Conference pasta::flex

    I've been working out for the past 7yrs in the morning (5:30am).  
    I normally have a piece of toast or a banana with a small 
    glass of O.J. about 15-30 minutes before going to the gym.
    The piece of toast will either have a lil bit of butter on it
    or some jelly.  This has always given me enough energy to make 
    it through my workout.  
    
    My workout has changed over the past two months.  I'm now teaching
    aerobics 5 days a week, and 1 month ago I left the gym, but I'm
    still teaching.   I'm still eatting the same food before 
    my workouts and everything has been going fine until yesterday
    and today.  Seems as if my body needs more.  When I'm hitting the
    heavy bag, I have no energy.  The strength just wasn't
    there.  I didn't do anything over the weekend, and I've been
    getting plenty of sleep.
    
    Why the sudden change?  Seems like my body decided that what was 
    enough food before isn't enough anymore.  Is this just part
    of aerobic conditioning?
    
    Any comments/suggestions????
    
    thanks...
    
    -shannon
    

    Shannon,
    My first thought is that since you significantly changed your workout,
    you may have to fuss with your nutrition to figure out what works for
    you now. But 2 days isn't probably enough time to worry about it, yet.
    You could be coming down with a virus.
    If you find it's a continuing problem, I'd suggest that you are eating
    a lot of carbs rather soon before a workout. The banana and the OJ
    probably absorb relatively quickly, but the toast is a slow-releaser
    and is probably still in your stomach, drawing your energy for
    digestion instead of the workout.  
    Give it a little more time. If you don't get sick (how's that for a
    lovely thought???), but you find you are still sapped, maybe you need
    to either eat lighter, eat sooner, or eat something different. 
    Are you replenishing your fluid intake regularly during your workout?
    Dehydration is a BIG energy burner.  If you have ramped up the
    aerobics, you may be slightly dehydrated.  
    Personally, I can't work out with food in my stomach. At all. I eat
    about 1.5 hours before I work out, and it's a very light bit of food. I
    eat like a horse afterwards, however ; )
    Sarah 

old age. me, ask of. know i this.

ogre

Try a carb/electrolyte replacment drink. Really perks me up when I'm feeling a 
bit off edge, especially after increase in arobic activity or a trip to
the sauna.

m

  An increase in aerobic activity will make you hungrier. When I was doing
  triathlons, I would do between 1 and 3 workouts a day. I would wake up in 
  the middle of the night hungry and would have to get a bowl of cereal or
  something else to eat. For regular meals, I would eat everything in sight. 
  Still, I had a hard time maintaining my weight.

  I agree with the last note, a glass of a sports drink before you head to 
  the gym would be a good idea. You could also try a Powerbar or Cliff Bar 
  or some other energy bar or one of the energy gels like GU.

	Keith 

re                     <<< Note 500.21 by MROA::SULLIVAN_S >>>

Shannon,

Aerobic classes last a good long time (45+ mins?). Are you also doing 
significant weight training? If so you ARE be burning the candle at both 
ends. I find for me that if I increase weight or aerobic workouts I gotta
reduce the one or the other, otherwise I over train and burn out.
Its taken me some time but I've learned to trust what my body is saying.

If you are spending more than 10 hours in the gym you are not an amateur
athlete.

m

    re: .26
    
    No, I'm no longer lifting weights.  I tried to fit it all in,
    but ended up making myself sick instead.
    I schedule before was, lifting 4x's a week, teaching aerobics
    5-8x's a week, then karate 2 nights.  
    It now looks like this: teaching kik-boxx aerobics mon-fri in
    the a.m., then I also teach one extra class at night,,, and
    I'm still doing karate 2 nights a week.
    One advantage I have with teaching is I don't have to do the
    full workout.  I can mainly show people what to do and then I
    can do what I want, which is either taking the class right along
    with them, or I can just keep my feet moving and move around the room,
    checking on people.
    One would think I would be losing weight with this routine,,, but
    instead I'm just maintaning.  Seems I'm just shoveling food down
    my throut all day.  
    I brought some water in with me for my workout today.  That seemed
    to help.  I just can't put alot of food into me before a work out.
    When I do, it just makes me cramp up, and it bounces the food all
    around in my stomach (not a nice feeling).
    
    /shannon