Daytime Fatigue

Training Bodybuilding
1

For several years now I have been suffering from daytime fatigue and I would really like to get rid of it.

  • I have no problem falling asleep.
  • I usually sleep from 11:00 PM to 7 AM.
  • Since I have reduced my coffee intake to two cups I no longer wake up at night as frequently as before. However, I wake up several times between 6 AM and 7 AM.
  • I have been to a doctor: No diabetes, blood profile and blood pressure ok. He mentioned that maybe I am suffering from burnout. This is a bit of a vicious cycle. I am tired and less concentrated at work and therefore have to work longer than I would like to get my work done. Has anyone been diagnosed with burnout? How do you get rid of it?
  • I am sure I am not overtraining (just 3 low volume workouts per week).
  • I am not on a very low calorie diet (Currently trying to cut with 2500kcal at 187lbs BW)
  • I am not snoring. So I do not think I have sleep apnea.

However, I have been low carbing now for quite some time. Currently around 50 grams of carbs. Has anyone felt tired during the day on a low carb diet? I do not seem to notice a change on days I consume more carbs but maybe I should up my carbs for a longer period and see what happens.

Is it possible that I need more than 8 hours of sleep???

Any other idea? I think as a next step I am going to a sleep lab.

2

I would go to a functional medicine/integrative medicine doc first…have them check you for Wilson’s Thyroid Syndrome…most endocrinologists don’t recognize it–b/c they are idiots. Also, look at your adrenals. How is your gut health?

3

It is possible you may need more sleep although I would look at other things as a more likely cause.

Your doctor could be right on in terms of burnout. Remember it is not just physical stress but mental as well that can deplete adrenals. Also focus on the right kinds of foods as well as amounts.

If you wake up during the night at: 11pm to 1 am it means you have reactive hypoglycemia, 1 am to 3 am = liver toxic, 3am to 5 am lack of antioxidants.

Improve longevity by waking at same hour every day.

Additionally, some people handle cabs better than others, low carbs is great for 70% of the population, the other 30% seem to function better on a carb cycling type of approach.

4

laroyal- Where’d that info come from?

5

[quote]SteelyD wrote:
laroyal- Where’d that info come from?[/quote]

The info is from Charles Poliquin.

6

What exactly is reactive hypoglycemia? And what if you are just waking up because u have to go to the bathroom, lol? I wake up at like each of those times, but it usually is just because I have to use the restroom

7

The information cooresponds to chronic situations, I will acknowledge I to wake up from time to time just to pee here is the definition of reactive hypoglycemia:

Reactive hypoglycemia is a medical term describing recurrent episodes of symptomatic hypoglycemia occurring 2-4 hours after a high carbohydrate meal (or oral glucose load). It is thought to represent a consequence of excessive insulin release triggered by the carbohydrate meal but continuing past the digestion and disposal of the glucose derived from the meal.

The prevalence of this condition is difficult to ascertain and controversial, because a number of stricter or looser definitions have been used, and because many healthy, asymptomatic people can have glucose tolerance test patterns said to be characteristic of reactive hypoglycemia.

It has been proposed that the term reactive hypoglycemia be reserved for the pattern of postprandial hypoglycemia which meets the Whipple criteria (symptoms correspond to measurably low glucose and are relieved by raising the glucose), and that the term idiopathic postprandial syndrome be used for similar patterns of symptoms where abnormally low glucose levels at the time of symptoms cannot be documented.

that comes from wikipedia

8

[quote]rehabman28 wrote:
I would go to a functional medicine/integrative medicine doc first…have them check you for Wilson’s Thyroid Syndrome…most endocrinologists don’t recognize it–b/c they are idiots. Also, look at your adrenals. How is your gut health?[/quote]

Hi rehabman,
I am still trying to figure out what exactly functional medicine is and if there are any practioners here in Switzerland.

I am going to ask my doc, if he has checked for hypothyroidism. I am also going to check my body temperature over the next few days to see, if it is constantly low which seems to be a sign of Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome.

Gut health seems ok. No obstipation, no bloating, little gas. Sometimes maybe a little too soft.

Chris

9

[quote]laroyal wrote:
It is possible you may need more sleep although I would look at other things as a more likely cause.

Your doctor could be right on in terms of burnout. Remember it is not just physical stress but mental as well that can deplete adrenals. Also focus on the right kinds of foods as well as amounts.

If you wake up during the night at: 11pm to 1 am it means you have reactive hypoglycemia, 1 am to 3 am = liver toxic, 3am to 5 am lack of antioxidants.

Improve longevity by waking at same hour every day.

Additionally, some people handle cabs better than others, low carbs is great for 70% of the population, the other 30% seem to function better on a carb cycling type of approach.[/quote]

Hi laroyal,
foods are pretty solid (meat, eggs, veggies, berries, nuts, low carb MD). Just the 100g of feta cheese in my morning eggs and spinach might not be optimal. However, I do think I can digest milk products pretty well.

Since I cut down my coffee intake to two cups from about 6 cups, I do no longer wake up in the middle of the night. Just in the morning hours (starting around 6 AM) there are frequent awakenings. However, the reduced awakenings have not improved my daytime fatigue much, if at all.

During the week I always get up at 7 AM. During the weekend I try but sometimes sleep in for another hour.

For the mental aspect I had planned to relax myself with self hypnosis and autogenous training. However, in the evening I am usually in zombie mode and cannot get myself to anything requiring much mental focus. Maybe, I should start doing it in the morning.

Chris

10

IMO it sounds like you fall into the population that handles carbs well and may simply do better on a carb rotation or mixed approach diet than ultra low (50g carbs).

11

How does Poliquin come up with this stuff.

12

[quote]laroyal wrote:
IMO it sounds like you fall into the population that handles carbs well and may simply do better on a carb rotation or mixed approach diet than ultra low (50g carbs).[/quote]

I remember Poliquin mentioning a simple test for good carb tolerance by eating a high carb breakfast and then evaluating how energetic one feels an hour later. I am going to try this.

Even if I fail this test, I think I will reintroduce Surge as my PWO shake and start gradually adding more carbs from fruit, lentils and beans and see how it works.

13

Here are Poliquin’s rules for carbs:

Poliquin’s Top 10 Carb Intake Rules For Optimal Body Composition

  1. Elimate grains, particularly wheat. This is the most important principle regarding carb intake. Wheat influences blood sugar levels the same way as plain table sugar.

  2. Yes, eliminate grains, part II: Gliadin family grains such as oats, wheat, spelt are the most common food allergen. People of the Celtic ancestry, like the Irish, are more likely to be gluten allergic. Besides raising insulin levels in the body and their rapid carb intake, grains also release cortisol in response to the stressor, than a food allergen is.

  3. The main source of carbs should be fibrous. Fibrous carbs typically have very low carb content. Their inherent high fiber brings about a very moderate insulin response, thus making them an ideal fat loss food. The best sources of fibrous carbs include :

Broccoli
Lettuce
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Mushrooms
Green beans
Onions
Asparagus
Cucumber
Spinach
All forms of peppers
Zucchini
Cauliflower
4. The darker the fruit, the better it is for you. Dark fruits tend to have very thin skin, (hence they need to produce more anti-oxidants to protect themselves from the sun). That is why darker fruits are great anti-inflammatory foods. Bananas have thick skins therefore they have lower anti-oxidants contents.

  1. The darker the fruit, the better it is for you, part II. The darker the fruit, the lower the glycemic load. Again, compare berries, and cherries to bananas and pineapple. Of course, this applies to fruits in their natural state; when grapes become raisins, their glycemic index goes up because of dehydration of the fruit.

  2. Replace grains with greens in sandwiches. This one is promoted by Jonny Bowden, author Living The Low Carb Life: Instead of using bread, use dark leafy greens to wrap the meat. It will slow down the glycemic index and help shift in your favor the acid/alkaline base.

  3. Limit fructose intake. Even though fruits are great foods loaded with nutrients, they also contain fructose. Fructose in too high quantities can slow down thyroid function and increase glycation. Glycation in layman’s term is browning, like the browning that makes crust in bread. Glycation is the cross linking of proteins (and DNA molecules) caused by sugar aldehydes reacting with the amino acids on the protein molecule and creating Advance Glycosylation End-products (AGE’s). If you want to see protein cross linking in action, cut an apple in half and watch it turn yellow! Very few people realize that glucose can go through oxidation. Why is the worst glycation agent fructose? Because it does not raise insulin. In other words, the insulin is not getting it into muscle cells. Therefore, it lingers around and wreaks metabolic havoc. As nutrition expert Robert Crayhon would say: fructose is like the guest that won’t go home once the party is over. Crayhon recommends that the average American should eat no more than 5-10 grams of fructose a day! For very active individuals, 20 grams of fructose should be the maximum intake.

One of the worst sources of glycating fructose are the weight loss bars containing high fructose corn syrup, like the ones sold by a famous Texan verbally abusive lawyer turned weight loss guru.

To check for glycation levels, ask your doctor to measure the concentration of glycated hemoglobin in your blood. In England, a study revealed that this is one of the best measured tests able to predict mortality. Far better than cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass index.

  1. The best time to load up in carbs is the first 10 minutes following your workout. Since insulin sensitivity is at its highest after the workout, this is the time to take in your carbs to maximize muscle mass gains. Originally based on the research that was available at the time, I typically recommended 2 g/Kg of bodyweight. Over the years, after being exposed to more research and discussing it with my colleagues, I have come to the conclusion that it should be a reflection of the training volume for the training session. The greater the number of reps per training unit, the greater the carbohydrate intake. Of course, one can assume that all reps are equal. A squatting or deadlifting rep is more demanding than a curling or triceps extension rep. By the same token, 3 reps slow tempo squats has different caloric demand than 3 reps in the power clean. As a general rule, I would recommend the following carbohydrate intake based on training volume for a given workout:

12-72 reps per workout : 0.6 g/Kg/LBM
73-200 reps per workout : 0.8 g/kg/LBM
200-360 reps per workout : 1.0 g/kg/LBM
360-450 reps per workout : 1.2 g/kg/LBM
Regarding the source of carbohydrates post-workout, I have experimented with various sources, I like using fruit juices with a high glycemic index (i.e. pineapple, grape) to provide 30-40% of the carbs, the rest of the carbs coming from carb powders ranging from dextrose to various types of malto-dextrin. For variety sake, I will use different types of juice like a berry blend. You can also any type of mushy fruit like bananas or peaches. For seriously underweight athletes, I may use pineapple and/or corn flakes to drive the glycemic index upwards. Instead of using maltodextrin, you can also use dessicated honey.

  1. Use insulin sensitivity supplements with high-carb post workout meals. Nutrients like taurine, arginine, magnesium, R-form alpha lipoic acid etc… will help dispose of glucose to muscle cells instead of fat cells.

  2. Add protein to your post-workout carb intake. Using 15 g of protein for every 50 lbs of bodyweight, will increase glycogen storage by as much as 40%.

14

[quote]laroyal wrote:
The information cooresponds to chronic situations, I will acknowledge I to wake up from time to time just to pee here is the definition of reactive hypoglycemia:

Reactive hypoglycemia is a medical term describing recurrent episodes of symptomatic hypoglycemia occurring 2-4 hours after a high carbohydrate meal (or oral glucose load). It is thought to represent a consequence of excessive insulin release triggered by the carbohydrate meal but continuing past the digestion and disposal of the glucose derived from the meal.

The prevalence of this condition is difficult to ascertain and controversial, because a number of stricter or looser definitions have been used, and because many healthy, asymptomatic people can have glucose tolerance test patterns said to be characteristic of reactive hypoglycemia.

It has been proposed that the term reactive hypoglycemia be reserved for the pattern of postprandial hypoglycemia which meets the Whipple criteria (symptoms correspond to measurably low glucose and are relieved by raising the glucose), and that the term idiopathic postprandial syndrome be used for similar patterns of symptoms where abnormally low glucose levels at the time of symptoms cannot be documented.

that comes from wikipedia[/quote]

Great information. Thank-you! Are you a Poliquin certified coach by chance? you seem to know a lot of his protocols

15

Yes I am.

16

[quote]laroyal wrote:
Yes I am. [/quote]

wish you lived in arizona!

17

I am actually planning a trip down there (probably later this year) I am friends with IFBB pro Dennis James and I was going to get out there to visit and train if schedule and finances permit.

18

[quote]GetSwole wrote:
How does Poliquin come up with this stuff.

[/quote]

Because he has trained more clients and seen more people come through his facilities, than you probably have had hot dinners :slight_smile:

19

[quote]laroyal wrote:
I am actually planning a trip down there (probably later this year) I am friends with IFBB pro Dennis James and I was going to get out there to visit and train if schedule and finances permit.[/quote]

Just don’t schedule a visit for the summer. It is hotter than hell right now. October/November/December is wonderful. What part of AZ would u be visiting? Do u do biosignature testing?

20

Dennis lives in the Phoenix area so that is where I would go. I would be able to do biosignature for you in October if you are close.