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View Full Version : Help a girl out.... Warning, I ramble



~Leah~
03-14-2009, 01:11 PM
Hey guys,
I know there are a bunch of threads that have to do with some of the subjects in my super long post here, but since I'm covering so much I figured I would just start a new topic for myself, so as not to highjack someone else's.

So I've been on an ECA stack for two weeks now and I am usually a very happy go lucky person (for anyone who has me on facebook, they can attest to my almost barfworthy happy status updates every day). For the past 2 days though, I have been a mess. I'm not sure if the time change has anything to do with it. I grew up in Sask where we never changed clocks and since moving here 4.5 years ago, I've found any time I've had to lose that hour, I get depressed for 1-2 weeks for no logical reason.

Anyway, for the past 2 days I have become extremely irritated at the smallest things and am just in a generally pissy mood. I'm not a big drinker anymore but literally, I couldn't make it through the day yesterday without having a drink at lunch to sort of calm my nerves. Obviously I'm figuring this is a sign that my body needs a break, so I'm off of the stack as of today.

I guess I have a few questions -- has anyone else experienced this type of irritableness and bad moods towards the end of their cycle? And also, do you think since I was on the stack for 2 weeks, that 2 weeks off would be long enough? Or should I go for 3 or 4 weeks since my body started reacting negatively to it?

Workout wise, I personally build muscle WAY too fast (I bulk, not tone, even when doing 20+ reps). So most of my workouts are spend doing cardio, and especially on the stack, high intensity cardio. My cardio sessions range anywhere from 25-45 mins 6-7 days a week. I know as a former personal trainer that my body needs rest but I can't seem to get over my guilt when I miss a day, even when I do something active that day like a walk or volleyball/basketball game.

On top of the cardio sessions, I also do resistance training at least 3 days a week. This more or less consists of me on either the treadmill or elliptical with 5 pound weights doing bicep curls, rest, tricep extensions, rest, lateral raises, rest for 60-75 second intervals (yes I look like a complete idiot LOL). Twice a week I will do a lower body circuit:
-16x walking lunges w/ a 10lb med ball twisting side to side on the downstep
-immediately doing squats and raising the med ball in front of me (anterior shoulder raise)
-immediately doing 1 legged lunges on each leg
-then a 30 second wall sit (HOLY SHIT do the legs ever burn after this one).

I'll usually turn this into a full body circuit while I'm resting my lower body for the next round:
-lat pulldowns (25 reps)
-directly to lying med ball throw (training for setting - 10 lbs @ 30 reps)
-to V-sit sit ups (30 reps).

On top of my training, I also play volleyball for 2 hours on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays, as well as basketball for an hour on Wednesdays (Wed is an easy cardio day in the gym obviously if I play 2 sports that night). I'm a stubborn fitness freak who can't help but push herself to the limits. I know part of my mood lately is my depression from the time change, but I've been feeling very "fat" this past week. Do you figure I might be overtraining at this point? As mentioned, most of my time working out is spent doing cardio, and I rarely spend more than 15 mins doing resistance training (I'm pretty ripped just from that) with an extra 10 on core daily.

And then on top of that, I'm also a single mother to a 19 month old boy trying hard to make it work on my own, and going through the stresses of a separation (mediation broke down, now going to court, etc etc).

Thoughts and advice appreciated. Thanks guys! Since I ramble, I'll bold the questions I was hoping to get answered so it's more clear... lol

Darkane
03-14-2009, 01:28 PM
You're showing signs of adrenal fatigue.

Cycle the ECA stack 1 week on, 1 week off.

Kill the 20 reps, those are actually great at building mass hah.

If you want, try a more strength oriented approach. 5-8 reps.

Since I assume strength isn't your main priority don't do super heavy. Use a weight you can do 8 times for the 5-8.

Never fail, stop short 2 good reps of failure.

Try to get some Vit D, or hit a tanning bed for a few sessions. See if it calms you down.

Read good book, light some incense, masterbate (seriously), do anything that relaxes you even if it's 10-15 min/day.


:thumbsup:

rc2002
03-14-2009, 02:08 PM
Originally posted by ~Leah~

Anyway, for the past 2 days I have become extremely irritated at the smallest things and am just in a generally pissy mood.

Does this happen every month?

Darkane
03-14-2009, 02:32 PM
Originally posted by richardchan2002


Does this happen every month?

Oh snap I forgot about that :rofl:

jdmakkord
03-14-2009, 02:42 PM
Vit D for sure. It happens to most people this time of year. I'm in the same boat, but moving to a new building with nothing but natural light all day has helped tonnes.

bawlls
03-14-2009, 02:43 PM
wanna go on a date?

bituerbo
03-14-2009, 03:08 PM
Originally posted by bawlls
wanna go on a date?

I'm in for sloppy cuthberts.

cancer man
03-14-2009, 03:13 PM
You Hit the Wall..
what do you see when you look into that mirror?

You need lots of natural light,and get your kid in a stroller and go for a lot of walks.

how many friends do you have??

Instead of wasting all that time in a gym go volunter for something.

Stress will kill you.

bamboo_warrier
03-14-2009, 03:33 PM
Will you marry me? I think I'm in luv! I luve you. Please Say yes

~Leah~
03-14-2009, 07:46 PM
Oh dear some of you are special.

My building definitely has no natural light, I've been meaning to go to my gym on my lunch hours for a tan. I suppose I should make that a priority.



Originally posted by cancer man
You Hit the Wall..
what do you see when you look into that mirror?

You need lots of natural light,and get your kid in a stroller and go for a lot of walks.

how many friends do you have??

Instead of wasting all that time in a gym go volunter for something.

Stress will kill you.

I don't waste time in a gym. I only work out between the hours of 7-8:30 AM before work after dropping my little one off at daycare (handy because the gym and daycare are both at my work), so I don't see what difference that makes. It's part of my morning routine, if that gets thrown off, don't even bother talking to me all day.

We live out of the city so by the time we get home, there's really only time to make dinner, give him a bath, and get him to bed, then he's with his dad 3 weekends a month.

I have plenty of friends and my social life = my sports teams. It's not only a great stress reliever but it's a guarantee that I get to see a bunch of good friends on a weekly basis.

Also, as bad as this might sound, if I had ANY free time, it would be spent working a second job, not volunteering. I'm really not stressed besides when things come up with my ex not cooperating.

The bad mood I've been in the past couple of days definitely isn't PMS. I think the comment about adrenal fatigue Darkane made could be pretty accurate. My body is not used to adrenaline ever. I remember reffing basketball once when a fight broke out and I went to break it up, basically blacked out, and before I knew it I had a guy pinned up against the wall a few inches off the ground with his jersey wrapped up in my fist cuz I was trying to hold him back. When I came back to, my body was in so much shock I ended up in the hospital overnight because I've just never been in a situation where my adrenaline has taken over like that.

I'll try the week on, week off cycle and see how that works.

Darkane
03-14-2009, 09:30 PM
Originally posted by ~Leah~
I remember reffing basketball once when a fight broke out and I went to break it up, basically blacked out, and before I knew it I had a guy pinned up against the wall a few inches off the ground with his jersey wrapped up in my fist cuz I was trying to hold him back.

:rofl:

Trying to hold him back or destroying him?

Euro_Trash
03-14-2009, 11:10 PM
Originally posted by ~Leah~

Workout wise, I personally build muscle WAY too fast (I bulk, not tone, even when doing 20+ reps).

Wouldn't this have more to do with diet than anything?

Kloubek
03-14-2009, 11:44 PM
Originally posted by ~Leah~

I couldn't make it through the day yesterday without having a drink at lunch to sort of calm my nerves.

*ARCHIVED FOR LATER USE*

;)

alloroc
03-15-2009, 12:11 AM
I tried Stacker2 way back before the Canadian formula changed and I got grumpy as hell after a week. I could only do a week on two weeks off.

Do you really think you have to stack? What about trying some extra B-Complex instead for the energy.

~Leah~
03-15-2009, 02:22 AM
Originally posted by Kloubek


*ARCHIVED FOR LATER USE*

;)

Why do you think I got you in the face with a snowball after lunch yesterday?? :) Doesn't it all make sense now? LOL .... god I'm a bitch. Sorry again about that...

kutt3r
03-15-2009, 04:41 PM
Darkane has you pointed the right way... listen to him.

Sleep? How are you sleeping? How many hours? (seeing as a single mom with little one I am guessing this might play into things) this will contribute largely to the adrenal fatigue.

High reps.. throw them away, volume training will make the muscle bigger.. again listen to Dark here. I know you have your routine, but I dont like it.. I have a friend that I am training and she had the same deal and saw some success, but when I put her on my plan with compound movements, she is consistently losing 2-3#'s a week while maintaining LBM and all she does is complain about being hot and hungry (which means I know I have her metabolism dialed in right now)

Why the need for ECA? Anyone on this board knows I use and love it, but I have been doing a lot more research on it and I might be changing my tune very shortly....

I use it in part for the eph as it helps my asthma tremendously, but I have dropped my dose to 8mg and finding it works just as well and I get the same sweat...plus there are a few studies out there that have stated there is no real need for more than 8mg to get the fat burning effect.

Just a couple things to think about.

~Leah~
03-16-2009, 09:21 AM
Okay so drop the high reps to.... 8-12?

Sleep I know is brutal for me. It's not even the little guy's fault it's all my own. I need to get on my own ass about getting to bed at a normal hour. Usually it doesn't end up being until around 11:30 or midnight then I'm up at 5:45.

I wanted the ECA for the extra push with my cardio. I have exercise enduced asthma so like you said it helps tremendously with that. And also for the fat burning effect as well. My stack is only 8/250/100.

My workout this morning was absolute crap. I couldn't get myself past the 25 minute stage in my cardio. And I feel slower than a sack of bricks. I think I'm gonna try to go tanning at lunch to get some vitamin D in me. As for Vitamin B, what would the best complex be to help with energy? I know 12 is typically what a person would use but i saw B50 at the drug store so was wondering about that.

sputnik
03-16-2009, 09:29 AM
Sounds like the ECA stack has more side effects than benefits.

Drop the stack and stick to working out, eating properly and getting enough sleep.

JAYMEZ
03-16-2009, 09:35 AM
Ive got this type of symptoms happening to me..

I know its super hard with a little guy , but you need to get more sleep , and also cut out the sugars you might be having , I know I react pretty badly to sugars in my system and it makes me freaking crazy.

Also try and take a full day off even if you feel like you NEED to go to the gym. Also pick up some Vit D-2 (or 3 I cant remember # on it lol)..

I know court shit can totally put on a damper , and stress on your life. I can almost guarantee its one of your major stresses in your life.

Kennyredline
03-16-2009, 09:47 AM
Ya maybe got a bun in the oven? :P

Wildcat
03-16-2009, 10:01 AM
Eat lots, sleep lots, take vits b12, b6, c & d, drink lots of water, cardio/weights for 1-2hrs 5-6 times a week and get off the stack.

If that fails, drop the kid off at dads and take a vacation for a week. If that fails get some meds.

edit: I need pics in order to make a proper diagnosis.

zipdoa
03-16-2009, 10:19 AM
have you tried lighting up a doobie?

semograd
03-16-2009, 10:35 AM
Originally posted by ~Leah~

Sleep I know is brutal for me. It's not even the little guy's fault it's all my own. I need to get on my own ass about getting to bed at a normal hour. Usually it doesn't end up being until around 11:30 or midnight then I'm up at 5:45.


Take Melatonin a half hour before bed. Dont take B vitamins before bed either.


Originally posted by ~Leah~

I wanted the ECA for the extra push with my cardio. I have exercise enduced asthma so like you said it helps tremendously with that. And also for the fat burning effect as well. My stack is only 8/250/100.


How does your stack work?: whats your dose, do you take it daily and do you cycle on and off?

Personally I think you should get off the eca stack. Ephedrine and caffeine will fry your brain if you dont take a break. You can pretty much find the side effects anywhere on the internet:


Other risks include insomnia, dry mouth, irritability, stress, anxiety, headache, dizziness, nausea, irregular heartbeat, interaction with MAO inhibitors, trembling hands, increased need for water and potassium, and psychosis resulting from the long-term use of ephedrine.


Originally posted by ~Leah~

I think I'm gonna try to go tanning at lunch to get some vitamin D in me. As for Vitamin B, what would the best complex be to help with energy? I know 12 is typically what a person would use but i saw B50 at the drug store so was wondering about that.

Go buy animal pack, it has all the vitamins you need. If not, get some D, B-complex, Niacin and C. Those are great vitamins for feeling great and happy. Remember the more stressed your mind and body is the more b vitamins your body uses.

Also you should take some minerals, zinc is great and enough magnesium will help you relax. I have also heard great things about these minerals for working out purposes, ZMA is supposed to be a great supplement for body builders.

Oh and do Not drink when your feeling this way. Its so bad for your body if its already deprived of nutrients/sleep.

bawlls
03-16-2009, 10:43 AM
relieve you're sexual frustration leah, just do it.

lol I am only kidding around. As said above, moniter you're sleeping patterns! Being tired without realizing it can make you adgitated.

Have you thought about the negative effects of caffeine? Since its minorly addictive, there are side effect (being pissed off) that come along with stoping your caffeine intake, and since you were on an eca stack, It could just be that.

do your drink coffee/coke or anything of the sort? If not, drink a cup of coffee and see how you feel.

~Leah~
03-16-2009, 10:58 AM
Originally posted by Wildcat
Eat lots, sleep lots, take vits b12, b6, c & d, drink lots of water, cardio/weights for 1-2hrs 5-6 times a week and get off the stack.

If that fails, drop the kid off at dads and take a vacation for a week. If that fails get some meds.

edit: I need pics in order to make a proper diagnosis.

Hence the sudden add to facebook? :P I thought you were already on my list anyway?


Originally posted by semograd


Take Melatonin a half hour before bed. Dont take B vitamins before bed either.

How does your stack work?: whats your dose, do you take it daily and do you cycle on and off?

Personally I think you should get off the eca stack. Ephedrine and caffeine will fry your brain if you dont take a break. You can pretty much find the side effects anywhere on the internet:

Go buy animal pack, it has all the vitamins you need. If not, get some D, B-complex, Niacin and C. Those are great vitamins for feeling great and happy. Remember the more stressed your mind and body is the more b vitamins your body uses.

Also you should take some minerals, zinc is great and enough magnesium will help you relax. I have also heard great things about these minerals for working out purposes, ZMA is supposed to be a great supplement for body builders.

Oh and do Not drink when your feeling this way. Its so bad for your body if its already deprived of nutrients/sleep.

I take all my vitamins (women's multi, St. John's Wort, B12) in the morning, as well as my stack. I do it once a day and originally planned to do 1 week on, 1-2 weeks off, but with the time change I ended up doing 2 weeks on. I took it Mon-Fri.


Originally posted by bawlls
relieve you're sexual frustration leah, just do it.

lol I am only kidding around. As said above, moniter you're sleeping patterns! Being tired without realizing it can make you adgitated.

Have you thought about the negative effects of caffeine? Since its minorly addictive, there are side effect (being pissed off) that come along with stoping your caffeine intake, and since you were on an eca stack, It could just be that.

do your drink coffee/coke or anything of the sort? If not, drink a cup of coffee and see how you feel.

Yeah, my sleeping patterns definitely need to improve. That's my main goal this week. As for caffeine, a 250mg pill has the same amount as less than 2 cups of coffee (~150mg/cup). It's the only caffeine intake I have in a day, so I'm thinking that's less than a lot of coffee addicts. I don't drink pop (or anything carbonated)... all I drink actually is water and milk... so unless I have some chocolate, and lets face it, I'm a girl, it happens, I don't consume anymore caffeine throughout the day. I don't drink coffee and occasionally drink tea... I suppose I could work on upping my green tea intake.

semograd
03-16-2009, 11:08 AM
Originally posted by ~Leah~

I take all my vitamins (women's multi, St. John's Wort, B12) in the morning, as well as my stack. I do it once a day and originally planned to do 1 week on, 1-2 weeks off, but with the time change I ended up doing 2 weeks on. I took it Mon-Fri.


Womans multi and b12 is not nearly enough for someone who trains as much as you do. Buy all that stuff I told you to buy and take them 2-3 times a day (unless you buy animal pack).

Also do you do a good job of replacing your electrolytes during/after workouts? That could be a contributing factor. No matter what I still think the main source of your problems lyes with the eca stack, not everyones body is the same and you might be more sensitive to caffeine/ephedrine than others.

why do you take st johns wort? are you depressed?

bourge73
03-16-2009, 11:14 AM
St. John's Wort? why would you take that? get off of that now! also just get outside and get some sun! and fresh air!:burnout:

Daxin
03-16-2009, 02:43 PM
Leah, what brand of Multi Vit are you taking? A good multi should be taken a few times daily instead of once a day.

I hear great things about a brand called New Chapter. Their line of products are all organic and derived from whole foods. The better multi's now a days have Maca root for energy, balancing your hormone and many other great attributes.

I currently take Maca XP (black Maca).

bubbley
03-16-2009, 02:43 PM
hey im available fon one on one training

403Gemini
03-16-2009, 03:10 PM
hey Leah, how many mg's are you taking of everything?

I'm doing 16 ephedrine, 200 caffeine, and 81 asprin once a day in the mid afternoon and it gives me enough energy. I've only been doing it for 2 weeks so I'll let you know how i feel closer to the end of this week / beginning of next week.

That being said , get PLENTY of water.

Also to about 40% of the posters in this thread - grow up :rolleyes:

JAYMEZ
03-16-2009, 03:15 PM
Originally posted by bourge73
St. John's Wort? why would you take that? get off of that now! also just get outside and get some sun! and fresh air!:burnout:


It helps depression , seems fine to me.

alloroc
03-16-2009, 03:17 PM
Originally posted by 403Gemini


Also to about 40% of the posters in this thread - grow up :rolleyes:

I dont think the newb's know that the last person on this forum that you would want to piss off and then meet in person is Leah.
Those who have crossed her before will never be the same.
ie) Ludegirl.

~Leah~
03-16-2009, 04:39 PM
Wayne, I'm taking 8/250/100mg. I think the water thing is a problem for me as well, I know I don't get nearly enough.

As for the St. John's Wort, I used to suffer from pretty bad depression in high school, and since then I have occasional bouts where it comes back, so I prefer to take it just for my own mood. Since I'm going through a highly emotional/stressful time in my life with the separation, being a young struggling single mother, etc, this is my own personal decision.

As for a multi, I'm only taking One-a-day women's formula. I know I should be taking something better than this, and also some omega's probably. But as you can probably guess, money is an issue.

And even though you basically just called me a bitch alloroc, I can't argue with that point. But I just laugh at the petty comments all these little boys are making... I should have known better than to put "girl" in the title.


I hit a huge brick wall at 3:15 today. Like huge. I have had zero caffeine and very little water. I'll be amazed if I can make it the whole way home without dozing off!! Bedtime when the little man goes to bed tonight.


So my official goals for this week have been set:
- Drink at least 4L of water/day
- Get at least 7 hours of sleep/night

Sound ok for a start to my rebound?

mr2mike
03-16-2009, 04:50 PM
Try Adenasense.

http://www.healthmart2000.com/item644.htm

It helps with adenal gland support. If I remember right, I think it has a lot of similar ingredients as St. John's Wort.

alloroc
03-16-2009, 09:46 PM
Originally posted by ~Leah~


And even though you basically just called me a bitch alloroc, I can't argue with that point. But I just laugh at the petty comments all these little boys are making... I should have known better than to put "girl" in the title.


Bitch absolutely not. It was a total compliment.
You are one of the few eloquent posters on the forum and therefore, you should be feared. Bitching and spinning a good yarn - especially one based in truth, are not the same.

Edit:
Oh ... and as for being tired ... Welcome to parenthood.

Woman's one a day isn't too bad. Honestly most people get all the B vitamins they need through diet, but if you are feeling lethargic up the B-12 and B6 a bit through your diet. Try snacking on soybeans (B-6) a few times a week and have a couple of eggs (B-12) on alternate days. Working it into your regular meals will save on supplements. Salmon is also high in B vitamins.

~Leah~
03-17-2009, 09:36 AM
Hahaha well thanks :) I dunno if anyone caught it earlier in the thread, but my mood last week caused me to throw a snowball at Kloubek's face while he was on the phone with a customer at work. You're right, I should be feared lol.

I eat eggs every morning (usually one or 2 hard boiled) and Salmon once a week. This morning I took my caffeine pill since I'm not a huge fan of coffee or tea really. It's only 200mg not 250 as I previously thought. It reallllllly helped give me a little boost. Managed to do 30 mins of crazy HIIT on the treadmill. Is it bad if I just take the caffeine in place of coffee/tea?

semograd
03-17-2009, 10:08 AM
if money is an issue heres the link to what I always buy (shipping is cheap):

http://www.fitnessone.com/animal-pak-p-376.html

bourge73
03-17-2009, 12:42 PM
Maybe you should talk to a Dr. and get some real meds? sound like you may need it, dont rely on herbal crap get the good stuff. :thumbsup:

kutt3r
03-18-2009, 06:26 AM
Originally posted by ~Leah~
Hahaha well thanks :) I dunno if anyone caught it earlier in the thread, but my mood last week caused me to throw a snowball at Kloubek's face while he was on the phone with a customer at work. You're right, I should be feared lol.

I eat eggs every morning (usually one or 2 hard boiled) and Salmon once a week. This morning I took my caffeine pill since I'm not a huge fan of coffee or tea really. It's only 200mg not 250 as I previously thought. It reallllllly helped give me a little boost. Managed to do 30 mins of crazy HIIT on the treadmill. Is it bad if I just take the caffeine in place of coffee/tea?

Your going to get different opinions here, this is something you want to cycle on and off from so I would not rely on it.

What are you eating exactly in the morning, especially before a HIIT working out? I hope it is more than 2 eggs.

403Gemini
03-18-2009, 11:58 AM
Good, quick breakfast is buy some egg whites, make those into scrambled eggs and 2 strips of turkey bacon with a glass of orange juice and a glass of water. Its what ive been eating for the last 2 weeks, delicious!

~Leah~
03-23-2009, 11:55 PM
I typically only have a banana before my workout and focus a lot on my recovery eating. I don't do HIIT very often in the morning and I know I'm breaking down muscle tissue when I don't have sufficient calories to burn but in a way, I'm kind of okay with that since I can get pretty fricken butch.

It's been a stressful couple of weeks for me let me tell you. My little man just went in for surgery today and my ex sent his lawyer in his place for our first court session -- those were the 2 biggies! Needless to say I got these intense cramps (not even PMS... actually comparable if not almost more painful than labour contractions) and have also got kinda sick (moreso ear/throat pain). I finally have one night away from my little man so got some stuff done, played a bunch of vball and feel like working out again. I'm going to take my stack in the morning and see how I feel throughout the day tomorrow to see if I want to continue it for the whole week.

And I don't need real meds. I'm living a super stressful life right now, I'm not depressed. Just gotta man up and deal with the shit life throws my way. Managed to get a 2nd job at a golf course just doing wedding banquets on Saturdays so that'll help with money and save on golf expenses this summer :)

Jonel
03-24-2009, 12:07 AM
pm'd instead

~Leah~
03-25-2009, 02:15 PM
So I'm bitchy (about an unrelated matter) this week and ended up taking my anger and agression out on the punching bag at work for 15 mins. I didn't realize I could hit so hard... I thought I'd barely move the bag but I had to keep bringing it back in from swinging wildly. I could have went for another 30... definitely incorporating this into my workouts now!

How often should I do this? Say, twice a week for 15-20 mins? I might be a nicer person by the end of this :) LOL