Signs of overworking your body?

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1princesswarrior
1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all, lately I've been doing a lot of manual labor in addition to working out with a trainer twice a week, running three times a week, and riding my horse four times a week. Part of the manual labor is digging out stall floors where I board my horse, putting in new limestone and mats, and working at the barn cleaning stalls in addition to my regular shifts there that include feeding the horses and taking them out 2-3 times per week. During the day I work a desk job. I average about 7 hours of sleep each night and I am trying to get 8 or 9.

I use a FT4 HRM to monitor calories burned (even though it's not perfect) and have been coming up with well over 800 calories/day most days, 1000 calories/day several days, and over 2000 calories/day on some weekend days when I am working on the floors.

I generally try to eat between 1800-2200 calories/day but I do struggle on some days. I am working on that by adding more nuts and learning to remember to pack things I can eat on the go or very quickly after a workout. I also drink at least 1 gallon of water a day with few exceptions. My BMR is around 1560 and TDEE is 2500 - 3000 depending on the calculator you use. I use the very active setting when trying to determine my caloric daily needs.

Lately I've noticed some hair loss and brittle nails so I am beginning to wonder if I am overworking my body. My weight loss has also slowed down but not stopped. I still have a lot of energy and feel pretty good overall. I crashed before when I was on a 1200 cal/day and do not want that to happen again.

Does anyone know the signs of overworking? Any suggestions on adjusting my eating for the days I know I will be putting in these huge burns?

Thanks!

Replies

  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
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    it's almost impossible to overwork..

    it's very easy to undersleep and undereat.

    you're not eating enough. also, whats your fat intake? hair loss is a sign of too low fat intake.
  • JewelsinBigD
    JewelsinBigD Posts: 661 Member
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    Potassium deficiency can cause these things to happen- I take extra potassium and vitamin D in addition to my multi-vitamin.
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
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    Potassium deficiency can cause these things to happen- I take extra potassium and vitamin D in addition to my multi-vitamin.

    I never knew that!

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