Energy??

KayLgee

Good Morning,

I have began working out at 6.30am and I feel great for it... up until 3pm when I hit a brick wall feeling knackered. I do get on average 7 hours sleep and I eat fairly well (check my diary today to see if you can see any flaws).

I have just picked up a redbull in the shope as I might need it today but after putting it in my calendar I hope to not have to...

How do you guys fight fatigue or get your engergy boosts (without the sugar)?

annette_15

Coffee imo

Nathanmmx

I find once your body gets used to the routine the energy returns. I do gym classes of an evening now and have energy to burn after til pretty much dawn the next day most nights, so I am sure your energy will bounce back too

GummyBears7779

I don't rlly looks for energy spikes, cos it just tumbles right down for me personally...
Personally, i think eating healthy/clean helps keep ur body up and going. Bananas usually work for me when I just need that spike of energy tho

Poods71

I have struggled with energy for years. I have found I have a bit more recently. Don't know if it is picking up the exercise or I have started taking a multi vitamin with ginseing so that could be helping.

I would avoid energy drinks as they are full of sugar and give a sugar high for a while but soon enough it drops again and you feel even more tired and need more. You could try Berocca, which is supposed to help with energy too.

melaniecheeks

How's your water intake?

KayLgee

Thanks guys, Im trying to stay off too much caffeine.

I drink around 3lt of water per day.

Maybe I will get used to it, this is only my second week.

time4kim2014

I'm the same, I dread 3pm!!! I find that if I can get a bit of fresh air (even sticking my head out the door) and get up to walk around a bit sometimes helps. I have also been drinking some Gatorade as I sweat so much with my workouts that I'm wondering if I need to replace some lost electrolytes. Eat lightly when you're tired as a lot of food will make you feel worse. Listen to some upbeat music.

MityMax96

Coffee is a wonderful beverage.....
Just sayin.

melaniecheeks

Any chance of a quick power-nap?

glowgirl14

Well. I looked at your diary. What I noticed:

Your goals look good - high protein and fat, and lower carbs. That always seems to be the culprit for me - when I'm not getting enough protein and fat I crash. But your logging is not consistent, so I don't know what your days are like when you aren't logging. Also, your intake is not consistent. You have 1200 calorie days, and 1700 calorie days.

I'm not sure what's going on with your deficit...you really should be eating all of your calories. If you've set MFP up correctly, the goal it gives you already has you in a deficit. If you eat less than that, you're depriving your body. Are you hungry? The best thing I've learned here is that you don't have to be hungry to lose weight...learn to trust the system. When I'm crashing, a handful of almonds does WONDERS for me.

Lack of energy can be from a lot of things. You could be just getting used to the new routine - if you've always gotten up at 7:30, and now you're getting up at 6:30 and not sleeping earlier...you're putting extra stress on your body, and it takes time to acclimate to that new routine. Also vitamins/mineral deficiency can make you crash. If you look at the charts (much better on the mobile version of MFP!) you'll see a breakdown of your micros. It can also be your metabolism being slower...regular good food/exercise will help this...

Patience and consistency are the keys here. : )

Eat most of your calories every day. Get your vitamins. Log...consistently. And give yourself some time. The Red Bulls are not terrible, as long as you don't get dependent on them. Hopefully things will smooth out in a couple of weeks.

KayLgee

Thank you so much ^^

My logging hasn't been consistent (busy few months) but most days are like today or yesterday, I think I do need to eat a little more and wait for things to even out. Do you think I could possibly need more carbs or will the protein and fat be enough to get me through?

KayLgee

Also (and sorry for all the questions), do you think it would be affecting me if I am short of 200cal per day?

I tend to eat quite well (lots of greens and lean meats) so its sometimes hard to make up those extra calories without eating a huge meal, and of course I don't want to eat something high in stats 'just because'.

eldamiano

Sometimes we are tired, sometimes we arent. That's life.

KayLgee

Lol, of course. However, this is different being that it is almost like clock work on a daily basis.

Lizzy622

It could be you need a quick walkabout. I tend to get very sleepy when I sit in one place staring at my computer screen. I try to get up and walk around the office a bit. A quick 10 or 15 minute at lunchtime may help also.

Kanuenue

If you are going to do energy drinks, go for BluFrog. It actually has nutrients in it.

Have you tried breathing exercises? Sometimes, when I am the most tired, a moment of quiet seems to re energize me. Kinda like a nap without sleeping.

glowgirl14

The point to setting your macros/calorie goals manually is so you have a guide for how you want your calories to break down for the day. You have high protein/fat, low-ish carbs. A lot of people (including me) go for this and like it. Increasing your intake of any of them is fine. There is no magic, as long as you're trying to consistently hit your macros.

My goal is to try and keep my protein around 100g/day. My entire diet plan centers around that. If the majority of my protein for the day is lean protein, then my fats can come from pure fats (oils, etc) or carbs...if I have higher fat proteins one day, then my carbs are going to be lower that day - mostly coming from my protein sources (yogurt, milk, nuts, etc). I try and hit all my macros, but the diet is centered around protein - because typically everything else falls into place when I do that.

Net-net, if you're crashing, and need energy, and want a muffin - and you have the calories/carbs in your macros, go for it. But no energy and that much of a deficit probably means you're not eating enough. So I wouldn't eat more carbs and less protein or fat. I'd eat it in addition to what you're already eating. If you don't want big meals, a handful of nuts has 170-ish calories, and has high fat...some protein, some carbs.