Thanks
Chiropractor
You are overtraining. The symptoms you are describing are typical of over training (feeling exhausted, food cravings etc..) You need to figure out what you want to achieve from training: get lean, get big and strong, have lots of endurance for endurance sports. For each of these goals there is a different method of training. So you need to figure out what you want to train for.
Your main problem is likely to do with cortisol levels being too high. Here are some ways you can help decrease your cortisol levels. Train less: cut down to a max of 4 proper training sessions per week and only for 60-90 mins. Cut down on your caffeine intake, if you drink a lot of coffee/tea/cola. Get more sleep, you should ideally get between 8-9 hours sleep per night. This will help decrease your cortisol levels.
Cortisol is our fight or flight hormone and is useful in those situations, however, when we have long term high levels of cortisol we get some negative effects. Cortisol raises blood sugar levels, which can cause fat gain, it also increases blood pressure and decreases insulin sensitivity.
You may not be getting adequate protein intake. Ideally we should get 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. If you weight 200 lbs (90kg) you should be taking in 200 grams of protein per day. You can also try going low carb. Somewhere around 70-80 grams per day. You shouldn't have to worry about portion size if you are eating protein and fats.
If you want to find out more look up Robb Wolf the author of The Paleo Solution.
Cheers
Dr Adam Gavine
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