with my lack of energy?

The doctor has no idea... Sorry to pepper you with questions :iagree:
 
the Wii Fit is a great way to exercise! My brother-in-law lost about 50lbs or so from working out every morning (obviously changed his diet a bit too)


Your lack of energy could be so many things. Iron is common. Mono is another. I wouldn't recommend doing your exercise before working out. It's not healthy. Your body needs some readily available energy to function properly. There are some schools of thought that say working out before breakfast burns more fat, but it also burns protein (muscle) because it has no readily available energy to burn .. and you don't want to do that.
 
AThanks a lot of the advice!

I see what youre saying and it makes sense! It's better the have the energy to exercise by eating breakfast first. The whole idea about loosing more weight when you exercise before breakfast could be a body composition thing too (I've been reading!) - so maybe it doesn't effect how much fat you loose at all because you're loosing muscle?

I've taken your weight training idea on board and I plan to buy weights in the next few days to add to the cardio on wii fit and the calorie counting. And you're right, I plan to take it easy with the cardio and listen to my body when it's tired.

Thanks again for your help. I think I can do this :hurray:
 
the idea of exercising before breakfast is that you don't have any readily available energy stores, so your body starts to break down the fat. However, your body will also break down the proteins in your body, as well, which is not a desired affect. You can try balancing that with a high protein breakfast, but that's going to be hard to do without also having basic carbs ... so, in the end, it ends up not really mattering what time of the day you workout, as long as it's not before you have breakfast :)
 
Had a bad case of mono my senior year of High School, ruined my wrestling season which I entered with very high expectations. Perhaps you are pushing to hard when you first start out into a routine. When I first got back into it a few years ago, I started with full body weight lifting routines, 1 movement/major muscle group, 2-3 sets/movement. Start out doing something light but be consistent (like a 10 minute walk 3-4x/wk, then add 2-3 minutes a week. Also, when was the last time your Doc did a liver profile? I do remember when I had the mono they were concerned about possible liver damage.
 
AThanks taman, I have had the all clear from my doctor about my liver a couple of months ago. I'm starting to think that my busy lifestyle may be what's making me so tired! I didn't realise how busy I was until a workmate I was getting to know pointed it out to me. I study full time at uni and work and run a household for myself and my husband. I don't have time for friends though I try hard to see them so perhaps im not resting enough? Though I feel like I'm either resting or busy doing something on a whole. I just came back from a weekend away and my body is screaming exhaustion, though I felt relaxed and fine while I was away. Hence why I think I may need more rest.

Thanks for the advice. I think I also need to incorporate more fruit but I find it hard on a budget plus I always forget to eat it when I buy it.
 
AThanks AllCdnBoy,
Unfortunately I have been unwell and have had exams so I haven't been able to try eating before exercise just yet, though I can say that having breakfast at home rather than at work or uni has given me more energy than I would have otherwise had. I'm now committed to breakfast before leaving the house but as I mentioned in my last post I'm thinking the tiredness could be due to keeping a little too busy. I'm aiming to incorporate more rest into my ordinary weeks to see if I start to feel better.

Thanks a lot for your help!
 
AU sound just like me!! I was told to have chronic fatigue syndrome but have recently found out my sleep problems and fatigue are caused by narcolepsy and vitamine b12 deficiency anemia. I also have fructose intolerance so its really hard for me to keep off weight

I take b12 vitamines that seem to give me some energy
 
Acai berries also has become popular in many weight loss and diet products because it helps your body to process foods better and burn fat more efficiently in turn making it easier to lose weight. The essential fatty acids enhances the weight loss by helping the body to run smoother and helping to maintain a normal metabolism, thus burning more of the excess food that eventually gets turned into fat. And the fiber also helps the body to get rid of the excess food before it's converted to body fat. Also both the fats and the fiber helps to suppress the appetite.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't just an acai thing. Many of these vitamins and nutrients can be found in other foods and supplements as well, however you'd be hard pressed to find it all combined into one food like the acai fruit. Plus it's 100% natural.
 
In my opinion you should get your mate in your exercise program. Maybe this will help you really. Also you can practise more and more cardio as this is the greatest way to lose weight. Alongside you eat healthy and take complete diet. For depression i would say listen to good motivational music may be that would help you to keep you calm and on the go track.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top