I have no energy!

BrendaLee

I've never tried a Red Bull, but now I'm going to get some and try it before my next workout. Wings could REALLY help out with cardio.

lilangel7671

I usually work out about 5-6 days a week, at least an hour each time. I'd say it's a medium-high intensity. Usually 30-45 mins cardio (treadmill or elliptical), then weight machines, squats, free weights (not all of them all the time, I'll mix them up here and there), and cool down stretch. I'll usually eat lunch as soon as I get home (usually spinach salad with chicken and veggies and reduced fat cheese), then I'm off to work.

So first, I'd say, separate your workouts, it's extremely taxing on the body to do both anaerobic and aerobic training in the same day, that's why when people do long HIIT workouts, it's recommended to take a day off after. You may not feel like you're working overly hard, but what you're doing is forcing your body to both refuel the tired muscles from the cardio, and rebuild and strengthen the muscles from the weight training, so you're body's pulling double duty trying to repair and replenish at the same time, this amounts to a very high stress time, and the chemicals this releases in your body could be leeching nutrients away from what would normally be used to refill your muscle ATP stores.

Also, eat a decent amount of complex carbs about 2 to 3 hours before you do any moderate cardio routines that last for over 35 or 40 minutes, this will give your body the glucose it needs in the blood stream and liver to replenish your ATP stores while you're working out. Protein and to a lesser extent fats are good after, but really only necessary after a moderate or harder anaerobic (weight training) workout, as unless your cardio pushes past your anaerobic threshold (which at a medium pace you aren't doing) you won't be doing much in the way of muscle building during cardio.

FYI, if you try the red bull trick, and you are tired again 15 minutes into the routine, then it's probably not vitamins, it's probably either you're overtaxing your body (the above stuff in this reply) or you have an issue with your thyroid. These aren't the ONLY possibilities, but generally, they would be my guess.

Banks-Just a quick question..I DO eat complex carbs pretty near all day long, especially after having a long run/workout in the AM. I workout for about 30 min-hour 6 days a week, pretty high intensity. My question is if I work out in the AM does it make sense to kinda taper my carb/fat/protein/calorie intake towards the end of the day or does it not REALLY matter to my body? I should mention that I do a large breakfast (oatmeal) sometimes a mid-AM snack, larger lunch, then two smaller type snacks, and then a smaller dinner (usually no more than 500 cal). I am on maintenance now too, if you'd check out my food diary that would be cool too..let me know what you think:ohwell: Thank you!
Edit: Guess I should add that my dinner comes no earlier than 7-8pm on a normal day due to work hours.

SHBoss1673

Banks-Just a quick question..I DO eat complex carbs pretty near all day long, especially after having a long run/workout in the AM. I workout for about 30 min-hour 6 days a week, pretty high intensity. My question is if I work out in the AM does it make sense to kinda taper my carb/fat/protein/calorie intake towards the end of the day or does it not REALLY matter to my body? I should mention that I do a large breakfast (oatmeal) sometimes a mid-AM snack, larger lunch, then two smaller type snacks, and then a smaller dinner (usually no more than 500 cal). I am on maintenance now too, if you'd check out my food diary that would be cool too..let me know what you think:ohwell: Thank you!
Edit: Guess I should add that my dinner comes no earlier than 7-8pm on a normal day due to work hours.

Well, you didn't give me access to your food diary, so I couldn't look

but that's ok, I don't really need to know exactly what you eat to have a good idea of the strategy you're employing (from your above descritption).

So, as to when to eat the majority of your food, I'd say the way you're doing it is probably best, a slightly larger breakfast and lunch would probably be better in the morning for you. I don't think it matters a heck of a lot, considering it takes food a while to break down in the body anyway, as we form habits our bodies get used to how we eat, and use that pattern to shape the way it creates glucose, so I doubt it would cause much harm if you switched from a larger breakfast to a larger dinner. You might see some numbers change initially but in the long run, as long as you're eating healthy, I doubt it would be a large factor in your health. As to when you eat your dinner, I'm sure eating at 7 or 8 isn't IDEAL, in a perfect world I'd guess you'd probably want to eat around 4:30 then have a small snack around 7 or 8, but again, I don't think its a deal breaker for you, as long as you don't go to sleep immediately after you eat, I don't think this is a problem, as long as you tailor the rest of your eating to accommodate this.

The only things I have found that impact when you eat significantly is the TYPE of workouts you're doing, and that is only a small impact. I've found that if you're working out with hard cardio for an hour or more, you want to make sure you ate good carbs a few hours before, and if you feel weak after, have a quick (simple carb) snack after (a small one) just to replenish your blood sugar, and if you did a heavy weight workout (to failure) then make sure you have about 8 to 10 grams of protein after (complete protein like beef jerky or a protein drink) along with a carb (like some whole wheat pasta) to give your body the things it needs to build muscle without canabalizing the protein for energy.

hope this helps.

-Banks

lilangel7671

Thanks so much Banks! And sorry I didn't let you see my food diary:embarassed: ..forgot to open it. Anyways, yea I eat a pretty clean diet..staying away from processed foods as much as possible, the less ingredients the better is my theory! This seems to be working for me, just wanted your 2-cents. haha..I do pretty intense workouts about 5 days a week, burning over 500 usually, then one day is my "working rest day" sorta..I just do some yoga type work and some jogging at the gym. So usually not burning as much. As far as my eating dinner at 8pm I don't get home from work until 7 and well...thats just how it works out..I am however usually up til around 9:30-10, so I guess that gives my body enough time to start digestion...? lol...I just wanted to make sure (even though I'd heard it doesn't really matter what time you eat because your body doesn't know the difference). What are your thoughts on having pastas/higher carb type dinners if I've allotted it in my daily calories? Don't know how good it is to "carb" up my dinner too much:ohwell: Thank you! Oh and I'll open my diary, yesterday was a pretty good example, (I haven't logged dinner tonight coz it's my parents anniversary and we are going out to eat..yikes:grumble: ).

SHBoss1673

Thanks so much Banks! And sorry I didn't let you see my food diary:embarassed: ..forgot to open it. Anyways, yea I eat a pretty clean diet..staying away from processed foods as much as possible, the less ingredients the better is my theory! This seems to be working for me, just wanted your 2-cents. haha..I do pretty intense workouts about 5 days a week, burning over 500 usually, then one day is my "working rest day" sorta..I just do some yoga type work and some jogging at the gym. So usually not burning as much. As far as my eating dinner at 8pm I don't get home from work until 7 and well...thats just how it works out..I am however usually up til around 9:30-10, so I guess that gives my body enough time to start digestion...? lol...I just wanted to make sure (even though I'd heard it doesn't really matter what time you eat because your body doesn't know the difference). What are your thoughts on having pastas/higher carb type dinners if I've allotted it in my daily calories? Don't know how good it is to "carb" up my dinner too much:ohwell: Thank you! Oh and I'll open my diary, yesterday was a pretty good example, (I haven't logged dinner tonight coz it's my parents anniversary and we are going out to eat..yikes:grumble: ).

I have carbs with every dinner pretty much. Some people don't like this strategy, but as long as they're good carbs (like whole wheat pasta), I don't see the problem with it. Your body's going to use the carbs anyway, and complex carbs can take up to 16 hours to completely digest anyway, so I don't think it matters as much as people think it does with regards to when you eat them during the day. At a certain point, your body's going to do what it wants, and the only way to influence that is through body shaping, you know, after all the weight is off, then it's up to you to decide how it will look, will you be satisfied with a decent physique, and be less strict with your routine? Or will you go for the ripped look, with very well defined muscle tone, which takes a lot more work and dedication, and IMHO a little less fun. It's a personal choice, and to each their own, but I think the end game is all about continuing to eat healthy and lots and lots of higher intensity workouts.

lotusfromthemud

Lots of good info here.

Can I respectfully chime in with another suggestion/question. How much sleep are you getting, and do you feel that it's quality sleep?

A while back, I went to the doctor with a similar problem. When I told him that I'd been getting (maybe) six hours a night, he told me "I can give you no pill to replace sleep."

I just think it's interesting that in the whole discussion the issue of sleep didn't come up.

If you're getting plenty of good sleep, and you're still tired. . .then. . um. . .never mind.:flowerforyou:

toots99

Lots of good info here.

Can I respectfully chime in with another suggestion/question. How much sleep are you getting, and do you feel that it's quality sleep?

A while back, I went to the doctor with a similar problem. When I told him that I'd been getting (maybe) six hours a night, he told me "I can give you no pill to replace sleep."

I just think it's interesting that in the whole discussion the issue of sleep didn't come up.

If you're getting plenty of good sleep, and you're still tired. . .then. . um. . .never mind.:flowerforyou:

Sure you can chime in, the more the merrier!

I mentioned in my original post that I do usually get 8 hours sleep, if not more. I love sleep! :laugh:

lilangel7671

Thanks Banks! I will keep my diet pretty much the same..my body seems to be doing just fine with that. I have increased my daily calorie intake though (to about 1800-1900) because I joined a gym and will be a little more consistent with how many cals I burn (I was doing some strength training during the week and only burned like 150 cal). Still getting used to being able to eat kinda like a pig and not gain the weight back..lol...that musta been my problem BEFORE losing it, but I've changed my entire lifestyle and diet. I keep most of my carbs complex and HEALTHY sources so I guess that's the biggest factor. I love veggies and such, so adding extra of those in at dinnertime I don't think will be a big deal. Thanks again!:flowerforyou:

lotusfromthemud

Lots of good info here.

Can I respectfully chime in with another suggestion/question. How much sleep are you getting, and do you feel that it's quality sleep?

A while back, I went to the doctor with a similar problem. When I told him that I'd been getting (maybe) six hours a night, he told me "I can give you no pill to replace sleep."

I just think it's interesting that in the whole discussion the issue of sleep didn't come up.

If you're getting plenty of good sleep, and you're still tired. . .then. . um. . .never mind.:flowerforyou:

Sure you can chime in, the more the merrier!

I mentioned in my original post that I do usually get 8 hours sleep, if not more. I love sleep! :laugh:

whoops. . .I was so busy reading the responses, I didn't carefully read your OP.

I remain a huge fan of the curing powers of sleep.