You know that exercise is crucial not only to your weight loss, but to your overall health, including your blood pressure, blood sugar, and muscle strength and tone. This is especially true after gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, or lap band surgery. It’s how you maximize your results. You know all of this, you understand it. But, you’re tired. You had a long day at work. Or you’re feeling sick. Or you’ve been dealing with one frustrating thing after another and you just want to crawl into bed. And it’s dark outside. But you haven’t exercised yet.
What can you do when you’re too tired to work out?
- Get ready anyway- Put on your work out clothes. Pour yourself some water. Tie your hair back. Gather any equipment you need. Put your sneakers on.
- Assess how you really feel- Are you ready to fall asleep or do you just want to catch up on your shows? If you’re ready to fall asleep, you might just need the extra sleep. Sleep is also very important to your overall health and stress levels. Many people opt to sleep in their clean exercise clothes and hop out of bed in the morning ready to tackle a workout nice and refreshed. But, if you just want to watch something or catch up on social media, then you probably do have the energy to work out.
- If you have the energy to workout- Do it. Just do it. Whether it’s a walk, a jog, shooting basketball hoops with your child, taking a class, or going to the gym. If you aren’t ready to go to bed, then go work out.
- If you really don’t have the energy to work out- Maybe you’re feeling sick, or just really depleted from your day, there could still be some positive things you could do for your body. Some yoga poses (warrior, tree pose, child’s pose, legs up on the wall) might help you give your muscles a little work out with sweating, and help you clear your mind, and get your body ready for sleep.
- If you didn’t want to work out, but you did it anyway- Recognize that you were able to prioritize your needs over your wants and reward yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back. Or, better yet, reward yourself with a little extra of what you were looking forward to (maybe it’s a show, or social media, or time with your kids, or a hot bath, or whatever makes you feel good about yourself).
These suggestions are offered by Dr. Shillingford, MD, PA, a board certified surgeon serving as Medical Director at Northwest Medical Center’s Center of Excellence in Bariatric Surgery. Dr. Shillingford specializes in gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, and gastric band surgery. His reputation for excellent surgical skills and comfortable bedside manner attract patients from all over Florida, including Miami, Tampa, Boca Raton, Orlando, and Jacksonville. His bariatric weight loss patients receive top notch care during their hospital stay and during their follow up care in his Boca Raton office. Dr. Shillingford encourages his weight loss surgery patients
