Help!! Fatigue, Excercise & Blood Sugar

TheFutureMrsLewis

I am wondering if anyone has experienced fatigue after starting back with calorie reduction and exercise? I am not eating the best (as far as mostly plants, fruits, veggies) but I have been eating a LOT better for almost 2 weeks. Considering how much chocolate and chips I ate on a daily basis before. My blood sugar was also very high for quite some time because I wasn't managing (call it denial or a death wish, who knows). Either way, it is slowly coming down , lowest it's been in a while. For the last 3 days I have been very tired. I may be energized in the morning but then at least half the day I feel like I've been going going going ALL day, but I mostly sit at a desk and I get up and walk around every now and then to pass out purchase orders.

Anyway.. the bottom line..

I'm still improving my eating (way better then before and not much different then the first time I lost 30 lbs with MFP)

My blood sugar is still high but steadily improving

I am going to the gym 5-6 times a week. it wakes me up and I feel great, I take a rest day in between. I'm there 50 to 90 mins each time and usually do treadmill, bike, and weights.

Doesn't make much sense as to why I'm suddenly tired, unless my body is just so used to being fed crap and having outrageous sugar levels. Any suggestions would be great.

RelCanonical

How many calories are you taking in, and what's you're current height? Sometimes fatigue can happen for other reasons than food intake.

L1zardQueen

Did you cut back on caffeine? And are you eating back your exercise calories?

TheFutureMrsLewis

Well I went over a couple days.. around 1900 I think. But right now I'm eating around 1700. I'm 5'6.5 and the last time I was at the dr I was 271. that was a month ago.

TheFutureMrsLewis

L1zardQueen wrote: »

Did you cut back on caffeine? And are you eating back your exercise calories?

I have not cut back on caffiene. I sometimes eat back most of the calories. i'm like a puzzle smh lol

claireychn074

Could be fluctuations in blood sugar (I can get hypers from too much fruit) - check you’re eating enough protein and fats to stop the energy plummeting?

FireOpalCO

How well are you sleeping? Are you getting 8 hours? Do you wake up during the night? Does anything hurt when you wake up?

AnnPT77

Are you eating back at least some of your exercise calories? Getting enough sleep? Drinking enough water?

TheFutureMrsLewis

I am not always eating back all my exercise calories. And until a few days ago I was fine. That never phased me before (maybe its different now). I've been monitoring my water intake more closely. I will be going to the dr tomorrow about a separate issue but I'll ask about all this as well. Today has been a little better, I'm just now starting to feel a little tired and I have a little TINY headache. Ugh!!

AnnPT77

TheFutureMrsLewis wrote: »

I am not always eating back all my exercise calories. And until a few days ago I was fine. That never phased me before (maybe its different now). I've been monitoring my water intake more closely. I will be going to the dr tomorrow about a separate issue but I'll ask about all this as well. Today has been a little better, I'm just now starting to feel a little tired and I have a little TINY headache. Ugh!!

I'm not saying you're undereating, because I don't know that, and after 2 weeks it's hard to know at all.

But be careful. In response to the bolded, I'll just say that I accidentally set my calorie intake too low when I first joined MFP, and felt fine . . . until I didn't.

Yes, talk to your doctor - but be aware that their education in nutrition is fairly minimal (they have so many topics to know about!). Blood testing might be something s/he could do (for nutritional deficiencies, for example.), or you could ask for a referral to a registered dietician for expert advice on eating.

Best wishes!

bufger

Are you diabetic? What was high for you and what is it now?

When I go from 20's down to normal range this happens to me

mholl15

I swear your story is identical to mines. I've been on track for about 2 weeks and my a1c levels are no longer testing for diabetes. I'm in the gym just as often as you and I'm there for the same time frame as well. but wait a minute, that's not it, i also do those same exercises as well and have been feeling not as energetic at times.....

My solution, have a long snack list that you can eat between meals. My favorites are grapes, bananas, strawberries, hard boiled eggs, dry roasted unsalted peanuts, pecans, walnuts, raw oatmeal. The sugar in fruit is ok for not but get rid of the sugar from chocolate and chips or any bad carbs

slossia

Unless you become fat adaptive you need to up your carbs.

maureenkhilde

Are you a diabetic? Are you checking your blood sugar a few times per day? What this sounds like is you are having wild swings in your blood sugar during the day. And going from no exercise to extreme exercise will throw off your blood sugar and give you extreme fatigue. I test my blood sugar 2-3 times daily. And seen my Diabetes Dr. 4 times per year and get my AC1 and thyroid tested to see how everything is doing. For us diabetics it is important that we know what is going on. Before we try to fix it all ourselves. I also see a dietican which has been a huge help.

saragd012

I experienced this for a while, until I realized that my plan to cut calories by avoiding snacking was massively backfiring on me. I know many people do well avoiding snacks, or even doing IF but I learned quickly that I do not. I would eat a fairly large (volume) lunch and then an hour or two later (around 2:30-3pm) I felt exhausted and irritable. Now I save a portion of my lunch (today was the carrots, usually it's the fruit) and eat that in the afternoon instead. It helped so much. Maybe try adjusting your meal calories to allow for more substantial snacks and see how that goes?

kshama2001

TheFutureMrsLewis wrote: »

Well I went over a couple days.. around 1900 I think. But right now I'm eating around 1700. I'm 5'6.5 and the last time I was at the dr I was 271. that was a month ago.

You are my exact height

TheFutureMrsLewis wrote: »

L1zardQueen wrote: »

Did you cut back on caffeine? And are you eating back your exercise calories?

I have not cut back on caffiene. I sometimes eat back most of the calories. i'm like a puzzle smh lol

I can't tell what you are doing with your exercise calories. Do you always eat back at least 50%? Maybe try 75% - 100% for now and see how that goes?

And perhaps dial the exercise down a bit until you get used to it. I think you may be trying to do too much too fast right now.

TheFutureMrsLewis

Thank you all for your advice. I went to the walk In clinic today because I started having heart flutters and dizzy for about 30 seconds and then really hot. EKG showed great heart, no UTI, blood pressure literally 1 point from being perfect, and my blood sugar was 130 (it has been VERY high around 250 as my diabetes was uncontrolled for a while..all my fault of course). My mom thinks my sugars are dropping so I am setting an alarm to remember my meter so I can check more frequently.

I'm not trying to diagnose myself in that way but because of my diabetes I got worried due to all the symptoms. I'm hoping that if it's not sugar, it's just my body adjusting but now that i know my sugar is lowest it's ever been, I'm betting that's what it is. It's crazy how your body gets so used to junk and not taking care of yourself that when it changes it acts up.

Thank you so much for the advice and suggestions on what to look for. I think I will try eating back more of my exercise calories more often for a week or so to see if that helps as well.

Azdak

I would look for the simplest answer first. As I read your OP, you have significantly ramped up your workout routine. The volume of exercise you are doing is a lot for starting up. Combine that with decreasing calories and you have depleted glycogen levels. Having a metabolic disorder complicates things a little more. I suspect your biggest issue right now is that you have some residual fatigue from your increased exercise volume and your body is still adjusting. Since you have had a medical workup that hasn’t shown any acute issues, I would maybe build in a couple more rest days or shorter days for the next week or two.

jgnatca

Check your blood sugars more often, up to six times a day. I think it’s adjusting to the lower blood sugar numbers. Eat some protein and fat with every snack. Eat on a schedule.

TheFutureMrsLewis

jgnatca wrote: »

Check your blood sugars more often, up to six times a day. I think it’s adjusting to the lower blood sugar numbers. Eat some protein and fat with every snack. Eat on a schedule.

Yes I remembered my meter today so I am going to check it more. It's really frustrating because this morning it was 153 and I havent eaten anything yet, waiting 45 minutes until I get to work and check it again. Now its 180. I'll talk to my doctor because it doesn't make any sense to me

TheFutureMrsLewis

Azdak wrote: »

I would look for the simplest answer first. As I read your OP, you have significantly ramped up your workout routine. The volume of exercise you are doing is a lot for starting up. Combine that with decreasing calories and you have depleted glycogen levels. Having a metabolic disorder complicates things a little more. I suspect your biggest issue right now is that you have some residual fatigue from your increased exercise volume and your body is still adjusting. Since you have had a medical workup that hasn’t shown any acute issues, I would maybe build in a couple more rest days or shorter days for the next week or two.

I will try that thank you !

jgnatca

Look up "Dawn Phenomenon". I always had my highest numbers fasted in the morning, too.

The advice was to end the day (midnight snack) with something balanced; protein, fat and carbs.