So tired... do I have to increase my calories?

ceiswyn

I've been losing weight for over six months now (I weighed around 385 lb in September 2016, I weigh around 265 now). Initially my calorie count was very (unwisely) low (1000-1200), but since mid-February or so I've been fairly consistently on 1400-1600, and eating back about half of my exercise calories. I also take a multi-vitamin with iron a couple of times a week to make sure I don't miss anything.

Since mid-February I have also seriously increased the amount of exercise I do; as I've lost weight the ankle problem that used to limit me has improved enormously, plus I've started going to the gym. So I've gone from walking 1 km a day max to walking at least 3 km per day, plus swimming a km or so every Sunday, plus gym twice a week.

I also work full-time and am studying two academic courses part-time, but that has been fairly usual for me over the past five years or so.

And I'm tired. So tired. SO VERY TIRED. Going to bed at 8pm tired. Unable to think while at work tired. Unable to study in the evenings tired. I just want to sleep.

Is it possible that this is just because I'm doing so much more exercise and my body isn't used to it, and might subside as I become hardened to all this activity?

Or is this my body sending up a white flag and begging for more calories?

susanp57

Are you taking any rest days? I need them. Some people don't.

pinuplove

Have you had blood work done with your doctor lately? After an extended period in a calorie deficit, it's always wise to confirm that you're not deficient in anything. Barring that, I think it certainly wouldn't hurt to try eating more, doing less, or a combination of both and see how you feel. What rate are you currently losing at? You've lost a LOT of weight in a relatively short period of time, so now is probably a good time to dial it back.

janejellyroll

How much are you losing, on average, per week?

FreyasRebirth

I would guess either calories or other nutrients are too low. I would transition much closer to (or at) maintenance and see if things improve. If they don't, make an appointment with your doctor.

wcgenius

I would say that as you've upped your exercise, you may need to up calorie intake a little. You could be in too much of a deficit. Your body will try and slow you down, tiredness, to protect itself. Also - make sure you aren't actually over-doing it. All bods need some rest/down time.

mitch16

You've lost 120 pounds in about 8 months--that's nearly 4 lbs a week! You definitely should check in with a doctor (and possibly a dietician) to ensure that you're not deficient in anything important or that you haven't created a metabolic imbalance. You can probably up your calories a bit (or eat back more of your calories earned through exercise) to slow down your losses to a more sustainable (and healthy) rate.

WVWalkerFriend

I agree with blood work. Deficiencies in vitamin D and magnesium can make you tired.

missmagnoliablossom

You should really speak with a doctor about this.

Silentpadna

ceiswyn wrote: »

I've been losing weight for over six months now (I weighed around 385 lb in September 2016, I weigh around 265 now). Initially my calorie count was very (unwisely) low (1000-1200), but since mid-February or so I've been fairly consistently on 1400-1600, and eating back about half of my exercise calories. I also take a multi-vitamin with iron a couple of times a week to make sure I don't miss anything.

Since mid-February I have also seriously increased the amount of exercise I do; as I've lost weight the ankle problem that used to limit me has improved enormously, plus I've started going to the gym. So I've gone from walking 1 km a day max to walking at least 3 km per day, plus swimming a km or so every Sunday, plus gym twice a week.

I also work full-time and am studying two academic courses part-time, but that has been fairly usual for me over the past five years or so.

And I'm tired. So tired. SO VERY TIRED. Going to bed at 8pm tired. Unable to think while at work tired. Unable to study in the evenings tired. I just want to sleep.

Is it possible that this is just because I'm doing so much more exercise and my body isn't used to it, and might subside as I become hardened to all this activity?

Or is this my body sending up a white flag and begging for more calories?

Congratulations on all you've done so far - as much for the activity improvement as the weight loss.

I would caution you on taking quick advice just yet, particularly with respect to rushing to a doctor. That may be necessary, but we can't tell what your deficit is. Not without some more information. Are you on any kind of supervised diet?

I just plugged in a generic ht/wt (5'8", 35yo) and came up with a sedentary TDEE at your starting weight of just under 3000 calories per day. So your deficit was very large to start with. Subtract 100-200 or so if you are older and/or shorter.

At your current weight, using those same numbers, your TDEE would be 2350 (approx) if sedentary. But you are also quite a bit more active than you were then, so your TDEE, if calculated at light to moderate exercise would jump right back up to near 3000, meaning that you still could be at too low of a deficit. This would explain you being extra tired.

Before seeing if it's a medical problem, perhaps you should try a few weeks at eating substantially more - maybe 2000 calories, and see what happens then. You might not lose 4 pounds per week (I hope you don't), but I bet you'll feel much better.

If that doesn't work, I'd consider consulting with your doctor then.

ceiswyn

The problem with rest days is that I lose my streak in my step counter Which shouldn't be a consideration, and yet...

Sounds like the consensus is that I should probably up my calories, take a rest day, and see a doctor. The idea of eating more makes me a little twitchy, but I guess I'll just have to deal with that.

I tend to avoid doctors and other medical practitioners; too much fat-shaming in my past. I saw a nurse for a general checkup back in November, and they insisted on giving me the standard 'you're too fat, you must be unhealthy, you have to lose weight' lecture, completely talking over my attempts to explain what I was doing and ask for advice. I had another general health check in mid-February (with less fat-shaming, at least), in which everything was in the green.

ceiswyn

I'm 5'7, and my current calories should have me losing around 2 lb per week; but on checking back it seems to actually be slightly over 3. Oops. Maybe eating back 75% would be a better plan!

KcRavassa

Could be stress too, even if this has become your new normal. I know that for me stress and anxiety make me a tired lady no matter what I've done or how much I've eaten in any given day.

ceiswyn

RavassacK wrote: »

Could be stress too, even if this has become your new normal. I know that for me stress and anxiety make me a tired lady no matter what I've done or how much I've eaten in any given day.

...there are actually a couple of things that have happened recently to make life extra-stressful. I had to take one of my elderly cats to the emergency vet in the next town because she got something stuck in her larynx and could barely breathe, and also I've just received an offer of a place on a really good postgraduate course; which is my heart's desire, but does involve having to leave employment, sell my house, and live on the savings.

Um. Possibly I'm overdoing not just the weight loss, but everything.

Silentpadna

ceiswyn wrote: »

I'm 5'7, and my current calories should have me losing around 2 lb per week; but on checking back it seems to actually be slightly over 3. Oops. Maybe eating back 75% would be a better plan!

Your current calories depends on the setting you use. Remember if you use sedentary to set it up, your calorie adjustments would be bigger if you are tracking activity. (Are you doing that?) I have a hunch that even if you were eating 2000 or so, you would be at 2 lbs / week.

For me I eat back about 75% now because I was finding that I would run out of energy on my workouts if I didn't. And for me, that's just as important as the weight loss component. And I'm still at 2 lbs/wk, although I'm about to ratchet that down a little bit by eating more (reducing my weight loss rate goal).

tgcake

ceiswyn wrote: »

The problem with rest days is that I lose my streak in my step counter Which shouldn't be a consideration, and yet...

I can understand being worried about losing your streak. It's fun to have those. Maybe do 2-3 days of lighter exercise? Try doing 1km for 2-3 days a week?

ceiswyn

Silentpadna wrote: »

Your current calories depends on the setting you use. Remember if you use sedentary to set it up, your calorie adjustments would be bigger if you are tracking activity. (Are you doing that?) I have a hunch that even if you were eating 2000 or so, you would be at 2 lbs / week.

I did indeed use sedentary to set it up (because I do spend 8 hrs a day on my *kitten* in a desk job). But I add everything I do as exercise; lunchtime walk, mid-afternoon walk, any swimming or similar.

...though, having said that, I walk and swim very slowly, so instead of using the actual time I'm active for I tend to shorten it to what I think it would be if I walked at the speed of a normal person. Possibly I'm doing myself a bit of a disservice there...

fitoverfortymom

Another vote for bloodwork. I felt very similarly last February after losing 50+. Turns out I was quite vitamin D deficient. I did up my calories (from 1250 to 1300 and now 1500) and started a heavy-duty RX supplement.

Congratulations on your success so far.

kshama2001

I have crippling fatigue when my anemia is untreated - were your iron levels tested in February? Despite having been first diagnosed with anemia 30 years ago, I have to specifically request this. Whereas I have never had a problem with cholesterol and this is tested automatically.

120 pounds since September is a lot! Great job, but do slow down your rate of loss.

SafioraLinnea

Congratulations on your amazing weight loss progress!

I too have felt very tired in the last month, both physically and mentally, after losing 40lbs (20% of my body weight) in just 4 months from November to March. That's nowhere near the percentage of loss you are at, but it has been very exhausting for my body.

I got checked by my doctor recently and my blood work came back very normal in all tested areas and he was very thorough. My doctor suggested that it might be down to it simply being very hard work to lose weight and encouraged me to take it easy at closer to maintenance calories for a little while and see how I feel.

So I upped my calories to much closer to maintenance (about a 100-150 calorie a day deficit rather than 500-750 of previously) and I feel a lot better. I have much more energy and my brain is less cloudy. I haven't reduced any exercise because I enjoy it. It's been about three weeks of this.

Sometimes a self induced mini break is just what the body needs. I stayed the same weight (+/-2lbs) and now I'm back to losing again this week.

ceiswyn

I do find I'm prone to anaemia, but that's why I take a regular multivitamin with iron. I can normally spot anaemic-tiredness, if only by looking in the mirror and wondering why I look like a three-day corpse!

AnnPT77

ceiswyn wrote: »

I'm 5'7, and my current calories should have me losing around 2 lb per week; but on checking back it seems to actually be slightly over 3. Oops. Maybe eating back 75% would be a better plan!

Yes - one way or another, eat a bit more. If you're losing 3 pounds when targeting 2 pounds (which theoretically should be OK at 265), then eat about 500 more calories daily to get to 2 pounds.

After the first couple of weeks of weight loss (when there can be disproportionate loss because of less water weight and average digestive-system contents), you should always use your own personal weight loss rate as a guide, rather than the calorie target from any calculator.

Calculators give us an estimate, using a few simple variables (weight, activity-level category, age, etc.) that is based on the study-population averages from research. But individuals vary around that average. Your own weight loss rate is the best indication of your caloric needs. (However, I'd further argue that you should also use subjective perceptions of strength and energy levels to decide on the right deficit, even if the loss rate is not theoretically excessive.)

I share others' concern that fatigue could represent some nutrient deficiency (or even hypothyroidism, if you haven't been tested), and that you should get those checked out. But in the mean time, it would be a Good Plan to eat more.

BTW: I got my calorie deficit a little too steep for a while, and even though I fixed it as soon as I realized, it did take a while to get back to my normal feelings of energy and strength. You could still be paying for the extreme deficits earlier in the year.

Best wishes going forward!