I'm feeling a bit morose and gloomy, because I keep finding all over again how little strength I have. I helped carry some tables yesterday - they are not all that big, a bit bigger than card tables, but they have iron legs and are heavy. They belong to the village hall, but we borrowed them for a doo at the church hall. When Ro was little and we went to the mother and toddler group, I used to shift them without difficulty, but now, having carried a few, my bolt was shot and my arms and legs are still aching today. I made heavy weather of cycling a few miles.
I'm not sure why this is - okay, I suppose I shouldn't expect to be as strong as I was over 20 years ago, but I don't see why I feel no fitter, when cycling, than I did a year ago. I've been careful to eat a balanced and good diet and to diet slowly so that I don't lose muscle rather than fat, and as you know I've been cycling several days a week throughout the year. I don't mind progress being slow, but at the moment I feel that I'm losing ground rather than gaining it. It could be that the arthritis is getting slightly worse and this is counteracting the benefit of losing weight, or it could be that I'm just a bit tired or it may be what I should expect at my age, or it could be an effect of losing weight. My leg muscles are certainly toned, but that doesn't mean they are working better. It's a nuisance because I'd like to be cycling further afield, but it's such a slog when going up the most modest hill that there is no pleasure or feeling of satisfaction in it.
I'll persevere of course and maybe I shouldn't expect more - I said a long time ago that, when thinner, I used to not have much stamina, but in those days I was, at least, pretty strong even if I used up that strength quite quickly.
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2 comments:
I think you need to bear in mind a few things... One, that you had a real busy time of late, including a sale, redecorating a flat and a new arrival. That's a lot. Two, if you do some activity, the body uses glycogen, stored around the liver, as its immediate fuel; if you're out of glycogen or those stores are low, you might feel disproportionately tired by a relatively small task. Worth bearing in mind.
Also, there's no such thing as how someone 'should' be feeling - there's just how you are feeling. If shifting some heavy-sounding tables knackered you, it might - just might - be a tiring exercise. So there.
Just my immediate thoughts, anyway.
It's true that, although I don't feel tired in myself, I've been feeling more tired during exercise since I decorated the flat a month ago, and also that I've been busy since - but not vastly unusually so. I suppose I'm just getting old and don't recover like I used to.
Thank you for practical encouragement, anyway.
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