Why do I feel so sick?

mermer45

Hi Folks,

For the last 46 days I overhauled my life. I am eating well and getting lots of exercise compared to the 5,000 calorie a day coach hog I was before. I'm averaging 1.75 pounds lost a week.

This is a good thing.

Why then do i feel so sick. Migraine have been coming more and more. I find I have no energy by mid morning, random stomach aches and irritable to the point of not wanting to speak to anyone at least twice a week. This has been going on maybe 3 weeks now and peaking today.

I'm under roughly the same amount of stress as always. What the heck is going on with me? I'm miserable

Megan

It sounds to me that you are over doing it. To lose 1lb you roughly need to expend more 3000 calories then you digest. You are therefore averaging a deficit of 4500 calories per week. it's no wonder you don't have any energy. Plus if your body starts to break down it affects your chemistry, hence the headaches . Go slow and steady and see if it helps.

goldfinger88

I can't answer from a medical point of view. So, if you have a health issue, you need a doctor. But in looking at the last two days of your food log, it appears the quality of your food is very poor. You are not eating enough meat. You need lots of green leafy veggies. Less carbs. I suggest you check out The Smarter Science of Slim website and podcasts. They also have a book.

The important thing is not the amount of calories you eat but the quality of the calories you eat. Cutting calories can indeed make you ill.

PayneAS

OK, so after taking a closer look at your diary, and reading a few of your responses, here goes:

Over the last 2 weeks, you have consistently been below your net calorie goal. In fact, you averaged 176.5 calories below your goal. This is on top of your calorie deficit that MFP already has built in. At the end of the day, your "Calories Remaining" should be zero or close to it.

The last 2 weeks, your net average was 1393 calories per day. Do you know what your BMR is?

Also, you tend to WAY overeat sodium. I saw 6 days out of 14 that were over 3000 mg and one day that is almost 6000! Considering that you say you know you don't drink enough, this is a problem. If you are going to eat that much sodium, you need to be drinking gallons!

So, my "diagnosis" is you are dehydrated and probably need to eat a little more. It may be a possibility that your blood pressure might be up a little too. Spend the next few days really concentrating on drinking lots of water and eating more and see if you don't feel better.

I have to agree with this guy. When I saw your sodium intake I nearly had a heart attack. Make sure the "whole grain bread" you are eating has a main ingredient of "Stone ground whole wheat" not enriched white flour or something like that they try to sneak past you. That much salt in your diet indicates that the foods you are eating are highly processed.

I also agree that I don't think you are eating enough. Plug your numbers into http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and see how much you should be eating. You'll be happier and feeling better.

likemeinvisible

Check your blood pressure, it may be too low because you cut the sodium and coffee.

marycmeadows

You went from 5000 calories to 1200 or less calories net a day.. this is why your tired, out of energy, cranky, stomach aches.. your body doesn't have enough energy.. if I don't eat I get stomach aches as well.. I would suggest running your numbers in one of the many calculators out there and get an idea of what you should be eating for your weight/age/height/activity level.. MFP defaults to 1200 calories when you estimate pretty high for your items.

this.

fitwithin

I would definitely schedule a doctor's appointment and have your bloodwork done just to be on the safe side. When I first started dieting, I had no energy and they found out I was very low in Vitamin D (-12) and had me take Vitamin D tablets twice a week . That helped so much. Also, I had stomach pains and felt horrible when I tried Stevia sweetner. Most people can use it, but I had a very bad reaction to it. Hope you find what the problem is. Don't wait too long. Better safe than sorry.

shortnerdy

Wow there are so many different opinions! I am feeling very overwalmed.

Only 2 days ago did I realize my sodium was out of control I wasn't tracking it and have made adjustments sense. I actually discovered this after reading a thread about someone else s issues with sodium.

Someone said I wasn't drinking enough water however I think I mentioned earlier I never track it. I do however have one of those huge keg mugs that holds like 4 glasses of water and down 2-3 of those a day in addition to a cup of green tea. I don't think I can drink anymore because as it is I am having to use the washroom nearly once an hour if not more.

I think I'm going to have to do more research online as well as speak to my doc. There is such a range of opinions here I think I don't have a choice at this point.

shortnerdy

Sorry I am terrible

Thanks everyone for your opinions and taking time to suggest stuff means alot to me

emilymnyc

Just went through the last 3 days of your diary, and there's an awful lot of sodium and sugar in your diet. I always feel like crap when I have too much sugar.
Might want to just make sure you don't have celiac as well, since I notice a fair amount of bread products in your diet too. I have a mild form of it so the more gluten free I eat the happier I am.

Best of luck to you---ironically I'm going to Guelph tonight, my husband grew up there!

shortnerdy

I made an appt with Dr Sophie for Wednesday. We will see what happens will update here once I get some answer though I'm sure blood work will be needed. Maybe there's some specific vitamin I am lacking or maybe even the stress is worse than I thought.

I am feeling ok today. But it's only morning and the ickyness doesn't usually hit till the afternoon.

@Emily That's crazy! have fun out here. Beautiful city.

asticoral

You're not terrible, LOL
but your choices could be far better.....

Stop taking the vitamin daily, go for every other day
Stop at the veggie section of your store fresh or frozen buy GREEN things, broccoli, spinach, zucchini
Wander past the fruit section, let things fall into the cart; grapefruit, bananas, avocado
Run past bread/pasta/rice isle to meat section (can be recorded as exercise)
Buy simple meats, pork shoulder cuts, chicken breast or thigh
Buy mrs. dash seasoning and use it to replace any salt you are adding AT the table

After a week or so you might add whole wheat pasta back into the diet, but hamburger helper is pure junk
before you buy anything READ the ingredients ~ if you can't pronounce them all, dont eat them

Please feel free to check out any posters diary if they are open and see the differences

shortnerdy

The hamburger helper was a one off. If you go through my diary I have only had it ONCE in the 47 days I have been on this. We had a coupon for 4 bucks off ground beef with the purch of Hamburger helper and considering we are on a budget would not let it go to waste.

I need to leave this thread for a bit as I am feeling way overwhelmed. Again while I appreciate EVERYONES input I really do. It seems like everyone has a different opinion of what to eat and what not to eat.

I am now leaving this in the hands of my Doc. I may or may not update this thread with the results at this point.

Thanks again everyone.

now_or_never12

I'm not sure if it's been said already since I didn't read through all of the replies ..

Try eating more clean foods and less processed foods. I don't see any fruits in your diary and very few fresh veggies over the past few days.