Am I Overtraining?

[Buddybot111]

I always seem to have this tired feeling during the day. In general I just seem to have less energy than I used to have when I weighed more (I've gone from 210 to 148 pounds and my goal is to see my abs). I'm 5'6". It's weird though because once I start exercising for 5-10 minutes I seem to get all my energy back, and my "tiredness" definitely doesn't effect my ability to perform while at the gym. But, it does get annoying when I have to walk more slowly up the steps or don't jump at the chance to sprint and get the mail or walk a few blocks in the city at a decent clip. BTW I have been keeping track of my weight and diet ever since I started switching from a simple eat less methodology (which got me down to around 160) to a real lifestyle change. My fitday log can be seen here: http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=mcFreid.

If your not interested in browsing through my journal here's a quick summary of my weekly routine.

I eat 1750 calories a day split between 5 meals. I eat 50% protein, 30% fat, and 20% carbs.

I lift on Mondays and Thursdays, I do a 1-mile run with cardio on Tuesdays and Fridays, I do a 20min eliptical HIIT with cardio on wed.

The details of my gym routine are as follows:

Mon/Thurs:
Squats (recently started doing 70lb from 60lb)
Deadlifts (recently started doing 70lb from 60lb)
Bench Press (55lb)
Dumbbell Bicep Curls (20lb)
Tricep Rope Extensions (55lb)
Standing Dumbbell Military/Shoulder Press (recently started doing 20lb from 15lb)
Dumbbell Bent-Over Rows (20lb)
Ab Exercises

Tues/Fri:
1mile run (8mph)
20 minute elliptical (70rpm)
10 minute "Alpine Pass" walk (level 5 max incline, 4 mph max speed)
5 minute elliptical HIIT (rest @ 70rpm for 1min sprint @ 90rpm for 1.25min)

Wed:
20 minute elliptical HIIT (rest @ 70rpm for 1min sprint @ 90rpm for 1.25min)
10 minute "Alpine Pass" walk (level 5 max incline, 4 mph max speed)
Sometimes I do a quick run at 8mph for 5 minutes here, but not always

Hopefully that's enough info. If I left anything out or you need to know something just let me know and I'll fill in any gaps.

 

[highlander555]

I understand that at 5'6" you're no giant or anything, but I still can't help thinking that 148 is a little underweight, unless you're a long distance runner or something. And 1750 calories? That's what a chick would normally eat. I don't think you're over training, I just think you're under eating, even if your goal is to see your abs.

But for arguments sake, lets say you're only five feet tall, and 148 is a reasonable weight for you. How long is it taking you to accomplish your lifting sessions on the two days that you lift. If it's taking your more than an hour, you may want to break it up into three days as opposed to two.

I obviously don't know all the specifics of your body type, but I can't help but get the feeling that you've dieted down to the point that your metabolism is in super survival mode and is trying to store as much fat as possible.

Just my two cents, but I wish you luck none the less.

 

[Scotsman]

Eat more!

Try switching up to 40 protein, 30 fat, and 30 carbs. Get your calories up to at least 2,000 per day.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[Buddybot111]

I got advice from these boards around 2 months ago, and the got the same recommendation to eat more. I tried it for 2 weeks and gained weight, that's when I posted here again and got the reply that simply if I'm gaining weight at 2,000 calories the only explanation is that I'm not cutting enough (hence I brought it down to 1750 and have been losing since, though slowly). All of this can be actually be seen on my Fitday because if you look at the first two weeks you'll see that my weight goes up.

As for my lifting sessions, I complete it in about 45 minutes. And at 148 I definitly do NOT feel underweight. There's still a clear amount of fat around my belly. I still have those love handles.

So, to summarize this up. You could be right about the eating thing, but I simply do NOT want to gain weight. I haven't reached my goal yet, and even if it will get me more energy I'd rather lose the weight. So, how do I know if eating more will cause me to gain weight? Some people say it takes a month for your body to adapt back to the increase in calories. I guess you could say that after spending all this time to LOSE the weight, the idea of having to gain some back scares me.

 

[Buddybot111]

Ooh sorry forgot the sets!

3x5 for squats, deadlift, and bench press
3x10 for everything else

 

[highlander555]

Okay, heres the deal. I realize that you may be gaining weight at 2000 calories, and that is definately not what you want. Got it. But I think you're only gaining weight because you've caused your metabolism to slow down so much through over-restricting your calories. I don't think you're overtraining for the average person, but with your amount of calories, you may be. With so few calories, there's no point to lifting anymore because you're body doesn't have the nutrients it needs to add any more muscle. Without more muscle, your metabolism is just going to continue to slow down more and more.

That being said, I'm not recommending you become a huge muscular hulk or anything, but if you're still not losing weight on such a calorie restricted diet and with the amount of carido you're doing, something is seriously wrong. From what you've told us, you should already be in a calorie deficit without having to work out at all. I just don't think you're taking in the calories needed for your body to do anything productive with your workouts.

Think about this: The amount of calories you burn in the gym isn't near as important as the amount of calories you burn outside of the gym (as in your metabolism). Just sitting on the couch doing nothing, your body has to burn so much just to exist.

I just fear that your drastic calorie cutting has put your body into a survival mode that makes it want to store any and all fat it can get its hands on.

There's a really knowledgable chick that post on the womens forum named Tatyana. For a diffrent, and knowledgable prospective, I'd try to get in touch with her with the info you posted here and see what she recommends. She usually has pretty sound advice.

 

[xrsist]

start eating green veggies and up protein

 

[bustak2121]

You should get your body fat % taken, eat more, and continue with your routine. If you are gaining weight, keep track of your BF%. It may not even be fat that the weight is coming from. You could be gaining back the muscle you have lost from the calorie deficit. Also, more muscle gained means your body is more capable of burning fat. Don't let the scale rule your life.

 

[Buddybot111]

I keep hearing to eat more, but no one seems to be able to clarify why that solution would now work when I tried it before for 2 full weeks with seeing nothing but gains in weight. yes it could of been muscle weight, but that still goes against my goal. I want to get leaner, I want to KEEP the muscle, but I do not want to gain weight from additional muscle (hope that makes sense). I'll try to get in touch with this "Tatyana" though like you suggested and see if she could recommend me something a little more detailed.

Thanks much so far though and keep it up! I am definitely learning little pockets of information here and there that hopefully will sum to a comprehensive solution.

 

[nikkita]

Well it seems you're doing a lot with so little calories, this helped at first to achieve a lower body fat %, however now your lacking energy which leads to not recovering properly from one workout to another. I may say yes, you are beginning to overtrain.

The thing is that to boost again your metabolism you need to eat and rest for recovery, if you don't then you may loose weight but mostly muscle.

Remember that there is a hug difference between loosing fat and loosing muscle. Muscle is the one you'll want to preserve.