View Full Version : Doing mental work (studying) while on a serious cut
Ok, so I've decided to go back to school. I have one month left to catch up on all the required material (I have a few textbooks I need to flip through). I've been trying to study for the past 3 weeks now and it's been a miserable failure of an experience. With 4 weeks left I need to get my shit together FAST.
My energy levels are acceptable in the morning, low in the afternoon, and extremely low in the evening (all I want to do is sleep). I sleep 9 hours a day as it is. That's not the problem, what bothers me most is that my focus is gone. In the evening especially there is just no way I can read through 80-100 pages. After 5 pages I catch myself zoned out. I'm not bored (I actually enjoy the material), I'm just no longer absorbing anything and suddenly realize I'm staring at the empty margin on a page. It's like my body's still awake but my brain ran out of gas and shut down without me realizing. This is very bad and I'm starting to question whether I can continue cutting without jeopardizing my studies.
A little bit about my cut (for those who care): I'm carb cycling with 70g of carbs on my low days and 120g on my high days. 220g protein and 60g fat every day. All clean food. I have one cheat meal a week where I stuff my face with about 150-200g of carbs in one meal (sugar-loaded drink included). I drink 4-5 liters of water a day. I'm supplementing with Pak, Omega, Nitro, and Flex so I got my bases covered. I'm also trying different fat burners (did a cycle of Cuts, trying something else now). On the training side I hit the gym every second day (1 hour heavy lifting + 1 hour cardio). I take 1 complete off day after every training day.
Tomorrow I'm going to try a "5 hour energy drink" (google it up) as a last resort, but I really don't want to flood my body with random crap on a daily basis.
So here's my question: Is it possible to do a serious cut (strict diet, heavy lifting, long cardio) and still do demanding mental work? My brain is currently not capable of handling the work load I need it to handle. I may need to become a “casual” lifter if I can't find a way to fix this. I will not fuck up this degree.
I was dieting while taking my finals this past winter. I was a junior at OSU and the quarter was coming to a close. I was also a couple weeks into my contest diet, so it wasnt terrible but I feel what youre going through man. Its tough to focus when youre on low carbs. The reason being that your brain functions on glycogen storage. When you cut that out, its tough. Thankfully I was only doing "normal" school work when it got really bad, like what sounds what you are going through.
Yeah you could bomb your system with caffeine and shit to keep you going but thats not healthy. My suggestion is, if youre not competing, dont do low carb. Or do carb cycles, instead of low carbs. It will allow you lose weight and still maintain proper brain function haha. If this is someting you would want to do this is how I carb cycle (when I diet down)
First five meals have carbs, every day take the last carb meal out, so on day 2 youre eating 4 meals with carbs, day 3 three meals and so on. until you get to one meal with carbs. then go four days with only carbs in your first meal. after the four days, repeat. its really simple but effective.
Good luck bro, school and hardcore training/dieting can be a bitch sometimes.
edit: i dont know how I missed that you are already cycling, my fault. Maybe try this new style though?
Interesting way of cycling. Right now I spread my carbs evenly throughout the day but leave the last meal carb-free. I'll see if I can modify my diet to try your approach but I'm a little worried that on the day with one carb meal I'll get a nice boost in the morning and then crash in the evening after several consecutive protein/fat meals.
I was hoping to hear something like "Drink this herbal tea, it'll jack you right up! Caffeine free too!" but something tells me I'll need to increase carbs significantly in the end... or decrease workout intensity so my damaged muscles aren't hogging all my body's resources. Either way my cut will become less effective and that just plain sucks...
I'll wait a bit longer before deciding anything. Hopefully more people will post their thoughts.
basketcase
08-07-08, 1:07 am
I'm in a similar boat. I'm not in school, but my job is fairly technical and has become very demanding...
I've been carb cycling for the last 5-6 weeks (110g low, 200g high)...I need the energy. I don't like doing the caffeine thing.
So for the next 1.5-2.0 months I'm gonna do a constant amount of carbs....cycle later.
I was wondering though, not to hijack the thread, can I do a steady amount M-F, then low (55g-110g) on Sat/Sun? Would it be worth while at all?
FWIW, all the carbs I do eat are in before Noon.
The only "energy" products Universal carries are made for fat burning or as an energy boost for lifting from what I can tell. I needed something as a mental aide. So I'll do a follow-up on my first post about that "5 hour energy drink" shit. Since it's much different than anything Universal has I don't think this post breaks any rules. If it does just remove the name, don't delete the post. It might be useful to others in my situation.
What does this stuff use? Taurine, Caffeine (one cup of coffee worth), B12 (8333% daily value), B6 (1600% daily value). That more or less sums it up. It has no sugar and 4 calories total. It's not a "normal" energy drink. It's also the only thing I could find that might be helpful... It promised up to 5 hours of mental focus.
Did it work? Not really... I was especially tired today after yesterday's workout. I slept for 9 hours at night and took a 45min nap after lunch. After dinner I was going to take another nap but I decided this was the perfect opportunity to try this stuff. I was very tired and hungry at the time. My next meal wasn't for another hour. I drank a bottle on a pretty much empty stomach and waited. Within 5-10 minutes my head was spinning and I was no longer sleepy. For the next hour I had great focus and was slightly hyper (the caffeine?) and actually read + retained a lot of material. The focus I got was a narrow focus, so reading was a breeze but something like driving (were you need to focus on many things at once) would have been hard. After an hour I wanted to throw up (due to drinknig this on an empty stomach?) so I had my meal. It settled me down a bit and I went back to reading. 2 hours in my focus was noticeably worse and I had trouble retaining info. After 3 hours, focus was gone AND I was sleepy as hell once again. I still had a mild but unnatural spinning in my head.
So there you go. Overdosing on Vitamin B6 and B12 gave me 1 solid hour of focus. I guess your average Joe might get a full 5 hours but not someone who is on a caloric and carb deficit while busting their ass at the gym. I will NOT be using this stuff or anything like it again. It's not worth it. It's a quick fix, and a cheap one at that. The urge to puke sucked too.
I wish Universal made something for the wannabe scholars amongst us. I'm serious... If anyone knows of a product that might help with brain function while cutting PLEASE tell me. For now plenty of rest and a higher carb intake is the only thing I can do. That effectively screws my cut and my social life. Fuck.
SQUAT or DIE!
08-13-08, 1:58 am
i just started taking 1000mg of b12 in the am, and pop a caffine pill or two (each about a cup of coffe worth) in the afternoon and i have plenty of energy.... just me though..
I read up on B6 and it can "improve attention". I don't know how useful that is though. B12 on the other hand is essential for normal brain and nervous system function. That sounds important.
Animal Pak already has a crap load of B6 so I might try just taking extra B12 and see how that goes. I really don't like caffeine so that's out.
I REALLY doubt this is going to solve my problem but I guess it can't hurt to try. I have a feeling this will help but its usefulness and the duration of its effect will be limited.
I may be asking for too much... But I've had the effectiveness of some products surprise me in the past.
bigrhino
08-13-08, 8:50 pm
Don't take offense to this.
It's called not being a bitch. I recently lost about 40 pounds, about 30 while still in the middle of a semester and I still managed to get all of my work done for finals. It was sometimes hard. If cutting is really getting in the way, maybe you shouldn't cut so hard, you know what I mean. What is more important? Getting good grades or achieving your fitness goals. You don't need to lose that much weight that quickly.
Also, you shouldn't be looking for a supplement to help you study. You just need to get yourself psyched up. So your first step should be to turn your computer off right now and get to work. Whenever I need to work, I turn it off.
I just read your post some more. You are doing an hour of cardio? I could see you that could wipe you out. Do like 30 minutes. If you have the time, don't do it right after your workout either.
thedrivenone
08-13-08, 11:33 pm
For my body I realized I need carbs, though only complex. It keeps me sane. And just enough to keep me going, when I go low carb like 40g/day to assist in carb cycling I'm dead that day, I catabolize by stressing out, etc.
I just make sure my carbs are at the right times; upon wake up, right before i workout, right after i workout.
I eat 6 meals a day so having half of them with carbs is good, I also eat steamed veggies at every meals thats little cals/carbs but good overall.
thedrivenone
08-13-08, 11:36 pm
As for studying, you guys are going to really get a kick out of this one.
But do HIS. High Intensity Studying.
Seriously, people wonder how I got into an top-caliber University in the nation and I don't "study" that much. Just like I wondered pre ap.com how people got so swole without being the gym 3-4hrs a day.
Pick a subject; for 20-25 minutes read intensely and lay out exampls. Generally you're going to have to go over that subject about 3,4 times before it actually sits in you're mind, but if you do two sessions of those a day with alternating subjects, it's just 40 minutes, it saves a ton of time. If you really want to maximize your efforts, study ahead of time.
I'm heading to University in 17 days, and I already am 3-5 chapters ahead in all my classes. It just saves me that time in the beginning of the year to meet new people, or at the end of the year to fap. I exercise an hour a day, work for 5 hours a day, eat every 2-3 hours, 40-50min is really easy to fit in. But yeah it's intense studying, and generally the lesson you just covered you'll apply to realistic things you come across that day.
No offense taken.
I wish it was that easy, just not being a bitch. But when my brain stops retaining information then it's over, no matter how badly I try. That's like saying you can do as many sets of <whatever> as you want, if only you weren't a bitch. When your muscles are done, it's over. No amount of positive thinking in the world will get the iron up.
Obviously I need to prioritize what's important, and I am doing that. But I believe in doing things right. I have a big problem with putting a half-assed effort into something. When I cut, I cut to the best of my abilities. When I study, I do likewise. The two of these things not performing well together is unfortunate and I'm ready to put weight lifting "on hold" but I sure as hell won't be happy doing it. Before I throw in the towel on my fitness goals I WILL try my best to find a solution. And that's what I'm doing now. Looking for hope.
Unfortunately, strength of will just doesn't cut it here. I use Animal Flex to buffer my joint damage. I use Nitro to buffer muscle loss. etc, etc, etc. I use these supplements because they allow me to mercilessly plow forward and that's how I like it, seeing what I'm capable of, pushing my limits. Now I'm in need of something to help my brain a little. If I can't find something to help me, then my next option is to stop taking training seriously.
I will not be happy with that option. I will take it though, if I must.
thedrivenone: lol, I'll agree with you on the HIS. I've done it before. I read through a 700 page textbook in 18 hours by following a HIS system where I took 20min naps in between reading so I'd better absorb the information. It was something like 45min reading, 20 min nap. I also took food breaks for nutrition and shower breaks to wake me up. I got a B on the exam, so it worked well. Crammed the whole course in one night.
I'm a chronic procrastinator... So shit like the above happens... But even though I do this I always finish what needs to be finished. I don't do half-assed work, and I don't omit work. Procrastination does not mean you do the work poorly. It means you do it all at once, near the end of your alloted time. No, I would not have done better if I studied ahead of time. I tried that many times and got similar grades.
Right now I need to read about 5 hours a day over the next 2 weeks (see I'm trying to change, I spaced it out now). It's not too bad, but even HIS craps out after the first hour. My brain just can't take any more. Period. And I know it's because of my training. My brain has no endurance right now if you want to think of it that way.
I feel like an idiot doing three posts in a row but I was in a rush last time and forgot to add a few things.
bigrhino: What you did sounds pretty good, but I probably have a different body type than you so I have to do things differently. I loose 5 lbs a month cutting like I do. Maybe gain a little muscle while I'm at it so lets say I loose 5.5-6 lbs of fat a month. That's IF I keep going as hard as I do. I'm happy with my results but I'm not thrilled. I would want to do even better if I could. I've gotten passionate enough about training that it's hard for me to give it up now (or even slow down). But you are right, I don't HAVE to loose all my fat quickly (I just want to), and if I can't find a way out of this mess then my responsible side will force me to ease up on the training/dieting intensity.
thedrivenone: I do respect your style of learning. I actually like it too and I know it would work. I'll have to do something like that during my next cut... Like I said my brain is lacking endurance, it fails on me way too soon. Smaller sessions when reading and some repetition over a longer period of time might actually work. Problem is I'd have to start early. Right now I have too little time left to do something like that. My hope now is to find a way to give my brain more "food" so it can work properly for the few hours that I really need it. I guess I just hoped there was something for the brain like what PUMP is to muscles.
thedrivenone
08-14-08, 12:13 pm
I guess it's a bit more natural for me, in studying mode I get into a zone, like that zone you get at times in the gym. I wish it would happen more in the gym for me than it does, but when it does, you feel on top of the world.
killyouintheface
08-14-08, 8:48 pm
i just started taking 1000mg of b12 in the am, and pop a caffine pill or two (each about a cup of coffe worth) in the afternoon and i have plenty of energy.... just me though..
I was gonna suggest that the OP up his intake of B vitamins. That usually helps me.
BackRowBack
08-14-08, 9:32 pm
Someone has probably already mentioned this, but adding energy supplements just plain won't work for your problem. The brain runs off of carbs and carbs alone, so if you are not getting enough your brain just won't function, plain and simple. The only thing you can do about it is add in a few extra carbs. I'd say the best way to do it would be to eat a banana or something right before you study. It is fast absorbing yet still high quailty carbs and it should be just enough to get you through your study session.
bigrhino
08-14-08, 11:19 pm
OP. If low carbs are making it hard to focus, try keto. I was skeptical too in the beginning, but now I believe it is a great way to diet. I did keto off of cheeseburgers, bacon, eggs, and chicken and I felt way better with no carbs rather than low or even normal carbs.
If you are looking for a supp to get you pumped up about studying, I can't honestly recommend Animal Pump b/c it just is cost prohibitive IMO. I take the supp that comes in the big red container if you know which one I'm talking about. I take it before I go to work and to the gym and I get really focused. I've never tried it for schoolwork though.
It might actually help to talk about it. Your 24 so it's safe to assume this isn't HS. College or grad work? What type of material? You've gotten me interested now. lol
I got myself some liquid B Complex formula (mostly B12) which I'm going to try out this week. I'll have to try that banana idea too. Keto I might do next year during the summer when I have more time. If it works well I might replace carb cycling with that.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this matter guys. Now I have a few ways to tackle this problem from various angles, diet, supps, and studying technique. Really nice.
bigrhino: I know you don't have to but I still cycle PUMP. Right now I'm off it but if I have money I'll add it into my next cut and see what happens.
As for what I'm doing, that's complicated. I'm currently starting a second undergraduate degree. Almost nobody does this, I know. I have a B.A. already and now I'm going for a B.Sc. so I'll have both a humanities and a science background at the university level. I'm in it for the knowledge, not for the paper you get in the end. This will also provide a very solid foundation for grad work if I decided to go down that path. I study/am interested in: the human mind and how we work. I'll end it at that since I don't think most people care and I don't want them reading a long off-topic post. Send me a PM if you want more info.