Dizziness

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I've been losing weight since about January with the ups and downs as usual. I have my goal weight set to 155 ( I'm 5'7) and then once I hit that I want to lose a few more pounds but plan to do that with losing less weight per week so I can slowly make my way to maintence. As it is the summer I am a lot more active because I have a physically summer demanding job but I don't want to change my activity level because I am not as active on my days off. However lately I've been getting dizzy a lot like today is my day off and I was out walking my dog before my softball double header (we walk a mile a day) and I got sooo dizzy I had to sit down on the side of the road and relax mind you we don't walk fast at all it's a leisure pace. Any ideas on why I've been so dizzy lately and how I can change that. Oh and any tips on how I can account for the extra calories I'm burning working.
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  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    Either you are dehydrated or you are not eating enough. You should probably talk to your Dr about this.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    Talk to your doctor. I could be something simple like you're not getting enough to eat before you walk, or could something serious. Only way to tell is to tell your doctor and see what they have to say.

    As for accounting for the extra calories, you can use MFP, but MFP tends to overestimate a lot. If you really want to find out, monitor your heart rate and find the calculation for that. It will also include your height and current weight, but I honestly don't know how to do it. I use Fitbit, which does it for me. You don't have to buy a tracker, and if you want to let MFP estimate that's fine as long as you compensate for the overestimation.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    I agree with talking with your doctor. Just curious, how many calories are you eating?
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
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    If your diary is accurate, you're only eating about 1100 calories a day. At 5'7 that is not nearly enough. Have you noticed that MFP won't let you complete a daily log at that amount? There's a reason for it. You should read up on their warning page. The fact that you're more active right now is compounding the issue, as well.

    I'm also noticing that alot of the calories you do consume are snack items. Grapes and Animal Crackers for lunch? Probably not enough to sustain you until dinner. And yes, some people chose to fast during some of the day, but if you're getting dizzy, this is a good sign that you're not getting enough nutrition before your major activity for the day.

    This being said, I'm not a medical expert, so if you ignore everything else in my post, please listen to this: If you're getting dizzy enough to need to sit down during moderate activity, you probably need to see a doctor.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    You're under eating! You have days not even reaching 900 calories. I would get help with your eating disorder.
  • Mandi98U
    Mandi98U Posts: 115 Member
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    I do eat around 1100 a day and yes i eat a lot of snacky foods but that because I snack all day minus dinner that I consider a meal. It makes me feel like I'm eating a lot and I would have already talked to my doctor but I don't have health insurance and they always say one thing and keep scheduling appointments to just check on things and that's really expensive
  • Mandi98U
    Mandi98U Posts: 115 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    You're under eating! You have days not even reaching 900 calories. I would get help with your eating disorder.
    Don't you have to be underweight to have an eating disorder ... I'm overweight
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    It looks like, most of the time, you are not getting nearly enough protein. You likely need more calories too.

    Start tracking your water intake. In the summer, if you are active, you likely need more than 8 cups a day to stay properly hydrated.

    In the short term, adding a little bit of electrolyte drink can also help. I like to pre-freeze a water bottle 1/3 full of ice, then add 1/3 filtered water and 1/3 low-cal Gatorade.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Mandi98U wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    You're under eating! You have days not even reaching 900 calories. I would get help with your eating disorder.
    Don't you have to be underweight to have an eating disorder ... I'm overweight

    Nope.
    I clicked back on your diary one month and the day I landed on was 894 calories. I didn't even look further, because you're going to make yourself sick and its unnecessary. You're dizzy now, but what about when you start losing your hair?
    You need to get nutrients into your body. The MINIMUM amount of calories you should be on is 1200. Meat and veggies or some milk. Eat food.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
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    Mandi98U wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    You're under eating! You have days not even reaching 900 calories. I would get help with your eating disorder.
    Don't you have to be underweight to have an eating disorder ... I'm overweight

    Oh man. No, you can be mordibly obese and still be malnurished from an eating disorder. That's a common, but very dangerous misconception.

    I get liking the snacks, but snack food isn't going to help you reach your nutritional needs. Excluding the days when you're eating over your calorie goal, I see barely any protein and very little fat. Snacky items and fruit aren't going to provide you with these two very important major nutrition categories (AKA Macros).
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    Mandi98U wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    You're under eating! You have days not even reaching 900 calories. I would get help with your eating disorder.
    Don't you have to be underweight to have an eating disorder ... I'm overweight

    Doesn't mean you can't have an eating disorder, though I don't think you do. Remember, when you're overweight, your body requires more calories, even at a deficit. That number will drop as you lose weight, but if you're limiting yourself that much right out the gate, you're going to do more harm than good. I'm 5'7", and when I was 200lbs, my calorie goal for the day, with the deficit, was about 1600. Now, 40lbs down, it's at about 1400 a day. So, chances are you have it set way to low and you're not getting what you need, which is why you're dizzy. I would re-evalutate your calorie goals and set your weight lost per week to be less. Yes, it's slower, but it's better for your body and helps retrain both your brain and body over time to adjust your diet. If you're very concerned, I would still talk to the doctor, but ask for their help in determining what your daily calorie goal should be, and when you should lower it.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    dubird wrote: »
    Mandi98U wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    You're under eating! You have days not even reaching 900 calories. I would get help with your eating disorder.
    Don't you have to be underweight to have an eating disorder ... I'm overweight

    Doesn't mean you can't have an eating disorder, though I don't think you do. Remember, when you're overweight, your body requires more calories, even at a deficit. That number will drop as you lose weight, but if you're limiting yourself that much right out the gate, you're going to do more harm than good. I'm 5'7", and when I was 200lbs, my calorie goal for the day, with the deficit, was about 1600. Now, 40lbs down, it's at about 1400 a day. So, chances are you have it set way to low and you're not getting what you need, which is why you're dizzy. I would re-evalutate your calorie goals and set your weight lost per week to be less. Yes, it's slower, but it's better for your body and helps retrain both your brain and body over time to adjust your diet. If you're very concerned, I would still talk to the doctor, but ask for their help in determining what your daily calorie goal should be, and when you should lower it.

    She has been at this since January and eating at 1100 or LESS a day!
  • Mandi98U
    Mandi98U Posts: 115 Member
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    It looks like, most of the time, you are not getting nearly enough protein.
    In the short term, adding a little bit of electrolyte drink can also help. I like to pre-freeze a water bottle 1/3 full of ice, then add 1/3 filtered water and 1/3 low-cal Gatorade.

    I've been trying to get more protein it's just hard because the calories in nuts seem so not be worth it and I usually only get meat at dinner or if I get a beef jerky pack. That's why I've been eating protein bars and I can't think of much else that has protein. Oh and with the Gatorade does it still have the thick ness of Gatorade if u drink it like that because Gatorade kind of leaves a lot of flem in my throat ( it's hard to describe)
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    OP seek help.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Mandi98U wrote: »
    It looks like, most of the time, you are not getting nearly enough protein.
    In the short term, adding a little bit of electrolyte drink can also help. I like to pre-freeze a water bottle 1/3 full of ice, then add 1/3 filtered water and 1/3 low-cal Gatorade.

    I've been trying to get more protein it's just hard because the calories in nuts seem so not be worth it and I usually only get meat at dinner or if I get a beef jerky pack. That's why I've been eating protein bars and I can't think of much else that has protein. Oh and with the Gatorade does it still have the thick ness of Gatorade if u drink it like that because Gatorade kind of leaves a lot of flem in my throat ( it's hard to describe)

    Milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, more meat, nuts, lentils.
  • Mandi98U
    Mandi98U Posts: 115 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, more meat, nuts, lentils.

    I've never had lentils before what do you them with do they have to be cooked or is it something you like eat as a snack
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Mandi98U wrote: »
    [quote="

    Milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, more meat, nuts, lentils.
    I've never had lentils before what do you them with do they have to be cooked or is it something you like eat as a snack
    [/quote]

    Soups, curries, salads etc.
    Also I forgot beans. Just get some food in you woman. Remember, your deficit is already built in. You're still going to be losing on the 1200 (PLUS exercise calories), you're just going to be healthy doing it.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    Mandi98U wrote: »
    It looks like, most of the time, you are not getting nearly enough protein.
    In the short term, adding a little bit of electrolyte drink can also help. I like to pre-freeze a water bottle 1/3 full of ice, then add 1/3 filtered water and 1/3 low-cal Gatorade.

    I've been trying to get more protein it's just hard because the calories in nuts seem so not be worth it and I usually only get meat at dinner or if I get a beef jerky pack. That's why I've been eating protein bars and I can't think of much else that has protein. Oh and with the Gatorade does it still have the thick ness of Gatorade if u drink it like that because Gatorade kind of leaves a lot of flem in my throat ( it's hard to describe)

    Chicken is cheap & tastes good.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
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    Mandi98U wrote: »
    It looks like, most of the time, you are not getting nearly enough protein.
    In the short term, adding a little bit of electrolyte drink can also help. I like to pre-freeze a water bottle 1/3 full of ice, then add 1/3 filtered water and 1/3 low-cal Gatorade.

    I've been trying to get more protein it's just hard because the calories in nuts seem so not be worth it and I usually only get meat at dinner or if I get a beef jerky pack. That's why I've been eating protein bars and I can't think of much else that has protein. Oh and with the Gatorade does it still have the thick ness of Gatorade if u drink it like that because Gatorade kind of leaves a lot of flem in my throat ( it's hard to describe)

    I've entered your age and height into a TDEE calculator. I don't know how much you weigh, so I entered your stated goal weight. According to the calculator, if you were completely inactive, you could still eat 1450 calories a day and lose weight at a healthy rate.

    You eat 1,100 (on a good day). I really don't think you have anything to worry about by adding a serving of almonds or a tablespoon of peanut butter into your diet.

    Aside from nuts, you can also get protein and good fats from eggs, some dairy items and cheeses, and some oils. IMO - you should cut out some of your snacks and fill your diet with more food that's going to give you the nutrition you need.

    Oh, and if jerky's the only meat you can eat during the day, then that's fine. You might want to eat a little bit more of it though - or eat a good serving of it for lunch. Jerky comes in different flavors too, so there's always mixing it up (turkey jerky fan).
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    Is prepping food a problem for you? The directions for cooking lentils are on the package. You do have to cook them, but they're pretty easy. But no, they're not a snack. Do you live with your parents still or are you on your own?
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