Feeling always tired even doing exercices

Question

I am 28, 174 cm, 110 KG of pure fat :D and I always feel tired. I used to cycle to work about 20 KM per day but In a low pace, about 9-10Km/h. Now I changed my job and I cycle 15 km to get to drop my kid at school and go to work and about 4 or 5 to go back home. I also started the gym about 3-4 months ago, doing mostly weight lifting on average 3 times per week and after a few weeks increasing the weight. Even though I always feel tired (I have hypothyroidism but I take hormones for it and I sleep well but I struggle to wake up always tired), my bad cholesterol is high and good cholesterol is down and I don't seem to be losing weight. Do you have any tips to give?

Answer 1

A problem with hypothyroidism is that you cannot fully correct for it. While you can bring your thyroid hormone levels back to the normal range, a person with a normal functioning thyroid will have small fluctuations in the level of thyroid hormones due to changes in energy demands causing a feedback on the metabolism. E.g. exercising hard for a few days increases the energy demand, the metabolism goes up a bit as a result. This fine tuning of the thyroid hormone levels will be missing in your case, as you'll take in the same prescribed dose every day. As pointed out here:

Having hypothyroidism doesn’t mean you can’t participate in competitive sports or train for a race or marathon. But, a recent study of highly-trained male athletes found that it may be more difficult to do any kind of high-intensity exercises. Athletes may need to adapt their training plans to let their bodies recover from this effect.

Exercise isn’t a substitute for hormone therapy to treat hypothyroidism. Some studies even suggest that in spite of prescribed medication, those with hypothyroidism may experience greater discomfort during exercise. Still, when practiced safely, many forms of exercise offer specific benefits to individuals with hypothyroidism. Always discuss your exercise plan and goals with your doctor before starting a new routine or regimen.

Answer 2

My tip is... see a doctor. And if you did and they didn't really find anything, consider a second opinion.

Really, there are so many possible causes of this that just giving you some tips is unlikely to solve it. And because the underlying cause might be a serious issue, it would be irresponsible of me or anyone who isn't a health professional to give you advice.

The only things I can think of personally is that you do weight lifting and the stress you impose exceeds your capacity for recovery, or you're lifting very heavy relative to your conditioning. Recovery occurs mostly during sleep. I've noticed that when doing serious workouts frequently I might need as much as 10 hours to feel rested. But you mentioned increasing the weight only after a few weeks (a beginner is capable of increasing weekly or even every workout) so I doubt that is it. Maybe the hormones aren't sufficient to counter the hypothyroidism.

Only consider the above paragraph if you've ruled out anything more serious, which requires a professional medical opinion.

Answer 3

Well you didn't talk about your diet, which is the largest contributing factor to your body fat. What you eat, and how much you eat, is the biggest component of your body fat far beyond whatever you do with exercise. Get your diet sorted out as a priority.

Your time at the gym sounds like it could have been better spent. I'd recommend adhering to a proven and successful strength training program, don't try to wing it and follow whatever advice you've picked up from magazines and your own experiences.

Your cholesterol levels could very well be related to your thyroid issues, and this is pretty well documented:

Thyroid dysfunction can have an important effect on lipid profile.

It sounds like you're making the time and prioritizing your health, which is terrific. Now it's just about being a bit more effective and using the right tools for the job. Diet, effective strength training, and talking to your healthcare provider about options with your cholesterol.

Answer 4

Excusme in advance for adding an answer instead of a comment. I can not add comments yet and I could not resist to give a different point of View.

Why gym? Why weight lifting? Do you like such routine? There're thousand ways to lose weight and to carrie a healthy life.

Is there any sport or physical activity that you like? Football? Basketball? Tennis? Swiming? Rollerblading? Jogging? Fitness? Martial arts? ...

Why don't you start by something that put you through that mod that makes you feel inspired and motivated.

Any physical activity done with the right intensity will be healthy for you. It will change your mind and your mod in no time. Later if you feel like going hard into another activity, then go and enjoy it.

I would like to encourage to you look for 'Plan B' to the gym routine.

In my lifetime I have practiced: Martial arts, soccer, Tennis, Biking, Spinning, Rollerblading, Fitness, Crossfit and jogging (now and then). Weight lifting is the only one I have had to force myself to keep going :-). Finally I could change that mod and now I go very motivated.

Whatever you do it should motivate you. Once you find it, go to the doctor for support. Tell to him/her your plan and ask him if hyperthyroidism is a problem. Ask for advice. And go.for it ;-)

Finally how mates here pointed out, don't neglect your diet. It's the basic of everything else :-)

Hope it help you. Don't give up!!!

S.N: Feel free to edit my answer. My english is still little and I'm sure I have made many mistakes.