Ok, Im about to finish off week 2 of my first BFL challenge....and Im soooooooooo tired!!

Im eating 5 of the 6 meals (I dont have enough time in the day to eat the 6th one) and no, Im not getting up at 6am just to eat or staying up til midnight so I can eat again.

Im working out op. Upper in the mornings, lower and cardio in the early evenings.

Taking my supps, multi, chromium pic, L-carnitine, calcium and my psyllium husk caps

Getting lots of sleep...In bed and sleeping usually by 1030 and awake by 730-8, However my sleep is very restless.

Any thoughts?

Thanks Robin

Robin,

I'm confused. I'm probably reading this wrong, so before I give you irrelvant comments, can you explain when you are working out. It sounds like you are doing 3 workouts each day, I'm sure that's not right.

Hey, fellow NY-er! Here's my schedule as an example that you might be able to follow:

8:00am Meal 1
10:30am Meal 2
1:00pm Meal 3
3:30pm Meal 4
Workout from 6pm-7pm
7:30pm Meal 5
10:00pm Meal 6

On cardio days, I'm a bit shy on the time between eating and working out after that BFL recommends, but this was the only plan I could come up with.
I stick to it religiously, and it works well. My last meal is usually something smaller than the other 5, and I'm working on paring down the carb amount in it.
Cindy

Audrey~ I follow the BFL book as far as my work outs go. The only one I do in the morning is my upper body.....all the others I do in the afternoons or evenings on the proper day. Sorry for the confustion

Cindy~ Im in Buffalo, after being conditioned to NOT eat when your not hungry, I find forcing down 6 meals very difficult.

Robin.. {phew!}.. I thought I must have been reading that wrong.

I was getting tired just thinking about 3 workouts a day.

When I was on WW, I was constantly exhausted when I tried to keep to workouts. I haven't had that problem since I switched over to the PFA, and I'm sure it's cause I'm eating LOTS more food, and lots more protein that I ever did on WW.

Are you getting enough food in your 5 meals?

Is anything else causing you to be restless at night? I find if I don't get a good night's sleep, then I'm tired no matter how long I've been sleeping (or trying to sleep). The usual culprits for me are a restless guy who swings his arms in his sleep.. that wakes me up.. and 2 cats that think they should be sleeping across the bed.

Robin: Can you detail your menu a bit more with as much detai as possible?

JC

Audrey~ lol, nope no cats or restless hubby. I tried to think of what it is, but I can only come up with this new program, and I must be missing something

JEC~ here is what I had today

M1~shannycakes (yup, I forced the entire thing down!) I need some sf jam or ff spray butter for those things!

M2~ salmon patty(has cottage cheese, and egg whites in recipe), broccoli (1 cup shredded) and an apple

M3~ 1 cup chicken salad (ff mayo, and celery mixed in) sliced cucumbers (about a cup), 1 slice whole wheat bread

M4~ salmon patty, 1/2 cup beans w/salsa and LOTS of broccoli

M5~ 1/2 cup brown rice and protein drink

M6~ its not going to happen, I just dont have enough time in the day to eat it........and Im not hungry!

Robin - how long have you been on BFL? Is it one week? Have you started the workouts properly yet? What weights are you using? Are you hitting your tens?

Sorry for all the questions but I think I have the answer but I wanted to check on the above details first.

JC

Robin - care to share that salmon patty recipe?

I'm almost through 2 challenges now, and every time I'm fatigued, it turns out I'm not getting enough protein. According to your meals today, you only had 4 servings of protein as opposed to the ideal of 6. That's only 2/3 of your recommended daily amount!

One thought I have is that you are eating a fair amount of actual meat, which takes longer to digest. I've been told that a protein like cottage cheese, or protein powder, digests more easily and quickly. What if you substituted that for one of your meals, and then included protein in with meal 5 as well?

I personally only eat meat for two of my 6 meals. I was never one to eat a lot at one sitting, and I find that it may take a while for me to finish 1.5 cups of cottage cheese with fruit, but it doesn't make me feel as overly full as some meat-based meals do.
Cindy

No problem JC

Im doing my workouts just like it says in the book. Im using 2,3,5, & 8lb weights. I wasnt hitting my 10's the first week, but after buying the 5 & 8's I do. I hit my 10's (most of the time) with my cardio too.

Im just finishing up my 2nd week.

I do walk on my upper body work out days, not to reach 10, but just to clear my head and get some fresh air. Thats about the only other exercise I do that isnt part of the program.
Robin

Cindy, we must have been posting at the same time!

all 5 meals have protein....let me know which ones you think dont, and I'll tell you what its made with.

Here is my salmon patty recipe.... now mind you Im not a chef, and I dont measure anything except my portions lol so here goes

1 large can salmon (remove spine and nerve)
big blob of cottage cheese (probably about 1/3 cup or so)
1 egg white
couple shakes of ff or lf parm cheese and pepper to taste

Fry in pan 10 min per side.

Makes 4

Robin - sorry, I missed the protein drink part of your meal 5. Guess I should read more closely before I post

Robin

Tiredness: is caused mostly by one of 4 things. Either you are not eating enough, you are not getting enough rest, you are stressed or your body is adjusting to the exercise level of BFL or another lifting program. If you only plan on eating the 5 meals then you may need to up the portions of your meals slightly. Even if you are not hungry by eating more you are forcing your metabolism to rise and eventually when it catches up you will start to get hungry. It is quite common for people who have been on lower calorie diets to have to adjust to the food level so you are not alone.

M1: looks good – I can’t eat the whole thing in one go – I make several smaller pancakes and eat them in a small stack with a little sugar free maple syrup.
M2: not bad.
M3: How much chicken is in the salad?
M4: good meal
M5: ½ cup cooked? And what’s in the protein drink? How much protein?

These salmon patties – How much protein is in a large can of salmon?

Ok describe to me what a ‘10’ feels like?

Because it is only your second week you may be just adjusting to the workouts. But once you answer the above it should become clearer.

JC

Ok, the salmon works out to 21 gr of protein per patty

the protein drink has 20 gr per serving

yup, the rice is cooked.

10 feels like ......arms~either I cant lift it and let out a holler to get the last one done, or my arms are shaking so bad I cant lift it.
Legs~calves are the worst, or best I suppose on how you look at it....they give out, wobbly muscles for hours after this workout! Very wobbly!

Just a thought...

...what was your diet like PRIOR to two weeks ago?

I don't see a lot of sugar in your menu (yippee!) - perhaps your body is getting accustomed to *not* eating a lot of the 'white stuff'? Caffeine too...if you used to drink soda pop or coffee with sugar...and cut that out - that could cause you to feel a bit 'peaked' for awhile while your body adjusts to the lack of 'legal speed' ...KWIM?

Remember - chocolate has sugar AND caffeine in it as well.

Just a thought...or maybe it could also be due to the change of seasons/days growing shorter/colder (not here though - gonna be in the 80s/90s here this weekend...whew!!!).