Overtraining or more a diet problem?

[Mogeii]

Hello all, first post on the site. I've only been truly working out hard for about 2 months, but I have felt and seen results that I am happy with. question is however, why the last week have I been having some harder times. For the first month I did lifting 4x a week an cardio 3x a week. Now I am on a 3x lifting and 3x cardio schedule. But after today I may drop it down to 3x lifting 2x cardio per week. 3 days ago on a cardio day I was barely able to get through workout, and i felt worn out before I even hit the gym. The next day was a lift day, and I felt great and even set some new personal bests. I walked into the gym feeling good, felt great during the workout, and was still riding that high after I left. Today I walked into the gym and ended up doing 1/4 usual cardio and 1/3 usual ab workout because I was DRAINED. I am not sick, im 99% sure of that. I can think of two possibilities and was hoping someone might be able tell which is more likely.

The first is diet. I am trying to lose weight in stomach area while build muscle elsewhere which I know is tricky. And ill admit diet is horrific when it comes to when and how much I eat. I eat 1 "big" meal a day, which is either lean burgers on wheat buns or a chicken tender sub from the local supermarket. Then I have protein shake after workouts. And on most days that is all. Hahaha I know thats really bad. I just don't know how to cook and I have been doing okay for 2 months on that type of diet, losing stomach fat AND gaining a little muscle. I know a lack of carbs can cause fatigue, but it seems weird that this diet is all of a sudden unacceptable for workout program. Sure I need to eat better, but why would it be downright draining me now when it worked for so long?

The other, less likely, is maybe overtraining. I have read the "symptoms" of overtraining and they are spot on for what I feel, but it would seem that overtraining syndrome would come more gradually and I would also feel it in muscles, which feel okay just a bit weak and fatigued. The only reason I am considering it is because I am getting 8 hours of sleep a night, using a diet that was working for 2 months, and yet I am tired and shaky during the day all of a sudden, as I said before .

Just a PS: I have a history of depression and anxiety, and still deal with the anxiety disorder but I am doing much better. I mention it because stuff like this is what anxiety feeds on, feeling a certain way that I think I shouldn't feel. The hypochondria and anxiety in me are obsessed with thyroid problems or maybe depression returning as the source of these issues, but I am trying to stay in the mindset that the simpler answers are more likely. So I ask, could poor diet habits even though I don't overeat be the culprit of these fatigue problems? Could it be overtraining since 2 months ago I didn't work out at all. Combo of both? Today was the first day I have cut a workout short for any reason, and the fact that I cut it so short because I simply felt sooooooooo drained worries me. Any ideas friends? Trust me I won't be offended if you respond with "it's your shitty eating habit you idiot" lol.

[ultimatehlth]

Hi Mogeii, It could be over training and clearly a poor diet doesn't help. Try taking 2 days off completely, when you return do a moderate workout then see how you feel the next day. If you feel strong it's probably over training. Start back more gradually. As far as nutrition you really need to spread those calories out over the course of the day. Always have breakfast (oatmeal and egg whites, low fat cottage cheese and fruit, a lower carb shake) etc. Have some fruit or a protein shake made with whey, casein and some carbs 1 hour before you workout. Your post workout meal is second most important to breakfast and has to have carbs in it or you won't recover fully. If you have a 3-1 or 4-1 carb to protein ratio that is ideal. So, that it doesn't turn to fat and feeds your muscle be sure to have it within an hour of exercise cessation.

Best,

[watkinsc]

Alomst certainly a combination of the two - but the main cause is bad diet. You are training quite a lot but not really giving your body the chance to absorb the nutrients necessary for recovery. Even if you are getting a decent amount of sleep, if you are only eating once a day and poor food at that then you are eventually going to get pretty darn tired. I would address your nutrition asap (with a little break from training), because whats the point in training so hard if you are just going to let yourself down by eating badly. Im not saying be a complete healthy nutrition nut, but at least eat better than you are now! Hope it gets better for you and stick at it

[July007]

Great question and I have to agree with the others, probably a combination of both. I also just went through this. A few things I did to help break through...
1.Split vitamins in half and take 2x a day. I think this helped body absorb the vitamins better
2. Increased protein and broke into two types whey after work out and then Creatin later in the day
3. I also took had a hard time letting body rest due to little sleep due to work. So one night I took 2 days off and also took asprin each night.... body finally rested and I was able to sleep

I added #3 because sometimes we feel we are resting but our muscles do not relax enough. I really think this was a big help I honestly felt rested... First time in along time due to working out and stress.

Good luck,
Read up on the proteins, get the right amount and try the two types to help your muscles recover better

[Packard]

There are four components that you need to address to get in shape.

1. Exercise. Almost everyone who is serious about getting in shape gets enough exercise.
2. Nutrition. There is plenty written on this. A little knowledge and some will power will address this.
3. Sleep. You need on average one extra hour of sleep (compared to your regular sleep pattern) when you exercise. The problem is that most people work, and have other responsibilities and gettting the extra sleep is a problem.
4. Rest/recovery. You need to rest your muscles (and your entire body) to make advances.

Item #4 is at issue here. Think of it as a budget. Let's say you need $3,000.00 per month to meet your expenses, but you only earn $2,000.00 per month. Luckily you have $12,000.00 in the bank and you can make up the short-fall. But in one year you will have depleted your savings and you will (financially) crash and burn.

When you start exercising you have a reserve of energy you can call up (similar to the savings bank). So for a time you can over-train and get away with it. But eventually you will "hit the wall" and you won't have any reserves left (just like the savings bank money). Then you have over-trained and have to stop and rest.

If you are adequately rested you should look forward to going to the gym. If you are not looking forward to going to the gym then you are possibly over-trained. Take a week off and return to a lighter than normal routine. Stay at that lighter than normal routine until you feel yourself looking forward to going to the gym again.

It would not hurt to schedule a week off every 3 months. Put it on the calendar as a reward for your hard work. It will rejuvenate you and make working out more pleasant.

I schedule time off, but often times something comes up and I have to take the time off anyway--so many of "week off" time ends up being just a couple of days added to time off due to work obligations.

How many times a week do you train? What does your workout schedule look like? What is your age and training experience. We can offer better advice with more context.

Depression at this time of year can be SAD (seasonal affective disorder) due to the lack of sunlight. You might try some light therapy using full spectrum florescent lights.