Need some help/advice...

[Michael Pinto]

Hi everyone,

 

I was hoping to get a bit of critique/advice on my diet at the moment as I don't think it is in a good place. In addition to F1/H1, I also train Capoeira and I'm trying to get my diet good enough to support my training habits.

 

Personal Details:

23 year old male

Height: 5' 10"

Weight: 155lbs

%bf: 5% as measured by scale w/ electrodes (the accuracy of which I'm sure is less than excellent)

 

My current occupation is as a Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate, meaning while I can typically set my own schedule that means I am constantly working, either in the lab or studying at home.

 

Training Details:

-F1/F2 5 days per week (morning sessions)

-H1 M/Tu/Th/Fr (after F1/2 session)

-Capoeira class M/W/F (evenings typically ~2hrs)

-Acrobatics training Tu/Th (evenings 1-1.5hrs)

-Tumbling & Floreio Sat (2hrs usually mornings)

 

My goals are simply to improve strength, handbalancing, and body control while developing my skills in Capoeira

 

While exactly what I eat will fluctuate, a typical day for me consists of:

 

-Pre-Training meal (~20min prior to F1/H1 session): 1/2cup oat bran + 1 scoop whey & handfull of blueberries and 1-2 cups coffee

 

-Post-Training meal (immediately after F1/H1): 2 whole eggs + 2 egg whites w/ handfull of mixed greens and a little salsa on two slices of ezekiel bread

 

-Snack about 1hr later: Joseph Flatbread w/ almond butter and a banana

 

-Lunch: is divided into two parts and eaten ~2hrs apart: 1st is a 0% Fage greek yogurt w/ a small amount of mixed nuts. 2nd is either a tuna wrap (joseph flatbread + can of tuna + greens + mustard) or leftovers from dinner (typically rice+veggie+chicken dishes,at most 2cups combined)

 

-Dinner (usually about 1hr before evening sessions): Typically rice+veggie+chicken dishes, mainly indian sometimes with the addition of lentils or other dals

 

Nighttime (~30-60min after evening session): 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese + few raw almonds

 

The reason I come for advice is that I have been experiencing the following:

-chronic fatigue and lack of energy

-slow gains

-VERY low (almost non existent) libido

-Trouble concentrating

-trouble sleeping (unable to NOT wake up early)

-anxiety

 

-I recently weighed myself for the first time in 2.5 months (since I started trying to eat more peri-workout) and my weight stayed almost exactly the same but the measured %bf dropped from 10-11% to 5%

 

Is this simply a case of not eating enough or is there anything I should be doing differently? I would really appreciate any advice or guidance anyone might be able to give.

 

Thank you for putting up with this LONG post,

-MIke

[Connor Davies]

It seems to me like you are overworking yourself.  You have what, 1 rest day a week?

 

Try to sleep more.  At least 9 hours a night.

[Michael Pinto]

9 hours is very difficult for me to get unfortunately...

 

I am up at 5am every day so I can train before leaving for work, and turning in at 8pm is not really doable (usually dont get home from capoeira classes till 9ish and the days I dont have class I'm ususally studying)

[Douglas Wadle]

While there are many things that may need to be looked at from a medical perspective, the most obvious explanation is that you are overtrained.  I imagine if you checked your morning pulse it would be higher than usual.  You have all the classical symptoms.  Those who are driven type A personalities (myself included), find it hard to realize that work and school stress impedes recovery as much as a workout does.  You are exercising 2-3 hrs a day, studying, working, and i don't even know what your social stressors might be.  Often times it can take a while to recover from overtraining, in some cases many months.  I'd suggest relooking at your priorities, as something has to give.  A week or two off on a very low level of exercise or none at all would be helpful, and would help determine if other testing is warranted (from your doctor).  I wish you well, and don't forget that recovery is as important for your gains as the workout itself.

[David McManamon]

If you are under a lot of stress changing your diet will not have any impact on your stress levels or performance.  Consider meditating for 15 minutes per day.  Eat whatever you want within reason and when it is time to train focus only on your training and nothing else.

Was there a time in the past when you could sleep in easily?  What is the primary factor that has changed since then?

[Michael Pinto]

To be honest, I have not slept well consistently for some time. I put a lot of pressure on myself with school (completed my Master's in Mech Engineering in 9 months) which I think has a lot to do with it. I have a very hard time shutting off and telling myself when I've done enough. A recent end of a long term relationship is not helping things in that regard, but the problem has been there for much longer than that.

 

I am kind of concerned as well because my classes start up in a week and I know my workload will increase quite a bit when that happens...

 

Any good resources on meditation?

 

Thank you all for your advice

[Hal Owens]

I'm by no means an expert but your diet looks low in fat. A diet deficient in fats can cause the problems you describe. I may be wrong but I think it's due to low testosterone.

[Marios Roussos]

Here's a course in mindfulness meditation by Gil Fronsdal.

 

http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/meditation-instruction/

[Michael Pinto]

Thank you for your advice, I burned some of those lectures to disks so I can listen to them during my commute 

[jbunla]

...unfortunately I don't believe anyone can tell you much about your diet due to our different nature(s) imo...however you are under 25 yrs old...rest more  !