Been very sleepy... food help?

So, my friend is very into weight loss and is graduating with his biochem major this semester. He said if I want to lose weight, I should have about 1200 calories a day.

When I first heard this, I thought it was just calories before exercise, not the net calories.

Now that I know it's net calories, I don't know if I can eat that much food! My stomach is officially shrunk and I'm just plain not hungry. I've been losing weight pretty quickly this week, but now I've been really tired the past couple of days.

I'm a little confused. I don't want to add another 1000 calories to my diet. What are some opinions/advice on this?

Replies

  • kendrart
    kendrart Posts: 49 Member
    How's your iron intake? That's a common problem for energy issues. Veggies that are dark, leafy, and green will give you an iron & energy boost. Think kale, spinach, broccoli, etc, etc.
  • Tink_889
    Tink_889 Posts: 244 Member
    I don't know if I am being thick here but are you only eating 200 calories?

    If you are, it's no wonder you're tired because you'll need the food to fuel your body.

    As said above, definitely good idea to check iron levels as well :) I'm aneamic and get a really horrible tiredness with it.

    x
  • skinnylion
    skinnylion Posts: 213
    You definitely aren't eating enough. Calculate your BMR and eat however many calories that is, maybe a little more. Then if you exercise, eat those calories too. Try to eat a diet balanced with protein and fat (the protein is important).
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
    I don't know if I am being thick here but are you only eating 200 calories?

    If you are, it's no wonder you're tired because you'll need the food to fuel your body.

    As said above, definitely good idea to check iron levels as well :) I'm aneamic and get a really horrible tiredness with it.

    x

    I agree with this poster.. the way you worded your post leads me to believe you are only eating 200 calories per day... Or you are are eating 1200 and working off 1000 calories, netting 200.

    Either way, your sluggishness could easily be from you not eating enough and not making the right choices. When I switched to eating lots of lean proteins and veggies/fruits vs. a ton of carbs each day and sugars.. I saw a huge difference in my energy levels!
  • Hannalore13
    Hannalore13 Posts: 24 Member
    I'm eating about 1200 a day, and working off a lot. I am trying to take a rest on the exercise, but i had horseback riding today and went for a long walk so... that didn't work out haha.

    I've never had a problem with my iron before, but I've also never changed my died so drastically. I think I'll add some more broccoli and see how that goes! Thanks!
  • 75Juniper
    75Juniper Posts: 376
    In addition to eating enough, make sure you are adequately hydrated. That can zap your energy, too.
  • aniwani
    aniwani Posts: 110
    You don't have to eat back your cals... if you plateau just bump them up ... but 1200 is fine for a while just adjust and change it as you go to fit your life style... you'll have good days and bad everyone's really different so see what works and go with that.
  • aniwani
    aniwani Posts: 110
    Also be sure you are actually burning 1000 cals when you exercise... Often times this website drastically over calculates what you are burning... you would be absolutely killing yourself for hours to burn that many cals in one sesh...
  • Hannalore13
    Hannalore13 Posts: 24 Member
    Yeah, i burn about 800 a day sometimes. I take the website's calculations with a grain of salt.

    But, I just checked my iron intake with my food journal, and I've hardly taken in any! I definitely should hop on that!