A few months back I was on a 600 calorie diet and biking long lng time, stupid, I know and ended up with a slight imbalance with my electroylytes.....I am trying to learn that food is not the enemy.
I have been doing p90x now for 3 weeks. Prior to that I was running maybe a few miles a day or everyother day. I know do p90x in the morning, and run 4 miles at night, or go to the gym at night and do an hour of cardio. I have been extremely lathargic, my hands and feet are cramping and I feel like crap. Why can't I workout alot and still feel good? I am a female and weigh 170. This is what I eat usually every day.

B 1 cup oatmeal
s peanut butter and celary
L two drumsticks, half an avocado, 2 bites of rice
s protein shake
D two drumsticks, salad and tomatoes, 2 tbs of dressing
s 3 eggwhites

I drink alot of water, coconut water sometimes, and use a nutritional supplement that has the electrolyes in them. I still feel tiredd and lathargic and depressed. I am thinking of getting some organic maple syrup for a recovery drink since I used that doing the master cleasne, and didn't eat a thing for 18 days and had energy through the roof.....can someone please please help me? I have cramping and twitching......I don't feel as bad as before when I landed in the ER.

if i come off a little harsch, i apologize, its only because it seems like you already know the answer because you said this:


just being real rough with my estimates of how many calories you're eating, you're still at less than 1000 with what you've listed. at 170 lbs, and doing not only P90X, running 4 miles on top of that? that is simply not enough calories, and i think you already know that. 1000 calories would not be enough for you if you were sitting on your butt doing nothing.

first thing you need to do is calculate how many calories you need to be eating per day. my guess is somewhere around 2000. thing is, since you've been at such a low calorie number for so long, you'll need to ease your way up. i would also back off the workouts a little bit until you can fuel the workouts. the reason you're cramping/twitching is because you're basically trying to drive a car thats out of gas.

next, you need to log everything you eat. every last calorie, not only to ensure that you're getting the right number of calories, but that you make sure you're getting the right amount from the right nutrients (aka- protein, carbs and fat).

your body needs quality fuel to perform at a high level (P90X). do the smart thing.

Good luck.

person has the same post in the Beginners Fourm... maybe can merge..

but looks like she just isnt getting enough calories in her system...

Like Ben said, log what you eat. Preferably online with a food tracker. Check to make sure you're getting the recommended amount of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Those are most likely going to be the main reasons for your cramping. Those are also the electrolytes that you desperately needed before.

Judging from your meal plan, you're lacking at least on sodium, potassium, and calcium and need to supplement. Add a shake from the salt shaker, eat something high in potassium like potatoes (or buy No-salt, it's pretty much pure potassium), and drink a few glasses of milk or orange juice.