Feeling lethargic / improving recovery times

[pmanson]

Hi All,

My first post in this forum so this may have already been answered...

I've got a bit of an issue at the moment of feeling very lethargic / tired with a distinct lack of motivation to get out of bed and hit the day running.

Part of this i'm 90% sure is my current state of apathy to work which i'm trying to resolve, stress at home (wife expecting baby number 2) and a busy year of paying off credit card etc in preparation..

I've been exercising regularly since June last year and have dropped 2.5st but the lethargy has not improved in this time. On Sunday I completed a milestone of running my first half marathon (in June last year I couldn't run for a bus so I'm not complaining about the improvement).

This week has been especially bad with a constant hunger which i'm putting down to the run on Sunday.

I'm beginning to wonder if I need to look at my diet to improve my energy levels? A typical day would be as follows:

• Breakfast (6:00am) - Bowl of cereal (normally branflakes) or 2x poached eggs on toast
• Mid morning snack (10:00) - Banana
• Lunch (13:00) - Normally salad with either chicken or tuna
• Dinner (18:30) - Varies. Last night was mackerel and salad. Followed by a small twister lollypop (stolen from my 5yr old son - whoops)

Then the issue I have is that my wife likes chocolate with a cuppa while watching TV so I can sometimes demolish half a bar of dairy milk (200g) in one sitting.

Exercise wise:

• Normally 5/10k run on a Monday night
• Wed - 5k run
• Fri - 30min PT session

PT instructor keeps recommending protein supplements to improve my recovery times but i'm pretty sure a change/improvement to my diet will do the same thing.

Any thoughts/suggestions? I appreciate these may be two different issues but they do feel linked

Cheers,
Phill

[Foliage]

No mention of water in your post? How much water do you consciously drink?

To get up in a morning and set me up for the day I usually drink 500-750ml of water as soon as I get up and also take multi vitamin which may or may not help. I usually drink another 500ml during the day plus coffee/tea.

As for protein drinks ive no idea if they work but I have one post workout and of course lots of water during and after, I can feel the protein drink staving of the feeling of hunger/emptiness/confusion I have after a hard workout.

[DUMBO100]

I've had similar issues recently with extreme lethargy. I've been losing weight for my wedding in September and generally it's going well althought it's admittedly hard work. I started taking Ultimate Whey Protein every day and it has improved my stamina and reduced the hunger issues. I have 3 shakes/drinks a day and am losing weight and bulking up a reasonable amount. I'm now trying Diet Whey in the hope that I can lose a few more pounds but I think you have to consider it a long term change of lifestyle. I'm definitely seeing and feeling the benefits so am comitted to my plan. I should warn you that it makes your st stink and you will not be popular around bathroom times

[pmanson]

I'm a self confessed tea addict (probably 10 cups a day). Water wise I try to drink at least 1 ltr during the day a day and then will have a couple of pints of squash in the evening

Water consumption could certainly be improved!

[Burrow01]

How well are you sleeping?

Have you had any blood tests to confirm no medical issues - low iron etc?

Have you used anything to confirm your eating is matching your exercise - if you use "My Fitness Pal" etc you would be able to confirm that you are actually eating enough to replenish the energy you use running

How fast can you run 5k now compared to when you started?

Edited by Burrow01 on Thursday 12th March 13:16

[Vocal Minority]

How many calories do you consume during the day? Plenty of healthy stuff like salad, but unless you are eating mountains of it you can't be getting all that many. You are doing a bit of exercise too.

I am not wise in the way of these things, but are you cutting away too much? I would tot up the calories you are eating and losing through exercise, bearing in mind that your body uses 1750-1900 kcals a day just to tick over.

I may be totally wrong, but just thought i'd put it out there.

FWIW I agree on the protein supplements stuff - my colleague keeps asking why I don't just use a protein shake rather than eating 'so much food' (its just a big bowl of salad with some chicken, maybe 350 kcals all told). Seems to work for me

Edited by Vocal Minority on Thursday 12th March 13:31

Edited by Vocal Minority on Thursday 12th March 13:32

[pmanson]

Burrow01 said:

How well are you sleeping?

Have you had any blood tests to confirm no medical issues - low iron etc?

Have you used anything to confirm your eating is matching your exercise - if you use "My Fitness Pal" etc you would be able to confirm that you are actually eating enough to replenish the energy you use running

How fast can you run 5k now compared to when you started?

Once I get off to sleep i'm good but it does take me a while. Quite often wake up very thirsty in the early hours/first thing. So normally drink a pint over water overnight.

Last blood test was to check for cholesterol (i've got high cholesterol and BP on the high side of normal).

For reference at 5ft 5, i'm now 12st 2lbs compared to 14st 7lbs I was last year.

Running wise i've dropped about 5mins off the 5k time (but been focusing on the slightly longer distances).

I'll start logging the food consumption in a food diary & see if i'm just not eating enough. About a month ago I did eat more for a couple of weeks and it seemed to kick start the weight loss again (was eating well but always felt bloated like my body was holding on to everything I was putting in it).

[Foliage]

I find bloating down to processed sugars, salt or white carbs.

Id say the assertion that your not eating enough could be right, instead of having the chocolate/sweets which your body is likely craving have nuts or a yoghurt instead.

Try switching the tea for caffeineless fruit teas (especially 6 hours before bed) im used to be a monster for coffee and tea.

[pmanson]

Thanks Guys. I'll give it a go & report back.

[Vocal Minority]

Best of luck - hopefully an answer will emerge.