Hitting a snag and need advice

O

ocd

New member
I have been working on my weight for just about a year. Started in May 2009 and have lost so far 145 pounds.

My method of exercise has been biking and the treadmill. Over the winter so far it's been just the treadmill. Basically everything has been going very smooth up till now.

I have been slowly increasing my running along the way, I started out walking at just 2.5 mph, and along the way worked up to jogging 6mph in two 40 minute sessions a day, six days a week.

I had been sustaining that schedule fine, 2 runs a day, 40 minutes with a 5 minute cooldown 6mph, all up till about 2 weeks ago. Basically I've hit an unexpected brick wall.

All of a sudden my legs are stiffening up bad, I had to scale back in speed to 5mph and I just struggle to make it. the first 2 days usually go great but by the third day my calves are tightening up and I'm getting cramps in them bad in the middle of the night. If I back off and sit around for a day or two I can get my wind back but not for long, not like before.

I'm not sure what to think, I haven't changed my diet, granted I eat very light probably 1500-1800 calories a day, It's what I've done all along. I'm at about 195 pounds right now and feel like I need to burn about another 20 - 30 pounds of fat off, so close to the finish but I am perplexed by this change.

I've read that lack of calcium and magnesium can be a source of bad cramping in the calf muscles, and have just started taking calcium and magnesium supplements today. After tonight's run I was just so burned I could barely finish.

Does anyone have any similar experiences or encounters with this?

(Edited) I forgot to add I do stretch before and after a run.
 
Last edited:
I didn't have the cramping, but like you, I was eating a similar amount of calories early on, and found it fairly easy to sustain. However it did get harder as I got closer to the end, and I started eating more. I'd try eating a few more calories, if I were you.
 
I probably don't get enough protein when I think about it either, because I go pretty easy on meats.

I started today with a bigger breakfast, eggs instead of oatmeal for a change(the extra protein can't hurt right), continued the calcium supplements and added sliced bananas as well since I also read that lack of potassium can contribute.

I decided to go with 3 days straight at a time for now instead of 6 till things are adjusted and working right so we'll see how all this goes.

It's kind of the opposite of what I had expected, I expected I would respond better to less calories and run much easier the lighter I got. I just assumed as long as I still had body fat to lose there was plenty of it to burn in place of calories.
 
How is your vitamin D? I had issues with legs getting really stiff after exercise and it turned out I was low on Vitamin D. Stretching didn't help with it, but the nutrition did. Of course, I wasn't going 6 days in a row either. :D

Hitting the potassium & magnesium can't hurt though.
 
Hi OCD

Personally I don't think your diet has anything to do with this. Now you have been running for some time your muscles have started to develop.

You need to stretch more and improve your flexibilty. Trust me this does work and is very important as you seem to be running quite often and for long periods of time.

Also running to much can also hurt your muscles - you need to have regular breaks throughout the week so your muscles can develop. Your muscles will only heal themselves when you are resting and running six days a week with no days off isn't giving you muscles the precious healing time they need.

Generally speaking it takes a least 2 days for your muscles to heal after intense exercise so a 3/1 training/rest should be sufficent. If you think this is slacking off don't belive it - this is how the pro's do it!
 
Dmtaylor said:
Hi OCD

Personally I don't think your diet has anything to do with this. Now you have been running for some time your muscles have started to develop.

You need to stretch more and improve your flexibilty. Trust me this does work and is very important as you seem to be running quite often and for long periods of time.

Also running to much can also hurt your muscles - you need to have regular breaks throughout the week so your muscles can develop. Your muscles will only heal themselves when you are resting and running six days a week with no days off isn't giving you muscles the precious healing time they need.

Generally speaking it takes a least 2 days for your muscles to heal after intense exercise so a 3/1 training/rest should be sufficent. If you think this is slacking off don't belive it - this is how the pro's do it!
Click to expand...

The thing is though this is a sudden change. I had been sustaining an even higher pace without getting these burnouts on the same six day schedule. I actually had to scale it back.

It's winter and sunlight is at a massive low plus I go outside very little so maybe the wearing on of the winter months has something to do with vitamin D as suggested.

The thing is with Vitamins, I do take a multivitamin daily, So I am confused because I thought that had me covered.
 
Yeah, I take a daily multivitamin and still was deficient. I guess I need to go outside more. The computer monitor glow isn't the same...

I can't say for sure that it's Vitamin D, but it can't hurt to get it checked out or to take an extra vitamin D supplement. (It's apparently pretty difficult to get too much Vitamin D)

Either that or your body suddenly decided it hates you :p
 
Your body needs a week or two off. Eat around maintenance calories for two weeks and you should be good to go again. Your workout is pretty intense, and on low calories just one day off a week isn't going to be enough for your body to recover over the long term..ie the stress will accumulate until you go through what you're experiencing now.
 
Well, thus far I've added calcium and magnesium supplements with every meal. I took a day off and got more calories than I normally do for that day, probably in the neighborhood of 2000, with lots of protein, though I don't think I'll stay quite that high every day. Added sliced banana to breakfast for more potassium, as well as glass of skim milk for more vitamin D, in addition to the milk I normally add to the oatmeal I have almost every day, going to alternate with eggs for more protein. Along with this I also doubled the amount of stretching before and after running from what I was doing. Trying to make sure I get more water as well.

So far so good for day 1, I feel really good this morning and my legs aren't stiff at all after running, but we'll see how it goes by day 3 which is usually where I tank lately. Though considering I only took a single day off, I do feel better than lately this morning.

If that doesn't work I'll have to consider the suggestion of taking an extended break, though I am loathe to do that as I am addicted to progress and my original target goal of 180 is so close.
 
Last edited:
How long is an 'extended' break? A week off shouldn't cause you to lose too much progress. And a week off is a lot better than several weeks or even months off due to an injury!
 
I tend to consider anything longer than 2 days an extended break.

Since I started this last May that's the longest I've gone without some kind of intentional daily exercise, though I did way more biking than treadmill in the summer. I haven't even stopped for colds, just ignored them and kept going.

I named myself ocd for a reason. I tend to have obsessive fixations with certain things. It's kind of one of my philosophies about weight loss that for myself personally I have been trying to shape my negative traits, such as obsessiveness into positive outcomes. The same traits that led me to overeat and pursue unhealthy hobbies like sitting and computer gaming endlessly in the first place.

I guess negative traits have a tendency to illicit negatives even in positive things like weight loss it would seem, since I tend to get just locked in focus and have a hard time transitioning out of something into another once I know it works.

So far things continue to be going well with the 3 day 1 day approach, day 2 is almost down and still feeling much better, so I only need to wait until tomorrow evening to learn the full outcome.
 
Last edited:
Hehe, well I don't know if you truly need a week off or not. Only you can say for sure. Sometimes it doesn't hurt just because an injury can last so much longer. Just listen to your body and don't make it decide to hate on you ;)

An alternative to a break from exercise would also be a break from dieting. For a week eat closer to maintenance to give your body a chance to recover.

Or maybe the extra nutrition helped! It's hard to tell sometimes. Good luck either way though :D
 
It seems to have worked out. Between all the extra stretching, the 3/1 day schedule, and the calcium/magnesium supplements, the leg cramps are subsiding.

I finished my second run of the day last night with what can only be described as a huge success.

I jumped the gun and started early after dinner so I got a stomach cramp after 10 minutes running, so I sat down for another 15 then got back on, and was able to run the whole 3.5 miles with no problem at all, I even felt like turning it up but didn't, just kept the pace and finished another 40 minutes in addition to the 10 I did with a false start. When I was done I felt like I could go another 40 with no trouble.

Had one leg cramp Friday morning but none at all since. Saw the doctor as well on Friday who ordered a blood test, so I will find out for sure if my vitamin levels are correct next week as well.

Feels like things are getting back on track finally.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top