I'm so tired

SciFish

I've been logging my diet really well in the last fortnight, and running 3x per week since mid-Feb. I'm a terrible novice runner and am motivated mostly by acquiring some stamina. However I hope it will fast track my weight loss too. I do intervals for about 4km, and around 35 mins including warm up/cool down. I do 30 mins fairly brisk walking 2 other mornings per week.

I am ridiculously busy and over-committed, but this is normal. So I can't explain my fatigue with anything other than my running or diet. I am generally quite sedentary, struggling to get 10,000 steps in a day even. But i manage it when I do my short runs, which are interval training and usually use 250-350 kcal according to my Fitbit Charge HR. MFP has me on 1200 kcal/day target due to sedentary lifestyle otherwise and me wanting to lose weight faster. I always consume more than that as my exercise adds calories to my allowance.

In the last fortnight my calorie deficit has ranged from 400 to 1400 in a day and I'm wondering if there is a guideline about what is too much. This again is based on my Fitbit Charge HR tracking activity and heart rate. I'm not quite getting enough sleep generally, about 7h45m lately, but I am energised and happy after my morning exercise, and then hit a wall at 3pm. I am exhausted :-(

I don't think there's anything wrong with my calorie intake or exercise, but suspect there's a guideline about what is too much calorie deficit. Most of my days are -600 which seems perfectly reasonable to me, however.

I'm not sure how to fix this. My running is still terrible, but I'm determined to be able to run without stopping!!! (Rubbish lung capacity, no asthma).

melonaulait

I'm not an expert by any means, but it sounds like 1400 might be too steep a calorie deficit for you.

Do you do any rest days from your running/exercise? What's your carb intake like? Carbs will help with endurance in your exercise regime, and you won't get so worn out or hit a wall of exhaustion.

SciFish

I guess I should add that I'm a 38yr old female with about 15kg to lose to a healthy BMI O.o

SciFish

Thanks for your reply. The 1400 was a one-off in the fortnight. I didn't know it until I just checked my history! There's a couple at 1000 but most around 600. I'm not very into carby food to be honest, and MFP is usually telling me I need to up it, drop a little protein and even more fat. I don't eat low fat labelled foods generally, but I don't eat a fatty diet either. Alcohol is my downfall! But I've had a lot less of that in the last fortnight (perhaps 3 bottles of wine). I don't have bad taste in food, but I'm not naturally drawn to the carbs. Perhaps I should switch them with something else. There's too much dairy really at the moment but that's my only observation.

Orphia

Height? Weight? Weekly weight loss goal?

I'm guessing your deficit is too aggressive, or you need more sleep.

You sound a lot like me, but I sleep around 2 hours more per night, and I'm not tired.

SciFish

Thanks Orphia. I'm 170cm, about 85kg, and I think I changed the goal to 1kg per week since I've only added running in the last four weeks and I thought that could realistically make the difference. It was 5x walks previously but now 3 are interval 'runs' instead. The calories were cut from 1400 target to 1200 when I changed the goal about a week ago. I think it was previously 0.5 and now 1kg, sounds right to me anyway.

I think I need a good online calculator to suss this out. I am so foggy right now that I wondered if it was low blood sugar. But it's 3.5hrs since I had a large bread roll with smoked salmon, cream cheese and salad, and I've snacked on some grapes since then. Just had coffee thinking it was tiredness, then 2 squares of chocolate incase it's blood sugar! I'm so uncharacteristically confused. My brain isn't working properly

Orphia

If you've only added the running in the past 4 weeks, you might be doing too much.

Are you doing Couch to 5K three times a week as recommended, or running further/longer three times a week?

Plus, I'd try going to bed earlier.

SciFish

Well I also reduced the calories and have been monitoring my diet much more closely in the last two weeks. Yes I'm doing an interval training program similar to C25K. I definitely don't overdo it as I really am terrible, it never gets any easier for me and I never get any better! As I said earlier, I'm only using 250 to 350 calories per session, depending which app you believe! So it's no massive workout.

I think a weekend of good sleep might be the first test. I have a teenager who wakes me up by being noisy on week days :-(

melonaulait

depome wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. The 1400 was a one-off in the fortnight. I didn't know it until I just checked my history! There's a couple at 1000 but most around 600. I'm not very into carby food to be honest, and MFP is usually telling me I need to up it, drop a little protein and even more fat. I don't eat low fat labelled foods generally, but I don't eat a fatty diet either. Alcohol is my downfall! But I've had a lot less of that in the last fortnight (perhaps 3 bottles of wine). I don't have bad taste in food, but I'm not naturally drawn to the carbs. Perhaps I should switch them with something else. There's too much dairy really at the moment but that's my only observation.

There are so many different carb sources out there, surely there's something you could enjoy! How about bananas (eat more than 1 at a time, try 3-5, and monitor your carbs on MFP), medjool dates (a handful does wonders!), potatoes (sweet or regular), white/brown rice (100g+ dry weight is a good place to start), plain old pasta/noodles, oats/barley, some other carb-y fruits, or even dried fruits..? I mean, you could easily experiment with upping your carb intake and see what it does for your exercise performance. I'm not in the best shape myself, but I have noticed since upping carbs that I don't get out of breath anymore. And ALL of my 25-year-old life so far I have gotten out of breath after just a little bit of running or stair climbing, etc.

Also, one of the many advantages of upping your carb intake is that it's CHEAP energy/calories! Fruit/dried fruit of course isn't the cheapest carb source out there, but everything else is some of the cheapest stuff you can find.

//Try switching 1-2 servings of your dairy stuff for the 3-5 bananas, for example. If you feel like you're consuming too much dairy, it might be true indeed. And from my research, dairy doesn't do much to fuel workouts. (It only gives us protein and fat, but there's a little bit of protein in bananas too!)

SciFish

Oh I do like carbs, I'm just not drawn to them. I don't dislike any of them. I'll eat a slice of cheese or piece of ham from the fridge rather than bread, for example.

I'm going to have to experiment as I can't see any obvious answer.

evivahealth

On top of what the lovely helpful people of MFP are saying, you might also like to take a look at your nutrient intake, not just your cals.

I've recently started supplementing my Iron and Vitamin D intake (Australian living in Scotland, shoot me) and it's made a huge difference. Before I could hardly get off the couch after dinner to wash my dishes and was exhausted even after days and days in a row of getting 10+ hours sleep. After a month or so of treatment I feel like a million bucks! Women in particular are susceptible to low iron levels so maybe keep an eye on how much you're getting and see a doctor if you think you aren't getting enough or potentially could have an issue there.

melonaulait

depome wrote: »

Oh I do like carbs, I'm just not drawn to them. I don't dislike any of them. I'll eat a slice of cheese or piece of ham from the fridge rather than bread, for example.

I'm going to have to experiment as I can't see any obvious answer.

That may be your answer right there - maybe when you're feeling peckish, your body isn't asking for one more slice of cheese or ham. But I'm sure you'll find out more when you experiment with that.

SciFish

I might be getting somewhere...

I dismissed the suggestion to supplement as I eat well. But apparently eating less makes that difficult to maintain, and I've eaten only 15% of the iron that I should've in the last week. My period just finished too. Did you hear my penny drop too?!

I think a few things have just coincided to make a bad recipe.

Selkie_Runner

depome wrote: »

I might be getting somewhere...

I dismissed the suggestion to supplement as I eat well. But apparently eating less makes that difficult to maintain, and I've eaten only 15% of the iron that I should've in the last week. My period just finished too. Did you hear my penny drop too?!

I think a few things have just coincided to make a bad recipe.

MFP is not an accurate way to monitor iron. Many data entries have incorrect iron listed or none at all. Before taking an Iron supplement speak to your Doctor too much Iron is dangerous

rsleighty

depome wrote: »

I've been logging my diet really well in the last fortnight, and running 3x per week since mid-Feb. I'm a terrible novice runner and am motivated mostly by acquiring some stamina. However I hope it will fast track my weight loss too. I do intervals for about 4km, and around 35 mins including warm up/cool down. I do 30 mins fairly brisk walking 2 other mornings per week.

I am ridiculously busy and over-committed, but this is normal. So I can't explain my fatigue with anything other than my running or diet. I am generally quite sedentary, struggling to get 10,000 steps in a day even. But i manage it when I do my short runs, which are interval training and usually use 250-350 kcal according to my Fitbit Charge HR. MFP has me on 1200 kcal/day target due to sedentary lifestyle otherwise and me wanting to lose weight faster. I always consume more than that as my exercise adds calories to my allowance.

In the last fortnight my calorie deficit has ranged from 400 to 1400 in a day and I'm wondering if there is a guideline about what is too much. This again is based on my Fitbit Charge HR tracking activity and heart rate. I'm not quite getting enough sleep generally, about 7h45m lately, but I am energised and happy after my morning exercise, and then hit a wall at 3pm. I am exhausted :-(

I don't think there's anything wrong with my calorie intake or exercise, but suspect there's a guideline about what is too much calorie deficit. Most of my days are -600 which seems perfectly reasonable to me, however.

I'm not sure how to fix this. My running is still terrible, but I'm determined to be able to run without stopping!!! (Rubbish lung capacity, no asthma).

Be sure you are drinking enough water. I get tired and foggy when I am even the slightest bit dehydrated.

LivingtheLeanDream

If you're tired you are most likely not eating enough and fuelling your body properly for your workouts.
Also dehydration can be a factor and can contribute.

SciFish

Oh I won't supplement, I will just eat more iron :-)
There's another issue... Far too much calcium, which inhibits iron absorption...
Pennies dropping everywhere.

SciFish

Not too much calcium - just entered it as my instead of % !!!

kirili5

How many hours of sleep do you get a night? I find that when I exercise in the mornings, I hit the wall pretty hard in the late afternoon, too. I don't really know what to do about it - I just slow down, absorb ideas slower and go a little daft. It's not the best time to be in school, but I'm a part-time student so... anyway, point being, sleep more if you can. It's the only thing I can think of that really levels things out. Caffeine is a double-edged sword and can make the problem worse - I try not to have any caffeine after lunch now, and it does help, and I try to have a non-caffeinated drink at lectures in the evenings. More water also helps with feeling refreshed. Really though, as far as I can tell, it's sleep plus reducing things that interfere with sleep.

girlwithcurls2

I read a few replies and skipped to the bottom...
You're a middle aged female with fatigue who is trying to eat "right," exercise and do everything else expected of you. I think you're burned out. Take a week to really look at your macros (get enough protein), and cut workouts to mind-clearing walks. Give yourself permission for a break. It won't derail your efforts, I promise. I know, because your post could have been written by me about a month ago

VintageFeline

For what you have to lose I think you need to be less aggressive with your calorie goal. Add to that using your already very limited intake for alcohol (which I appreciate isn't loads) then your body just isn't getting enough fuel for everything you're doing.

I always find too that a good carb heavy snack or meal the night before a big cardio session makes a world of difference.

You sound like you're just being too hard on yourself and shooting for too much too fast. This is a marathon not a sprint. Being so fatigued will also make you more susceptible to injury and slow down progress (injured or otherwise). Try switching to be more focused on your fitness goals and let yourself eat a little more. You'll lose slower but will feel about a million times better which will make it a more sustainable change.