Training & Nutrition - Energyless

This week I have had no energy, all I have wanted to do was sleep. In the last couple of weeks my personal life has been a wreck and work has been crazy, so I haven't been sleeping well.

Through all of this I have been very careful about how much I eat and exercise. I am a bit worried I may be doing too much too fast. Right now I average about 1700 calories eaten a day and burning about 600 in one workout 5 times a week. I spent the previous month and a half easing myself into more challenging workouts and better eating habits. My goal is to be in better physical shape for the next tennis season and my MS Ride in May.

Up until late last week I felt fine. I am trying take better care of myself the right way, since I tried starving myself in college and got sick.

Should I chalk this up to just stress or do I need to make an appoint with a nutritionist so I don't end up in trouble. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

1700 calories a day sounds a little low to me, but this is a very individual thing. You may want to skip the calorie counting and just eat when you are hungry and stop when you are not.

When increasing the intensity or volume of your workouts, rest days become critical. Make sure your easy days are easy enough. Alternating hard and easy days is the rule of thumb.

The addage of not increasing mileage and speed at same time, but concentrating on one or the other is used for runners, but applies equally well to cyclists. LSD rides are supposed to be slow. Don't rush.

While at the beginning of a harder workout schedule try to take at least one day off a week, two if need be. You can add days as your body gets accustomed to new load. This happens pretty quickly (a few weeks).

regards
Dan

Personally, I'm with Dan on this one. I don't bother with calorie counting. I just eat whenever I get hungry. I expect I'd probably be averaging a lot more than 1700 calories per day. I don't think the volume of food you eat is the issue as much as what you eat.

In answer to your question, though, stress and a lack of sleep will also contribute to a lack of energy. However it could also be caused by going into more challenging workouts, too. Personally, I think it might be a combination of those two factors.

Like the others I don't count calories rather prefer to listen to body signals.I also agree it sounds you were consuming too fewcalories and resting too little relative to the increased intensity of the workouts as well as personal stress.Keep in mind increased intensity of workouts raises your metabolism even after the workout so you burn more calories even while resting and 1700 calories sounds way to low for anyone doing serious exercise and even a couch potato for that matter.I think you can save the money on the nutritionist and increase your calories until your body responds better and as others said take more rest days .My only concern and I'm no doctor so don't want to start giving medical advice is if the personal stress ,oversleeping ,lack of energy continue and are accompanied by any signs of moodiness or depression you might want to see a medical doctor if anything .

Originally posted by cyclochica
This week I have had no energy, all I have wanted to do was sleep.
Right now I average about 1700 calories eaten a day and burning about 600 in one workout 5 times a week.
Joy, it sounds to me like you aren't eating enough calories. 1700-600=1100 calories to keep your body alive, move, breathe, and do your work and household chores. Not much fuel!
Are you trying to lose weight or just maintain your present weight?

Go here (http://www.caloriecompanion.com/CalcForm.htm) to determine how many calories you need each day. Notice it says, "Daily Calories Required* ", and at the bottom of the page it says, *Based on moderate activity level".
Your activity level is not moderate!

Now go out a get something to eat. :beer:

Originally posted by RonH
Joy, it sounds to me like you aren't eating enough calories. 1700-600=1100 calories to keep your body alive, move, breathe, and do your work and household chores. Not much fuel!
Are you trying to lose weight or just maintain your present weight?

Go here (http://www.caloriecompanion.com/CalcForm.htm) to determine how many calories you need each day. Notice it says, "Daily Calories Required* ", and at the bottom of the page it says, *Based on moderate activity level".
Your activity level is not moderate!

Now go out a get something to eat. :beer:

I checked out the link you provided, and it looks like my body is trying to tell me to feed it more often. I think I am going to talk to my doctor and see if he can give a referral to a nutritionist. That way I will know what I should be doing, especially since I have food allergies.

Its sad, but I think dieting is probably a lot easier than trying to give your body proper nutrition. At least with a diet, someone can tell you exactly what to eat each day.

Originally posted by cyclochica
I checked out the link you provided, and it looks like my body is trying to tell me to feed it more often. I think I am going to talk to my doctor and see if he can give a referral to a nutritionist. That way I will know what I should be doing, especially since I have food allergies.

Its sad, but I think dieting is probably a lot easier than trying to give your body proper nutrition. At least with a diet, someone can tell you exactly what to eat each day.

Cyclochica... going to a nutritionalist is a great idea, especially if you have allergies. My son and I consult one once a year, because. :p

cyclochica,

i'm not a calorie-counter either, but every person is different and women often require a lot fewer calories than men... depending on your size and your activity level...

since you say you've increased your workouts to 5 times a week, you sound like maybe you weren't so active before, so your base metabolism might not be so high.

my sister is not as active as i am - in the summer she is active about 5-6 days a week and in the winter less... does some weight training, some cycling, some running and lots of inline skating... and mostly because of her different base metabolism she has at few different times been a little less active and gained a little extra weight. anyway, whatever she had had a lot of success with calorie-counting (as well as label reading) in her fitness program. i can't remember exactly, but i think she was in about the 1700-1800 range per day.

anyway, all i mean is that to some guy like me around 165lbs who lifts weights 3 times a week and cycles a few hundred miles a week... 1700 calories seems insanely low. (and i think that roughly covers Chris and RWTD) but each person is different and your basic metabolism and your total muscle mass as well as your activity level determine your caloric needs... women tend to weigh less than men (b/c they're shorter on average) and require less per pound of weight (b/c women genetically have a higher fat to muscle ratio and muscle requires lots of calories to sustain)

so 1700 might be right for you - i can't tell without knowing your weight and what exactly you do... also what are your goals? strength gain? increased fitness? weight loss? if strenght is your main goal, then yes, you're probably not getting enough calories for maximum muscle gain... for fitness it varies, but the balanced nutrients and all is almost more important than the raw calories (assuming you have energy to DO stuff) - for a combined fitness/weight loss program you may well be right on the mark

obviously if you have reasonably access to a nutritionist then that would be a good thing


This week I have had no energy, all I have wanted to do was sleep. In the last couple of weeks my personal life has been a wreck and work has been crazy, so I haven't been sleeping well.

this sounds more like stress - or maybe you're just a little sick or something. not having energy and not being able to ride strong or bonking after 30 minutes of activity - that would be more like too few calories (and weight loss of course). not having energy like wanting to stay in bed or just being sluggish all day is not the same and seems like it would be something else than just not eating enough calories...

if it continues for more than a few weeks, it might be a good idea to see a doctor in any case. i personally, since i'm not crazy about going to the doctor, would probably wait 3-4 weeks and then go... but that's just me. hope your energy level returns to normal soon and your training progam continues on track.

nathank I was basing my suggestion that she increase her calories on the information she provided not on my own weight (which is probably closer to 175-180 as a guess since I don't remember the last time I actually stepped on a scale).Specifically that she increased her activity levels while cutting calories during a period of work/personal stress all resulting in a period of lack of ability to sleep.While I didn't do the math (and neither did she apparently)1100 calories (1700-600)seems too low as others noted to support the rest of her day again given the conditions and symptoms she described.Also when I hear active individuals even relatively light females consuming fewer than 2000 calories it sets off a warning alarm to look for signs low calorie levels may be a problem. I agree the oversleeping could be something different.In any event some people would seem to benefit from just having these things planned out for them in a set schedule so maybe her consulting a nutritionist isn't such a bad idea.

I appreciate you guys looking out for me.

I have been playing sports since I was 15. I can't remember a time when I wasn't active. Up until recently I never made an effort to eat properly. It wasn't until I was rushing my Mom to the emergency room or doctor, that I realized I needed to get my act together.

RWTD is right I didn't do the math correctly. I know quite a bit about sports and workouts, nutrition is where I am weak. I am also guilty of paying too much attention to the quantity of my workouts instead of the quality. I incorrectly figured that if 1 hour was good another would be better. So basically I was doing too much.

This week I am scaling back a bit and trying to eat a bit more. So far so good. I am waiting to hear back from my Dr. about a referral.

Either way I am really glad I could ask ya'll for your input. It helps a lot to get someone else's input.

cyclochica If you determine your calorie level to maintain your bodyweight given your activity level (and stress is an activity)I suggest any changes higher or lower from there to gain or lose weight be done gradually and incrementally for example start at no more than a 500 or less calorie deficit until you see how your body reacts to it..Also keep in mind if you up your activity level to burn more calories you may need to actually up your calories as well to maintain only a moderate calorie deficit.You can improve the quality of your diet independent of any quantity changes as well by providing a balance of unrefined foods.Good Luck.