Forums >Health and Nutrition>exhausted
That's not much data to go on. I would continue tracking for a few more days/weeks. But, let me back up a step... Have you calculated your BMR and daily caloric needs based on your activity and exercise levels? Not sure if SparkPeople has one, but you can Google "bmr calculator" and come up with some. Because that's how you come up with an estimate how much food you should be eating: BMR (calories you need to keep alive) + calories based on lifestyle (walking around, going to work, etc.) + calories burned through exercise (running, Zumba, derby) = rough estimate of how much you should be eating a day. (I would also highly recommend Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook if you'd like to learn more about this stuff. And, apologize if you know this already.)
As far as the numbers, you said Wednesday-Friday were typical, but I don't know if that means you ran on any of those days and/or went to Zumba or not. But if you did and "only" ate 2,000 calories, I could see how that could be a little light. But, you have to run the numbers. You may want to bump it up a couple hundred calories/day and see how you feel.
Meal timing can also be important. Experiment with when you eat. You may be one of those people who performs better when they front load their calories - the carbo loaders who have a big pasta dinner before every big run. Maybe you would do better skipping the splurges on Saturday/Sunday and eating more calories on Thursday/Friday. And, post-workout nutrition is important, too. Again, do the math, experiment, figure out what seems to work for you.
If you're still exhausted, by all means see a doctor. I'm not a medical type but I imagine fatigue in a vacuum isn't much for a doctor to go on. But, maybe s/he could run some tests on the usual suspects - iron, thyroid, etc. I feel like my doctor runs these tests every 3-5 years, so if you haven't been screened lately, it might be worth asking. My doctor also sent me to a nutritionist many years back after ruling out anything being wrong with me (other than hypochrondria). Guess what she said... I wasn't eating enough/frequently enough.
Good luck figuring this out! I hope it's something benign like food or sleep.
My blog is JT Running DC. It's awesome. Guide to Washington DC Area Running Routes. Guide to the New York City Marathon. Guide to the Boston Marathon. Guide to Running Gear. Guide to Running Clothes.
not bad for mile 25
BTW, love your avatar. Badass!
I'm exhausted all the time as well. I get home from work, eat some food and pass out on the couch. Drinking a beer is thrown in there as well. It's a mixture of 6hrs sleep, 6 miles running/day, PT, then dealing with 35 crazy Soldiers, a Commander who drives me crazy, and the day to day training that requires we be outside for 10-12 hours. I'm not too worried about why I'm tired. Sounds like your schedule is just a bit hectic. Enjoy it, that's what I do because I know I won't have this job forever!
first off I would have to say that you are an incredible & a phenenomal (yes, I know that was spelled wrong) athlete. just amazing!
not a sports nutritionist but I would +1 on everything Julia1971 said. looking at your food log & assuming it is somewhat accurate & representative of your diet on a regular basis, you avg 2049/k those 6 days. much less on the nonsplurge days. I would suggest as Julia did to up your calories a MINIMUM of 200/day. Your calories included 32% fat 44.76% carbs 15.58% protein. since carbs are our #1 source of energy I would suggest you up your carbs to 55-60% of your total k's because of the type of excercise you are doing. be good to up the protein % (+5-10%) abit & lower the fat % abit as well (<5-10%?). I know this takes some effort/discipline on your part to accurately log all this but would pay off for you.
As Julia said there is a formula that would get you within the general ballpark of how many k's you need & what distribution. Takes abit of time/work but can be done. & of course spreading those k's out over several "small" meals is much better, although not easily done in actual practice, ha, ha. hopefully someone else will respond with better info regarding mineral replacement & vitamin supplementation.
I really appreciate everyone's willingness to jump in and share their knowledge. You're all rockstars!
I'm continuing to track (and will do so for at least a few more weeks) and am taking notes on how I feel each day. Today I feel GREAT. Maybe it's the change in ratio (more carbs / less fat) or maybe its my body finally acclimating to the running, or both, or something entirely different. Not sure yet.
So far, this is what I've got:
I checked into the BMR that Julia mentioned.... at my weight and height (170 lbs., 5' 8''), most of the online calculators are saying I need about 1500 calories a day to maintain. Sooo, it may very well be that ~500 calories a day is just not enough to fuel everything I'm trying to do.
My typical schedule is:
Monday - couch to 5k walk/run
Tuesday - 1 hour of Zumba, and 2 hours of derby practice
Wednesday - couch to 5k walk/run, and 2 hours of derby scrimmaging ("Thump Day")
Thursday - 2 hours of speed skate practice
Friday - couch to 5k walk/run, and 2 hours of derby practice (only every other week)
Saturday - 1 hour of Pilates
Sunday - 2 hours of derby practice (only every other week)
So that works out to roughly 1.5 hours of walking/running, 1 hour of Zumba, 8 hours of skating, and 1 hour of Pilates each week.
My previous post with the splurge weekend was not typical. The derby training clinic is something I get to go to only a couple times a year. My weekend eating is usually pretty much the same as my weekday eating.
It's looking more and more like my dead legs and fatigue may just be a simple case of not enough calories and/or not enough carbs. I'll work on that and see! If this doesn't start improving in a couple weeks, then I'll go see a doc for another opinion.
If it does improve though, any recommendations on how to try to lose weight while still eating enough to do all these activities? I'm trying to lose 20 lbs, time frame is not important. I'd be happy with as little as 2 lbs. loss per month. It's a bit frustrating to be so active and keeping the calories down, yet not lose anything.
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I'm fully aware that BMI is BS (it says I'm overweight) and that muscle weighs more than fat (even with my overweight BMI I wear size 10/12 clothes), but I still want to lose the 20 lbs. for agility reasons. I'm working very hard at getting faster and more agile on my skates, and carrying the extra weight is HARD!
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So please, any insights or recommendations that you have to offer are appreciated. Especially with hints for further reading and research. Thank you!! :-)
shadow, good to hear that you are feeling better & increased energy! you are on the right track.
I just want to mention a couple of things that you probably already know but it is sometimes good for all of us to have little reminders. so you have a starting point according to those calculators (remember those are just guides, everyone is different). of 1500 k just to fuel normal daily body functions-eating, sleeping, working, breathing, digestion, metabolism, etc. & to keep body moving & alive. then you add whatever extra you need to fuel your activity level. that is how you get an estimate for break even. remember to maintain body weight is simple formula:calories in=calories out. hard part is knowing those #'s & then eating healthy calories (mostly). In your case you need to be more careful to go into calorie deficit because of the need to fuel all your activities. that needs to be your priority. the other part is your metabolism. it is possible to go into a calore deficit & not lose weight because your body is constantly making an adjustment. ie: cutting calories or not eating enough to fuel your activities will cause your body to readjust & slow down your metabolism, so that your original BMR may drop from that 1500 & therefore your break even point or maintenance caloric level will also drop. it is rare but not totally uncommon to lower your caloric intake & not lose weight or even gain weight & with decreased energy. at that point increasing (remember small meals throughout day) will kickstart your metabolism again & get you back on track. the original formula for weight maintenance always remains the same! calories in=calories out. It's the #'s on either side that change. With your type of activities you also need to be careful of losing muscle mass which is why increasing protein will at least slow down that process. I've seen a lot of "skinny" or slim people who may look good & healthy on the outside but have low energy levels & flabby arms. you may want to lose 20 lbs but it is better to keep that 20 lbs by gradually replacing 20 lbs of fat with 20 lbs of lean muscle! you would be a lean mean roller derby machine! agility would not suffer.
with all that being said, you again are amazing in what you do! and you appear to be on the right track.
My typical schedule is: Monday - couch to 5k walk/run Tuesday - 1 hour of Zumba, and 2 hours of derby practice Wednesday - couch to 5k walk/run, and 2 hours of derby scrimmaging ("Thump Day") Thursday - 2 hours of speed skate practice Friday - couch to 5k walk/run, and 2 hours of derby practice (only every other week) Saturday - 1 hour of Pilates Sunday - 2 hours of derby practice (only every other week) So that works out to roughly 1.5 hours of walking/running, 1 hour of Zumba, 8 hours of skating, and 1 hour of Pilates each week.
It sounds like you're on the right track since you're feeling a bit better. But, it looks like you aren't taking any total rest days since this is your typical schedule. I would try to find a way to work one in somehow. Sleep and rest days are when your body repairs itself. You are running, skating, and Zumba-ing yourself ragged! I'm tired just reading this.
As far as the weight loss, as Skyedog says, it's all about creating a calorie deficit. But, the fact that you're doing so much exercise is going to make this nerve-wrecking for you. For example, a lot of runners will say it's a really bad idea to try to lose weight and train for a marathon. And, it's because you're trying to do all this running on a calorie deficit and you're setting yourself up to fail at both - you binge because you're starving, or you have crappy workouts because you're underfueled. So, I would recommend continuing to count your calories but not trying to create a big deficit. And, then start cleaning up your diet - whole, real foods.
P.S. I'm also a big Jillian Michaels fan and listen to her podcasts. If you have a spare hour, you may want to check out her 8/12 show. There's a caller at the 31:30 mark that calls in with a problem similar to yours: working out all the time - including Zumba! - and trying to lose weight/firm up her "squishy parts".
Get enough sleep, hydration and nutrition (Enough sleep may = 9 hours) and if your body does not break - It will get easier and easier each week until you could even handle more!
Long dead ... But my stench lingers !