Feeling Worse After Losing Weight.

withwolvesteeth

I need some opinions or stories or whatever, please!

I started eating better/exercising last summer. Ate 1200 calories for a long time, am halfway through my weight goal. Saw a dietitian at the college I go to for a school project and she calculated that I needed to eat 1500 calories now. Been doing that, logging off and on, ran a 5k last weekend, and am running 3x a week now because I want this subcutaneous fat GONE!

My problem is that despite the fact that I am halfway to my goal weight, I am feeling WORSE. I am tired 24/7, my anxiety/depression problems that disappeared are back (and intense/worse), low to non-existent libido, I'm having a hard time focusing on my studies (when I read, I can't focus on words and my eyes are jumping all over the place), and I just feel like crap about myself. I haven't weighed myself since my visit to the dietitian a couple of months ago. I don't log on here every day, but since starting I have a very good general idea of what to eat and what not to eat. It's really bumming me out that I'm not "feeling better" like everyone said I would. I feel sluggish, depressed, and like a pile of crap all the time. I am in counseling doing CBT and don't take antidepressants.

Should I be seeing my doctor? (I do have health insurance so I can.) Or is this normal to feel this way halfway through your goal? Any help is appreciated! (I know you guys aren't medical professionals, but I am concerned that despite my 25 lb weight loss, I am feeling the opposite of what science/medicine/common knowledge says I should be feeling.)

ninerbuff

I need some opinions or stories or whatever, please!

I started eating better/exercising last summer. Ate 1200 calories for a long time, am halfway through my weight goal. Saw a dietitian at the college I go to for a school project and she calculated that I needed to eat 1500 calories now. Been doing that, logging off and on, ran a 5k last weekend, and am running 3x a week now because I want this subcutaneous fat GONE!

My problem is that despite the fact that I am halfway to my goal weight, I am feeling WORSE. I am tired 24/7, my anxiety/depression problems that disappeared are back (and intense/worse), low to non-existent libido, I'm having a hard time focusing on my studies (when I read, I can't focus on words and my eyes are jumping all over the place), and I just feel like crap about myself. I haven't weighed myself since my visit to the dietitian a couple of months ago. I don't log on here every day, but since starting I have a very good general idea of what to eat and what not to eat. It's really bumming me out that I'm not "feeling better" like everyone said I would. I feel sluggish, depressed, and like a pile of crap all the time. I am in counseling doing CBT and don't take antidepressants.

Should I be seeing my doctor? (I do have health insurance so I can.) Or is this normal to feel this way halfway through your goal? Any help is appreciated! (I know you guys aren't medical professionals, but I am concerned that despite my 25 lb weight loss, I am feeling the opposite of what science/medicine/common knowledge says I should be feeling.)

Are you low carbing?

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ericarae33

Interested to hear, as this past week I am feeling sluggish and not so hot....I've been wondering the same thing...I've been working out for 6 weeks and feeling great the whole time, until this week!

mjf0461

Nothing about the way your feeling is a norm. Set an appointment girl and see your physcian. You should be climbing the walls and full of energy at your age and loss of weight. Sounds like hormonal or thyroid issue might be showing it's head in your life..Good Luck

kobiemom

The symptoms you mention could be due to low thyroid, anemia and any number of other fixable problems. See the doctor and put your mind to rest, if nothing else.

Pifflesmom

I'm NO doctor, but yes - I'd go and see someone, even if it just to put your mind at rest. You have a lot of the symptoms of chronic fatigue (which I'm familiar with)...I'm certainly not saying that's what it is, but best to have it checked out!

Best of luck :flowerforyou:

original_cake_face

Normally, when you have to ask someone "should I see a doctor?" it means that you should.

jadedone

Some of those symptoms sounds like hypothyroid ones too.

How are your vitamins? Do you get enough iron, vitamin D and b vitamins? Try taking a multivitamin and supplementing extra D and iron to see if your energy improves. And go to the doctor to have some blood tests!

sschmidt928

Any time you're having the kinds of issues you've described, no matter what, you need to see your doctor and figure out the root cause. I am not a doc, so I won't even speculate on possibilities, but please do see one.
And also... props to you for not only choosing to be healthier but also listening to your body and trusting yourself to know when there's a problem. Lots of luck to you. Let us know how you're doing!

heartflood

The same thing happened to me, to be honest. I lost 72 pounds over about a year and a half, and the more I lost, the worse I felt. It finally got to the point where I couldn't get out of bed in the morning. I always ached, felt hit by a truck, felt like I never recovered from any of my workouts... I started seeing doctor after doctor, a few who were sure I had lupus that they thought was triggered by the weight loss, a lot of deaths in my family in a small time period, and my gallbladder removal (I developed stones due to the weight loss). In the end, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I've talked to a few people who have been diagnosed with fibro after losing a lot of weight, but I don't know if there's really any connection or not.

Let me know what you find out - feel free to friend me. I'd love to get to the bottom of this!

Chubbyhulagirl

When I was eating too little I felt similar. I upped my intake by a 100-200 cals per day and it really helps. Try increasing your cals more, especially if you are burning alot. Drink as much water as you can. I always feel better after drinking more water. If this doesnt start making you feel better, you should get a second opinion from another doctor and ease up on your workouts in the meantime. Good luck hon!

frosty73

See a doc! They can at least check for some problems.

My *guess* is that you aren't eating enough to make up for your exercise. Last week I went down from 1300 cal/day to 1200 calories/day, and I started feeling really, really crappy. Like what you are describing. You could try increasing your calories and see if that helps.

susannamarie

I concur. See the doctor if you can.

jenniejengin

bump

Orangecupcake

Are you getting enough of all of your iron and protein? Maybe you need to eat more than 1500 lbs. Can you open your diary so we can see?

withwolvesteeth

No. If anything, I've been making sure I meet my daily goals. I read in my nutrition book that people who get serious about running should have a high carbohydrate diet. I haven't been splurging, but making sure I meet the goals. I love running!

Krissy366

Absolutely see your doctor. Good luck!

Skyflier83

I think you should see a doctor to make sure there's nothing serious going on but could you be anaemic? When I had low iron levels I was sluggish, tired and generally struggled with everything.

Lost_Mermaid

Maybe you're not eating enough. I'm not at all an expert, just trying to figure out the 'not eating enough thing' myself, but I think I know what you're talking about because i've felt the same way. Every time I try to stay at 1200 I feel extremely irritated and depressed, and can't even keep up with my normal activities, nevermind exercise.

Shannota

Definitely see a doctor, and it may be a good thing to have him/her refer you to a therapist if there doesn't seem to be a physical problem. Don't give up on yourself! Good luck

Kailel

I would definitely see your doctor about it if you can afford it (but if you're doing CBT, that should be fine, because antidepressant side effects can make the worse even worse >.>), just because you have depression/anxiety and you don't want to futz around with those without professional input. Personally, my mood has raised significantly since I started being healthier, but I do physically feel like crap all the time... which I'll take over the soul-crushing depression any day.

I know that feeling like a failure is a cycle that feels impossible to get out of, but you've got to focus on the facts that you've lost 25lbs (woo!) and are running 5k's (I dream of this someday) and less about the ****ty parts. (which is totally easy for me to say because I'm not feeling the depression this second, I realise how not-easy that is to do when you're actually feeling terrible).

If it were me, not a doctor, I'd be trying to get more sleep. Focus problems, for me, come from not sleeping and being dehydrated... and anxiety is a great way to lose sleep, I know. The good (bad?) news is that everything you're listing is depression and its side effects, so all of it is probably completely unrelated to your exercise/getting healthy and more likely due to stress, from studies or getting healthy.

If you need a break, take one. Unless you're obese (which I doubt you are from your DP), your mental health is a little more serious than your physical health at this exact moment. I think, anyway. Hope my non-committal ramblings helped somewhat, and that you start to feel better soon!