Exhausted from Exercise?

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MJT2021
MJT2021 Posts: 9 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, I'm an 18 year old girl trying to be fitter. Ever since I started exercising( a month ago today) I have been feeling weak, fatigued, and unmotivated. I currently run 2.5 miles 3-4 times a week + with strength training ( low-medium weights, high reps each session). I eat about 1200 calories a day, with a healthy mix of fruit and veggies ( is this enough? I'm 5"3 120 pounds). It's really discouraging because I always hear about how exercise energizes people, and I have yet to feel these effects. Hopefully someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong!
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Replies

  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    You are eating way too little.
    Also are you really trying to lose more weight?
    You should consider a recomp, where you maintain weight but build muscle.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    1200 calories is probably not enough and part of the reason you feel exhausted. Are you running and lifting on the same day? If you are, then consider doing them on alternate days and giving your body some rest time. You might also consider doing less reps, higher weights on lifting days.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    1200 calories is an aggressive weight loss target for a sedentary female. It isn't enough to fuel regular exercise. Fit and healthy people eat and train, they don't crash diet and go do a bunch of exercise on top of things.

    You're at a perfectly healthy weight for your height so 1200 is way too aggressive...you probably don't even need to lose any weight, you probably just might need to work on body composition...again, crashing your diet isn't going to help in that regard.

    You've only been exercising for a week...adapting to regular exercise takes time.
  • TerrieJohnston1
    TerrieJohnston1 Posts: 2 Member
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    You need to eat more intake of food and when you done running or working out do a protein shake or drink some bcaa's to help you recover. I just started using Organifi in my shakes and I don't crash like I used too.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited July 2017
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    Are you eating back your exercise cals?

    Its doubtful you need to eat as little as 1200 cals, given your stats you should only be aiming to lose 0.5lbs per week.
  • MJT2021
    MJT2021 Posts: 9 Member
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    Hi everyone, thanks for the advice. I got 1200 from the MFP calculator, I know I'm at a healthy weight I just want to lose 3 or so pounds of fat. I definitely will up my intake though, since 1200 seems very low now.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited July 2017
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    At 120 pounds, your runs are burning ~200 calories. So on those days, your 1200 calories is already only 1000 calories. With so little left to lose, you don't have a lot of reserves to draw on, either.

    It's going to take a little experimentation to find the right numbers for you, and the margins are so tight at these low weight levels. You're basically operating inside the margin of error on calorie counts for most foods. It may be necessary to - for a short while - restrict your food choices to a small number of items whose calorie counts are very very accurate. The trick then is to make sure you aren't screwing up on the nutritional side.

    Anyway, you seem to be thinking through this in a sensible way, so best of luck!

    Cheers!
  • MJT2021
    MJT2021 Posts: 9 Member
    edited July 2017
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    @TavistockToad Yes, I forgot to mention, I eat around 1400-1500 calories on days that I exercise. 1200 is on non- activity days. The reason I eat so little is because I'm on summer vacation, so other than leaving my house to exercise, I get virtually no physical activity.

  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    MJT2021 wrote: »
    Hi everyone, thanks for the advice. I got 1200 from the MFP calculator, I know I'm at a healthy weight I just want to lose 3 or so pounds of fat. I definitely will up my intake though, since 1200 seems very low now.

    When you set the calculator, how many lbs per week did you set it for you to lose? If more than .5, it was too aggressive with so little to lose.
  • MJT2021
    MJT2021 Posts: 9 Member
    edited July 2017
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    @mmapags hmm, I see, I set the goal to lose 1 pound/week. I justreadjusted the goal, and it now gives me 1340 cals/day. I think I'll try that and see what happens. Thank you!
  • WickAndArtoo
    WickAndArtoo Posts: 773 Member
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    @MJT2021 someone else kind of mentioned it, but since you are only looking to lose a few more pounds you might actually be happier with the results from a recomp instead.

    That would be where you eat at maintenance or a very slight deficit and build muscle and minimize body fat (as opposed to a specific weight loss/a number it's more based on body fat/overall look of your body), a lot of times the look we women are going for is actually achieved through the strength workouts if we are already at a healthy weight.

    The problem with eating at a steep deficit is that you are losing muscle and fat, where as you probably only want to lose fat if 3lbs is all you have left to lose.
  • MJT2021
    MJT2021 Posts: 9 Member
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    @WickAndArtoo thank you! I'm definitely going for the "lean" as opposed to the skinny fat look I have right now. I just assumed I'd have to lose weight first, before toning up. I'm definitely going to up my intake, do a little less intensive cardio, and up my lifting and see what happens.
  • WickAndArtoo
    WickAndArtoo Posts: 773 Member
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    MJT2021 wrote: »
    @WickAndArtoo thank you! I'm definitely going for the "lean" as opposed to the skinny fat look I have right now. I just assumed I'd have to lose weight first, before toning up. I'm definitely going to up my intake, do a little less intensive cardio, and up my lifting and see what happens.

    I think you will love the results of those small adjustments. Since you are already at a healthy weight and your body needs fuel to build muscle it will be beneficial to start now. You'll definitely find that it's all easier and less tiring with the extra calories. I had the same thing happen too, I was tired and hungry so I increased my calories to the bare minimum deficit and always eat back my calories from exercising and I have seen a huge difference!

    My stats and goals are similar to yours I'm 124lbs with a goal of losing body fat/becoming more lean and strong. I'm not sure what workouts you are doing but I have been doing Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 and 30 Day Shred and they are AWESOME.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    MJT2021 wrote: »
    Hi everyone, thanks for the advice. I got 1200 from the MFP calculator, I know I'm at a healthy weight I just want to lose 3 or so pounds of fat. I definitely will up my intake though, since 1200 seems very low now.

    Seriously, just eat at maintenance and continue training. Cutting calories is not always the answer, especially if you are already at a good weight, which you are. I wish people would see this. Way too many people obsessed with dieting.

    This is very good advice. You may really like the way you look at your current weight but with a more developed muscular structure.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    I've had this exercise problem my whole life and only several months ago I got diagnosed with POTS which explained it all. It is a pretty rare condition and most likely you don't have it but if you're curious it is easy to check so you can google it.
    Saying this here because I wouldn't have lost years of my life in misery if anyone ever mentioned it to me.
  • brentleyann1
    brentleyann1 Posts: 37 Member
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    I would look to see if you have enough vitamins and set your calories to maintain and the workouts will help you firm since you are a healthy weight.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,890 Member
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    MJT2021 wrote: »
    I eat about 1200 calories a day, with a healthy mix of fruit and veggies

    Fruit and veggies ... and what else?

  • MJT2021
    MJT2021 Posts: 9 Member
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    @Machka9 in a typical day, I'll have some almond milk and cornflakes + strawberries for breakfast, a black bean burger + broccoli and a small fruit at lunch, and then zucchini pasta + green beans for dinner, and a small piece of dark chocolate (70%) for desert. I eat a mostly plant based diet.

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