Lacking energy - What works?
Hi,
I'm eating well but still lacking energy for my workouts. Are there any supplements that anyone has tried/actually uses and can say works? Thanks. Riley |
I usually find that if I eat a good (read: large) breakfast the morning of my lift, and then have some kind of preworkout carb (I use malto), I'm fine for energy. Post your current diet, maybe you're just not eating enough to begin with.
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Thanks, I just started using a site that was recommended to me called The Daily Plate. Listed below is what I ate. According to TheDailyPlate the breakdown is:
Protein: 46.53% Fat: 22.84% Carbs: 30.63% Totals ------ Fat:64g Cholesterol:376mg Sodium:2,815mg Carbs:192g Sugars:128g Fiber:21g Protein:291g Breakfast --------- 5oz Light tuna canned in water 1/4cup Fresh Blackberries 1cup Fresh strawberries 1/4cup Grape Juice Morning Snack -------------- 2 Turkey Burgers 1/4cup Fresh Blackberries 1/4cup Fresh strawberries 1/4 Banana 1/4cup Grape Juice Lunch ------ 8oz. Meatloaf 3tbsp Ketchup 1/2cup Red Cabbage 1/3cup Mixed vegetables Afternoon Snack ---------------- 8oz. Meatloaf 6 Carrot sticks Netsle Crunch Crisp candy bar Dinner ------ 2 Salmon Burgers 1cup Strawberries Pre-workout ------------ Protein drink with dextrose, maltodextrose, 1/4 cup grape juice Post-workout ------------- Protein drink with dextrose, maltodextrose, 1/4 cup grape juice |
TheDailyPlate isn't so great. Kane made a fun discovery on there the other day. Look up a grilled cheese sandwich and look at the protein count and tell me if you think that site is accurate :biglaugh:
Try something like nutritiondata.com or fitday.com And just through a glance at your total numbers, you're eating a freaking TON of sugar! If those numbers are anywhere close to accurate, you need to back off on that crap. |
The dailyplate looks good for brand name and restaurant stuff...at least there is more of it than at nutritiondata. But I'd use fitday for my diet tracking.
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Thanks for the help, I need it. |
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Typically a 40p/40c/20f ratio is okay but that can vary per person. Looking at it though I'm think you should add something like a cup of oats, whole wheat bread, sweet potato pre workout. Your sources of carbs preworkout right now lead me to believe that's the reason you're running low on energy. |
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Just a thought, but try limiting yourself to your first two or three meals to protein + carbs (low end gi), then protein + fats for all other meals excluding postworkout and postworkout meals. For most people, it's easier to figure out what to eat when you figure out WHEN to eat. Here's an easy way that I've done it in the past. Using your example, I'll stick with 6 total meals in a day. Divide the six meals into 3 meals Pro/carb, 3 meals pro/fat to start. Over time sticking with the plan, you can adjust to how your body responds. Non training days would look like this: Meal 1: protien + carbs (such as oatmeal) Meal 2: same Meal 3: same Meal 4: protein + fats (eat protein, then fats, then fill yourself up with veggies) same same Training days you'd have to accomidate for training. This could work morning or night. Meal 1: protein + carbs Meal 2: protein + fats Meal 3: p + f Meal 4: p + f Training Meal 5: Postworkout nutrition (protien + carbs) Meal 6: Protein + Carbs |
If you're looking for energy just have a red bull before your workout, sugarfree if you're looking to cut down.
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Caffiene is a temporary 30 minute fix for a lot bigger problems he has.
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Thank you everyone for your help.
I have some questions about what everyone said. When limiting my sugar intake, does that also include fruit? I try to eat a lot of fruit every day (apple, orange, banana, berries) for the health benefits. I read that fruit has a low glycemic index so when I'm eating a meal with protein+carbs can the carbs be from fruit and not always from bread, yams or oatmeal? When I'm eating a meal that's protein+fat, what are some examples of healthy fats? Thanks. |
An example of a healthy fat is olive oil. Try to keep the trans fats and saturated fats low.
Fruit typically has a medium or low glycemic value. But! The GLYCEMIC LOAD is low. Watermelon is extremely high. But there are only a few grams of carbs per cup, so no big deal. Fruit is also high in fiber. So don't worry about limiting that unless you eat 5 watermelons, 10 apples, 18 bananas, and 60 peaches a day. |
Fats like avocado, eggs, red meat, EVOO, cottage cheese, peanut butter, ect.
A P + F meal for me would be something like a steak and veggies. You certainly don't need to think in terms of "this is my protein", "this is my fat".. |
Ok, I think understand.
For a protein+fat meal I would choose to eat proteins with a higher fat content such as peanut butter, avocado, eggs, steak etc. For a protein+carb meal I would eat a lower fat protein such as chicken, turkey, fish etc. plus a carb like yams, wheat bread, oatmeal etc. What about salmon? Even though it has good fat would that be part of a protein+fat meal or a protein+carb meal? With a protein+fat meal do I stay away alltogether from carbs such as vegetables or perhaps a veggie burger? Or with a protein+fat meal do I just stay away from carbs like yams, wheat bread, oatmeal etc.? |
i don't think salmon has a ton of fat...similar to a chicken breast...much less than beef though :)
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Nuts and fish are also good sources of healthy fats
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You're overcomplicating things. Something like spaghetti and meatballs is a P+C meal.. Or something as simple as a roast beef sandwich lol.
Protein and fats could be maybe some bacon and eggs.. Or my personal mainstay, a big bowl of ground beef, veggies, topped with some hot sauce. :D Just follow along as best you can and you should be in a lot better shape. I'm sure if I counted every little thing on the label, this advice wouldn't apply lol. You're going to have fats and carbs, even in small amounts, from just about everything. Just worry about eating your protein.. Other than that, just try and have your cereal, oatmeal, breads, grains, ect in the morning/afternoon. |
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