Why am I so tired?

Sewilban

Hey, MFP community -

I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience to the one that I'm having regarding fatigue. Over the last few months, I have felt my energy level dropping and do not know what could be the cause of it.

I'm 27; 5'6"; 121 pounds; 19.7 BMI; follow a fairly strict 90/10 Paleo lifestyle, consuming roughly 1300 calories everyday and making sure to take in plenty of protein, carbs, and healthy fats; run two-to-three miles four-to-five days per week and incorporate strength training two-to-three times per week; take in about 100 ounces of water every day; sleep 7-9 hours every night; am not a smoker; don't drink alcohol to excess; have one cup of regular and one cup of decaf coffee in the mornings, and usually a cup of green tea in the afternoon; and do not have any known thyroid- or anaemia-related problems. I recently had a blood screening test done, which showed normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Short of going to a doctor (which might be what I need to do), I'm at a loss. Any insight?

lcooper327

Are you eating enough?

Robertus

Try exercising every other day for a couple of weeks and see what effect that has. Your body needs to rebuild. Believe it or not, fitness increases from the body rebuilding during rest days.

adwilliams03

Weird question but -- do you snore?

Sewilban

adwilliams03 wrote: »

Weird question but -- do you snore?

Not a weird question Someone else asked me that, too - thinking it could be related to sleep apnea; but nope, no snoring here.

Sewilban

@lcooper327‌, I think that for my activity level, I'm eating enough. Might be something to look into, though.

@Robertus‌, that's a good point, thanks!

jessicapk

Pregnancy would be worth looking into, if you're at risk. It can make you feel totally worn out and exhausted on a daily basis. Otherwise, I would reconsider how much you're eating and make sure you're eating back exercise calories.

ew_david

Only 1300 calories with all that exercise? Or are you eating some or all of your exercise calories back?

justcat206

The only things that occur to me are - more rest days needed, more food needed, possibly low vitamin d (I get super tired in the winter), not spending enough time in restful sleep stages (or not sleeping long enough). Do you work out close to bedtime? Sometimes that can hamper restful sleep as well. Good luck and do go see a doctor if it doesn't improve soon!

ZombieMom79

Have you had your thyroid checked?

Also, I workout or run 4-5 days a week and eat 1600-1700 calories a day.

foss44

You can still have sleep apena even if you don't snore. Sleep apena will wipe you out

coretemp

Sewilban wrote: »

run two-to-three miles four-to-five days per week and incorporate strength training two-to-three times per week;

running 3 miles will burn nearly 250-300 calories, are you eating those exercise calories back? If not, 1000 cals those on days are not enough. Same goes for strength training..

yesimpson

You are exercising more than me, and eating about 600 calories less a day on average (if you are not eating the calories back), and we are the same height and weight. This could be a big factor.

Aside from that, a shortage of iron can cause anaemia, which causes fatigue which creeps in gradually until suddenly you realise you're exhausted by normal life; I would get your levels checked.

kgeyser

Your BMI is actually 18.9, not 19.7, which means you are bordering on underweight, which is one thing to consider.

You're also not eating nearly enough for that level of activity. You should be closer to 2000 calories just to maintain your current weight and activity level, and probably a little more since I went with 3-5 hours of moderate exercise in my calculations, and that was a conservative estimate just demonstrate how much you are undereating right now. It's no wonder you're tired, and you're actually increasing your risk of injury by undereating and doing that much exercise.

ahamm002

foss44 wrote: »

You can still have sleep apena even if you don't snore. Sleep apena will wipe you out

It's unlikely she has sleep apnea based on the picture and BMI.

OP: you're starving yourself, which is why you're tired.

lynn1982

I'm honestly the last person to suggest that someone is not eating enough, but considering your height, I would say you're not eating enough... I'm 4'11 and 110 pounds, and I eat more than 1300 calories.

yesimpson

kgeyser wrote: »

Your BMI is actually 18.9, not 19.7, which means you are bordering on underweight, which is one thing to consider.
.

I tried & got 19.5, so different again... I didn't realise different BMI calculators gave different numbers, that's interesting.

SoDamnHungry

I also wonder whether or not you're eating your exercise calories back. If you aren't, no wonder you're tired. How much weight are you planning to lose, anyway?

astrampe

You are close to underweight, why are you starving yourself? You need to eat more, or else just be tired....

Unknown

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TheVirgoddess

I don't think you're eating enough, either - with that level of exercise. Do you eat your exercise calories back?

erickirb

I would say it may be two fold. One, 1300 cals is very little fuel, your body is asking for energy... Two, Paleo tends to be lower carb, and carbs are the preferred (easiest to access) choice of fuel for the body

AmandaHugginkiss

That's not enough food. 1300 calories isn't enough for your height and weight at all. You should up the strength training while upping the calories to add more muscle to your frame. There's nothing wrong with being 121 pounds, but funny enough you're not likely to add much to the size of your body if you add 10 pounds to your frame while incorporating a serious lifting program. I went from 120 to 134 and just got harder everywhere while getting to eat twice as much as you're currently eating. My clothing size didn't change. Muscle is a wonderful thing that really does let you eat more and have more energy. You're not doing an extreme amount of cardio, so telling you to cut out a 2 or 3 mile run seems pointless. Lift more, eat more. If time is a consideration, then cut the cardio and up the strength training. If time isn't a concern, keep the cardio and up the strength training.

But no matter what you do, eat more.

Sewilban

Hey, all! Thanks for the replies, and sorry for not clarifying that I do eat my calories back on top of the 1,300; and I do make sure to get plenty of carbs - I just get it through fruit as opposed to refined sugar/flours/etc.

Also to clear up any confusion, my BMI calculation was done by the nurse at the blood screening clinic, not by an online calculator.

I'm not trying to lose weight; now I'm just maintaining and use MFP to help me keep track of my nutrients intake.

erickirb

Sewilban wrote: »

Hey, all! Thanks for the replies, and sorry for not clarifying that I do eat my calories back on top of the 1,300; and I do make sure to get plenty of carbs - I just get it through fruit as opposed to refined sugar/flours/etc.

Also to clear up any confusion, my BMI calculation was done by the nurse at the blood screening clinic, not by an online calculator.

I'm not trying to lose weight; now I'm just maintaining and use MFP to help me keep track of my nutrients intake.

Then set your goal to maintain and you will get another 300-500 calories, and you are still supposed to eat your exercise cals back.

Go to your home page click on Goals and look at what is next to "Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity" To maintain you should be eating that amount, plus what you burn from exercise.

yesimpson

Sewilban wrote: »

Hey, all! Thanks for the replies, and sorry for not clarifying that I do eat my calories back on top of the 1,300; and I do make sure to get plenty of carbs - I just get it through fruit as opposed to refined sugar/flours/etc.

Also to clear up any confusion, my BMI calculation was done by the nurse at the blood screening clinic, not by an online calculator.

I'm not trying to lose weight; now I'm just maintaining and use MFP to help me keep track of my nutrients intake.

I would still be very surprised, as a young slim woman in her twenties, if your maintenance level was not at least a few hundred more than you're saying, even with exercise cals on top.

cwolfman13

a calorie is a unit of energy...you're not consuming enough energy for your activity.

DWBalboa

Even though you are eating back your calories I would still eat more calories at least 1500-1800 for the baseline number.
Good luck.

Sewilban

@yesimpson‌ I really appreciate all of your comments. I'll do a bit of research and find out what I should be taking in every day and will plan on upping it to meet those needs. Thank you!

yesimpson

Sewilban wrote: »

@yesimpson‌ I really appreciate all of your comments. I'll do a bit of research and find out what I should be taking in every day and will plan on upping it to meet those needs. Thank you!

Hope you get it cracked and start to feel better soon!

DWBalboa

I had this same issue for a while and it did turnout to be my calorie intake was too low.
Good luck.