Why am I so tired?

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  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    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
    AmandaHugginkiss Posts: 486 Member
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    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
    Sewilban Posts: 43 Member
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    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
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    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
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
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    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
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    a calorie is a unit of energy...you're not consuming enough energy for your activity.
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
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    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
    Sewilban Posts: 43 Member
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    @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
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
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    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
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
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    I had this same issue for a while and it did turnout to be my calorie intake was too low.
    Good luck.
  • Sewilban
    Sewilban Posts: 43 Member
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    Thank you, @DWBalboa‌!
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
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    You are most welcome.
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    Eat more. You really aren't exercising "too much" unless your lifting sessions are crazy. But you do need to properly fuel that exercise. 1300 seems WAY too low for your age, weight, height and being at maintenance level. See my figures below. You need to recalculate.

    I'm 5'8, 24, 188lbs and set to lose 1lb per week at 1590 calories. My HR monitor tells me I burn 600-2000 calories in exercise 5x a week. I was eating only 50% of my burn back and even with two rest days per week I was tired and hungry all the time. Started eating 75% back and am feeling much better.

    Try eating more for a few weeks, if it persists go to a doctor!
  • altogirl2
    altogirl2 Posts: 105 Member
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    Sometimes this happens to me and from past experience I know my iron levels have dropped quite low. I take iron everyday but sometimes get busy and miss a few days and then "boom" I'm exhausted. I would suggest a visit to your doctor. It could be lots of different things and may not have any relation to your nutrition or exercise.
  • _whatsherface
    _whatsherface Posts: 1,235 Member
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    I don't think any of us are doctors so I would start at the doctor. I'm having a lot of the same problems. I had more energy when I was 318 lbs then I do now but I'm pretty sure my culprit was my bed and I got a new one over the weekend! LOL but seriously, contact your doctor. I did. Had to take some blood tests. You may be deficient on iron. I dunno, but a blood test could tell you.
  • annetic
    annetic Posts: 2 Member
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    I am a ruunner and I had similar problem. My iron level was ok but than I checked feritin level and it was 15. For runners everything under 25 is not ok especially for girls. Try to google about it. And also, not eating enough carbs can be a problem, but you sad that you are eating enough.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    vinegar_husbands wrote: »
    kgeyser wrote: »
    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.

    Which BMI calculator did you use? She's 19.7 on this one.

    I don't remember which one I used, but if that result is an outlier compared to what everyone else is getting, then it's probably incorrect.

    OP, if you are eating 1300 plus exercise calories and are still tired, I would talk to a doctor and get a blood test just to rule out a medical condition.
  • farmerpam1
    farmerpam1 Posts: 402 Member
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    1300 seems a bit low for your height. I was at 1200 and am barely 5 feet tall. I needed more to fuel my workouts. I added a bit more carbs on the days I really pushed myself.

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