I'm Tired..

jreeves628

For the past week or so I have been very low energy the entire day and was hoping you guys can give me some advice.

Background Info:
I have been dieting since May and have lost 26 lbs so far. I was on 1200 calories for the first 3 months and upped it to 1400 calories last month.

Recent Changes in my life:
Last week the boys went back to school and I started month 2 of Insanity (which is kicking my butt). Other than that everything is pretty much the same.

Anyone have any ideas on what can be happening? Do I need to up my calories or should I take a couple days of from Insanity? Maybe I should just force myself to take a nap during the day.. i don't know. I have been forcing myself to exercise everyday and I hate feeling this way.

I'm 5'2.5'', currently 159.4 and 34 years old

Graelwyn75

It is most likely a combination of not eating enough to fuel your workouts and working out every day. You need to have a day of rest each week to truly benefit from those workouts and allow your muscles recovery time. I had to take a week off recently due to overdoing the exercise and ended up eating too much, from the catch up effect so seriously, just have a day a week where you just do a little walking and relax.

jreeves628

I do get one day off a week. Just lately I feel so tired I feel like not working out at all.

TheRealParisLove

Your diary is locked, I was going to see if you had an obvious nutritional deficiencies. Low B vitamins, low magnesium, high simple carb consumption can all bring on fatigue. Are you eating enough fish and/or taking Omega 3's? That can also cause fatigue.

jreeves628

Your diary is locked, I was going to see if you had an obvious nutritional deficiencies. Low B vitamins, low magnesium, high simple carb consumption can all bring on fatigue. Are you eating enough fish and/or taking Omega 3's? That can also cause fatigue.

I unlocked it now. I appreciate your help. I have not been eating much fish, other than the occasional tuna sandwich.

poll09

i no i feel exactly the same alot of the time

Big_Daddy6

U need to eat ur BMR which is around 1630 calories.........for ur size. That's why ur tired........you will still loose weight as long as u don't go over about 2000 calories and u shouldnt be tired anymore.

ka97

Sorry if this sounds harsh......to get right to the point, you are eating junk and therefore not fueling your body. This is where the whole "not all calories are created equal" idea comes into play. Yes, you could lose weight by eating junkfood and staying under your calorie limit, but you are not going to feel good. Wendy's, and mcdonalds, and dunkin hines are not giving your body the nutrients that it needs to sustain your daily life, much less any kind of workout. If you want to feel good and have more energy, you need to get your calories from lean protein sources (fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, even lean cuts of red meat), whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Food that you buy and prepare yourself, and as much of it as possible from the outer edges of the grocery store. Sorry to have to say it, but if you eat crap, you will feel like crap.
You are taking a great step by committing yourself to exercise every day! Be proud of yourself for that. At the same time, take care of your body and give it the nutrients it needs.

ksavy

You would probably feel a little more energized if you ate healthier. You have fast food almost everyday. I am not saying to stop eating it completely, but maybe knock it down to 2-3x a week and have healthier food the other times.

Jacole18

If you're doing insanity, you need to up your cals. your body is trying to tell you it doesn't have enough fuel to function

TheRealParisLove

I looked at about 4 days worth of entries, and noticed a lot processed and restaurant foods. Those choices tend to be low in vitamins and nutrients and high in calories for very small portions. Try replacing some of those processed foods, especially the ones with bread or fried foods, with some more greens and fresh fruit.

You must have some pretty good will power, because I would be just starving all day long if I ate such tiny amounts of food. I have to go for low calorie/ high volume foods in order to feel full. I eat a lot of spinach because 2 cups is less than 20 calories and it fills up my plate completely.

Try this:

Breakfast: coffee with milk or cream and sweetener, 4 oz. or 1/2 cup lowfat plain yogurt, defrosted frozen strawberries (sugar free) and honey for drizzling.

Lunch: 2 cups mixed greens, 2 hard boiled eggs-sliced, vinaigrette dressing (with oil, don't use fat free, olive oil is good for you), 1/2 cup cut veggies of choice (carrots, cucumber, broccoli, tomato, cauliflower or whatever you like) 1 oz shredded cheddar cheese and croutons or a roll.

Dinner: Grilled chicken breast with marinade, baked or mashed potatoes (use beef or chicken broth instead of milk in mashed potatoes and add butter at the table. Also mash with skins on for extra vitamins and fiber), steamed veggies (fresh or frozen) and green salad with olive oil dressing.

Dessert/snack: (pick one) Dole fruit and juice bars, graham crackers with peanut butter and honey (or jelly), low fat frozen yogurt, boxed breakfast cereal with milk (use unsweetened cereals and add your own sugar), 4 cups air popped popcorn sprinkled with one tablespoon olive oil and dash of salt.

I hope you get your energy back soon. I was tired all the time when I started MFP. I had to sleep 9-10 hours a night and needed a nap in the afternoon, usually. It sucks to be that tired all the time. :frown:

_granola

I'm guessing not enough food, especially with all that cardio.

Enter your information here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator

Where it says "Daily calories based on goal in step 6," this is about how much you can likely eat every day and still lose weight. By my calculations, that is almost 2,000 calories per day.

As for food, I would definitely increase your protein intake.

2hobbit1

More than likely you are not eating enough for your size and activity levels.

Less in does not mean faster weight loss. Check out this link and see how much you can eat and still loose safely.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

jennaworksout

i Only looked a few days but it doesn't look like your eating the proper amount of fruits and vegetables, so your probably super low on iron and nutrients, I would say add some fresh fruit and veggies, and some good protein , like fish, chicken and beef ...your calories are low but not good calories ....thats just what I see , hope that might help a bit:happy:

nxd10

When I exercise I get tired. This is not a surprise, but I am still surprised how noticeable it is.

I think that's what's happening.

Your schedule has also changed. How's your sleep?

sammys1girly

I've been so tired too, with the kids going back to school and trying to fit in workouts and all the regular busy-ness of life. I've noticed that sometimes I'm just dehydrated b/c when I drink alot, I feel better.

llmcconnell

I read about a week of your entries, definitely not enough nutrients to support your excellent workouts. When do you feel tired the most? Because looking at your food diary, you sometimes only drink coffee which is not good at all, not that coffee isn't good but a good healthy breakfast is super important. How about eating a banana and yogurt, or oatmeal?
I think what would be most beneficial for you is on your off day, utilize that day to plan meals for the rest of your week. Buy and cook your fruits and veggies and meat and that way when you are short on time the rest of the week, everything is planned out and you don't have to eat out or eat junk food.

1Tim4v8

I think if your tired you should put things to a slow simmer, keep on watching the cals (maybe set them to maintain for a while) and lower the intensity of the work out, I got tired after losing 30 pounds and kept pushing myself and went way of the wagon for the past couple months and almost gained every thing back, I wish I would have just meaintaned until my body got used to it!
Also try eating more fruit and veggies, and mybe check your protene and irion, and for the hell of it check with the dr to make sure your not enimeck or somehting

Crochetluvr

I looked at your diary too...and a lot of the macros are missing. Like the fried rice....says 0 carbs. Not quite. LOTS of carbs in fried rice. Now you may not think carbs are important but if you are going over your allotment and don't realize it, it might make a difference. High carb foods make me feel very sluggish.

jreeves628

Thank you all for the input. I will try to improve my diet.

Graelwyn75

I would join what everyone else has been suggesting in a diet overhaul. Sure, keep in the occasional treat meal out, or maybe something small each day ( I manage to fit in some chocolate daily, or something similar), but try and keep the rest of your foods healthy, and remember, you really do need the vitamins and minerals for your body to function optimally. I know I feel like crap if I have a bad eating week and substitute junk for my usual vegetables, fruits, dairy, fish, sprouted bread, eggs and nuts. You might be amazed at the difference in how you feel if you work on those things and it doesn't have to mean hours in the kitchen. It takes me perhaps 10 minutes to grill or boil some fish, steam some vegetables and you only have to shove a sweet or baked potato in the oven or boil up some wholegrain rice. Check out some of the diaries here of people who eat a cleaner diet and take inspiration from them. Look on recipe sites like skinnytaste.

psuLemon

You can't eat do insanity while eating that little. Based on your stats, you should be eating at least 1900 calories. I know 5'2" 120 lb women eating 2100 calories doing that program. Up your calories, improve your quality of calories and you wil be good to go.

Leeanne1974

Hi Honey,
First of all congratulations on your weight loss!
As others have said, and I hope you don't mind me saying, your foods are not really of much nutritional value. Plus the amount of exercise you are doing on quite low cals for that amount....
I love cake but babes, you can't eat cake for your dinner lol. You can have a small amount of cake if you keep within your cals (i think) but you need to find a low calorie cake and eat that as well as your dinner.
Up your fruit and veg a lot.
I'm not perfect at all, far from it, but i eat at least 4-5 portions of fruit by 4pm. I have lots of fruit for my lunch. I get a pack of fruit from Asda (our Walmart) in mixed varieties. Today I had a 200g pot of chopped apples, strawberries and grapes and a 190g pack of melon trio. I also had a Pink Cripps apple (don't know if they do them stateside but they are the nicest apples going) for my mid morning snack and a plum for my afternoon snack.
I used to want to fall asleep at my desk by about 3pm at work, I now have so much more energy.
Try and improve your diet through natural means (rather than supplements if you can) and you really will feel a huge difference. A banana is great for improving tiredness if you like them. I have to really be in the mood though for a banana...

77tes

I was feeling the same way, and upping my protein to over 100 grams per day helped a lot.
Good Luck!:flowerforyou: