I work the typical 9-5 desk job and in the afternoon when it’s nearing 5ish I start to feel tired, worn down and just overall lethargic. Maybe it’s because I’m so sedentary all day?

I drink a Xyience cranraz drink around 2pm to pick me up or when I don’t have those I opt for a no sugar/carb energy drink.

Short of doing pushups at my desk which I have really considered!! LOL any other suggestions?

What's your diet look like?

If you have a big lunch with lots of starchy carbs, you could be experiencing an insulin crash.

What's your diet look like?

If you have a big lunch with lots of starchy carbs, you could be experiencing an insulin crash.

I dont have any daily routine I follow as far as my eating but I can tell you what I do normally mon- fri somewhat..weekend are for shyt lol nothing like brutal honesty ey?

715am-ish wake up and drink 2 12oz bottles of water and 1 Solgar Earth source multi

9am-ish cup of kashi with Skim milk another bottle of water 1 Xyience XCFB

11am-ish protien bar of some kind or nature valley fruit and nut bar another bottle of water

12pm-ish is grilled 8oz chicekn breast on 9 grain bread with leaf leatuce tomato and light italian dressing and a veggie of some sortie. steemed bro 1 Xyience XCFB

3pm-ish another snack bar or protine bar.

6pm-ish muscle milk and off to gym

9pm-ish home from gym drink another muscle milk

930pm-ish dinner is normally whole wheat pasta and lean ground turkey or grilled chicken breast with some sort of veggie.

Again this is not excalty what I eat all the time but pretty close.

Possible causes in the the order I suspect

1. Yes, sitting on your duff all day at work will make you lethargic.

1B. most people have a natural dip in the circadian rythm in the afternoon.

2. Workplace stress will tire you

3. Energy drinks aren't. Caffeine can keep you from falling asleep, but after a certain point you don't FEEL any better on it.

4. That diet needs help

5. Are you sleeping enough?

6. How long are you spending at the gym? 2-2.5 hrs? Why?

7. Lifting to failure too often can cause fatigue to accumulate.

IWAC has it covered.

You have no healthy fat at all listed in that diet, and some junk carbs I suspect in several items (bars for one thing). Get some more protein in place of those along with something like nuts (or nut butters).

Fats don't make you fat.

Also, that looks pretty low cal. Makes me wonder what your actual calories are vs how much you weigh.

IWAC has it covered.

You have no healthy fat at all listed in that diet, and some junk carbs I suspect in several items (bars for one thing). Get some more protein in place of those along with something like nuts (or nut butters).

Fats don't make you fat.

Also, that looks pretty low cal. Makes me wonder what your actual calories are vs how much you weigh.

Im about 6ft 200lbs and my orman bf thing says im at 13%

I spend about 1.5 hrs in the gym daily mostly due to too much idle time on my hands otherwise.

I wont normally lift to failure, & always do cardio afterwords

I normally go to bed about 12ish and wake up around 7am.

Any input on the diet is greatly appreciated and anything else as well:D

My guess in order:

-lack of sleep.
-diet
-overtraining

I used to be in the same boat as you. I worked a 8-5 job with an hour for lunch. I would do yardwork/homestuff after work, then watch TV or do some work I brought home until midnight or so. Dinner was usually around 8. I would wake up between 6-6:45am most days.

After feeling sluggish for over a month, I went to the doctor. His response? Sleep more and eat earlier. I started going to bed around 9pm and never ate dinner later than 6:30. It worked wonders. When I added training later, it didn't throw me off at all.

I'd aim for a week when you go to bed no later than 10pm. It takes a while to fall asleep, so aim for a full 8-9 hours of sleep each night that week.

When you get up in the morning, eat. Eat big. I know it's probably not your favorite thing first thing in the morning, but your body is starving. A bowl of Kashi and milk won't cut it. Eat 3-4 eggwhites with 1-2 whole eggs, some toast and maybe a small bowl of oatmeal. Get some quality food into that body. Skip the expensive protein bars and eat a PB sandwich made out of natural PB and whole grain bread. Those fats are good for you. Lunch looks good, but add some milk. Save the water for sipping throughout the day. The muscle milk is good. Shoot for dinner no later than 7. If you need to, drink the preworkout before you leave the office and go straight to the gym. Is dinner like lunch? If so, good. Toss in some fish oil pills to add some more healthy fat. You look really, really low in healthy fats.

An hour and a half in the gym 5 times a week? Not a big fan of that. Others can point you in the direction of workouts that take an hour or less with cardio. What does your current workout look like and what are your goals? Maybe the hour and half is needed, but chances are, you can trim 30-45 minutes off the workout which will get you home and to dinner earlier.

Still, I think the biggest problem right now is sleep. Going to bed at midnight and waking up at 7 only leaves you 6.5 hours of quality sleep after you doze off. Some people say "Oh, I'm fine with 6-7 hours of sleep" but if you look closer, they are probably sipping energy drinks or napping a lot on weekends. Aim for a minimum of 8 hours a night, but if you can, try to get 9. Our bodies want that much, especially if we are training hard. Sleep is where we repair ourselves.

Fats don't make you fat.

:tucool: Some of the best advice you can ever be given.

My guess in order:

-lack of sleep.
-diet
-overtraining

I used to be in the same boat as you. I worked a 8-5 job with an hour for lunch. I would do yardwork/homestuff after work, then watch TV or do some work I brought home until midnight or so. Dinner was usually around 8. I would wake up between 6-6:45am most days.

After feeling sluggish for over a month, I went to the doctor. His response? Sleep more and eat earlier. I started going to bed around 9pm and never ate dinner later than 6:30. It worked wonders. When I added training later, it didn't throw me off at all.

I'd aim for a week when you go to bed no later than 10pm. It takes a while to fall asleep, so aim for a full 8-9 hours of sleep each night that week.

When you get up in the morning, eat. Eat big. I know it's probably not your favorite thing first thing in the morning, but your body is starving. A bowl of Kashi and milk won't cut it. Eat 3-4 eggwhites with 1-2 whole eggs, some toast and maybe a small bowl of oatmeal. Get some quality food into that body. Skip the expensive protein bars and eat a PB sandwich made out of natural PB and whole grain bread. Those fats are good for you. Lunch looks good, but add some milk. Save the water for sipping throughout the day. The muscle milk is good. Shoot for dinner no later than 7. If you need to, drink the preworkout before you leave the office and go straight to the gym. Is dinner like lunch? If so, good. Toss in some fish oil pills to add some more healthy fat. You look really, really low in healthy fats.

An hour and a half in the gym 5 times a week? Not a big fan of that. Others can point you in the direction of workouts that take an hour or less with cardio. What does your current workout look like and what are your goals? Maybe the hour and half is needed, but chances are, you can trim 30-45 minutes off the workout which will get you home and to dinner earlier.

Still, I think the biggest problem right now is sleep. Going to bed at midnight and waking up at 7 only leaves you 6.5 hours of quality sleep after you doze off. Some people say "Oh, I'm fine with 6-7 hours of sleep" but if you look closer, they are probably sipping energy drinks or napping a lot on weekends. Aim for a minimum of 8 hours a night, but if you can, try to get 9. Our bodies want that much, especially if we are training hard. Sleep is where we repair ourselves.

Thanks man I will work on putting something together ASAP!!! :D

BTW the gym routine is 7 days a week, not sure is that matters from 5?

I will normally Hit the weights 1st

Back, shoulders & legs one day
Bi's & Tri's another day
Chest another day

I rotate diffrent types of exercises each time I do the rotation as well as do about 20min of cardio at the end. I will have to look up LISS in order to see what it is and if it fits? I normally just go at a pretty hard pace and get my heart rate up in the 150-160ish range, maybe I should be doing hit as I am a pretty high strung guy to say the least LOL

Im about 6ft 200lbs and my orman bf thing says im at 13%

Ah yes Omron. I know him well. Ignore that.

Is your job particularly stressful or frustrating? I know sometimes even if you're not doing much physical action, some things can really tire you out if you know what I mean...

Is your job particularly stressful or frustrating? I know sometimes even if you're not doing much physical action, some things can really tire you out if you know what I mean...


Actually my job is really easy and very low stress to me anwyay, which is hard to believe working as a stock broker in this market haha :lol:

Shoot for dinner no later than 7.


Why? Nothing wrong with eating at 9:30 after a workout. And I'd also have a bedtime snack of P+F to keep the recovery going overnight and feed the body while you sleep.

And to the OP: 7 days a week in the gym isn't wise, especially if you are frequently training to failure. You need to recover. Take a day (or two) off. At most on that day, do some LISS.

Why? Nothing wrong with eating at 9:30 after a workout.

There is if it's a full meal and you're going to bed in thirty minutes. A small snack like cottage cheese and PB or a protein shake is fine, but not a dinner that includes carbs. That needs to be ate 2-3 hours before bed.

There is if it's a full meal and you're going to bed in thirty minutes. A small snack like cottage cheese and PB or a protein shake is fine, but not a dinner that includes carbs. That needs to be ate 2-3 hours before bed.

That's a myth.

You need to feed the body for recovery after a weight workout, no matter when it occurs. Carbs included. They go to replenish burned glycogen, not to fat.

(Unless you are working from a low carb strategy, then follow normal nutrition. The OP isn't low carbed, though. He's more to the opposite extreme)

That's a myth.

You need to feed the body for recovery after a weight workout, no matter when it occurs. Carbs included. They go to replenish burned glycogen, not to fat.

(Unless you are working from a low carb strategy, then follow normal nutrition. The OP isn't low carbed, though. He's more to the opposite extreme)

Well, that's obvious and not the point I was making at all. I'm from the point of view that if possible, you get your workout in at least a few hours before bed. That gives you time to a) take in a complete meal 2-3 hours before bed b) wind down from the workout.

Not everyone can do that, so you make do with what you can do.

I know personally, I sleep much better when I haven't ate a full meal in the couple of hours previous to hitting the sheets. I still eat some cottage cheese or a shake right before bed, but again, that's different than a full meal. If I was to end my workout at 9pm, eat a full meal at 9:30pm and then try to sleep at 10, I would sleep like crap and would feel like the same in the morning.

I guess just different strokes for different folks.

I just want to make sure the myth that you avoid carbs at all cost at night is not propagated. If you workout and you want to use carbs afterwards, don't worry about it being after a certain time.

And some of us can't really get in workouts easily until later in the evening due to other commitments. So if you workout then, keep up your nutritional plan :)

Even if you aren't working out, I see nothing wrong with a meal at night if you are up. But I understand some may have trouble digesting. I don't.