Am I starving while working out

[brncopowor]

I am in the gym 6 days a week and have lost a little but not alot. Sometimes I get really hungry before meals. I also have no energy after working out. I wake up really early 4:00 . Dont know if thats it. I go to bed a 9:00. I am falling asleep at work. Am I not getting enough calories, carbs, protein, fat. Something has got to give. I am following this diet that was given to me by a weightlifter. Thanks

Starting weight - 260
Current weight - 246
Goal weight - 150
Height 5'7

Before workout - 4:30
Vitasport THERMOGENIX 2 and THYROSTIM-T3 to boost metabolism
1 banana

Workout - 5:00-5:45 weights 5:45-6:30 cardio 6:30-6:45 sauna 6 days a week one body part per day with 3o minutes of cardio after every workout

Breakfast - 7:30
1/2 carton egg beaters or leftover dinner
6 celery sticks or tomato
1 slice roman meal whole grain bread

Protein - 9:30
1 scoop sports nutrition international Xtreme Pro 4 (30 grams protein and 160 calories per serving)
1 scoop vitasport GL6 Glutamine

Lunch - 1200ish
Baked Chicken breast with vegetables or tuna with salad and 1 slice Roman Meal or Fat Free yogurt

1:00 - Suppelemets - Vitasport THERMOGENIX 2 and THYROSTIM-T3 to boost metabolism

Protein - 2:30 - 1 scoop sports nutrition international Xtreme Pro 4 (30 grams protein and 160 calories per serving)
1 scoop vitasport GL6 Glutamine

Dinner - 5:30
Chicken or Lean hamburgers without bun. Salad plain. No Carbs at dinner

Protein - 8:30 - 1 scoop sports nutrition international Xtreme Pro 4 (30 grams protein and 160 calories per serving)
1 scoop vitasport GL6 Glutamine
Supplements - METABOLIX PM (to keep metabolism going fast at night).

As you can see I have alot of weight to lose. I would like to replace alot of this fat with muscle so I am in the gym 6 days a week. I would also like to loose the weight at a decent click. Sometimes I do get a little hungry between meals. Is there anything I should be doing or eating different. Am I getting enough food, calories, carbs? To aid in muscle retention and fat loss. Any help would be great


Condiments Smart Balance, Tabasco, Mustartd, Lowerys

[galatia]

Do you use fitday.com? If so put your micro nutrients up. If not, it would be very helpful if you did. I put Keto diet info. in your journal. I'll flag Dane to stop by. She is very helpful. :)

[Dodger]

I would suggest that you quit taking in all the supplements and start eating more real food, including its fat. Protein is a poor fuel for the body.

[locarbbarb]

Hi brnco!

I don't really have much advice for you, but it does seem like you are injesting a lot of that protein powder (I have 1 scoop of whey protein w/my breakfast, and sometimes with another meal, as well, so I am not against them at all [ 18 g protein / 100 cal. per scoop]).

I really don't want to tell you what to eat or not to eat, but I have been watching a person on this forum who has had wonderful success, and have spoken to him a few times. Here is a link to his journal. He does weight lifting and lots of exercise. I have even taken some hints from his plan and adapted them to my own, and they're working!

Why not check it out and see if this will help you.

Statjunk's Journal (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=86608&page=1&pp=15)

Best wishes!

[brncopowor]

Thanks for all the input. I will start looking into getting back on Atkings, BFL or something like that. But will I be able to sustain my workouts 6 days a week just on ketosis?

[locarbbarb]

Hi brnco!

I have no energy on <20 g of carbs a day. I actually have up to 80g and I feel great. (I have not started working with weights, though. I plan on doing that next week, and only for 2 days a week in addition to the cardio). Even Atkins, in the Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) phase (after the 1st 2 weeks) says that if you exercise for 45 min, 5 days a week, you can have up to 90 g of carbs a day (not ice cream, of course!) :lol: . (Since you've already cut out the sugar, etc, I'd say going right to the OWL phase would work well for you)

Atkins.com (see Click to Learn about Each Phase on the right. It's phase 2) (http://www.atkins.com/articles/nutritional-approach)

If you want to work out with the weights AND do cardio, I really recommend BFL. There are a lot more food choices, and as long as you eat moderately and keep up with the workout plan, you will definitely lose weight and build muscle.

Body for Life Website (check out the links on the left of the page) (http://www.bodyforlife.com/nutrition/index.asp)

I'm sure you know that you don't want to lose muscle in the effort to gain muscle - and if you aren't eating properly for so much exercise, that's what might happen! Also, I think if you exercise consistently, you won't even need the metabolism booster - your body will increase it's metabolism naturally.

My husband lost 50 lbs. last year. He ate low-ish carb (around 100 g a day), and worked out 5 days a week (cardio every time - 30 min., plus alternating upper body and lower body weights). He also tried a metabolism booster, but found after about 1 week, he didn't need it.

Hope this helps!

[camaromom]

I work out 5 days/week in ketosis, on about 30-40g of carb daily. I don't have any problem.

[dane]

Yikes, that diet plan was given to you by a bodybuilder?? One of the most important meals in a bodybuilder's day are the meals immediately before and after lifting. You'll see many different approaches to this, and you sort of have to figure out for yourself what works best for you, but the most important thing is to fuel your body with a protein meal before and after lifting.

You want to lose fat, and gain muscle. Yes, we all do,:) But at your weight, I would think you would focus on fat loss, and muscle mass preservation. If you are new to lifting, you will probably experience some muscle growth, too, once you get your diet on track.

Right now, I would bet big $$ that you are overtraining--doing too much. You are experiencing some classic signs of it--fatigue, etc. The next step will be either burn-out, giving up, or injury.

My suggestions to you would be to research a TKD--a Targeted Ketogenic Diet. Basically, this is a low carb diet, but you eat some carb foods (in addition to protein) around your lifting workouts.

For muscle preservation, you are MUCH better off switching from 6 days a week one-body part routine to a 3 day a week, full body. Do this for 4-6 weeks, and then you might consider switching to a 4 day plan, of 2 upper body and 2 lower body workouts. Drop your cardio to just 3 sessions of 15-20 minutes on your off days, or after lifting. You can always increase your cardio as your rate of fat loss slows down.

You really should do as Deb (Galatia) suggested and start keeping track of the foods you eat. You can use FitDay, or, better yet, the MyPLAN option offered here at this forum. That's what I use. You should get an idea of how many calories, protein, etc. you are eating--you'll find it really helpful in the long run.

[galatia]

Thanks Dane. Perfect advice as always. :)

[brncopowor]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I stopped taking all the supps this morning. I have been looking at the BFFM program and getting advice about it from other users in this forum. I working on a new training plan as well

[Batipton]

It sounds to me like you are overtraining. You muscles grow when you give them rest. If you do not give them enough rest your body breaks down rather than builds up. You need all those muscle "furnaces" to burn calories. Different bodies have different tolerances to exercise. Some can work out six days a week, some can only train a few days a week (at least if you are training heavily).

Putting in long hours also puts a lot of stress on your body. On top of that you weigh quite a bit for your height. I do not say that to be mean, but rather for you to consider the fact that you are carrying around about 100 extra pounds. Your body is getting a type of weight lifting work-out just carrying around the extra weight. Just getting yourself from A-B is a strain on your muscles, so adding extra weight training can easily push you over the edge. In saying this I am not saying do not work out, I am just saying that you need to adjust your work-outs so you are not pushing your body past what it can handle. You may find that as the pounds diminish you are able to handle harder and harder work-outs. I can tell you from experience since at my high point I was about 235# at 5'7". It was quite a strain just carrying my own body weight around. Now that I am lighter it is easy carrying my body around. Something to look forward to!!!

Whatever the case DO NOT give up, just ADJUST. Learn to read your body. If it says you are pushing too hard then ease up. If it tells you to eat more calories, then eat more. If it tells you to eat less, then eat less. As you get healthier you will start to get in tune with your body. It may be your normal time to eat and you just are not hungry so you don't eat. You may be really stressed and need a little extra food and you read your body. You may breeze through a work-out and realize you needed to start pushing hard; or you may have days when it seems as if your body does not want to push very hard in the gym. Whatever the case, if what you are doing is not working then change it; and if what you are doing is working then stick to it.

Stay in the race. Set goals and plans to reach those goals. Adjust the plans as needed, but keep the goal in sight. Do not allow any diet or system of exercise to control you, but use them and adjust them as needed to meet your goals.

[brncopowor]

Thanks Batipton. I can see from eveyones comments maybe I am overdoing it. I do have alot to lose but I will get there in time and with alot of work

[kbfunTH]

Consider something like this along with the other suggestions -

5 days/week training -
Day 1 - full body interval workout, 30 minutes cardio
Day 2 - 45 min - 1 hour cardio
Day 3 - full body interval workout, 30 minutes cardio
Day 4 - 45 min - 1 hour cardio
Day 5 - full body interval workout, 30 minutes cardio

Fit these two off days in where ever you like.
Day 6 - eat, get some rest and plenty of quality sleep
Day 7 - eat, get some rest and plenty of quality sleep

Interval training can be any exercise as long as you move between stations with minimal rest. Every week, adjust the amount of weight you use and/or the time spent at each station. 3-5 stations are plenty. Work through the stations 1-3 times depending on you. Don't look for some magical formula here, set it up how you like. The objective is to move some weight for a set amount of time while getting a full body workout. Interval training does not usually last for more than 15-20 minutes or so.

My very first interval was something like this:
dumbbell swings - 30 seconds
deadlifts - 30 seconds (rest pause)
shoulder presses - 30 seconds
pull-ups - 30 seconds
ab work - 30 seconds
Repeated twice. Eventually moved up to doing it three times, then up to one minute, three times around. Somedays, the interval would be nothing but swings, snatches and trusters for 20 minutes. Rest minimal, but as needed. Adjust it to your level and have fun with it. Hint: exercises that use lots of muscles burn more than ones that use fewer.

Every couple of weeks, take a step back in your training for a week, then pick it back up again. You'll need this in order to keep moving forward optimally.

Don't drop your calories below your RMR.

[brncopowor]

Thanks for the suggestion KbfunTH

[Batipton]

Hint: exercises that use lots of muscles burn more than ones that use fewer.

Let me help out by sharing some exercises that use a lot of muscle

Upper Body:

Bench Press (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)
Row (Upper Back, Rear Shoulders, Biceps)
Lat Pulldown (Upper Back, Biceps)
Pullover (Chest, Back, Stabilizers in the Torso, Abs)
Dips (Lower Chest, Triceps, Stabilizers)

Lower Body

Leg Press (Butt, Thighs)
Squats (Butt, Thighs)
Step Ups (Butt, Thigh, Calves)
Deadlifts (Butt, Thighs, Lower Back)

There are many variations and permutations of these exercises, just get a few bodybuilding books at the local library and all these exercises will be clearly illustrated. If you just did these 9 exercises and did them heavy with enough recovery in between exercise sessions you could build quite a physique. These are all standard bulk-building exercises; meaning they build a lot of muscle if done intensely. Since these exercises are very intense you need to be sure you do them correctly and with proper form. If done correctly they will definitely increase your health. If done incorrectly you could be asking for injury!