Women Weight Training and Diet

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kpritchard87
kpritchard87 Posts: 6 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So.....I am in my 5th week of weight training. I read the whole series of NROL as well as research on Stronglifts 5x5.

I created my own programme consisting of 3 x workouts per week. I do 5/6 different exercises each work out consisting of:

Squats
Deadlifts
Bent over Rows
Bench Press
Dips
Pull ups
Lunges
Overhead press

I am progressively upping my weight by 2.5kg per exercise. 1.25kg for upper body strength exercises as I tend to be weaker in this department.

I started to see results after about 3 weeks. My stomach is noticeably flatter, by butt noticeably perkier, I am forming biceps, and my collar bone and chest in general is starting to look a lot more 'toned'/defined.

I have felt really good and energetic and have also been eating more frequently aiming my meals around protein but with a mixture of carbs and fat too. I previously tried the atkins diet and ended up blacking out by the end of week 2 as well as loosing 8lb in my first week. I was constantly drained of energy so decided it wasn't something that i felt 'healthy' for and decided perhaps a more conventional low fat diet may be the way forward. This method did not see any weight loss and I consistently felt 'starved'. This in all led me to dong research of weight lifting along with a more balanced and healthy diet and life style.

So like I said with the new approach I have felt better than I ever have before and I am actually really enjoying my trips to the gym when before they seemed like such a chore, and the fact I am seeing results so quickly is just a real bonus.

I am 5"5 and weigh 140lb. I wouldn't regard myself as overweight but have always had the tendancy to hold more weight around my mid section.

In the time I have been weight lifting I haven't lost any weight but believe that could even be a good thing? Especially as I am pretty sure that I am gaining muscle.

So I had this weekend off, and on Monday I felt so drained and tired and to compensate I ate more. By the evening when I got to the gym I already felt shaky and energy less which was odd as I made the effort to eat at least 30 minutes before. I continued with my workout and had to stop after some squats and dips as I felt like I was going to pass out. This subsided when I got home and ate dinner.

Tuesday came round and I felt a lot better, due to my non existent work out on Monday I attempted the gym again and this time round I was absolutely fine. Later that evening after dinner I was getting ready for bed and all of a sudden felt like i was going to pass out again. Went to bed and thought not much more of it. Put it down to a hot shower and a good work out.

Today I have felt like I am depleted of energy all day, shakes, jelly legs and the constant need to sit down.

Does anyone have any idea why this may be - could i be on a burn out or still adjusting to this new routine? I am thinking I could have low bloody sugar or something of the sort but slightly concerned that the episode has lasted for 3 days now on and off.

Sorry for the essay I havent posted in a forum before.

I have thought it may be the amount I am eating but I am in no means on a diet and I am eating more than I ever have before including a good mix of all macros. Probably around 1500-2000 cals a day whether it be a training day or not. I tend not to count calories and eat whenever my muscles are telling me to, trying to speed up my metabolism as much as possible.

Any advice anyone could give me as to what the lack of energy and dizzyness is all about would really help. I haven't completed food logs for a long time btw.

Also any tips as to how I could improve my programme are also welcome :-)

Replies

  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,210 Member
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    "Any advice anyone could give me as to what the lack of energy and dizzyness is all about would really help."
    =====

    Could be a lot of things - maybe you're sick, maybe you're over-training, maybe you have anemia or some other medical-related issue, maybe not enough calories..
    What is your cardio routine?
    How many sets of each lifting exercise do you do (challenging sets, not warm-up)?
  • kpritchard87
    kpritchard87 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks for replying :-)

    I don't do cardio in a planned sense. I commute to work every day which involves a 40 minute walk each way and so a lot of walking / stair climbing in normal day to day at work.

    I tend to do 3 x 10 of each set of exercise with heavy weights to the point of fatigue so constantly challenge myself. I don't warm up per se, but certainly have my commute from work to the gym which I see as my warm up.

    I guess its best to continue as normal and see if symptoms persist - I just wondered if this was a normal experience when starting out with weight training or if anyone else had experienced it?
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
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    Something's off, but it's hard to say what if you don't have all the data. Best to start filling out your food logs - you don't have to follow any particular "diet", just track it, so you can see if you really are getting enough protein/carbs/fat. You probably want to pay a little extra attention to your pre- and post-workout meals - you don't have to go all bodybuilder but make sure you're not starving beforehand and make sure you get some extra protein and quick-processing carbs afterwards.

    Could also be a vitamin or mineral deficiency, some kind of insulin thing, overdoing it, illness, allergies, lots of things. But I'd check the food first, since it's the easiest to see and the easiest to fix.
  • Saffyra
    Saffyra Posts: 607 Member
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    My suggestion would be to actually log your calories to see if you actually eating as much as you think you are.

    I got the same feeling you describe when I didnt eat enough while doing Insanity (extremely intense cardio workouts).

    Hopefully its as easy as eating more and not anything medical. :)
  • timbrom
    timbrom Posts: 303 Member
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    I've been pointing a lot of people to this article recently: http://thefitcoach.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/584/

    Nutrition advice aimed at weight lifting. It's going to seem like a lot of food, but it works.

    If eating more doesn't fix the problem, then it may be overtraining, or something more serious. Seeing a doctor might be wise.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    Measure, weigh and log your food to make sure you are actually eating what you think you are. Raise your calories to what should be maintenance for a few weeks and see if you feel better.

    You may just need to go see a doctor and stop working out to make sure there is not something wrong.
  • kpritchard87
    kpritchard87 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thank you every one for the great advice. I'm gonna go see a doctor tomorrow to be on the safe side.

    Will also start logging all of my food to make sure I'm actually eating enough. Eating more on lifting days is definitely worth a try and adding a protein shake after work out is something else I will add.

    Thanks all :-)

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