Need your opinion on diet/exercise please...

FemininGuns

Hi, I've been here since July, lost 14lbs so far.

I noticed the past couple of weeks that I've been feeling sluggish. 3 weeks ago, I changed my diet (please view diary to assess), started going to bed earlier as I go to the gym at 5am. Cut out wine/beer or any alcoholic beverage...

I feel that I am eating pretty clean... However, I am wondering if my sluggishness is due to not enough carbs in my diet. I do a lot of cardio (4 times per week in the AM at the gym at 40 min. each, twice a week in the evening go running for aroun 30 minutes and I do a long run on the weekend that's about 1hr long) and lift weights 5 times a week. Anyway, if anyone has input on if I should increase carb intake (good ones) or if I should be ok in what I'm eating please let me know.

I want to continue losing at a slow pace, but I want to be full of energy the majority of the time instead of possibly 2 days out of 7...

Thanks!

elainecroft

I don't know too much about regulating carbs, but one thing that I have found is that it is possible to get sluggish in the fall because of the dwindling daylight. How much time do you spend outside?

cakefarm

Great job on your success thus far! You look phenomenal!

And regarding carbs - I am the first person to try to get rid of them. I lose better without them and I FEEL better without them. But the fact is, when you're doing a lot of cardio, you really need to balance your macro-nutrients. I did not believe that increasing my carb intake would increase my fat loss until I read Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat - Feed the Muscle (which I highly recommend).

rml_16

Are you getting enough iron? I haven't looked at your food yet, but feeling sluggish is a sign of anemia (and also hypothyroid).

It could just be a hormonal change, too.

ProTFitness

Well It does look like things are pretty clean with your eating. I would say eat a good breakfest. Here is mine generally. 1c cooked oatbran with 2tbsp ground flax seed, 1/4 c pumpkin,spices and 2 eggs and 1 egg white. It may very a little but generally it is the same. Make sure that you are getting your complex carbs like brown rice whole grain bread, quiona, oats, red skin potatoes. Fruits veggies. If you are then I would suggest a good mulit vitamin if your not on one. Also how is your iron. Most women have low iron and that can cause you to feel drained and tired

00trayn

You should go into your Food Diary settings (on the Home Page, click on Goals, then Change Goals, then Custom) and reset your ratios. You're getting a lot more protein and less carbs than MFP recommends as a default and I think it would benefit to change them so you can adjust your eating accordingly. I'm at 50% carbs, 25% fat and 25% protein right now and I feel good. A higher protein diet would be 40% carbs, 30% fat and 30% protein. It's worth changing so you can see how you're doing against the ratios.

cakefarm

I just read that you're also lifting. You really do need carbs right after your workout to keep your body from cannibalizing your muscles. If you message me, I'll be happy to email you Venuto's ebook. It revolutionized my training and nutrition.

rml_16

OK, I've looked at your diary now. I would toss the protein shakes. Those are not the best source of protein (your body doesn't absorb it efficiently) and you're getting WAY more protein than you need. WAY MORE. That isn't good for you. A lot of people will tell you differently, but your body can only absorb so much.

The rest becomes fat or gets flushed out and taxes your kidneys and liver. Also, I know more than one person who was getting too much protein and ended up with permanant health problems because of it (and stomach surgery to boot).

So, my advice is cut out the protein shakes, track your iron and see how you feel.

As for carbs, as long as they're coming from complex carb sources, I wouldn't even worry about them.

cakefarm

Are you kidding? Protein turns into fat? The is an absolute mis-statement.

Training as hard as the OP is, I'd suggest she eat 1 g of protein per pound of body weight. You'd be hard pressed to find a trainer who wouldn't agree with that.

End6ame

Check out this article.
http://www.articlesbase.com/womens-health-articles/which-is-better-to-burn-fat-cardio-vs-strength-training-3016208.html

Here is my advise. Take it or leave it, but it works for me. Decrease your cardio and increase your strength training. I would switch to 3 days per week, 45 minutes of strength training and 2 to 3 days per week, 30 to 45 minutes of cardio (either on strength training days or off days, your choice. I do mine directly after strength training). Also up the intensity of your strength training, the weight should be heavy (don't worry you won't get big)

For a good fat burning strength routine, check this out. (http://stronglifts.com/) the content is geared towards men, but there are many women that do it too (my wife does, and she is not big/muscular)

Reducing the cardio will increase your energy, and it may sound weird, but so will upping the intensity of your strength training.

Hope this helps.

rml_16

Are you kidding? Protein turns into fat? The is an absolute mis-statement.

Training as hard as the OP is, I'd suggest she eat 1 g of protein per pound of body weight. You'd be hard pressed to find a trainer who wouldn't agree with that.

And the last person I would take diet advice from is a trainer. My information comes from nutritionists and the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic.

But you can take advice from a trainer who more than likely has very little if any actual training in nutrition if you want. I prefer not to gamble with my health.

SHBoss1673

there's lots of reasons why you could be feeling sluggish. The diet change probably has something to do with it, it could be as simple as giving it time. I did notice that many times you're replacing a lot of your carbs with protein. Not enough to become ketogenic of course, not even close, but still quite a few, a change like that takes time to get used to. That COULD be it, but then again it could be a million other little things, since all I know is what I see from your diet and the fact that you switched up a few weeks ago, I'd probably look at that first.

My only other question is what do you set your goal loss at? Because from your pictures, it looks as if you don't have a ton of weight to drop (not much at all actually), and if your deficit is set rather high, well then you most certainly will feel a drop in energy, especially with a change or increase in exercise intensity (you said you started working out in the morning). Remember, as we move closer to goal weight, we need to reduce our deficit in order to reflect our current fat stores.

rml_16

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/sports_health/nutrition/protein.aspx

cakefarm

And the last person I would take diet advice from is a trainer. My information comes from nutritionists and the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic.

But you can take advice from a trainer who more than likely has very little if any actual training in nutrition if you want. I prefer not to gamble with my health.

She's training daily to compete in a fitness competition. Can you please provide references to support your assertion that her daily protein level is detrimental to her health? Because the Mayo clinic sets their recommendation "about 50 to 175 grams a day." The OPs target protein intake is 148.

Just saying.

tbernard

Normally I'm quite happy to critique Diet but frankly, I think I eat clean and I think you're eating better than me. On top of that you look fantastic. Dare I say... "hot"

You might balance a little more carbs and a little less protein but to be blunt, I haven't seen logs of anyone on here who I thought were as good as yours

I do wonder if your sluggishness feel is caused by performing two types of exercise regularly whose effects counter each other. A number of years ago I ran the marathon, but I was also lifting substantial amounts of weight. It was really tough looking for a balance because it takes time for muscles to recover from lifting, and long runs tend to each muscle. What sort of workout do you perform ? Do you work all of your muscles all of the time or do you work on a split ? How long are your runs ?

End6ame

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/sports_health/nutrition/protein.aspx

Only if you have a calorie surplus. Anything can be stored as fat if you have a calorie surplus. If you have a calorie deficit your body will not store fat.

Calories in > Calories out = Gain weight
Calories in < Calories out = Lose fat

pfenixa

I, too, have been very sluggish over the last two weeks but like someone else mentioned, I attribute it to the changing of seasons. I've been trying to go to bed earlier because I was dragging myself out of bed in the morning, but I've realized it's because my body/mind rejects waking before the sun is up. That initial feeling was dragging along with me during the course of the day, leaving me half-asleep after work. Granted, maybe not your problem, but something to think about.

lloydrt

Grglander, thanks for your post. I went to that site, really informative. I gotta say, Ive been doing exactly what he suggests, ....whew, but there are times if I have the time, Ill stay on the tread mill or bike for an hour.......I like to keep my heart pumping strong, as well as knowing that it lowers my bp in the end...Also, I did in the last 2 months start using the weight equipment, ie, the bi and tri machines, no free weights yet, just about 45 mins a day on the weight equipment, and then, if time allows, 30 mins to 90 mins cardio

Im in the process of being weened off of blood pressure medicine by Christmas, and following Drs orders, but he said to keep my heart a pummping away, thats the best thing for lowering cholesterol, of which mine is 130 s ............too cool, and my bp is about 110 / 60...awesome numbers...............so, thankfully, its all paying off

.....again, thanks for these posts, I do read them and use certain ones for my journey.....Lloyd

rml_16

And the last person I would take diet advice from is a trainer. My information comes from nutritionists and the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic.

But you can take advice from a trainer who more than likely has very little if any actual training in nutrition if you want. I prefer not to gamble with my health.

She's training daily to compete in a fitness competition. Can you please provide references to support your assertion that her daily protein level is detrimental to her health? Because the Mayo clinic sets their recommendation "about 50 to 175 grams a day." The OPs target protein intake is 148.

Just saying.

It's based on weight. Someone who weighs more would shoot for more protein, thus the range.

Regardless of the amount of training she's doing, the body can only absorb a certain amount of protein. Period. The rest will turn to fat (and as stated, only if it's not being burned, so that's probably not the case here) or filter through the liver and kidneys. It can cause seirous health issues.

1 gram of protein per pound of body weight is WAY higher than any recommendation I've ever seen from a reputable source that I would trust. I would not trust a trainer with my diet.

coastalstorm25

I think you may just need to get more sun because ..like someone said ..of the changing seasons. You could see if you are getting enough vitamin C...I was reading in I think Oxygen Magaine that if you are feeling a little low on energy try some vitamin C. I am a person you follows the "eat right for you blood type diet" and I swear by it...that's just me. You could pick up the book at your local library and see if what you are doing is in conjuction with what they advise. It wouldn't hurt to take a look and see how you measure up. Another things is if you are getting enough carbs and like someone else said Iron.
I hope you find a solution to your situtation..Good luck

cakefarm

As I said before: She is training (hard) for a fitness competition. If she did not consume as much protein as she does, she'd lose muscle. 1 g of protein is the standard for people who are highly active. And I'm not so inclined to trust nutritionists either: the low-fat, low-protein, high-carb mess that is the standard American diet is completely responsible for the obesity epidemic in my opinion.

rml_16

As I said before: She is training (hard) for a fitness competition. If she did not consume as much protein as she does, she'd lose muscle. 1 g of protein is the standard for people who are highly active. And I'm not so inclined to trust nutritionists either: the low-fat, low-protein, high-carb mess that is the standard American diet is completely responsible for the obesity epidemic in my opinion.

What does the average American diet have to do with nutritionists? Just because people choose to eat junk food doesn't mean it's recommended. Carbs do not cause weight gain. Too many calories does.

And, no, 1g of protein per 1 pound of body mass IS NOT the standard. Find me a single protein calculator that says that. The HIGHEST recommended is 2 grams of protein per KILOGRAM of weight, which is way less than a pound.

SHBoss1673

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/sports_health/nutrition/protein.aspx

Only if you have a calorie surplus. Anything can be stored as fat if you have a calorie surplus. If you have a calorie deficit your body will not store fat.

Calories in > Calories out = Gain weight
Calories in < Calories out = Lose fat

sorry, but this is incorrect.

musclebuilder

As I said before: She is training (hard) for a fitness competition. If she did not consume as much protein as she does, she'd lose muscle. 1 g of protein is the standard for people who are highly active. And I'm not so inclined to trust nutritionists either: the low-fat, low-protein, high-carb mess that is the standard American diet is completely responsible for the obesity epidemic in my opinion.

What does the average American diet have to do with nutritionists? Just because people choose to eat junk food doesn't mean it's recommended. Carbs do not cause weight gain. Too many calories does.

And, no, 1g of protein per 1 pound of body mass IS NOT the standard. Find me a single protein calculator that says that. The HIGHEST recommended is 2 grams of protein per KILOGRAM of weight, which is way less than a pound.

you say that carbs don't cause weight gain but that to many calories do.. yet above you say that to much protein does cause weight gain. You can't have it both ways. Protein is never directly stored as fat. It would first have to be converted to glucose through gluconeogenesis. Then synthesis of fat from glucose can occur through de novo lipogenesis. But in order for this to happen and have the glucose stored as fat offset the amounts of fat oxidized during the rest of the day you would need to be consuming calories above TEE. Even then with the ability to store glucose it would take a very large feeding of carbohydrates for this to happen in any significant degree. Now when you consider that only a moderate amount of glucose can be produced from amino acids we are talking about an even smaller percentage that could potentially contribute to this pathway. So realy the amounts of protein that will contribute to fat synthesis is small at best.

rml_16

As I said before: She is training (hard) for a fitness competition. If she did not consume as much protein as she does, she'd lose muscle. 1 g of protein is the standard for people who are highly active. And I'm not so inclined to trust nutritionists either: the low-fat, low-protein, high-carb mess that is the standard American diet is completely responsible for the obesity epidemic in my opinion.

What does the average American diet have to do with nutritionists? Just because people choose to eat junk food doesn't mean it's recommended. Carbs do not cause weight gain. Too many calories does.

And, no, 1g of protein per 1 pound of body mass IS NOT the standard. Find me a single protein calculator that says that. The HIGHEST recommended is 2 grams of protein per KILOGRAM of weight, which is way less than a pound.

you say that carbs don't cause weight gain but that to many calories do.. yet above you say that to much protein does cause weight gain. You can't have it both ways. Protein is never directly stored as fat. It would first have to be converted to glucose through gluconeogenesis. Then synthesis of fat from glucose can occur through de novo lipogenesis. But in order for this to happen and have the glucose stored as fat offset the amounts of fat oxidized during the rest of the day you would need to be consuming calories above TEE. Even then with the ability to store glucose it would take a very large feeding of carbohydrates for this to happen in any significant degree. Now when you consider that only a moderate amount of glucose can be produced from amino acids we are talking about an even smaller percentage that could potentially contribute to this pathway. So realy the amounts of protein that will contribute to fat synthesis is small at best.

Too much of anything will become fat was my point. My statements do not contradict themselves. I was merely saying the body can only absorb and use a certain amount of protein. The excess will be filtered out through urine or stored as fat. If you're not taking in too many calories, it will be the latter. If you are, it will be the former.

So, yes, I CAN have it both ways.

From the Cleveland Clinic (via the link I posted above):

Protein is needed in the diet to build and repair damaged muscles. However, eating a high protein diet (more than 2 grams per kilogram of body weight) does not necessarily lead to larger muscles. In fact, if you eat more protein than you need, your body will simply use it as an energy source or store it as fat.

XFitMojoMom

...I think you are from Canada (similar foods to what I have in my pantry) - what supplements are you taking? I've noticed too that I'm getting sluggish, my diet is nowhere as clean as yours, but increasing my Vitamin D intake has helped tremendously. Your B-complex will also help boost your energy - in fact, I would check your B12 levels.

musclebuilder

As I said before: She is training (hard) for a fitness competition. If she did not consume as much protein as she does, she'd lose muscle. 1 g of protein is the standard for people who are highly active. And I'm not so inclined to trust nutritionists either: the low-fat, low-protein, high-carb mess that is the standard American diet is completely responsible for the obesity epidemic in my opinion.

What does the average American diet have to do with nutritionists? Just because people choose to eat junk food doesn't mean it's recommended. Carbs do not cause weight gain. Too many calories does.

And, no, 1g of protein per 1 pound of body mass IS NOT the standard. Find me a single protein calculator that says that. The HIGHEST recommended is 2 grams of protein per KILOGRAM of weight, which is way less than a pound.

you say that carbs don't cause weight gain but that to many calories do.. yet above you say that to much protein does cause weight gain. You can't have it both ways. Protein is never directly stored as fat. It would first have to be converted to glucose through gluconeogenesis. Then synthesis of fat from glucose can occur through de novo lipogenesis. But in order for this to happen and have the glucose stored as fat offset the amounts of fat oxidized during the rest of the day you would need to be consuming calories above TEE. Even then with the ability to store glucose it would take a very large feeding of carbohydrates for this to happen in any significant degree. Now when you consider that only a moderate amount of glucose can be produced from amino acids we are talking about an even smaller percentage that could potentially contribute to this pathway. So realy the amounts of protein that will contribute to fat synthesis is small at best.

Too much of anything will become fat was my point. My statements do not contradict themselves. I was merely saying the body can only absorb and use a certain amount of protein. The excess will be filtered out through urine or stored as fat. If you're not taking in too many calories, it will be the latter. If you are, it will be the former.

So, yes, I CAN have it both ways.

From the Cleveland Clinic (via the link I posted above):

Protein is needed in the diet to build and repair damaged muscles. However, eating a high protein diet (more than 2 grams per kilogram of body weight) does not necessarily lead to larger muscles. In fact, if you eat more protein than you need, your body will simply use it as an energy source or store it as fat.

Protein is not stored as bf in most real world situations.. In order for it to be stored as bf would require you to consume more grams of protein then is possible. reread what I posted above and then do some more indepth research.

rml_16

So, you're disputing the Cleveland Clinic?

OK then.

musclebuilder

So, you're disputing the Cleveland Clinic?

OK then.

Yes I am. Dispute non credible info like you posted is what I do. Why, is the CC above being questioned?

End6ame

And the last person I would take diet advice from is a trainer. My information comes from nutritionists and the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic.

But you can take advice from a trainer who more than likely has very little if any actual training in nutrition if you want. I prefer not to gamble with my health.

She's training daily to compete in a fitness competition. Can you please provide references to support your assertion that her daily protein level is detrimental to her health? Because the Mayo clinic sets their recommendation "about 50 to 175 grams a day." The OPs target protein intake is 148.

Just saying.

It's based on weight. Someone who weighs more would shoot for more protein, thus the range.

Regardless of the amount of training she's doing, the body can only absorb a certain amount of protein. Period. The rest will turn to fat (and as stated, only if it's not being burned, so that's probably not the case here) or filter through the liver and kidneys. It can cause seirous health issues.

1 gram of protein per pound of body weight is WAY higher than any recommendation I've ever seen from a reputable source that I would trust. I would not trust a trainer with my diet.

The protein formula is misunderstood quite often. 1g/lb of body weight is the GENERAL formula for athletes. Depending on the intensity of your training, you may require athlete like nutrition, even if you don't consider yourself an athlete. In most cases, 0.6 to 0.8g/lb of body weight is sufficient. Ideally you never want to go lower than 1g/lb of lean body mass. The one to one formula has simply been spouted all over simply because it is easy to remember and calculate and is basically bro-science, however it is nowhere near hazardous.

However if you look a male silverback gorilla weighs up to 500lbs or so. Most of this is muscle. Gorillas eat mostly leaves with small amounts of protein coming from insects consumed accidentally. No way they get anywhere near 500g of protein into them a day. Just something to think about.

rml_16

So, you're disputing the Cleveland Clinic?

OK then.

Yes I am. Dispute non credible info like you posted is what I do. Why, is the CC above being questioned?

THE CLEVELAND CLINIC is not credible? Are you serious? Now I'm laughing.

And it's not 1g/POUND of body weight. It's per kilogram. Totally different unit of measurement. Please show me a single source that states 1g/pound for ANYONE. I've never seen that. Not even on bodybuilding websites.