Ok, realistically how many calories? And, I'm tired...
 

2nd attempt at modified Atkins (at 20 carbs currently), have lost 9.5 pounds. Did one month (Sept) of low-fat/lots of exercising. Saw about 4 pounds total. Switched back to low-carb on 9/29, 5.5 lost since then, noticing difference in clothing/shape, etc. All good stuff.

But.... I find myself tired. I am hitting it *hard* at the gym. Full body workout on weights (takes about 1 hour), then 30 minutes on treadmill. Doing this 3 days a week, taking other days off (was mixing the two and doing something 5-6 days a week but with a FT job, and two small kids (soccer), it's too much).

I'm eating consistently about 62% fat, 34% protein and 4% carbs at a maximum of 1500 calories. I'm 5' 7" and 152.5 today. Will upping my calories make me less tired? I do drink caffeine (hence the modified Atkins) because it doesn't stop the weight loss, but even after a cup, I'm still tired. I honestly think it's the exercise (which I'm not going to slow down on, vacation in 3 weeks).

Any energy food advice? I eat tons of eggs, 2 cup salads with turkey or chicken, bacon on salad or with eggs, pork, beef, etc. I have had some nuts (pecan chips) as well.

Came back to add: I have been in ketosis since 9/29 - I had been upping my protein the week before I officially went back on so I got back into it fast. I've stayed in it the whole time and I didn't go through much of a fatigue problem last week; it has really just hit me this week.


Thanks for any thoughts

How can you NOT be tired??? Running on that schedule required more fuel, IMO. I would seriously consider at least adding more fat/cal or even more carbs (not knowing what 4% works out to grams-wise) to what you're eating.

thank you, I'm at 15 carbs average per day right now (still in induction and planning to stay here through 10/30 for now). I really do think I need more calories, but it's SO hard to break the 20 years of "less calories is better" mentality.

Thanks again

It says in the book there's no benefit in going under 20g a day.. I'd suggest at least that...

Go for OWL and add back even more carbs. Many find that not only do they have more energy at 30g, but lose better.

Are you taking suppliments? They can have a drastic effect on energy levels. Make sure to get a good multi vitamin, as well as calcium, magnesium and zinc. While Atkins advises to stay away form iron, check the report in fitday about "Am I meeting my nutricional needs" You may be suprised to find you aren't getting enough iron depending on what your protien sources are. I usually fall low. In that case a multi with iron would help. If you are getting adiquet iron from diet, don't worry about it. I like the Twin Labs daily vitamins, as many others have sugars in them.

It looks like you are getting enough protien to support your lean weight and all that working out. Upping your fat percentage may help you feel more satisfied and lose better, just remember that as you raise carbs, the fat will lower.

L-Glutamine has been a lifesaver! I was tired a lot (mainly afternoons) and running 3.5 miles 3 - 5 days a week. I have yet to up my carbs (around 20-30 per day) but taking 2000mg per day has increased my energy 10 fold - I am no longer hitting the wall when running either. I am also sleeping better. I attribute this to the L-Glutamine. I was already taking a multi vitamin, magnesium (for cramps), calcium and potassium. Nothing drastic until I added the L-Glutamine. Click http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag99/sep99-report3.html
for information on L-Glutamine.

I definitely second 'add more calories/carbs'. Try to make 1500 your minimum as a start.

How long have you been working out non stop? Exercise, weight lifting in particular, coupled with insufficient calories and not enough rest and recovery (i.e. sleep) can lead to overtraining rather quickly. You begin to feel tired and run down at first, then you start getting colds and flus and feeling exhausted all the time. Your heart rate will be raised and you'll find you're not only not making gains in the gym, you're backsliding. This is full blow overtraining and it can take months to recover from it. Taking a week or two off every 3 - 4 months will help stop this from getting out of control. If you haven't had any time off in the past few months it might be a good idea to curtail all extra activities, rest up and get some good quality food in you.

Cheers,
Nat

Masonpips, listen to this advice -- Nat knows what she's talking about. I hit the tired/run-down phase about two months ago, but it took me a while to figure out that overtraining was the cause, and a little longer to do something about it. I finally gave myself a break from the gym, but it was too late, and I'd been dealing with a punishing work schedule and too little sleep for too long. Now, I've got my second case of flu in a month (really never recovered all the way from the first one), and I don't remember the last time I felt really well-rested. It's kept me entirely out of the gym for about a month now, because I just don't have the energy, and I think I've dropped a pound or so of muscle mass as well. You DON'T want to go where I am right now, because it's miserable.

Sleep is the real key here -- don't fool yourself into thinking that you can function long-term on six hours, because you can't --- but it's important to eat enough, especially protein. You may think you're eating "enough" in terms of grams or ratios, but that may not be enough for a stressed-out body. I've noticed that the more tired I get, the more I crave protein, even though I've never been deficient in that area, and to me that's a sign that I need more nourishment (red meat, especially).

Sleep? What's that?