Curious about pre-workout supplements (energy)

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performfully
performfully Posts: 126 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys,
I've been working out on and off for a lifetime but didn't get serious until about June of last year and since then I've lost nearly 40 lbs. Despite my exercise endurance increasing, I feel like my energy is generally decreasing. I get tired half way through the day and keep chugging along since most people can't fit a nap in during the day. I don't believe this is a side effect of my nutrition, I've learned my body well over the years and try my best to properly fuel it. I am on medication for heart issues (high BP, fast heart rate, palpitations, and half of my heart is enlarged) which makes me pretty sluggish. I need something to boost my energy up, but not something like the women's diet pills (BTDT) that make a normal person feel like they're about to have a heart attack. FTR, my doctor has told me to basically live on like a normal person within my own limits, but I'm still not trying to take something that may make me feel worse than I normally do. I have literally drank a Starbuck's energy drink every day for the past 3 months, and although I work the 200 calories off I sure am tired of it. Any advice would be appreciated. :)

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  • La5Vega5Girl
    La5Vega5Girl Posts: 709 Member
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    i like to drink Spark by Advocare (yes, i know most people do not like their products or sales people) because it gives me energy with no crash after. i also don't feel a huge RUSH of energy like with caffeine. the grape, cherry and pink lemonade flavors are my favorite. i drink with 9 oz of water about 30 minutes before i hit the gym.
  • Chrisparadise579
    Chrisparadise579 Posts: 411 Member
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    WOW nice job losing 40lbs! that is fantastic! I too have been into workoing out on and off and just got serious about it in january. My first suggestion would to honestly take a rest/deload week. If you have been working out every day since july your body is pretty beaten up by now. I typically try to take a deload week every 2-3 months to keep myself going strong. BUT lets get back to those preworkouts. I personally really like c4 by cellucor. I dont feel jittery or sick when I do take it. Some other options are mp assault but that made me feel like running through a wall, and i also enjoy pumped raw, you feel kinda weird inside but it makes your workout amazing and i dont feel my heartrate increase
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    Snake Oil.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I don't take a damn thing I don't clear with the doctor. I'm routinely shocked to read or hear about people taking things when they have no idea who made it or what is in it. Don't do that!

    Eat a healthy diet and drink water. That and some exercise should give you more energy.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    I'd guess that if your medical issues aren't the cause of the worsened energy, you're either not eating enough despite thinking you are, or that your macro balance isn't optimal for you. Or even your weight loss approach isn't optimal - I gained better energy and lowered my moodiness by simply removing my regimented approach to dieting (while still tracking macros, of course). Now that I eat way more food in the evening I spend way less time trying to figure out how to eat at breakfast and lunch, I don't have to plan all that much, I just truly eat whatever now while making sure that in the evening I make choices to help me meet my protein goals. I also experience energy issues when I don't eat enough, though.

    The only "preworkout" I take is to simply eat at least a few hundred calories of protein and carbs. Minimal fat because otherwise I get weighed down and don't perform well. I had a bag of fruit and a chicken thigh veggie salad, maybe 400ish cals, about 2 hours before my workout today and I had an awesome deadlift session despite not sleeping enough last night.

    And a break might be in order. A week or two off could make a big difference.
  • performfully
    performfully Posts: 126 Member
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    Kalikel wrote: »
    I don't take a damn thing I don't clear with the doctor. I'm routinely shocked to read or hear about people taking things when they have no idea who made it or what is in it. Don't do that!

    Eat a healthy diet and drink water. That and some exercise should give you more energy.

    Well thanks for your really unhelpful advice, but I didn't actually say I wasn't going to discuss it with my cardiologist. But there's nothing to discuss if I don't have anything in mind.

    Ana- I would be interested in suggestions for macros. I have never tracked them. Also, most of my fatigue is directly from my medication. I switched to taking it at night and it helped but didn't disappear. I also had taken a two month 'break' September & October.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    performfully wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I don't take a damn thing I don't clear with the doctor. I'm routinely shocked to read or hear about people taking things when they have no idea who made it or what is in it. Don't do that!

    Eat a healthy diet and drink water. That and some exercise should give you more energy.

    Well thanks for your really unhelpful advice, but I didn't actually say I wasn't going to discuss it with my cardiologist. But there's nothing to discuss if I don't have anything in mind.

    Ana- I would be interested in suggestions for macros. I have never tracked them. Also, most of my fatigue is directly from my medication. I switched to taking it at night and it helped but didn't disappear. I also had taken a two month 'break' September & October.

    Is it a result of the type of medication or this specific medication itself? So maybe brand X causes issues but brand Y would be fine? You might want to discuss that with your GP/doctor as well just to see if switching medications would be worth trying if the tiredness causes enough problems during the day. Otherwise, just talking to the doctor about other ways to take the medication that might change your energy.

    As for macros, I'd suggest maybe looking at the past few months and looking at your average macro intake. If you notice that one macro is always really low, then try increasing it. Macros are very subjective. In terms of pre-workout energy though, carbs can really be helpful, or carbs + protein. All I know is that fat is usually not recommended pre-workout, and for me it definitely makes me feel gross before a workout. If you notice that things are generally pretty balanced but that maybe you tend to eat more of a certain macro int he AM than others, you could try eating more of other macros instead. Like if you eat a lot of carbs for breakfast, maybe lower the carbs and increase fat and protein. Or lower fat and protein to get more carbs, etc. It takes a lot of personal monitoring or looking at trends and then you need to just tweak it to your own body.

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