Everyday I take a multi vitamin, multi minerals, and drink a protein shake.
Now since I started getting into like regular,heavy weight training and cardio, I'm having muscle weakness, some dizziness and overall fatigue. I do weights Monday, Wednsday, and Friday. I was fine in the begining, but now I can't even lift 5lbs without wanting to passout! I'm sleeping more too and ya I don't like it.

I'm positive it has nothing to do with what I'm eating. I have changed that around a few times trying to see if there is a difference. I can eat about 50 "good carbs" a day and it just doesn't matter. I've tried eating fruit and even whole grains. Calories don't matter either.

I've read through this forum, and other places on the net. I'm so confused on what I need! I don't want to take a million pills a day, and I don't really have the money for it either. Chicken is expensive enough! lol But I'd like to try anything that would definetly help, I just don't know where to start. I only want the necessities.

I'm hearing I should be taking creatine(sp).... But from what I have heard about that, I'm not too crazy about it and dosen't sound like I *need* it.

L-Carnatine, sounds like it could help with fat loss , but then I've seen people on here reccomend it to get rid of cravings? I don't want/need anything for cravings or like any of that carb blocker stuff..

EFA's and CLA? Do I really need that stuff?

Also please name some brands.. Guess I just need something to kill the fatigue, help with fat loss and build muscle. I'd hate to buy a not so good brand of something and it not work so good.

I was recommended (on this site) Formula VM 75 from a company called SOLGAR and I have to say that altho I have NO IDEA how come it lifts my fatigue as its just a real good multivit, but it does and it does it a helluva lot better then an energy modulator I bought (with all kinds of Ginseng in it) also from Solgar's called Gold Specifics Energy Modulator. Having said that I'm not sure if its just an amalgamation of all the different supps I've started to take either in my bid to rid myself of this awful debilitating fatigue I also suffer from.

Sorry not much help there but today I was reading an article by Weston A Price and he reckons that Chronic Fatigue is brought on, many a time by a poor digestive system. Enzymes are what makes digestion better. Something about this article rings true (especially as I think WAP is an excellent authority on LC eating) I'll try and find it again and post it here when I do. I'm sorry I was'nt much help I'm REAL eager to see some informed responses for you from others as these vits were expensive dammit (part of my birthday present LOL). I've also stopped taking magnesium but I too am on a mission to discover the TRUE origin of this CFS. I think the answer lies in the digestion thing somehow.

Good Luck. BTW altho I dunno how long you've been on this WOL, I do know that it does get better with time and also disappears entirely for long periods but then resurfaces.......hence the need to find the source and work it from there. In the meantime try energy things like Ginseng or Gingo Biloba, Guarana perhaps etc etc but DO stick with your WOE as I promise you it does get better. I forgot to say that my fatigue had stopped for ages when I stopped eating processed stuff and fatigue is the reason why I'm following a Paleolithic WOL nowadays. I'm nowhere as fatigued as I used to be when I ate stuff like bacon and shop-bought mayo, cheese etc etc

As I was saying <sidetrack sidetrack>

Good Luck and God Bless

Slim, if you're feeling fatigued and losing strength you most likely need potassium, in the range of 400mg a day. This is the advice of the Eades of Protein Power, for anyone actively losing weight and for those in Maintenance who are doing intense activity, especially on hot days. You may have been fine w/ just the multi mineral prior to the increased activity, but now your butt is dragging.

Potassium is cheap and you don't have to use pills. Get some nusalt or Morton's Light salt and use it either on your food, in place of salt, or take 1/8 tsp with a very large glass of water. Salt substitutes range from 325 - 500 mg a 'serving' (check the labels). So long as you aren't taking BP meds, or heart meds, potassium is safe, just stay well hydrated. There are 4 or 5 great threads on potassium in this forum if you do a search focussed here with more ideas (when to take, which foods are high in potassium, etc).

Do you need CLA? It's a waste of a lot of money, IMHO. It's very expensive and the amount you need to get the desired effect keeps it an expensive supplement to take over the long term.

EFA's you can get from your food - eat more fatty fish, use flax oil, use flax seeds. But these you do need.

As for the creatine - it wont help with feeling fatigued, creatine pumps water into your muscles, plumping them up. It can help make you stronger when you lift, but if you're already short on some basic salts / electrolytes you won't notice the effect as much.

HTH
-N

L-carnitine is also a waste of money when taken in "affordable" doses -- Atkins recommends taking 1500 - 2000 mg a day for cholesterol & heart health, but for fat loss and muscle building the amount required to see any results can be as high as 8000 mg ... that's 16 pills a day, and criminally expensive to boot.

I concur with the potassium recommendation .. if you're sweating a lot with workouts, live in a hot environment etc, your daily requirement will go up even more. If you choose to use potassium salt-replacement, be sure to read the label carefully to see that the product has only potasssium in it. Morton's Lite Salt is a 50:50 mixture of potassium and regular sodium salt.


Doreen

I also have needed advise in this area. I bought some L-Carnetine, COQ-10, etc.. WAY expensive! I don't think I will purchase them again. But I will continue to take my less expensive Magnesium, B-Complex, flax seed (I grind it and drink it), fish oil, multi-vitiman, and Lethitin.
I need ALL the advise here I can get. I have other things to spend my hard earned money on than over priced vitimans.