Always so tired

sabified

I agree with those saying to get blood tests done to make sure it's not an imbalance somewhere.

I would like to add- check your carb levels. Even if you dont' generally go over what MFP suggests you have, you may have glutin intolerance. I used to feel very similiarly then tried going "low carb" just to see how it was... didn't see much of a difference in weight loss, but HOLY COW there was a HUGE difference in my energy levels. I didn't even know the extent of how crappy I felt until I realized how great I could feel.
I still eat carbs, just limit how much and what they're coming from. Fruits and veggies don't make a difference, but I don't have anywhere near the same amount of bread, rice or pasta as I used to and always go for a wrap or choose whole wheat if available.

_namaste_

You say you are eating 1200 calories net but I just browsed the past week in your diary and didn't see you netting 1200. Most days you were under 1000. No wonder you're tired...

First of all, you likely need a good bit more than 1200 calories to survive on and eating more will help you to lose more. When I NET 1650 cals at 5'6 and 123lbs and lose 1lb a week or more. Yep, that's right.

When you eat too little you slow everything down and unnecessarily make life a living hell for yourself.

Eat more food which will give you more energy to live, work out, be happy. I also noticed you are eating a lot of bars, shakes, etc. If you can get more whole foods in there - fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc. that would be even better. Higher protein really helps me as well when it comes to energy and feeling full and satisfied.

zevizardofoz

If you had those kind of problem before, it should be medical, check as explain above. and make sure it's not sleep apnea. If not, 1200 could be too low for you. Try multivitamins and increase a little your cal intakes. Avoid raffined sugars, prefer unrefined carbs. Too little calories and you could be tired all the time. I lost some weight eating a little more than 1200, 1400 for exemple.

bransko1982

I have the same problem, I'm ALWAYS tired (starting to think I have a disorder or something) Anyways, I've been taking some st. johns wort, Vitamin D, and B5 (or a B50 complex) to try and get my energy up (also a more natural anti-depressant avenue), but it doesn't really seem to to work all that well for me, but it might for you. I also take caffeine pills and ephedrine before my workouts to get the jump start I need in order to do a workout. (its a cheap way to make a thermogenic)
Ask your doc about dosage on the vitamins and supplements to suit you if you go that route.

ldrosophila

Just going to say this because it happened to me and I see a wedding picture. Could you be pregnant?

SirBonerFart

eat more food

Shawshankcan

I've just made my diary public so you all can get a better idea of what I am eating. To those of you who are saying to stop thinking about it and just do it or push though it please don't take this the wrong way but it isn't really a helpful suggestion. I don't actually think about it all the time or anything. I was just sitting here at my desk job and realized that I am just always really tired and wondered if any of you guys had any suggestions on how to kick up my energy so I can get things done that need to be. I always do my cardio no matter how tired I am so I always push through it, but the house work is suffering to say the least not mention that I would like to be able to spend time with my husband without falling to sleep 2 minutes into our conversation because I am always tired.

It is an internet forum, I don't take things personally here. Like I said, I went through what you did. I am telling you what worked for me. In the end, I was just making excuses. I had to stop making excuses for my inaction. I am still tired, but I function and I am getting where I want to be.

KatLifter

You say you are eating 1200 calories net but I just browsed the past week in your diary and didn't see you netting 1200. Most days you were under 1000. No wonder you're tired...

First of all, you likely need a good bit more than 1200 calories to survive on and eating more will help you to lose more. When I NET 1650 cals at 5'6 and 123lbs and lose 1lb a week or more. Yep, that's right.

When you eat too little you slow everything down and unnecessarily make life a living hell for yourself.

Eat more food which will give you more energy to live, work out, be happy. I also noticed you are eating a lot of bars, shakes, etc. If you can get more whole foods in there - fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc. that would be even better. Higher protein really helps me as well when it comes to energy and feeling full and satisfied.

^^ This
You can change your ratios of protein/carbs/fat. Proteins and fats keep you fuller longer than carbs. Especially if you are doing some weight training I would recommend more protein.

notnikkisixx

For me personally, I find myself the most tired during the work week (where I am at a desk 8-9 hours a day!) I've found that healthy snacks between meals helps stave off some of that exhaustion. Also, looking at your diary it doesn't seem like you are eating a lot of good foods, even though you're staying on track calorie-wise. I would suggest re-evaluating your food choices, try to add in more fruits and vegetables, and fewer bready carbs.

I also saw that someone suggested upping your calories, which I agree with. I did 1200 for 5 months and it was tiring. I find that I have better energy around 1400.

sirius951

Too long between meals? Maybe a little snack? Also no idea how reliable this is but a herbalist once told me that most people who come to him with lack of energy expect some fancy concoction but usually just need iron.:bigsmile: x

ashowers36

You say you are eating 1200 calories net but I just browsed the past week in your diary and didn't see you netting 1200. Most days you were under 1000. No wonder you're tired...

First of all, you likely need a good bit more than 1200 calories to survive on and eating more will help you to lose more. When I NET 1650 cals at 5'6 and 123lbs and lose 1lb a week or more. Yep, that's right.

When you eat too little you slow everything down and unnecessarily make life a living hell for yourself.

Eat more food which will give you more energy to live, work out, be happy. I also noticed you are eating a lot of bars, shakes, etc. If you can get more whole foods in there - fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc. that would be even better. Higher protein really helps me as well when it comes to energy and feeling full and satisfied.

Please look closer at what I said. I said I used to not eat back my exercise calories until i recently learned that I should be. To be specific I just learned that I should be last Wednesday so not even a full week ago. If you look from then till today you can see I have tried very hard to stay very close to my net of 1200 (although i didn't do a good job of tracking my food this weekend so don't look at those days lol )

Kettle_Belle14

Someone mentioned this earlier, but I can relate with a Vitamin D deficiency. I didn't even know I had it, until I got bloodwork taken at my annual physical. Do you take a multivitamin? It helped me ALOT, and now my Vitamin D level is back to what it should be, and I'm no longer tired all the time.

ashowers36

Just going to say this because it happened to me and I see a wedding picture. Could you be pregnant?

Nope. I am making sure of that

deksgrl

I've just made my diary public so you all can get a better idea of what I am eating. To those of you who are saying to stop thinking about it and just do it or push though it please don't take this the wrong way but it isn't really a helpful suggestion. I don't actually think about it all the time or anything. I was just sitting here at my desk job and realized that I am just always really tired and wondered if any of you guys had any suggestions on how to kick up my energy so I can get things done that need to be. I always do my cardio no matter how tired I am so I always push through it, but the house work is suffering to say the least not mention that I would like to be able to spend time with my husband without falling to sleep 2 minutes into our conversation because I am always tired.

How long were you eating at 1200? You may have caused adrenal fatigue if you ate that low for a long time, fatigue is one symptom of that.

There could be other medical reasons for your fatigue, but in the meantime while you are waiting on a doctor's appointment, is to figure out your TDEE (maintenance calories) and eat closer to that number for a few weeks.

ashowers36

No hard feelings. I just wanted you to know I wasn't making excuses. I know what you mean though. It is so easy to do that and then WHAM before you know it it has become like a second nature or a crutch to be able to talk yourself out of doing something because you can rationalize to yourself why can't or shouldn't do it.

maybeazure

Go to the doctor, and if he or she doesn't have an answer, go to another doctor. I don't think it's normal for a 29-year-old to be so tired. There are tons of things that can cause it from depression to sleep apnea to thyroid problems.

tinak33

I was wondering if anyone could give me suggestions on how to keep energized through out the day. Even if I go to bed early (usually 9 or 9:30 is early) I still wake up (at 7 in the morning) feeling just plain tired. Then at 3 in the afternoon my energy level crashes (and I work till 5). I usually have to give myself like 10 to 15 minutes of rest (not sleeping or napping, just lying down in a quiet room) before I can recover enough energy to get on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes. Then after that I am still so tired, which really sucks because I never can get any weight training done, that after I take a shower I don't have the energy or will power to do anything but go to bed. But if I go to bed at 7:00 then I will be awake at like 3 in the morning which is not good. Can anyone give me some suggestions on what I can do to keep my energy level up throughout the day? Don't want to do caffeine as it cause my anxiety to flare up.

Regardless of your calorie intake, I think you should talk to your doctor and get your blood tested.
You might just be anemic.

That happened to me. I was exhausted all the time. It didn't matter if I got 6 hours of sleep or 14 hours of sleep. It was a struggle every day, every hour to stay awake and work. And I drank massive amounts of soda, coffee, and gatorade to stay awake. My iron levels dropped so low I shouldn't have been functioning at all. It actually got to the point where I couldn't drive. I was falling asleep behind the wheel.

It can't hurt to get it checked just in case. Talk to your doctor, see if you can get a full blood workup and see if the results say anything. If everything comes back normal, you can at least check that off your list and go from there. If it doesn't, and something is wrong, you might be catching it early before any damage is done.

Sedna_51

Going to back up the general advice here to get a physical. There are a lot of easily fixable things that could be affecting your energy level. (I, for example, have iron deficiency anemia; if I don't take my iron pills, I end up feeling like I've been run over by a truck regardless of resting/eating/sleeping, particularly during that time of month when the Communists invade.)

Increasing your calories slightly may also be an answer. Do you find yourself craving a particular food type? I know when I'm anemic I want to eat nothing but protein all day every day.

laserturkey

What you're describing sounds like a medical issue to me. I felt that way when I was anemic. I recommend seeing your doctor for blood tests to check for nutritional deficiencies or thyroid problems.

ashowers36

For me personally, I find myself the most tired during the work week (where I am at a desk 8-9 hours a day!) I've found that healthy snacks between meals helps stave off some of that exhaustion. Also, looking at your diary it doesn't seem like you are eating a lot of good foods, even though you're staying on track calorie-wise. I would suggest re-evaluating your food choices, try to add in more fruits and vegetables, and fewer bready carbs.

I also saw that someone suggested upping your calories, which I agree with. I did 1200 for 5 months and it was tiring. I find that I have better energy around 1400.

Same here. The work week is the worst for me, I also have an 8 hr a day desk job). I have cut way back on the bready carbs compared to what I used to eat. I try to eat fruit as often as I can and as for vegatables...well I am open to suggestions as to what I can do to get them choked down. Most of the ones I can tolerate are always raw (really don't like most vegetables cooked...or at all due to the texture or their bitterness). Even the ones I can tolerate I can only do say 2 or 3 carrot slices before my gag reflex kicks in and I feel sick. I've even tried smothering them in dips and dressings which still doesn't do the trick.