Am I Overtraining??

[Tucker Smith]

so i need to lose some serious fat and i just started training again, i want to get back to my ideal weight so i can start fighting again, and maintain my weight while staying in shape so i can fight on short notice if needs be. Anyway, check my log out and please tell me if im overtraining or if my diet is wrong or what i need to do to get this weight off so that I can move on to a strength gaining routine.

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f49/country-bumpkin-training-experience-mma-conditioning-788537/

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[TheAth-ah-lete]

looks to me like you're just out of shape. Keep working on it and slow down if you're overly fatigued and you just know that your body needs a break.

 

[Tucker Smith]

cool. also, is it a bad idea to do my strength stuff before breakfast? or should i do cardio before breakfast and strength stuff an hour or 2 after?

 

[TheAth-ah-lete]

Look, here's the deal, is your goal fat loss or are you wanting to be an athlete.

If you're trying to lose weight I would say that I prefer to never do fasted lifting, but do sometimes to up to medium intensity fasted cardio session. I would also say keep your carbs low.

If you're wanting to be an athlete you need fuel for your workouts...for me it's not much. I will do up to 4 mile morning runs with only 1 or two pieces of fruit and plenty of water. Usually I don't do more than 3 those days.

What would really help would be writing down everything you eat and noting your energy levels for your workouts along the way.

Having a log with your diet and training information together is AMAZING.

 

[Tucker Smith]

yeah, my goal right now is to lose the weight i put on, and then im gonna switch gears and start training like an athlete again, doing interval training and supersets and all that, but for right now i just wanna get back close to my weight.

i know doing cardio in the morning before eating burns extra fat because your muscle glycogen stores are depleted throughout the night. but is it bad to lift during this time or should i break my workout into 2 parts and do my cardio, eat, rest and then do lifting...
?

 

[TheAth-ah-lete]

If you want do morning fasted cardio and then do an afternoon weightlifting session.

The premise you're talking about supposedly applies to doing cardio after intense weight training as well.

Honestly most people will tell you at the end of the day not eating shit and working your ass off in the gym are the two most important things.

 

[Tucker Smith]

yeah, i get it....

by "not eating shit" do you mean eating healthy? or really limiting my calorie intake?

im assuming you mean not eating sugar, lard, etc.

if so, my current eating plan is like this, lemme know what you think i should do differently.

breakfast- 1/2 C. oatmeal with 1/2 C. raisins & 1 tbsp. honey. 2 eggs fried in olive oil. multivitamin.

mid afternoon- protein shake(1-1/2 scoop whey protein & 20 oz. water)
Multivitamin

supper- meat and vegetables
meat being one of the following: chicken, beef, deer, elk, pork, turkey, tuna.
vegetable being one of the following: green beans, peas, squash, asparagus, etc.

I try not to eat anything past about 6:30 at night. Dunno why really, a personal trainer told me to do this once when he was helping me lose some weight.
thats pretty much it. Is pork ok? anything i should be doing differently?

Thanks for your help.

 

[EZA]

Tucker,

Unless you are a 150lb girl you are eatin FAR too few calories. The diet you listed is probably 1000-1500 calories at most. I have no idea how much muscle you have or what your activity levels are, but I can guarantee if you're training hard you're burning at least 2000-2500 calories per day at the very least. The research shows if you go too far below your daily caloric expenditure you will lower thyroid, growth hormone, and generally screw up your metbolic rate and hinder fat loss.

My suggestion is to try to get your hands on an armband made by bodymedia BodyMedia, Inc. and get an accurate idea of how many calories you are burning per day. At the very least look up the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation and use that to estimate how many calories you're burning. After that subtract 300-500 calories off that number and plan your meals accordingly. Also, unless you are going to sleep at 8pm it's bad advice to not eat after 6:30.

 

[Tucker Smith]

wow. ok. so im actually hindering fat loss and muscle growth?

Alright i need to get to where I understand all this. So, once I figure out how many calories i am burning and what i should be eating how do i calculate the amount of calories im actually eating? also, that armband looks great, but there is no price listed, im guessing its pretty pricey.

I really appreciate your help man.

 

[Tucker Smith]

Ok, so i put my stats in the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation calculator that i found, with my caloric intake at 1250. and this is what it says... im not really sure what it all means though.

BMI- 29.9
BMR- 2043
BMR times activity factor- 3881
Weight of control twin- 161.9
BMR for control twin with BMI of 22- 1778
Control BMR times activity factor- 3379
Control calories minus actual calories- 2129
Your percentage of calorie restriction- 63%



again, i really appreciate help from a knowledgable person like yourself.

 

[EZA]

It's telling you that someone with your height, weight, and activity levels you should be burning about 3881 calories per day. It's also saying you are eating about 63% less calories per day than you would need to in order to maintain your weight. Generally you want to target about a 10-15% restriction so the calculation is showing you the same as I said, namely that you are taking in far too few calories.

My suggestion: target about 3300-3500 calories on your training days and subtract 300-500 calories off those numbers for days when you aren't training. Take those calories and split them into 5-6 meals per day. Structure it so that the majority of your daily carbs are taken in before and after your workouts. 95% of your diet should consist of lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, grains, and healthy fats like those found in fish, nuts, olive oil, etc.

If you're looking to learn more about nutrition I'd suggest looking at Precision Nutrition Dr. Berardi sells an excellent program that is based on science not on b.s. and it's not that expensive and would be well worth it for you.

 

[TheAth-ah-lete]

Man it seems like you really need to keep getting educated. Go read Dr. John Berardi's stuff and then read it some more.

It does look lik eyou are drastically undereating not overtraining. If you don't fuel your workouts you will feel like shit.

And to be honest with you, I think you just ought to eat for performance. If you bust your ass and eat for performance your wasitline will shrink if you're overfat. When I finally startedeating for performance I actually gained weight but my bodyfat percentage dropped and more importantly I got better at everything I was doing.

Go read.

 

[TheAth-ah-lete]

It's telling you that someone with your height, weight, and activity levels you should be burning about 3881 calories per day. It's also saying you are eating about 63% less calories per day than you would need to in order to maintain your weight. Generally you want to target about a 10-15% restriction so the calculation is showing you the same as I said, namely that you are taking in far too few calories.

My suggestion: target about 3300-3500 calories on your training days and subtract 300-500 calories off those numbers for days when you aren't training. Take those calories and split them into 5-6 meals per day. Structure it so that the majority of your daily carbs are taken in before and after your workouts. 95% of your diet should consist of lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, grains, and healthy fats like those found in fish, nuts, olive oil, etc.

If you're looking to learn more about nutrition I'd suggest looking at Precision Nutrition Dr. Berardi sells an excellent program that is based on science not on b.s. and it's not that expensive and would be well worth it for you.

EXACTLY what he said. Great job Eza.

 

[Tucker Smith]

Thanks for all the good advice guys. You are completely right, i need to be fueling my workouts properly instead of obsessing with cutting the weight, i just need to fuel myself properly and train hard and the weight will cut itself i suppose.

Man it seems like you really need to keep getting educated. Go read Dr. John Berardi's stuff and then read it some more.

It does look lik eyou are drastically undereating not overtraining. If you don't fuel your workouts you will feel like shit.

And to be honest with you, I think you just ought to eat for performance. If you bust your ass and eat for performance your wasitline will shrink if you're overfat. When I finally startedeating for performance I actually gained weight but my bodyfat percentage dropped and more importantly I got better at everything I was doing.

Go read.

Yeah i know what you mean. my only problem is I'm trying to get back down to 185 so i can fight at middleweight. we'll see how it goes. ill start fueling myself properly and monitor my weight for the next few weeks and see how it goes.

 

[TheAth-ah-lete]

Well at your level of conditioning you probably don't want to be fighting msot serious middleweights.lol. When you're in good enough shape that you're around 185 then you'll be ready to fight. Not before.

 

[Tucker Smith]

yeah, i know. Im not signing up for any fights quite yet, im definately gonna give it some time so i can get in good shape.