Tired every day but getting decent sleep?

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MeganReid1991
MeganReid1991 Posts: 170 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I’ve been on my weight loss journey sense June. I’ve lost 21 pounds. I’m recently trying to amp up my weight loss and lose another 20 pounds. I’ve been eating healthier and really trying to get at least 8 hours of sleep.
I am seriously exhausted everyday.. I feel like my head is in a fog and I’m needing three cups of coffee a day just to get though. I know that coffee is not the answer because it’s only making the problem worse.
Im wondering if maybe I’m lacking certain vitamins, or not enough calories..
Anyone else experience something similar and found a solution
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Replies

  • meisia316
    meisia316 Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi there! It might be hormonal - I just started taking estrogen supplements and it has increased my quality of sleep significantly. I'm sleeping like a baby now. It could be melatonin or something else as well - worth a shot! Good luck
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    How many calories are you eating? Are you eating exercise calories? Have you taken a diet break since you started?
  • ajwcyclist2016
    ajwcyclist2016 Posts: 161 Member
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    My guess is under nutrioned also could be short of certain minerals like iron.
  • MeganReid1991
    MeganReid1991 Posts: 170 Member
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    I took a diet break in oct for about a month.
    I currently eat anywhere from 1200-1400 calories a day. I have been staying closer to 1200 because I was really trying to amp up my weight loss.
    I only work out twice a week and I don’t eat those back.
    I really don’t want to take a break because I just took one in oct.. and I haven’t lost a lot sense oct.
    I will book a appointment with my doctor.
  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
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    Is this way different from your baseline energy level??
  • MeganReid1991
    MeganReid1991 Posts: 170 Member
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    Yes, while it’s normal that I may have 1 or 2 days out of the week I feel tired or sluggish it’s definitely not normal for me to feel this tired every day of the week. Or to this extreme.
    Most weeks I only have 1 cup of coffee in the morning and occasionally a cup in the afternoon but never do I feel like I need 3 or 4 cups just to get though the day
  • MeganReid1991
    MeganReid1991 Posts: 170 Member
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    I don’t feel like my calories are super low.. and I’m finding it incredibly hard to work out. I can barely just do my job as a mom currently like this
  • melissafeagins
    melissafeagins Posts: 1,421 Member
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    Been there. Done that. I drink the coffee because I like it, but everything else was me until my autoimmune disease was diagnosed and controlled. (Although symptoms have been returning and we are looking for an additional disease.)

    Definitely do see your doctor. Add iron to your diet or take an OTC supplement with a glass of orange juice. Vitamin C helps the iron absorb. Replace the morning coffee with this and don't seat the calories. If iron is the problem, this is the fastest solution.
  • swatson99
    swatson99 Posts: 53 Member
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    While you're at the Dr ask them to check your thyroid levels. I was tired all the time because my TSH was high meaning my thyroid wasnt producing enough hormone. I'm still tired now on medication but it's better than it was previously. I used to literally be like narcoleptic.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,902 Member
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    MeganReid1991 wrote: »
    Yes, while it’s normal that I may have 1 or 2 days out of the week I feel tired or sluggish it’s definitely not normal for me to feel this tired every day of the week. Or to this extreme.
    Most weeks I only have 1 cup of coffee in the morning and occasionally a cup in the afternoon but never do I feel like I need 3 or 4 cups just to get though the day

    Sounds like me when my iron levels get too low and I slip into anemia. Glad you are going to the doctor. Specifically ask that your iron be tested.
    MeganReid1991 wrote: »
    I don’t feel like my calories are super low.. and I’m finding it incredibly hard to work out. I can barely just do my job as a mom currently like this

    Since 1200 calories isn't enough for most women, do eat more while you get this sorted with your doctor. With only 20 pounds to lose, set your weekly weight loss goal for a half pound per week.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
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    Good that you're making an appointment to see your primary care provider. +1 on the suggestion that you specifically ask your provider to run a lab test for anemia. I only figured out after discovering a bleeding ulcer that the tiredness I had been experiencing for months was due to anemia. And outside of feeling tired (which I chalked up to aging issues) I had no symptoms. Also, as others have said, your deficit may be too steep.
  • MeganReid1991
    MeganReid1991 Posts: 170 Member
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    Today was the last day of my monthly cycle could that be making it worse if my iron is low?
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    Depending on your stats, 1200 is likely too low for you. It is generally an appropriate calorie goal for short, sedentary, and/or older women, especially if they don’t have much weight to lose.

    In addition, you’re using MFP incorrectly if you do not eat back any exercise calories. If you only eat 1200 but burn 300 in exercise, then you’ve only taken in net 900 calories that day.

    If you only have 20 pounds to lose, set MFP for a pound per week or even a half pound per week loss, and start eating at least half your exercise calories back.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,979 Member
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    MeganReid1991 wrote: »
    Today was the last day of my monthly cycle could that be making it worse if my iron is low?

    You don't lose iron for use in the rest of your body when you shed your uterine lining of blood; you lose iron for use in the rest of your body while you are building up the uterine lining in the weeks before your period.

    I'm joining the calls for seeing your doctor and eating a couple hundred more calories a day in the meantime. Wouldn't it be ironic to have a car accident or take a spill down the stairs because your brain was in a fog because you were trying to eat "healthy"?

    Also, did you change anything else when you cut your calories more, like going low carb? Some people reportedly experience a "fog-like" feeling in the first couple of weeks of cutting carbs.

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