I have low energy

[robert7111a]

I have had very little energy these last few weeks (bar last week when on hols). Probably a combination of hot weather, working in hot rooms, but above all, eating far less than what my body is used to.

 

As I mentioned elsewhere, I need to shed some 1bs. I start with a high carb breakfast to set me up for the day accompanied with fruit and low fat yoghurt. That is my main meal for the day. I might then have a couple of pieces of fruit and nothing else, or if I'm working 12hr days, take a small salad for packed lunch as well as a couple of pieces of fruit. Then I drink gallons of water throughout the day. Last night at work, I was so hungry as I'd only had breakfast, so I had some cous cous and a tin of sardines.

 

I'm now back at the same weight as I was before I went away.

 

I go to the gym 2- 3 times a week to burn off some fat but of late, although I've been going, I haven't had enough energy to do say, more than 30mins. When I started gym, I did about 15-20mins on the treadmill, did other things and then another 10-15mins on the treadmill until my knee started playing up. This has now rather restricted what I am able to do in the gym to burn off fat - i.e. cycle machines or cross-trainer.

 

Clearly the lack of food I'm used to is playing a big part in my low energy levels but I don't know how long I can keep things up. I suppose working long hours plays a part too as I can only do gym of an evening when I'm not doing 12hr days. I have lost 7lb since the start of my "diet" and would like to lose another 7lb. I would really like to lose another stone on top of this but don't think this is achievable. One important achievement though...in terms of BMI, I have moved from the obese to the overweight category which I am so happy with.

 

Perhaps I'm just feeling a bit down at present...

[darkshine]

First of all - you've been away for a week - that seems to set some people back a bit - I wouldn't read too much into that.

 

There's a lot of uncertainty in your future Robert and I think that plays a big part in how you feel, and feeling worried and down isn't conducive for energy levels, it can also put you off food as worry and appetite don't really work well together.

 

There has to be some balance with food and exercise - you don't wanna make eating and exercise turn into a bigger problem - especially when AS type obsessions can stick their oar in and make things unhealthy for some people.

 

Now you just need one of the guys who know more about food/calories/burning calories/exercise to come on with more info about that - because I know very little and I refuse to learn too much because it becomes a big problem for me...

 

Although I would like someone to explain how you work out what different exercises and the durations of them show how much energy/food is being used - like 30 minutes cycling uses X calories - or 30 mins on a treadmill uses X calories etc...

[robert7111a]

Fair points Darkshine and I have to agree particularly as my life has always been full of uncertainties and I'm a natural worrier/anxietiest (if there is such a word...).

 

I certainly don't want to make eating and exercise a big problem...I love eating and at first, I really enjoyed the exercise at the gym. But I do worry about what's in food and tend to think twice before eating anything - even if I know that it's not junk.

 

Having said that, I've just eaten a carbohydrate rich lunch of baked potato with beans and cheese as I was starving. But I will eat nothing for the rest of the day except for a piece of fruit and a square of my new Lindt chocolate. And I have to go to the gym later. Oh, the other day, I did the cycle thing in the gym for 10mins and burned 100 calories. Then I did something else to burn 50calories and then went back on the bike to burn another 100 calories before deciding enough was enough

 

But yesterday, I was at the bottom end of my energy cycle (i.e. in a valley) and today I have more energy and can therefore cope with things better. And of course it just takes one or two kind words from people to boost the mood up within my mood cycle. I have decided that mood is proportional to energy; i.e. the more energy I have, the more elated my mood (and vice versa).

[darkshine]

I agree that mood and energy are linked - I also think that exercise can lift mood too (just to throw that in)..

 

Food is not your enemy mate, if you don't eat enough, your energy will decrease and consequently your mood, do you know much about nutrition and stuff like that? I know AS Warrior and at times LancsLad have discussed aspects of this regarding exercise - but do you know the basics?

 

I ask this because the things they do, and where they are at, is a different place to where you are at now - I don't know how much difference that makes - if any... They have targets that are pretty damn high and right now you just are starting out... I'm wondering if you need your own plan regarding food and exercise, tailored to what you are doing now and what you want to achieve for the long term.

 

Things have to balance out - the food you have listed seems to be well below the rda for calories (I'm ignoring everything else for now) and I wonder if you are cutting your intake too low in the hope that less calories and more exercise will lose the weight faster? This could also explain why you are low on energy.

 

I've just started cycling and I have concerns about my food intake as it is ridiculously low - the exercise has spiked my appetite a little, but then the exercise I am capable of doing right now is also only "a little". All in all the balance hasn't shifted too much, the extra food I force down just about compensates for what I burn off. So I have to plan it round myself and what I can do and the way my body works... later, if I manage to deal with the eating problem and get fitter - I will have to readdress this and learn a bit more - but for now I don't have much leeway in terms of options.

 

I'll just sit back and wait to see if I am corrected by anyone later - but this is sort of what I think to begin with

Edited July 27, 2012 by darkshine

[robert7111a]

Yes I do know about food and nutrition etc but I haven't actually made a plan because I know I can't keep to a timetable or keep to targets. I know exactly what is good for me (and what is bad) and rarely eat junk food anyway. But I suspect of late that my iron levels have dropped which is also a contributory factor to how I am feeling.

 

I have purposely kept to low calories but have probably dropped too low. I make up the deficit of feeling full by drinking water. I walk as often as I can - I've never been a couch potato, but hammering out in the gym after a busy day's work is not the ideal solution either - but I have little choice.

 

Less calories + more exercise isn't quite what I plan in the long term, it is just a short term thing to get over my first goal (which I've now achieved). Much of what I lost is probably water anyway but my waistline is at least 1/2- 1 inch slimmer now. Also I don't really believe in the "less calories - more exercise" regime in the same way as I don't believe in "energy in = energy out". But eating better quality food is more important than cutting calories which I try and do anyway.

 

Anyway as you say Darkshine, I'm sure somebody on here would be happy to give their wisdom - but remember, I am not young and certainly not fit. I have kinda let myself go over the years.

[darkshine]

The thing about water.... obviously water is good for us, and a lot of people don't drink enough of it - but it's stays in your stomach for a very very short time - I watched a program once that showed three different options

 

1. Water going through the stomach - it took seconds

2. Food and water consumed alternatively - it took quite a lot longer but looked alright as it went through the stomach

3. Just food - this was the slowest by far and when someone eats something stodgy it stayed there a long time.

 

Water on it's own just isn't good enough in my view (I know cuz I used to drink to stave off hunger when I was a fair bit younger) you need the right food too. It might make up the deficit in feeling temporarily "full" but it isn't giving your body what it needs cuz it doesn't make up the calorie deficit.

 

Also - and this is just my opinion - I don't really go for the quick fix route - even in the short term, the best thing to do is have the balanced diet and regular exercise and time takes care of the rest... After all, if it's a lifestyle change then I'd technically be doing it forever, so if it takes a year instead of a few months, then that doesn't matter in the long run.

 

Unless you wanna become someone who "trains" rather than exercises - cuz that makes a big difference too in the way you go about things and how you look after yourself as you do, and how much you need to know

 

Best wishes

 

Darkshine

[robert7111a]

Having said that, water is good at flushing out toxins from the body (amongst other things).

 

I eat a lot of apples, strawberries, bananas, grapes, garlic, fish, red meat about 1-2 times a week (normally), turmeric, cayenne pepper, salad stuffs etc...etc... and until about 3 months ago, had pizza/chinese/indian once a week. I miss my daily chocolate fix as well would it be snickers, mars, yorkie etc but the trouble with my work patterns is that I lived off sandwiches a lot which really do pack the carbs in. I don't eat much bread now - maybe a little once a week. But I also work in quite warm rooms without windows or aircon so I get though tons of water in a day.

 

I wanted to go the quick-fix route initially to shift some weight initially (which I have done) - now I just need to find a way to do this gradually whilst maintaining interest

[darkshine]

I struggle to maintain interest in many forms of exercise - cycling is the only thing that ever appealed cuz you get fit and get to see ###### along the way

[robert7111a]

########## ?

[darkshine]

It was a four letter word beginning with 's'

 

I could have said "stuff" instead of swearing

[darkshine]

And I didn't mean literally seeing sh** - I meant stuff - really shoulda said that in the first place

[robert7111a]

oh...sweet...

 

See I'm not good at this...

[A-S warrior]

sounds like a number of things:

 

sleep deprivation,

 

lack of fats,

 

severe caloric defisit,

 

high cortisol from physical and mental stress,

 

or maybe with all the dieting and exersise you,ve psyched yourself out.

[robert7111a]

Probably all of these but mainly 3,4 and 5

[darkshine]

oh...sweet...

 

See I'm not good at this...

 

I shouldn't be swearing unnecessarily - and because I swear way too much at times I just seem to know what people are saying when you get a load of these: "#######"

 

I don't think swearing needs to be something you are good at - just ask if you don't know and I am more than happy to tell you (as long as I see your question) lol

 

So what you gonna do about your low energy? You've had a bit of an exploration into this now... what do you think? gonna try anything new? Make any adjustments? Or not?

 

Regards

 

Darkshine

[robert7111a]

 

So what you gonna do about your low energy? You've had a bit of an exploration into this now... what do you think? gonna try anything new? Make any adjustments? Or not?

 

Regards

 

Darkshine

 

 

The problem with diets in general is that once you reduce calories, you feel starving and guess what....you have low energy.

 

There was an experiment done once where 12 men were put on a 1,600 calorie-a-day diet for a month. They lost a few pounds - great.

 

The second month (whilst still on the diet), these men were starving and started to eat more up to their 2,600 calories-a-day. They then put on weight.

 

But then 2,600 calories-a-day was not enough so these men overate and ended up weighing more than they did before the experiment

 

Eat less - do more also doesn't work because the dietee doesn't have the energy to do more because of his reduced calorie intake. Therefore diets don't work IMO

 

But the answer to your question Darkshine is.... I haven't decided yet.

 

I need to think unless anyone has any suggestions...

[darkshine]

Ah, there stands the difference between us

 

I don't do diets - I might do lifestyle changes that I plan to continue for years and years - but I definitely don't do diets.... If you want diet advice you might need another thread just for that cuz this one's title is about energy....

 

Good luck deciding - I think it's good to think about these things and find out more info and stuff

 

Best wishes

 

Darkshine

[robert7111a]

I love the word "energy" - yet it is so often abused. Yes I don't do diets - this is why in previous posts I wrote "diet" to mean "cutting back".

 

At present, I am reading up on diets and why they don't work. If you eat more (i.e. more energy in) and do more (i.e. more energy out) does one lose weight? According to most diet books - the answer is a resounding "YES". But people who eat more generally lead more sedentary lifestyles and therefore less energy comes out. And of course, overweight people have low energy - or no energy to do anything - hence they don't lose weight.

 

So to coin your term Darkshine...I am looking for a lifestyle change but on a different slant. I just have to find what's right to keep me in equilibrium.

[darkshine]

That makes sense Robert, after all we are all individuals and what may work for some, may not work for others

[Mike_GX101]

It's all these dull days we keep having when the sun doesn't shine - they said only last week in the news that the jetstream was shifting north and we were in for some summer weather (given it is summer and all) but it didn't last too long did it because it's dropped back down again - when will it end??

 

I have off days and I noticed they quite often follow the course of the weather - when it is hot and sunny I'm usually happy and feeling energetic and when it's cold and wet I'm the opposite and feeling low on energy! I might have to emigrate to Australia if it carries on like this! LOL

[darkshine]

I hadn't even heard of the Jetstream before this year...

 

I would have been happy to have lived without the knowledge of it - shame we can't just shift it back where it should be and we can all have some stability

[A-S warrior]

calories when fat loss is concerned is quite modest. its more about the metobolic reasponse of the central nervous system that determines fat loss.

[robert7111a]

I have decided what to do now and have narrowed down a list of foods which I will eat regularly over the coming weeks. Some I eat already but perhaps not enough of which means my GI tract is already "primed" for what I am about to give it.

 

I have my goal and target weight - so time will tell as to whether I can keep going.