Lately I feel that I might be dragging a bit, maybe not eating enough, or doing too much. Any thoughts would be great.

Typical food intake..

Breakfast - ham/mushroom/cheese 2 egg omlette
coffee w as/c

Lunch - 1 tin tuna, 2tbsp mayo with celery bits
3 cups salad w/1oz cheese, carb options dressing

Dinner - 3med roasted chicken thighs, mixed veggies, higher carb food (potato, rice, perogies) followed by dessert of mixed fruit w/whipped cream.

All meal variations will contain roughly the same content for macro nutrient ratios.

I have about 3 cups of coffee throughout the day.

I ride my bike to work probably 4 days of the week ( I take the day off following my leg workout) which is about 30 minutes medium intesity each way.
I like to run about 4 or 5 km, 3 to 4 times a week (just because I can:-).

I workout with weights using a 3 day split mon,tues, thurs, fri evenings usually after 9pm. I get about 5 days rest between muscle groups.
As soon as I get home from the gym, I have a low carb (1g) protein shake (30g protein).
I take 1tsp creatine daily.

Now, I'm turning 41 next week, and I'm in better shape than I was 20 years ago, but the last week, I've been feeling a bit taxed. I've gained a few pounds, but it's a combo of creatine-induced water and muscle growth.

I've been getting tired legs while cycling in the mornings, and I'm thinking not enough or too much of something.

Anyone have any thoughts, insights or advise? Maybe I just need to have an extra nap? I still would like to drop another 15 - 20 pounds, the BF scale says 23% still.
My cardio (runs/morning cycling) will start getting done pre food intake as per a thread I just read here!

Well, thanks for reading my long winded thread.

Hi there fellow 41-year-old! I'm in better shape now than I was 20 years ago, too. Feels good, don't it?

Well, my first thought is you might consider ditching the evening starch - have it in one of your pre-lifting meals.

My next thought is to increase the weights to 4 days a week, and drop the cardio to three days a week. Make sure you get at least one day of total rest.

We'll start from there.

And welcome! This is a great board.

Thanks Built, looks like we're both BC people too!

I am doing the weights 4 days per week, resting completely on wednesdays. sat/sun are for recreational cycling, hikes in the woods, etc.
The evening starch is dinner, as per the CAD WOE, and is before the weights later in the evening. I just gt home from my leg/ab workout, and energy was at a good level. Maybe too much cardio didn't give me time to recuperate after my last leg day.
How is the volume of food? I'm not sure how much protein I'm getting, or need. LBM is probably 170 pounds, and I know I'm not getting 170g of protein.

Any thoughts on that? Thanks!

Oh, okay, sorry - not familiar with CAD. I do understand there's a reward meal. This would spill over into fat stores if I did it, but I totally understand the YMMV thing. And I glossed over the days - I saw "three day split" and ignored the rest.

I ride my bike this way, too.

Not sure on the food - toss it into www.fitday.com and get the macros.

Excessive cardio can stimulate cortisol. I had to REALLY cut back on my bike rides recently because it was catabolizing my quads and making me too soft. Are you doing any HIIT?

hi all i was just wondering you guys are into to weights if you could give me some advice i have just joined a gym and am going to start lifting weights and was wondering do you guys eat small meals more offen and built you said not to have carbs at night so what do you have for dinner any advice you guys could give me would be great thanks

Not familiar with this. I am going to guess "high intensity interval training"? Or?

I am also wondering about the protein question. I usually eat dinner before lifting later at night. I had read another thread where Built talked about eating some protein after lifting to give the muscles the building blocks they need. But, I'm trying not to eat too late, or more importantly too soon before going to bed. If I have taken in an adequate amount of protein for dinner, will that be enough, so that I don't need to eat more after lifting?

Treefrog, everything I've ever read says you should refill after a workout. I have a protein shake within 30 minutes of completing my workout, and it's only 80cal/20g protein/1g carb per serving. I use 1.5 servings, but 1 would probably do you fine without adding much to your day. I also find it light and easy to go to bed on if it's late.

What kind of shake do you use? I have some designer whey protein powder, but I'm not really sure what is the best way to make it. I have tried adding it to cottage or ricotta cheese, not very tasty. I haven't tried water, but maybe I should. I feel like cream would be too heavy. Maybe I need to add it to water with a little cream.

Do you know if the Atkins shakes are good for this, or are they too high cal? I'm not sure what the nutritional values are for them. My inclination is that the whey protein would be a better choice.

I guess 1/2c of cottage cheese would be a good choice too?

Treefrog, I use a product called Whey Cooler, which mixes with water and comes in several nummy flavours. Peach Ice Tea is my current flavour, and it's actually enjoyable to drink. It's made by PVL I believe.

Here's a link to one of the flavours..

http://www.pacific-nutrition.com/Me...&Category_Code=

Hey Brad,

My age, diet and activity level are pretty close to yours; I may do a little more running and cycling, but otherwise they are pretty close. My comment here would be this: Is there enough variety in your schedule? Are you getting a little bored? I find that changing it up every once in a while is neccessary to keep it interesting!

If you are tired, a nap is a good thing. I believe that the more physically activity that you are, the more quality rest that you need.

Hope that helps!

J.

I would plug your diet into fitday as it looks it seems you are not eating enough calories...If you are going to have carbs pre and post workout are usually your optimal times. pre workout you will use them to help with the workouts and post workout with your protein shake replaces the muscle glycogen you just burned off, and helps push the nutrients into the muscles for optimal repair.

The carbs at night thing is from my own personal experience. Conventional wisdom about weightlifting says to eat carbs before, and protein and carbs after, low fat. Many women (and some men) appear to have trouble with the post-lifting carbs. Many low-carbers have trouble with whey because it's a small molecule that digests very quickly and a substantial proportion of it can glycolyze, stimulating an insulin response. I DO use whey, but sparingly and strategically. I've taken to eating slower protein after lifting (cottage cheese), and to help with fat loss, I don't eat 2-3 hours before lifting. If you're going to lift in the morning, this won't do. In this case, I would suggest a small whey shake first thing in the AM - if you're lifting 30 or so minutes afterward, you should have enough time to get the protein into your system this way. Mix it with water. Eat a real food breakfast afterward - slow protein, higher fat, lots of fibre - an omelette with broccoli, for example.




Yep. You got it. True HIIT is rather miserable, but it's over in 6-12 minutes. You get fat burning and muscle retention, which you DON'T get from extended low-level cardio sessions.



I really don't like the Atkins products. Atkins shakes are too fatty to be used this way, and have soy, which, because of the phytoestrogens, I generally avoid because of the female pattern fat pockets I already carry.

Mix your whey with water. Cottage cheese is an excellent protein source because casein is slower to digest.

Thank to you both, Built and SL70i. I will give these different things a try and see how it goes. I am really just getting started with exercise, but I want to get the most out of it.

OK, this sounds fun. Anymore info, techniques, etc? :-)