When do energy levels settle?

happensthistime
happensthistime Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started on a tdee-20% deficit a week ago before which i was eating maintenance for 3 ish months.
On maintenance i felt like walking, doing some exercise but now on deficit suddenly i feel like not walking much. I am not very hungry or unable to do ky routine work, just that extra exercise feels like a chore.
Someone said initially when you go on deficit, energy levels go down but they settle soon.
Is that true? How long can i expect my energy levels to take to settle back to normal?

Replies

  • DFW_Tom
    DFW_Tom Posts: 220 Member
    I don't have an answer for you, but consider how much the heat of summer might be what is zapping your energy levels. Then how much the lowered TDEE from reduced activity is affecting you calorie balance. Trying to get an accurate estimate of our TDEE only gets worse as we get older. I don't think my energy levels will return to normal until it cools down this Fall regardless of calorie deficit level.
  • happensthistime
    happensthistime Posts: 18 Member
    DFW_Tom wrote: »
    I don't have an answer for you, but consider how much the heat of summer might be what is zapping your energy levels. Then how much the lowered TDEE from reduced activity is affecting you calorie balance. Trying to get an accurate estimate of our TDEE only gets worse as we get older. I don't think my energy levels will return to normal until it cools down this Fall regardless of calorie deficit level.

    Thank you. I'll try to keep up my hydration and wait it out. :)
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,242 Member
    Can you pre eat the extra calories you are going to earn back via the workout?
  • herringboxes
    herringboxes Posts: 259 Member
    20% deficit might be a lot. For me, that would put me under the minimum since my TDEE is very low. Maybe try a smaller deficit?
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,309 Member
    Try RE arranging your calorie intake, especially carbs to coincide with your exercise activities which would be consuming 1 1/2 - 2 hours beforehand
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    I was also wondering if 20% was too much of a deficit for you.

    I haven’t felt like walking outside for about a month. However, I knew this was coming, and six weeks ago joined a gym so I could get air-conditioned cardio :smiley:

    Today, I had a lovely swim in a nice pond. That’s what makes this hot weather worth it for me.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,467 Member
    Your actual TDEE versus actual deficit is determined by results in terms of figuring out whether it was or wasn't what you thought. And of course results over time because results on the scale have their own issues in order to figure out your actual trend.

    If you're fatigued It could be the deficit or it could be other issues too So maybe some investigation is worthwhile

    There's some good advice about timing eating and exercise above.

    It is remarkable how many ~250 to 300Cal (based on sampling of weights) McD vanilla cones I enjoyed while moving from obese to normal weight.

    Most were consumed either right before or right after long(er) off-road walking sessions.

    If the exercise was more vigorous/intense the precise timing of before might have resulted in better optimization

    In my case, the after was usually sufficient to perk me up a bit and tide me over for a couple of hours so that I would not crash on my return home and could also prepare food and eat it without doing so at peak hunger.

    Note that the cones were in the 10% range of my average daily intake due to high TDEE because of activity+weight

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