tired when dieting!!!

[massbuild]

does ne1 else feel tired and weary when dieting.

is this unusual or is it not? i am not taking any supplements so it isn't a side of anything so why am i so tired most of the time?

thnx in advance

 

[mic79]

maybe the lack of supps is your problem.also, look up info on issues with leptin etc.post your diet and routine

 

[massbuild]

Well... ive found that my AMR is about 2000 cals a day so for this i eat only 1500 cals a day. No set diet just eat when im hungry and not go over 1500. I take multi-vitamins in the morning for all the nutrients that i might be missing.

I go to the gym 3 times a week and here are my workouts.

Monday - chest & triceps

Bench Press - 3 sets
Incline Bench - 3 sets
Decline Bench - 3 sets
Dumbell Flyes - 3 sets
Tricep Pushdowns - 3 sets
2 other exercises for triceps but i don't know their names - 3 sets
each

Wednesday - Shoulders, Traps & biceps

Missionary Presses (straight bar)- 3 sets
Missionary Presses (dumbells)- 3 sets
side lifts - 3 sets
front lifts - 3 sets
traps pull ups - 3 sets
preacher curls - 3 sets
dumbell curls - 3 sets

Saturday - Back

Lat machine pull-down(close arm to front) - 3 sets
Lat machine pull-down(wide arm to back) - 3 sets
sit up rowing - 3 sets
bent over rows - 3 sets
shrugs - 3 sets
back hyperextensions - 3 sets

These workouts last for about an hour each.

I also do cardio 3 times a week

tuesdays and thursday - rugby training for about 1 hour
sunday - boxing traing circuit (punch bags, sparrring etc.)

I go to college from monday to thurday doing a computer course so theirs little activity their but on friday and saturday i work at a wood yard making pallets and its a physical job with lots of heavy lifting etc.

 

[corvettedudeman]

well if you aren't getting enough carbs then you are going to be tired... Post a sample diet

also try an eca stack... it always gives me energy

 

[mic79]

i was in a simalar situation with my last job.i overtrained big time and had 2 cut back on my w/o to 1 upper,1 lower body part /week so i could recover 4 the weekend.i suggesu u try somethin similar.

 

[mic79]

made typo.meant 2 say 1 upper,one lower w/o.

 

[massbuild]

right then heres an example of what i would eat in the day:

Breakfast

60g rice crispies - 232 cals
200ml skimmed milk - 68 cals
Two slices of Toast - 200 cals

Lunch

Mild Curry Rice - 344 cals

Dinner

250g 5% fat free steak - 308 cals
200g birds eyes garden peas - 124 cals

Supper

Two slices of Toast - 200 cals

This totals up to 1476 cals a day. The other 24 will be used up on drinks which i only drink either pepsi max or diet coke.

 

[TheBigCEE]

does ne1 else feel tired and weary when dieting.

is this unusual or is it not? i am not taking any supplements so it isn't a side of anything so why am i so tired most of the time?

thnx in advance

Dude,
In combination with your job/training and cardio it sounds like your just suffering from low carbs and being overtrained. What's your age/height/weight? Why are you dieting? I'm guessing it's not for a show just for personal fitness. I'll advise based on that premise.
It sounds like you've done the math to reduce bodyweight, but based on your sample meals you are not providing yourself with protection from catabolism from calorie restriction. You could probably stop doing cardio and let your job and training burn your calories. You'd probably want to adjust your training to doing each bodypart once a week with heavy training and little rest between sets. Or you could bring your calories up and keep going like you are. I've been in your exact position and it can be very rough, those are just some tips. There's plenty of info on this site on training and nutritution so I'll just tell you how to help your energy, based on my experience, until you become your own bodybuilding scholar:

1-The 'ECA' corvettedudeman is referring to is a stack of 25mg ephedrine/300mg aspirin/200mg caffiene. If you have access to ephedrine. Otherwise look for supplements that cause thermogenesis. This will keep your energy up stimulating your central nervous system and has the benefit of burning fat while sparing muscle. (Careful, it gives you an intense buzz until you get used to it)

2-Don't eat when you feel hungry, eat every 3 hours (approx) This will keep you in positive nitrogen balance and constantly kick start your metabolism. You'll start getting hungry every three hours, trust me.

3-Eat your complex carbs in your first couple of meals. They will carry you through work, then any carbs you have left can be pre/post training.

4-Sleep. Whenever you're bored, sleep. After you eat, sleep. On your day off, sleep. Don't go out, sleep. With the training work and school you need to guard your sleep jealously. You'll still burn fat and you'll quicken your recovery.

5-Try a ketogenic diet. Except for the initial adaption by the body burning ketones, there are no energy issues.

Good luck.....

 

[mic79]

eca aint the solution if your feeling tired all day long.you have 2 find the root of the problem.maybe catabolism is hitting in due 2 your meal frequency.try eating 6-8 meals/day & 10-12cals/lb body weight.

 

[massbuild]

so if i eat at least 6 meals a day with gaps of about 3 hours each then would this stop the muscle catabolism and therefore make me less tired?

should i eat more protein to try to preserve more muscle coz ive got shitloads of whey protein.

thnx again

 

[Babyfaced Assassin]

No offense but your diet looks really poor. I dunno if its working for you but it seems you're taking too much poor quality carbs which might be causing your tiredness.

Rice Crispies are Hi GI and not a good choice for food, swap this for oatmeal and skip the toast.
Add some more protein to this meal by eating some egg whites with some whole eggs or adding a scoop of whey to the oats

I dont know if you're cooking the curry and rice yourself or if you're using take away or ready made version, if it's the latter two drop it (especially the packet crap)
replace this with lean protein and some good carbs and veggies. Try some brown rice or a sweet ptotato with the lean protein.

Dinner looks ok

Skip the toast as your last meal and replace with some protein
have some protein between dinner and lunch

Take an EFA supplement or eat oily fish this will help your tiredness to a degree.

Also make sure you're getting 6-8 hours of quality sleep per night!

 

[gonelifting]

I agree with BA youreally have no high quality carbs in there like oats or baked potato just the toast etc. get some low GI carbs will help.
Also you ARE doing too much in your week. For starters I`d cut back on your 12 sets per bodypart.

 

[Senior Woonaki]

start writing down everything you are eating... get your carbs from sweet potatoes and oatmeal...

Keep the protein at least 1 gram per pound of bodyweight

sleep at least 8 hours a day..

take your vitamins and your minerals

if you have been doing the same weight routine for a while think about switching it up... try and go with a 5 * 5 just for the newness of the routine... You wont make tremdous gains becuase of your caloric deficite but it is something new...Doing a new routine might keep you more mentally excited to train...

 

[bigp3]

No offense but that is a shitty diet no wonder you feel like crap. The carbs that you are getting have high glycemic indexes and you are not getting near enough protein. Try getting some good complex carbs such as long cut oatmeal and brown rice. Get some good protein in at each meal such as chicken breast, egg whites, whey protein and you should break it down into 6 meals.

 

[Slugfast]

I would say you need to bump up your calories... I recently found that I can still lose weight with all my training I do at around 3000 calories a day, and still lose around 2lbs a week on average, yielding around 8-10 a month when I diet.