Uncover Fitness Truths

Why do I have Low Energy?

If you’ve started a fitness program and you’re consistently tired then something is wrong. I wouldn’t be too alarmed. Assuming there’s no medical reason, it’s something that can be fixed. It always comes down to either over exercising, where your body is unable to recover from your workouts or you’re not eating enough food.

For decades the notion of “taking in fewer calories than you burn” will lead you to a lean body have been repackaged more ways I can remember. Nearly every year there’s a new “diet” that promises to be the answer. What all diets do is drive people to high fat, sugary foods and zaps them of their energy. So when people decide to lose those extra pounds they immediately cut back on nutrients. This cutback will greatly deplete you of your energy. Here’s something to think about. If the first diet worked then why would we need all these other diets? They’re all based around the same ideal…calorie deprivation.

Let’s look at food in a different way. What is food? Food is energy. Plain and simple. A calorie is a unit of heat. It’s much like adding gasoline to a car. If you fail to constantly refuel your gas tank you will eventually run out of gas! So when you cut back on calories you have less fuel for the body. Now there are good calories and bad calories. But that’s not what’s important. The key is nutrient timing and the kinds of food you’re putting into your body.

Over exercising will lead you to feeling tired also. This is a major mistake many people make. I’ve seen people perform 90 minutes of aerobic exercise on the treadmill regularly for months and their bodies haven’t changed at all!

When you fail to recover from your workouts all gains stop. It’s important to monitor your recovery by adjusting the levels of intensity and eating the right amount of foods for your goals.

Here are some signs of over training:

• Insomnia
• Muscle/Joint soreness
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Missing workouts
• Lack of motivation

When you're looking at beginning an exercise program to get in shape, it’s important to realize that you must feed the body the nutrients it needs to recover and allow the body enough time to rest. One of the first signs of knowing your program is working is a noticeable increase in energy within the first week. If you’re not noticing an increase in energy then something is off with your food or you’re exercising too much.