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Looking for a wee bit of advice and guidance. I'm 28 year old male. 5ft 8. 82.58 kg. Around 19% body fat. I've dropped down from 91kg 4 months ago. But the weight drop was in the first month and a half. I've been aiming for 75kg for the next 2 months but would settle at 77kg. Training 3/4 times a week. 5 minutes cardio warm up. Day 1 - Chest and biceps, day 2 - back and tri and day 3 - leg, shoulders and abs. At the end of each workout I do either 15 minute HIIT cardio or LISS cardio for 30 mins. In-between that I work and I'm on my feet doing around 8000 steps minimum per day. I'm using progressive overload approach and finishing of my exercises with form dropping and doing 6-8 reps. I started eating roughly 1710 calories a day occasionally breaking to 1850. With a protein intake of at least 140 grams per day. For the first 3 months. Having not really lost any weight (gaining strength and dropping some body fat). Spoke to a guy in the gym advised to up it to 2000 at least a day and again increased my protein intake to around 160grams per day. With more water intake. I've been doing this for the last two weeks stepped on the scale again No change!! I've heard all the Trust the process and just keep going. But I'm feeling my motivation has taking a bit of a hit. Was at the gym today and felt low in energy that I didn't finish half my leg day exercises and end up leaving early. Feeling a bit fatigued and low in motivation. Anyone have similar experiences or advice on how to progress? Is that delay in weight loss for body recomp normal? Any guidance would be really appreciated.

Disclaimer: I won't be doing a "traditional" challenge this go around. This challenge is more directed towards "Life Goals" rather than "Fitness Goals". Feel free to scroll on by if it's not your thing. I cried the first time I read the script. I knew that it was a play I HAD to be part of. I cried a bit the next day when I was telling my boyfriend about how beautiful it was (much to his confusion until he realized that the emotions were from sheer passion for the play). I went to auditions on Monday, Jan 29th and was asked by the director to come back Tuesday, Jan 30th for the second night of auditions. I waited for the cast list for what seemed like an eternity. It was Thursday afternoon (Feb 1st), just about 15 minutes before the end of my work day when I saw that the cast list had been posted on Facebook. My stomach dropped and I took a deep breath before clicking on the link. I near screamed when I saw my name! I landed the only female part in the show! I came running out of my office in absolute hysterical joy, and my boss asked me to sit down because she thought I was going to faint! I have not acted (or been involved in theatre in any way) for over 5 years, but I miss it every day. Acting is probably my number one passion in life, but these types of shows don't come along very often. Most audiences prefer musicals and comedies, but I prefer dramas....plays that challenge me...let me stretch my acting wings. I cannot wait for rehearsals to begin! This will be, by far, the biggest role I've ever had! I pray for health, energy, and pain management so that I can enjoy this experience to the fullest. That being said, I had an appointment with my Naturopath this morning and we're adjusting my thyroid meds again (dropping one prescription altogether and increasing the dose of the other one). In 8 weeks, if my TSH goes down and I'm still in this much pain, she wants to run a Rheumatoid Panel. **Fingers crossed that the pain goes away before that happens** My goals are going to be VERY lax this challenge. My Naturopath gave me a free pass for diet for now. She said with all the eliminations I've tried over the last couple years, she doubts I'm having any specific food triggers. She said that food triggers are not subtle and I should know for sure if something was triggering the pain at this point. Since I avoided potatoes so well in January and was still in pain most the month, she doubts potatoes are the source of my pain. So YAY POTATOES!!! Not that I'm going to binge on them or anything, but I'm just glad I don't have to feel guilty if I eat them for now. Obviously, my diet has room for improvement (because pizza and cheeseburgers happen!), but in general, I feel I eat fairly healthy. But I've been so hard on myself because the scale keeps slowly creeping up, but she told me that was probably thyroid related and not to worry about it for now. Exercise has to stay pretty mild in the meantime. If the pain starts to subside, I can adjust accordingly (with being extra careful not to overdo it on the good days). Mostly, my goals for next month are to continue my tracking spreadsheet with how I feel each day as far as fatigue and pain. I'll track my workouts, and keep that the same as far as only walking or doing some light yoga. My #1 goal is going to begin memorizing the daunting amount of lines I have for the play. GOALS 1 - Memorization! 30 minutes every single day of studying the script. I'd really like to be off book before the director's deadline. 2 - Tracking spreadsheet Track pain levels, fatigue, etc every day Track workouts (aim for 3 a week, with forgiveness for not working out on rehearsal nights or days when the pain gets the better of me) So that's it. I'm starting now.

I'm looking for some advice about how to deal with fatigue from intense training. I'm 20 years old and training to hopefully join the navy seals after I graduate college. I've been training intensely for about 2 months now. I train 2 to 3 times a day all week with rest days whenever they feel necessary. My diet is pretty good and I eat mostly Palio with some dairy and beans mixed in. Im having trouble with a odd sense of fatigue that occurs whenever I'm not training or eating. Its like my limbs are always really heavy unless I'm training. I would appreciate any suggestions that anyone here might have Thanks -Bryan

Yep.. I crossed that all out. I am not happy with these quests. Starting a new one on monday - with quests and a story I like ... makes another attempt Today is my second day of fasting – not including the pre-fasting day. So the second day without eating. I only “ate†rice-soup and drank water and teas (unsweetened of course). For those who don’t know me by now: I am suffering from health problems for about 2.5 years now and I am trying out different things in order to get rid of those problems. The fasting is going to be continued till the fifth day (Monday) and then I start eating again. I guess now that this is said my motivation for this challenge is clear: L i v i n g w i t h o u t h e a l t h p r o b l e m s a g a i n . MAIN CHALLENGE: CLEAN UP NUTRITION 1) Follow the plan for the first days after the fasting & each day half an hour workout (Mon - Fri) For the following list: risotto = one cup of rice boiled in beef broth omelet = 2 eggs, ¼ bell pepper, salt, pepper, dried basil Mon, September 15: eat nothing Tues, September 16: one apple Wed, September 17: one banana and one bell pepper edited on September 14 Thu, September 18: risotto Fri, September 19: one apple + risotto Sat, September 20: 100 g turkey meat roasted with peach + vegetables / salad + risotto Son, September 21: same as yesterday Mon, September 22: two breakfast eggs / omelet + the same as the two days ago Edit: My boyfriend is cooking once in that week so one of the days after the 12th I won't be eating what's on the list but take care that the portion fits to the day. After that I can eat whatever I want again. Of course I try to eat healthy but I won't try to fulfil a certain diet like vegan for example and I don’t have to follow a meal plan anymore. The plan above is just to make sure my body has enough time to get used to eating again. In the apothecary I got some tipps for fasting. One of them is that I should take a certain probiotic which they showed me after I finished fasting (so after the fifth day in my case). Edit on September 15: I am taking probiotics for building up the inestinal flora and I have to take one each day till September 27. Want to have this here to make sure I remember it. Sept 17: Added the workout stuff because this quest would be over on Sept 19 and I also need enough exercise so my body's inner life can work like it should be. Workout can be cardio kickboxing, a walk, the beginner bodyweight workout, and so on. 2) Eat properly take my time for eatingchew enoughconcentrate on eating – not be distracted by watching series or playing games (this will be the most difficult for me I guess)small portions 3) Eat at certain times Of course it doesn’t have to be at minute but the closer to the set target the better. This could be also rather difficult because my lecture times are very, very different from day to day and from week to week. This is only for the days Mon-Fri. 06.00 AM09.00 AM12.00 PM03.00 PM06.00 PM(08.00 PM) I do not take any side quests or life quests this time. I messed up so many challenges by now that I have to take it even more to the basics than before. Exercising and studying enough is of course very important, but it’s not what I want to concentrate on this challenge. If I cannot get rid of the health problems, all the efforts of studying and exercising won't be useful. During the fasting I have to concentrate on exercising because otherwise my body will take the protein from my muscles and use it because he thinks he wouldn't need it. This time I also don’t set the attribute points now. Last time it was kind of motivating for me but it’s difficult to set them this time. I will simply decide which attribute points and how many I receive when the challenge is completed. Man I really hope that at least this time I can complete it.

Seeking feedback on a strength training program I've been on for about six weeks. I feel very good about the results so far, but this program is different. Relevant background: male, 53 / 6'0" / 180 lbs. Okay shape: historically a runner with a couple of years of triathlon under my belt, still running 2-4 miles every couple of days with other aerobic stuff (erg, etc) 30-40 minutes 1-3x per week. I had done little to no strength training until the last couple of years: my upper bod has been seriously neglected. Goal: increased strength and muscle mass if possible, retention of muscle mass a requirement. Brief CrossFit experience, some bodyweight stuff. I used to do hi rep low resistance stuff but it never seemed to do much. Diet: generally low carb during the week with dairy (I limit all refined carbs and grains during the week). I'm ok with beer, cookies, and pizza on the weekends. My weight dropped 15 lbs when I started and has been stable for 3 years. Thanks Gary Taubes! Program is high intensity individualized training on compound machines. Concept is: one set of limited reps (five or six) at high resistance performed very slowly with no rest between reps (reps go as slowly as possible without breaking fluidity during the movement - about a ten count up / ten count down). Each set goes to muscle failure: every lift, every time. Machines are all carefully calibrated for fit / reach etc., and form is tightly monitored. Workouts are twice a week - both workouts focused on major muscle groups but they are different workouts and alternate. The workouts change gradually over time (substituting one lift here or there for something else). I have been wiped out at the end of every workout, and generally feel great. I am in and out of the gym in less than 30 minutes. Conceptually, this approach makes a lot of sense to me. Any feedback would be appreciated - it isn't cheap...! Sam.

Hi everyone! I've started, and done pretty well, with a new 10K program. All seemed fine until I started getting into the heavier runs and I noticed that I started to fatigue immediately, migraines have accompanied my every run and recovery, & my legs are like anvils.Performance sucks! Motivation is still there though, YAY! So I started researching the migraines after exercise and found that it's possible that I am not getting enough carbs. Ok, I'm a Paleo kind of girl, it makes sense. So I felt a little icky this past Saturday night and ate some homemade chicken and brown rice soup. My run two days later was like a dream. So my thought was "ok, I'll eat more "carby" Paleo foods like sweet potatoes....that did not do the trick, two days later my run began with the same funky symptoms as before. Am I doomed to put on weight caused by grains to fuel my runs??????

Hello there, I'm hoping to hear from seasoned runners who've struck the same issues I'm having in my running. The first is that on about 60% of my runs I'll be fine for ten to twenty minutes, and then anytime in that window I'll suddenly have the most horrible intestinal crampage hit me, complete with the cold sweats, crippling nausea, and the most debilitating desperate urge for the nearest toilet. (I am sorry to have to be graphic, but I want you to understand this isn't just a mild inconvenience - it's a major hurdle and makes my runs really unpleasant.) Mostly I can run through this, and when it passes it does so quite suddenly. I do feel really weakened afterwards, though. Usually, this happens on morning runs but it does occur on afternoon runs sometimes too, like today. Timing and nature of food consumption prior to the run seems to have no bearing on this. The second issue is that I seem to need two full recovery days between workouts, whether it be a run or some other intensive activity, in order to not be so fatigued that the run becomes a slog. I'm only 32 years old, I get very good quality sleep, and I eat a varied, protein-rich diet with tons of vegetables, nuts and sources of micronutrients. If anyone has experience with the problems I've described, I'd be really interested to hear how you've worked through them, if you have :-) If, however, you're going to reply and tell me to a) eat animal products or go paleo, please don't.

Hey quick question here- I am working up to a pull up, and i finally did my first set of negatives, but now it is 2 days later and i am scheduled to work out but i can't get anywhere near that bar again. Is this fatigue normal? Would scaling down to say- dumbbell rows be acceptable?