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Fatigue from new diet?

So in the past few weeks, I've been trying to truly shift my diet into more reliant on veggies, fruits, and proteins, and removing processed foods, especially bread and pasta (which I easily ate 2x a day, sometimes 3x).  So I'm going on a big homemade smoothie with a little oatmeal for breakfast plus my multivitamin, a salad with cheese or veggies and some lean protein for lunch, and the same for dinner but usually with a potato or another small starch (like 2 tortillas).

I'm getting the same, if not more sleep per night, and I've been doing lazy what I want to do type workouts since IMWI.  And all I can say, is I'm so tired all the time ~ like exhausted I just did a Saturday ride I need a nap tired (minus the aching muscles image).

Anyone else done this transition and have a comment?  I expected to feel better after a week or two, and I just don't.  I'm pretty nervous to start the OS in November feeling this off.

Comments

  •  J- are you recording food to get n idea on calories? Maybe to little?

    Ever have issues wit low iron in past? 

    I'm not a nutrition expert at all, just some thoughts

  • Hi Jen:

    I went through this a couple of months ago when I moved into the Paleo eating realm.  I was sssoooo lethargic.  For me, it was just too few carbs and too much of a caloric deficit.  What Tracy said.  Counting calories (in and out) using LoseIt app or another service will help with that.  For carbs, I started really eating Quinoa, eating green apples and the like.  Brown rice is also good.  I like homemade sweet potato fries also.

    On training days, I just eat like I always do.  Gels, Infinit, etc.  But only as needed.

    Hope this helps.

    John

     

     

  • What John said....I literally started every workout feeling like I had just finished one. image It was carbs for me...I was limiting them too much given my lifestyle.
  • Yeah, I have been using the lose it app, and while it says I'm getting enough calories, I don't know if I totally trust it 100%. I was thinking that I could get my carbs from mostly plant sources, but it's true that the lifestyle probably requires more than I'm currently taking in. I'll aim for tweaking it to strategically eat the carbs for when it'll benefit me the most and see how that works out. I need an annual physical and blood workup soon, so I'll check on the iron.

    Thanks everyone!
  • JB, my observations from using LoseIt:

    • I can handle, and still train well, on a 800-1000 cal deficit per day...but just barely.
    • Above that I'm tired all the time.
    • I target carbs to during and immediately after exercise. IOW, I'll eat bars, breads, etc on the bike or immediately after, as I think they are a quicker carb source than fruits and veggies.
    • The rest of the day I eat sorta paleo, avoiding starches, etc
  • my nutritionist told me I'd be tired, lethargic and have headaches. I am still definitely lethargic, and am still tired (I attribute that mostly to not being able to sleep with broken ribs). She also told me I wouldn't be able to get in workouts longer than an hour, but I've been able (last Sunday I rode 50 miles at .80+ IF with nothing but water with a splash of fruit juice).

    So far, her 'warnings' have been 50/50 accurate. It's just so individual. For me, the lethargy is the biggest obstacle.

    Remember, if you get your iron levels checked, there's two different values (can't remember either name right now) - and both are important.
  • The headaches are an interesting twist I didn't think was caused by my diet. I've never really gotten headaches before, but lately I've been getting them a lot more frequently. Didn't really consider that it might be caused by the diet.

    Maybe I'll adjust my calorie deficit in the LoseIt. I wish it had a place for daily notes so that I could keep the food log along with notes about how I'm feeling and what I did. Everything is a little all over the place which is making it harder for me to target potential solutions. I'll definitely try to target my carb intake for after workouts and see how I feel.
  • I'm not familiar with LoseIt, but you do need to be sure you are getting enough carbohydrates. Getting sufficient carbs through fruits and veggies can be really hard for endurance athletes. I would say to place your starchy carbs (rice, pasta, breads, potatoes) before and after your workouts.

    The headaches could be due to not enough carbs.

    Rule of thumb for carbs: 5 - 10 g/kg per day. To convert your weight from pounds to Kg, divide it by 2.2. That will give you your grams of carbs per day. If you want to convert it to calories, multiply by 4 (4 calories per gram of carb).

    I can post on the tests for iron status later.

    I was on a very, very low carb diet last year for a medical issue. Honestly, all I wanted to do was sleep on the couch all day. When I was able to start incorporating more carbs, my energy level came up.
  • Penny- Thanks for the specific numbers. It'll be easier to plan knowing how much I should be taking in. I'll start on the lower end and add-in until I think a good balance is reached. I'm imagining that when the season ramps up next year and I'm going longer I'll be moving toward the 10g/kg. That sound right?
  • Hi Jennifer:

    That is right. During the off-season you can even go down to 4 g/kg or so since your calorie intake is less. You may not reach 10g/kg. You want to calculate your total calories (or get it measured). I like the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation. I recommend using the activity factor for your daily life/job then adding to that your workout calories to get the total calories per day. You can google "Mifflin-St. Jeor" to find websites that calculate it for you. Then, take the carbs g/kg and convert it to calories by multiplying by 4. Then divide by total calories to get a % total daily calories. I usually put people in the 45 - 65% range depending on how they feel and where they are in their training.
  • Jennifer, I switched to a 90% paleo diet.......the remaining 10% is my strong desire, appetite and lack of will power for sweets and carbs!  I did not experience the chronic lethargy, however what I did experience was a decrease in severity related to after noon drops around 3 PM and 6 PM. I still get a dip at 6 PM and most days I bypass the 3 PM. When I stray off the diet I tend to feel bad the next day, probably just psychological.......anyway.....back to you. How about your daily hydration? Are you taking in enough water throughout the day? I notice lethargy when I don't drink enough water. Also, are you eating 5-7 times per day rather than three meals? Spreading the protiens throughout the day? Are you timing your food calorie/type intake with your weekly workouts? Meaning, the EN plans kind of ramp up in volume and length of intervals towards the end of the week (long run Thursdays and long bikes/bricks on the weekends) so your food plan (both calories & type) should be in parallel with effort as the week progresses. Maybe a more variable diet in relation to workout effort and duration might help? I think I read a comment in one of the threads that diet rxn (and training for that matter) can have person specific results and symptons. I realize I did not provide answers and just questions, however I am hoping the questions help you troublshoot and come up with a "diagnosis" or solution. I am not a nutritionist either, just a guy experimenting and trying to learn about diet for endurance training. Cheers, Greg

  • So I added bread and pasta back into the diet and my headaches and fatigue are gone. My assumption is that I went off the deep end in this respect. Gonna try and find the balance and use Penny's calculations to make sure I'm getting enough, especially when the OS starts in 2 weeks!
  • @Jennifer, use those starches in moderation. I suggest trying to add/reduce incrementally to see what you can tolerate based on your baseline activity level. Thanks for keeping us posted!!!
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