Feeling Unwell....are my calories too low?

Could be a number of things. Calories, possibly. Are you on a low-carb diet? That can leave you fatigued. Enough sleep? If I skip breakfast for a number of days in a row, even if I still eat my total daily calories, it leaves me exhausted.

It would help if we could see you diary. Otherwise everyone is just guessing.

Opening your diary may help people respond.

Your calorie intake isn't particularly low. You may be low on some minerals, vitamins, essential fats or amino acids if your diet isn't varied enough.

Exercising every other day may be worth a try.

Could very well be. I'd at least find out what my BMR is and try to eat around that, or try to figure out what you used to eat by eating regularly a few days or a week and log it all, then cut by 15 or 20%.

My sister is an excellent example of what eating too low can cause. She thought eating 1200 was required to lose weight, but every time she'd try to cut down her calories she would get SEVERELY ill and end up at the doctor getting antibiotics and an inhaler. Once I explained to her what she should be doing, she hasn't been sick yet was still losing weight. I know stuff that drastic probably doesn't happen to many people, but it is a stark reminder of what eating to low may still be doing to your body in more subtle ways. Your body is obviously letting you know something isn't working if you can't function normally.

In short, yes, they are too low.

At 5'9" on 1320 cals, you are very likely eating below your BMR and therefore you are not eating enough for your body's basic functions. Hence the tiredness.

Do the BMR and TDEE calculations. There are several calculations out there, the easiest ones I've found are calorieline and scooby's workshop. Plug in your weight, height, and your weight loss goals and activity level and you will get your BMR and TDEE.

The calculation factors in your activity level, so you will find you "eat back" less. But on workout days, you should still not net below your BMR. On workout days the net number should be somewhere between BMR and your full allowance.

Your calories and carb level seem fine (what you were describing sounded like a result of exercising in a glycogen depleted state).

Could just be you are coming down with something...

ETA: you could try upping your calories though as it won't impede your progress much given you have plenty of wiggle room. If the symptoms disappear then you will have your answer...

I am only 5' 2" and I eat 1,400 plus most of my exercise cals back (if not all) and I am losing. So I think it could be that you are just not eating enough cals.

1. You are in the lower half of the healthy range for your height.
2. Your BMR is about 1450.

So, you do not NEED to lose weight, but it understandable and your choice if you WANT to. Everyone is always looking to improve themselves, it's human nature.
However, with only a few vanity pounds to lose, and eating below your BMR, you are setting yourself up for failure. You should be set at "lose HALF a pound per week", and if you are set at sedentary, make sure you eat back ALL your exercise calories.

As for exercise. Consider heavy strength training.
The reason you are unhappy with your body as it is right now MAY NOT be because of ten pounds...it may be because of lack of muscle tone.

Here's an example of why the "number on the scale" may not mean as much as you think it does.

This is Staci, read her story here: She is 11 lbs heavier in the after pic because of added muscle...(131 to 142)
http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/


If that is the type of results you are hoping for, forget about the number on the scale and start picking up heavy things. If the clothing size goes down, and the person in the mirror is hotter, then WHO GIVES A CRAP what some little number on a piece of plastic on the bathroom floor says!