When did you get 'more energy'?

jenpobble
jenpobble Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Whenever I read about people who have lost weight successfully they always seem to say they have 'so much more energy'.

This is what I want - I have accepted how I look, but I want to change how I feel. And honestly, most of the time I've been losing I just feel hungry and tired. So please tell me when the magic energy bump happened for you, to help me stay motivated!


Replies

  • cmjohnson53
    cmjohnson53 Posts: 61 Member
    Not so much a loss of pounds, but the change in my diet did it. After 20 years with pre-diabetes and diabetes, I felt horrible all the time. I went very low carb and just quit processed foods, period. The 'more energy' showed up in a couple of weeks and is still here! The pounds are coming off slowly, but thirty pounds since late March makes me happy. My garden, my house and my grandson are all benefiting.
  • angietherabbit
    angietherabbit Posts: 1 Member
    Weight loss isn't a race. Like mentioned above too large of a calorie deficit or eating unbalanced meals can leave you feeling sluggish. Changing your eating habits and getting active will help boost your energy levels. I am not so much tracking to loose weight but bulk up my muscle mass. I am at a 40 Protein 30 Carb 30 Fat. I rely on Macros more than calories, I do try to stay at my caloric goal either slightly above or below. I make it a point to hit the gym 3-4 times per week. I am also active at work which is nice. I have had more energy since cleaning up my diet. And I have cleaned it up how its manageable to me. I cut out fast food and pop, less sugar overall. Most of my sugars are natural now. This is what helped me. Id say it was probably a couple of weeks and I was noticing a difference, this can happen differently for folks. I bet part of it is in your mind too. If you want it, get it.
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    I don't know. I don't think I have more energy as such, but it's a lot more comfortable and less effort to haul my body around now so I am just naturally more active than before.
  • dviolin1982
    dviolin1982 Posts: 17 Member
    edited August 2021
    I lost like 5 pounds and was able to do 10 more minutes of cycling everyday, easily. That's when I knew I now have more energy. But these pounds are stubborn. Either that or I'm impatient, started 23 days ago.
  • sarah7591
    sarah7591 Posts: 415 Member
    Exercise is what gave me more energy. Also just eating healthy in general. Eating whole foods and limited processed foods. It's hard to start exercising but once you do it and keep at it you will want to be doing it. Hard to believe but so true.
  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
    More energy, for me, came with watching which macro ratios gave me more alertness.

    40-40-20 (where the 20 is fats) is like my brain's cheat code, for some reason 🤷🏿‍♀️ I have not dumped into why this is and I don't hit it all the time, but when I do it's generally a great, euphoric feeling of clarity.
  • Onedaywriter
    Onedaywriter Posts: 326 Member
    Hard to say exactly when it happened because it was so gradual. I started working out before I actually started watching nutrition after being a total couch potato for a long time. Of course, the first place I noticed the increase in energy was at the gym- could be from training and could be from weight loss. But I could do way more in the gym after only a few months. After maybe three or four months, people started commenting on how much better I was moving- so I know it wasn’t just a feeling but real. Even one of the coaches who rarely gives a compliment told me he noticed a great improvement in my mobility.
    But for day to day stuff- it took me about 8 months before I started to really feel free to do things I hadn’t done for quite a while. I’m older and thought my lack of energy was simply due to aging, but I was wrong. It was because I was carrying an extra person (I lost 110 pounds or so total)! Now I’m doing all the things I did 20 years ago and in some cases I’m moving better now than i was then.
    One real eye opener was after I lost 50 lbs (about 6 months in) or so, someone suggested I grab two 25 kettlebells and suitcase carry them to my car and back. Then, walk to my car and back without them. Ok- it’s not exactly the same as carrying the weight throughout your body, but the effort required was so much different!
    If you do it well and look back to things you can do after health improvements v before, I’m sure you’ll notice the difference! Keep at it- feeling good is a much better motivator than looking differently- you have an edge!!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,540 Member
    I agree with others that you should consider whether you've cut calories too far, or increased exercise too much too suddenly, or have sub-ideal nutrition. Any of those things can increase probability of "hungry and tired".

    That said, I can't recall *feeling* like I got more energy from weight loss.

    I was already very active exercise-wise while obese, had been for around a dozen years, had become the near-mythical pretty-fit fat person. I believe I did experience energy improvements along the gradual route to improved fitness, but that all happened so slowly that it wasn't super noticeable subjectively.

    I lost from just into class 1 obese (BMI 30.1 IIRC) to a healthy weight (BMI 20-point-something) in a bit less than a year, so moderately quickly. Like I said, didn't notice an energy improvement from that, though I did notice other kinds of improvements. I did have an energy *drop* when I accidentally under-ate, lost weight too fast. (MFP underestimates my calorie needs significantly, which is unusual.)

    I do think I'm behaviorally more scamper-y looking/acting as a lighter person, since it's easier and more fun to move the smaller bulk around, but I don't perceive any change in energy level subjectively.

    Others' experiences will differ, because individuals have taken different paths, have different genetics, etc.

    Please consider whether you're on a too-extreme routine right now, in terms of calorie goal, exercise schedule, nutrition, sleep quality/quantity, and all-source physical/psychological stress generally. Adjust if you can.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    ...
    Please consider whether you're on a too-extreme routine right now, in terms of calorie goal, exercise schedule, nutrition, sleep quality/quantity, and all-source physical/psychological stress generally. Adjust if you can.

    Yes, in addition to the possibility of undereating, I was thinking about sleep in particular as I read the OP. A lot of people (myself included) get up early to get our exercise in, but if we're not compensating for that by going to bed sooner it can really wear on us.

    I find I am much more energetic, but really it's the result of a lot of things clicking into place and it's hard to say if there's any one particular cause and to isolate it - I sleep better when I exercise because I'm more physically tired at the end of the day. My mind can shut off then. My digestive system isn't rebelling from too much/too rich food - I don't get "food comas" anymore. There's less of me to move around so it's easier to move around. My physical health and mental health influence each other too, but some of it is a chicken and egg question.

    I also don't shun caffeine. If there's a day I don't get it, I do kind of drag around. So there's that, too.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,640 Member
    They all beat me to it.

    Weight loss did help me move more. It’s not that I got a sudden blast of superwoman adrenalin. But the more I lost, the more I worked out, the more difficult it became to sit still, and the more I felt like grabbing my housekey and going for a walk versus watching TV or counting down the minutes (guilty!) til the next snack.

    Whenever I feel particularly low energy, as I did this weekend, it’s time to eat up a bit.

    When I eat extra, I can tell the difference at the gym the next day.

    So I’m with them. Are you cutting too hard? Doing too much? Both? It’s awful easy to do when you’re hyper focused on results.
  • Clairin
    Clairin Posts: 95 Member
    Im vegetarian and found an increase in protein boosted my energy. Recently I started taking creatine and my 3pm fog is gone, Ive more energy and my mind is clearer. I researched into my experience with creatine and apparently its due to the vegetarian diet why Ive had such a boost from creatine in terms of mental clarity. I think getting moving helps energy levels but I learned it can also be to do with your diet like it was with mine.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I had more energy immediately after changing my diet and upping exercise. At that time I was having knee issues, so "upping exercise" was simply starting with walking for 20 minutes at lunchtime, and gradually increasing that as I could, then starting to strength train at the gym.

    The change in my diet wasn't dramatic - just a little more protein, fruits, and veggies, and a little less carbs from foods made with flour.

    Like others, I am wondering if your calorie deficit is too aggressive. How much do you want to lose and what weekly weight loss goal did you select?

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  • slabrey85
    slabrey85 Posts: 151 Member
    I'm seconding checking your macro setup. I'm finding I need to add a bit more healthy fat to keep my energy stores up.
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    Eating healthy food and doing plenty of exercise is what made me feel energetic. In fact, discovering a love of exercise is what motivated me to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable fashion - so I could do more exercise.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    jenpobble wrote: »
    Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your comments.

    I think from what you have all said that my deficit is too great. It just feels easier to eat less than find time for more exercise (I do walk my dog at least an hour per day) but I think that's what I need to try to do.

    I've also made my food diary public. My settings are to lose 1kg a week (SW 120kg, current 111.7) which is less than 1%. (I'm female, 43, 168cm).

    How many miles are you getting during that hour? As I don't know your height, I used mine - 5'6". At my height and your weight, "Walking, 3.0 mph, mod. pace" = 368 calories and "Walking, 2.0 mph, slow pace" = 279 calories.

    Are you eating back your walking calories?

    Walking with my mom can be as bad as walking with some dogs - she stops a lot to look at things. (Seasonally, she sniffs as well! Right now Sweet Pepper Bush is in bloom.) So I use my pedometer. Yesterday she was out for a walk for 90 minutes but covered 2 miles. Since she has a 3 minute mile, she would enter 40 minutes for "Walking, 3.0 mph, mod. pace" in the exercise diary.
  • jenpobble
    jenpobble Posts: 10 Member
    edited August 2021
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    How many miles are you getting during that hour? As I don't know your height, I used mine - 5'6". At my height and your weight, "Walking, 3.0 mph, mod. pace" = 368 calories and "Walking, 2.0 mph, slow pace" = 279 calories.

    Are you eating back your walking calories?

    Walking with my mom can be as bad as walking with some dogs - she stops a lot to look at things. (Seasonally, she sniffs as well! Right now Sweet Pepper Bush is in bloom.) So I use my pedometer. Yesterday she was out for a walk for 90 minutes but covered 2 miles. Since she has a 3 minute mile, she would enter 40 minutes for "Walking, 3.0 mph, mod. pace" in the exercise diary.

    I'm 168cm which is about 5ft6 so your guess was perfect! The distance we cover varies a lot, sometimes there is a lot of stop & sniff, sometimes less so! I wear my apple watch so my step count is adjusted for. I don't add the time manually.
  • jenpobble
    jenpobble Posts: 10 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »

    It looks like just the last few of recent days are logged (that's not a criticism, just a statement that I don't have much recent diary there to comment on).

    In those few days, you're a little under your goals for fat and protein, but not by extremely far. (Some people find those filling; some find them important for energy.)

    It looks like your goal may have been 1700 to start on Saturday. It looks like you have a device synched. The exercise calories don't seem particularly high for the lifestyle you describe, though it's hard to tell . . . and there are some issues with the Apple calorie adjustment, for some.

    At your goal of 1700, on Saturday you logged 1388 calories (when your goal with exercise calories was 2069), Sunday 1209 (of 1860), Monday (which looks like it may be a full day, not sure since it's still Monday here; and looks like you might have increased your target loss rate or manually decreased your goal?) 1194 of 1200 with no exercise adjustment.)

    When I do an estimate at Sailrabbit (https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/), the estimates for your BMR (basal metabolic rate, the amount you'd burn in a coma, just by being alive, immobile) are around 1800. There's not a hard and fast rule not to eat below BMR, but maybe sort of a caution flag, as a sign to give it a think whether your goal is too aggressive. (Oversimplifying, the higher the total all-source physical and psychological stress in your life, the more likely that you should avoid the added physical stress of trying to lose really fast.)

    Thanks for the detailed reply. My target is 1200 according to what MFP calculated - I had put it up to 1700 manually while I was on my period (I need to eat more then or I am miserable) but then I was ill and not tracking for while and neglected to adjust it back down.

    I wear an apple watch although I am forgetful about putting it on, especially if I am around the house. I know that many people say they overestimate calories so I am cautious about eating back. So on the Saturday you describe I did an hours pilates class and walked 17k steps, which is a more active day for me. It would be half that on a desk day.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,540 Member
    jenpobble wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »

    It looks like just the last few of recent days are logged (that's not a criticism, just a statement that I don't have much recent diary there to comment on).

    In those few days, you're a little under your goals for fat and protein, but not by extremely far. (Some people find those filling; some find them important for energy.)

    It looks like your goal may have been 1700 to start on Saturday. It looks like you have a device synched. The exercise calories don't seem particularly high for the lifestyle you describe, though it's hard to tell . . . and there are some issues with the Apple calorie adjustment, for some.

    At your goal of 1700, on Saturday you logged 1388 calories (when your goal with exercise calories was 2069), Sunday 1209 (of 1860), Monday (which looks like it may be a full day, not sure since it's still Monday here; and looks like you might have increased your target loss rate or manually decreased your goal?) 1194 of 1200 with no exercise adjustment.)

    When I do an estimate at Sailrabbit (https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/), the estimates for your BMR (basal metabolic rate, the amount you'd burn in a coma, just by being alive, immobile) are around 1800. There's not a hard and fast rule not to eat below BMR, but maybe sort of a caution flag, as a sign to give it a think whether your goal is too aggressive. (Oversimplifying, the higher the total all-source physical and psychological stress in your life, the more likely that you should avoid the added physical stress of trying to lose really fast.)

    Thanks for the detailed reply. My target is 1200 according to what MFP calculated - I had put it up to 1700 manually while I was on my period (I need to eat more then or I am miserable) but then I was ill and not tracking for while and neglected to adjust it back down.

    I wear an apple watch although I am forgetful about putting it on, especially if I am around the house. I know that many people say they overestimate calories so I am cautious about eating back. So on the Saturday you describe I did an hours pilates class and walked 17k steps, which is a more active day for me. It would be half that on a desk day.

    They can overestimate . . . but they can also underestimate. The bigger deal with the Apple to MFP synch is that Apple doesn't send the data to MFP in the form MFP expects, so the results can be off. (Can be better to synch Apple to the Pacer app, and Pacer to MFP, I've been told . . . but I'm not an Apple gal.)

    That number of calories for an hour of Pilates plus 17k steps doesn't seem crazy to me, really.

    In most cases, I'd suggest that people believe their tracker until they accumulate enough personal logging experience data to disbelieve it. A good brand/model tracker is going to be reasonably close for a lot of people, a little off for a few more, and way off for a fairly rare few, IMO.

    And I don't know why everyone worries that they can overestimate calories, but no one worries they can underestimate and cause undereating . . . because they can do that, too . . . also not very common that it's by lots. (Mine underestimates by lots - same brand/model that works well for others here, reportedly. But so does MFP underestimate, for me, and by about the same amount. Both of those things are rare, and it's unsurprising that both err in the same direction by about the same amount.)

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