I feel like quitting...

What you're describing are the classic symptoms of over-training, your body simply can't keep up with a cut in calories and overload of exercise. There's definitely no reason to quit, but be more flexible - most people are their own worst enemy.

If you want to be healthy you've got your entire life to do it, you don't need to jam it in to as short a time frame as possible and burn yourself out. I usually train four days a week maximum and maintain a low body fat long term. Sometimes I'll push that up to five days a week, but after 3-4 weeks of 5dpw I always cut back to 3 days a week for 4 weeks to allow my body to recover before increasing back to 4. You need to learn how your body copes with exercise and responds to it - if you're feeling drained and de-motivated then take the day off, relax and get back in to it tomorrow (or the day after if you feel you need two days off).

Always remember that just because the box says '30 days' it doesn't mean that it has to be done in 30 days. An interesting point is that nobody seems to consider that doing extreme amounts of exercise for short periods of time isn't beneficial to long term weight loss. You may lose weight more quickly over that short period, but nobody can maintain such a high level of exercise forever so they will stop and the weight will come back.

We always tell people to Train Smart - i.e. focus on what works, rest when you need to, make sure you eat enough to support it. The average adult can stay in great shape with just three 1 hour sessions a week with a sensible diet - its that easy. People like to overcomplicate things (usually egged on by the media)

What you're describing are the classic symptoms of over-training, your body simply can't keep up with a cut in calories and overload of exercise. There's definitely no reason to quit, but be more flexible - most people are their own worst enemy.

If you want to be healthy you've got your entire life to do it, you don't need to jam it in to as short a time frame as possible and burn yourself out. I usually train four days a week maximum and maintain a low body fat long term. Sometimes I'll push that up to five days a week, but after 3-4 weeks of 5dpw I always cut back to 3 days a week for 4 weeks to allow my body to recover before increasing back to 4. You need to learn how your body copes with exercise and responds to it - if you're feeling drained and de-motivated then take the day off, relax and get back in to it tomorrow (or the day after if you feel you need two days off).

Always remember that just because the box says '30 days' it doesn't mean that it has to be done in 30 days. An interesting point is that nobody seems to consider that doing extreme amounts of exercise for short periods of time isn't beneficial to long term weight loss. You may lose weight more quickly over that short period, but nobody can maintain such a high level of exercise forever so they will stop and the weight will come back.

We always tell people to Train Smart - i.e. focus on what works, rest when you need to, make sure you eat enough to support it. The average adult can stay in great shape with just three 1 hour sessions a week with a sensible diet - its that easy. People like to overcomplicate things (usually egged on by the media)

Excellent post, especially the last paragraph.

If anyone has read "A Guide To Flexible Dieting" by Lyle McDonald (I know, I know, I keep mentioning it) you will know he recommends taking a full diet break every 12 weeks or so depending on your level (sooner if you are leaner.) This is very good advice and pretty much all the people I know you have reached their physique goals have down so to some degree even if they know about his writings or not.

Our bodies and mind have a finite capapcity to deal with stress. Long term dieting can be taxing and mentally exhausting. Trying to run yourself into the ground generally back fires. I guess some people are fearful of taking a break but they need not be. In most cases it is beneficial.