How's my diet - lacking energy....

[RileyMartin]

Hi all,

I lift when I get home from work and I'm really lacking energy. When I'm lifting my energy level just drops towards the middle of a set and I just feel like I'm running on empty. I'm pressing or squatting etc. and I just don't have it. I keep trying to cut out more and more of the junk I'm eating during the week and now I don't eat any junk on the days that I lift. I also started taking Nano Vapor and caffeine pills before/during my workouts in an attempt to boost my energy levels. In the beginning the Nano Vapor felt good and I think was really helping me with my energy level but now I think it might be having the opposite effect. I think the caffeine pills are helping so I'll try cutting out the Nano Vapor and trying just the caffeine alone.

Here is what I typically eat on a work day when I lift in the evening. Any help would really be appreciated because I am really struggling to stay on my diet, make sure I get enough protein and have energy for lifting when I get home from work.

Breakfast
---------
- 7 Ounces of chicken breast
- 1/2 Dr. Praeger veggie burger
- 1/4 cup blackberries & 1/4 cup blueberries & 1/8th cup raspberries
- Multivitamin
- Fish Oil pill
- 1 Litre seltzer

Morning Snack
--------------
- 2 scoop protein shake with water, BCAA, Taurine, Beta Alanine, Metamucil
- 1/2 Ounce chicken breast
- 1 Orange
- Vitamin C

Lunch
------
- 7 Ounces of chicken breast
- 1/2 Dr. Praeger veggie burger
- 1/4 cup blackberries & 1/4 cup blueberries
- Vitamin D, Vitamin B complex, Vitamin E
- 1 llitre seltzer

Afternoon Snack
----------------
- 2 scoop protein shake with water, BCAA, Taurine, Beta Alanine, Metamucil
- 1/2 Ounce chicken breast
- 1/2 cup of Quaker oatmeal
- Vitamin C, Vitamin B12

Dinner ( During 1 hr. 15min drive home from work )
------
- 7 Ounces of chicken breast
- 1/2 Dr. Praeger veggie burger
- 1/2 cup of Quaker oatmeal
- 1 Apple
- Calcium
- 1 litre seltzer

Pre Workout ( right after getting home from work and changing )
------------
- 1/2 scoop protein shake with water, BCAA, Taurine, Beta Alanine, 1/4 cup grape juice, 1 scoop Nano Vapor, 1/16th cup malto dextrose & 1/16th cup dextrose
- 1/2 banana
- 1 Caffeine pill

During Workout
---------------
- 1 litre of water with 1/2 cup grape juice, BCAA, 1 scoop Nano Vapor
- 1 Caffeine pill

Post Workout
-------------
- Three scoop protein shake with water, BCAA, Taurine, Beta Alanine, 1/2 cup grape juice, 1/16th cup malto dextrose & 1/16th cup dextrose
- Phosphatidylserine

Evening Snack
--------------
- 4 Ounces of chicken breast
- 1/4 cup blackberries & 1/4 cup blueberries
- 1/2 litre water

Bedtime
-------
- ZMA

Thanks.

[Ross86]

You're not getting enough carbs IMO. It almost looks like you're doing a keto diet. Almost. If you get in that in-between area with carbs, then you're going to feel like crap. I might be off on that, but that's my understanding.

Caffeine is not energy.
Nano vapor is not energy.

Calories yield energy. Carbs are the easiest for your body to metabolize for energy. Ditch the caffeine/nano vapor...it's not doing anything positive for you.

Nano vapor (which is primarily caffeine & arginine) or just large doses of caffeine will take a toll on your adrenal system. At least cycle off of both for a while so your system can recover.

[slayer of souls]

Originally Posted by Ross86

You're not getting enough carbs IMO. It almost looks like you're doing a keto diet. Almost. If you get in that in-between area with carbs, then you're going to feel like crap. I might be off on that, but that's my understanding.

I second! Start tapering up the carbs.


You can carb cycle if you want to be careful.



It sounds like your getting in a lot of protein which is fantastic. Can you calculate how much you are getting in.

Whats your weight and height

[RileyMartin]

Thanks for the help.

I'm 5' 9 & 1/2" and currently weigh 270. Over the past year I lost 64lbs. but over the past two months I gained back 14lbs. from eating too much junk food.

I know my calories and fat intake are too high, especially on non-lifting days when I eat the junk. I'm struggling with my diet and trying to get my calories down but keep the protein up.

I shoot for 300g of protein/day to make sure I get enough. I never go below 200g/day and sometimes I go over 300g/day.

How would you recommend I change my diet to increase my energy when lifting after work? What foods would be good choices? Should I add more dextrose/malto before or during my workout or will that make me crash while lifting? I read the oatmeal is good but I'm not sure how much to eat and at what times during the day. I think I also read that beans are good too? Thanks again for taking the time to help.

[Ross86]

The malto/dextrose before your workout will help. Use half or 1/3 as much as you would use in your PWO shake. If you haven't read the stickies in the nutrition forum, then do that. Have some protein before hand and make sure you eat a meal with some low GI carbs about an hour before hand. I like to have a banana and a whole wheat english muffin.

I don't worry about my fat intake because I cook with a lot of olive oil and I'll end up getting just the right amount of fat by not worrying about it. For every meal, I have a protein & a carb. Normally tuna, eggs, chicken, or steak for protein, then sweet potato, bananas, brown rice, cereal, or oats for my carb. I have steamed veggies in place of those carb choices in the evening most of the time. But make sure you get one of each in at every meal. Beans are great. Have you been keeping track of your food at fitday.com?

[RileyMartin]

I was using thedailyplate.com mostly to track my protein intake but stopped when I got familiar enough with my eating routine to know how much meat I had to eat and how often. I have to start again to track my calories now that I've started to gain some weight back. I'm overweight so I'm trying to get down to a healtheir weight.

Do I need to increase my carbs with each meal throughout the day or just with dinner since I eat dinner in the car ride home (1hr 15min)and then lift soon after.

I read the stickies but I'm not sure on the timing and quantities of carbs. I also found the sticky on the glycemic index confusing. I don't know how to interpret the three numbers that come after the food to know which are good choices to eat prior to lifting.

I'm having such trouble with energy I really want to maximize my diet/food intake and see if that makes a difference when lifting.

Thanks again for taking the time to help.

[Ross86]

Try to add carbs to at all of your meals. Just make sure they're clean. I can't imagine having only one meal after my workout. Make sure it's a great one. Plenty of protein, carbs, and fats.

If I were you, I would get rid of the nano vapor and add more protein to my pre workout shake.

I have a hard time deciphering the GI list also. So I just google: "food" glycemic index. You'll end up with some cool info about the food that you're looking up that way also.

[RileyMartin]

For carbs with each meal, is 1/2 of a Dr. Praeger California veggie burger sufficient carbs with breakfast and and then another 1/2 for lunch and then for dinner have a cup of oatmeal in addition to the 1/2 veggie burger?

[Ross86]

No. Look up the nutrition info and you'll find the answer. 6.5g of carbs is not sufficient for carbs in a meal when you're bulking. In regards to the oatmeal, you're on the right track.