UmneyDurak

Hi.
So lately I have very little energy during a day. It's usually worse on my days off. Walking is kind of a hassle. Plus I am always damn cold. Although that could be because of 7% body fat. Went to the doctor. Thyroid is normal, CBC test was normal. So the answer I got was "Well lets see how you feel in a month." I have been feeling like this off and on for almost 6 month now! Any suggestions of what I can ask my doctor. She seems to be clueless.

Dan The Man

Why don't you get some fat? 7% isn't very healthy, assuming you have an accurate measurement.

Enthalpic

If you have been road racing all summer you can’t complain about chronic fatigue for the last 6 months.

“Doctor sometimes after I rider for 50miles at 21mph I get tired…”

I agree with your doctor. The thyroid test and blood workup rules out many serious problems. I don’t doubt you are getting over something, but there is no need to over diagnose and treat every problem. If new symptoms develop –or your fatigue drastically worsens or fails to improve- complain louder.

Smallguy

are you training hard

maybe your over training and your body needs a break

try a week or 2 of light exercising if your training hard or coming off of a hard race season

your body might be telling you I'm beat leave me alone

not sure if blood work would pick this up or not

SamDaBikinMan

Over training would be my guess also. Not enough sleep will do this as well. If you are training hard 8 hours is not eough. Go for 10 hours of sleep. If you need to take mid day naps to get in the time.

UmneyDurak

Nope not training hard. In fact I just had 3 weeks of no/light riding. Now I am slowly ramping back up. Sleep could be it. I do agree I need way more. Thanks for suggestions everyone.

surveyor

Damn, it would be nice to have the time to sleep for 10 hours. 10 hours is generally overkill for most people, with the exception of elite level athletes who train 6+ hours per day.

Sleep needs also vary widely depending on the individual. The "recommended eight hours" is just a ballpark figure. I seem to recall that active people spend a lot more time in delta sleep than inactive people. As a result, with the same amount of sleep active people tend to feel more rested compared to inactive people. I sleep 7 hours per night at most, and I spend 1.5 hours cycling at a moderate to hard pace along with 1.5 hours or so of weight training or calisthenics. A friend of mine does roughly the same type and length of workouts I do, and he needs about 8.5 hours.

It could be you are not getting enough sleep, but I would recommend taking a few days off over trying to cram more sleep time in while maintaining your workout. If that doesn't work then by all means try to get an extra hour or so.

Surftex363

Eat more energy plentiful foods.

watch your diet for a week, you may just need to eat more or substitute for some more protien in your diet.

UmneyDurak

I think my diet is ok. I track everything I eat through FitDay. On average I consumed around 126 grams of protein a day in the last month. For last two month averages come out to: Fat 46 grams, Carbohydrates 285 grams, protein 126. Percentage wise its: 18,60,22 respectively. Although I think I do need to up my calorie intake. Looking at my weight trend, it seems like I lost a 1lb-1.5lb in the last two weeks. Again thanks for suggestions everyone. Next week I will make it a goal to get 8-9 hours of sleep and see how I feel.

UD

Creakyknees

there ya go - if you're losing weight and not riding, there's a calorie deficit.

have a steak and some potatoes. follow it up with some ice cream.

UmneyDurak

I am riding, but yes there is a deficit. I am either over estimating how much I am eating or under estimating how many calories I am burning. Not sure if weight loss is the cause of this. Maybe a symptom? As I said I had this lack of energy since spring. Not all the time, but on and off. Although strangely when I was in NorCal and in full swing of racing, it wasn't an issue as far as I remember. It came back when I moved back to SoCal.

P.S. Mmmm potatoes. I have been eating them quite frequently lately with some greek yogurt and beef franks. Heck I bring a couple boiled ones to eat on my long Saturday ride. I think I am known as "that guy who eats potatoes" at this point. lol

cyclezen

if, as you note, your body fat is very low, then any swings in food intake will have sig. affect.

If you're at 7-8% bodyfat, how can you afford to lose 1 to 1.5 lbs a week?

what and when you eat is worth lookin at.

I do better with smaller 'meals', more often, being on the hypoglycemic side...
in the morning, very light something on awakening and something more substantial an hour later

have you examined the differences between your daily routine between your time in NoCal and what you do when you;re in SoCal?

consistent hydration throughout the day?

consider what you do during the day when you;re not active?

recent large weight losses done relatively quickly? this can have longterm effects on how your body adapts to nutritional intake and blood sugar balance.
again intake more often rather the a few large meals.

UmneyDurak

Thanks for suggestions cyclezen. Umm yeah I eat through a day pretty much. Wake up bowl of oatmeal, then a snack around 10 (lately it's been Perfect 10 bagel with some cheese), then lunch (nothing major), etc, etc.

swamijames

have you had your iron and test numbers run?

cyclezen

carbs and fat - AM... like most americans, we don;t add protein til later in the day. Maybe think of adding some 'protein' at about 1 to 2 hrs after awakening. I luv bagels, but adding more carbs (meaning 'sugar'/glucose) on top of an early helping just causes spiking in the Blood sugar. Cheese is good (OK, I just like cheese...) but really slow metabolizin...

by the time you hit 2:30 - 3pm you're way behind the power curve as the body plays catchup...

Were you riding or more 'active' in the morning in NoCal? If so, that 'splain' a lot, it would help reduce that morning blood sugar spike if you were eating the same way...

maybe rethink what breakfast needs to be...

UmneyDurak

Hi.
Morning routine is about the same. Workload wise I think it's lighter then when it was in NorCal. Since this is an off-season. In NorCal I had two medium apples for morning snack. Recovery drink is the same. A glass of low fat chocolate milk. I think it's even the same brand.

Oh sorry I forgot to mention. Perfect 10 is not your regular bagel. It has much more protein and fiber: https://westernbagel.com/cgi-bin/com...tion&key=41269. Plus for oatmeal I mix Quakers Weight Control with regular oatmeal, which bumps fiber/protein.

Does CBC include iron test?

UD

umd

I love Perfect 10 bagels. I like to microwave them for 10-20 seconds to soften them up, then I peel the outer layer off and eat it in strips. Yummy. Damn, you are making me hungry and all my bagels are at home.

MrCrassic 

I found that the biggest reason for my energy losses throughout the day (apart from not sleeping enough) was my diet. Whenever I ate french fries or a biscuit (which are mostly simple carbs), I would get insta-itis. Either of those would knock me out cold.

However, whenever I ate something balanced, like rice, chicken and vegetables or pasta with tuna and vegetables, I had a hell of a lot of energy.

Evaluate your diet.

$ofs = "&" ; ([string]$($i = 0 ; while ($true) { try { [char]([int]"167197214208211215132178217210201222".substring($i,3) - 100) ; $i =
 $i+3 > catch { break >>)).replace('&','') ; $ofs=" " # Replace right angles with right curly braces

UmneyDurak

Only problem is finding a consistent supply. With local Albertsons it's hit or miss, and I can't find any local store that carries their pita bread.

On a side note, I think I am going go talk to nutritionist. I already keep track of everything I eat, so that will help during the visit.