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

Annabel89
Annabel89 Posts: 63 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey MFP.

I've been lurking around the forums reading about BMR and TDEE, and wondering if my calories are too low. I've been seriously logging and changing my habits for a week now, and I've lost 1lb, despite a blowout weekend. I said to myself 'don't overthink it, it's working'.

I'm 5'9'', 140lbs, and trying to lose about 10lbs before I re-evaluate. I work from home, so I put activity level as sedentary, and then I try to work out almost everyday, and I log my exercise calories and importantly, eat them back.

So my normal calorie allowance is 1320. With exercise, I get up to around 1450/1500, and I eat them back.

I've been feeling really tired the last few days..today I felt like I was in a black hole and fighting to wake up. I normally wake up about 7.30 and have a lot of energy. Today I woke up at 11.15am..and I still feel awful!

Could it be my calorie intake? Are they too low?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Annabel

Replies

  • KitchenAbs
    KitchenAbs Posts: 75
    I'm 5ft 2 and I eat 1700.

    You might just be coming down with something but you could try upping them for say, two weeks and see how you feel?
  • PBmaria
    PBmaria Posts: 854 Member
    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.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    How many grams of carbs do you eat a day?
  • spirit80
    spirit80 Posts: 327 Member
    It would help if we could see you diary. Otherwise everyone is just guessing.
  • jaxonvol
    jaxonvol Posts: 4 Member
    I think you are just going through what I call and "adjustment" period, especially if you had a diet free weekend. I know that it takes several days for my body to adjust after a binge, however I have found that if I can fight my way through it with staying on my diet plan and exercise routine that it will normally restart my weight loss with a "boost" after a few days and I feel great again. Hopefully that is what you are experiencing.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    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.
  • Annabel89
    Annabel89 Posts: 63 Member
    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.

    Hiya, no I'm not on a low-carb diet, I still eat very similar things to before, but more fruit and veg and better portion control.

    I've opened up my diary in case anyone wants to look.

    Oh, and I love breakfast and never skip it!
  • ArtemisMoon
    ArtemisMoon Posts: 144
    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.
  • Dtho5159
    Dtho5159 Posts: 1,054 Member
    I was going to suggest too low carbs because if I have too low, I feel sluggish.
  • Annabel89
    Annabel89 Posts: 63 Member
    It would help if we could see you diary. Otherwise everyone is just guessing.

    I've opened up my diary- thanks everyone :)
  • M08distel
    M08distel Posts: 16 Member
    It could be a number of things from catching a bug to something out of balance. If your calories are up there what are the proportions? Are you balanced enough? If you keep feeling bad a trip to the doctor would be a wise idea. Have you had your blood sugar checked recently? That could also be a problem. Start by looking at your food diary and see if you see anything that might be just a bit off. Like I said you could be exactly where you need to be on total calories but the distribution between proteins, carbs and the rest might not be in balance for you. Good luck.
  • MessyLittlePanda
    MessyLittlePanda Posts: 213 Member
    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.
  • Annabel89
    Annabel89 Posts: 63 Member
    How many grams of carbs do you eat a day?

    Anywhere between 150-200 grams a day looking at my history.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    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...
  • lkcuts
    lkcuts Posts: 224
    remember you are 5'9. 135 is model mode.. I would kill to be even 150 right now.. I think with your height, you should be between 135 to 170 at the highest and any lower than that you probably will feel bad. Your diary isn't open so can't tell you WHAT you are eating for your cals. Perhaps you just need to do some strength training to tone what you have. At our height,we will never be that petite little frame of 125 or whatever. Eat healthy nutrition and perhaps some vitamin supplements to give you a boost. Sounds like your body is saying FEED ME> Good luck!
  • Poods71
    Poods71 Posts: 502 Member
    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.
  • loumaag
    loumaag Posts: 118
    I'm not sure either. Your BMR is 1454 (23 yo 69" female), your allowance might be right depending on your stated activity level and what your weight loss goal is, but somehow I think 10 ~ 11 % below BMR is not all that unreasonable. Your BMI shows you to be in the normal healthy range so your stated goal of another 10 pounds puts you pretty close to the bottom of the healthy range. One thing to consider, but I have not way of knowing, is your blood sugar level not right? Too high tends to make folks sluggish and tired. Maybe the answer is to back off weight loss for a week or so just to be safe and see if you are coming down with something
  • Annabel89
    Annabel89 Posts: 63 Member
    remember you are 5'9. 135 is model mode.. I would kill to be even 150 right now.. I think with your height, you should be between 135 to 170 at the highest and any lower than that you probably will feel bad. Your diary isn't open so can't tell you WHAT you are eating for your cals. Perhaps you just need to do some strength training to tone what you have. At our height,we will never be that petite little frame of 125 or whatever. Eat healthy nutrition and perhaps some vitamin supplements to give you a boost. Sounds like your body is saying FEED ME> Good luck!

    Thankyou for your reply. I've opened up my diary in case you wanted to look- I feel that I eat pretty well except this weekend when I was at my boyfriend's parents..who own a cake business and drink lots of wine...eeeeek! You're probably right that I don't need to lose all that much more, just tone it up...working from home all day doesn't make for tight arms :( Having said that, when I was at uni, I weighed around 130/135 and I was happy with my weight then.

    I used to have anaemia..so I'll take a trip to the shops today and get a multivitamin with iron and see if that helps.
  • live_your_dreams
    live_your_dreams Posts: 13 Member
    Make sure that you eat enough protein. You should eat approx half of your weight in grams. So if your 140lbs you should eat approx 70g of protein per day. Also try eating foods that help increase your energy. Here are a few ideas:

    - Nuts
    - Salmon
    - Eggs
    - Beans
    - Apples
    - Bananas
    -Blueberries
    - Hummus
    - Low fat yogurt

    Hope this helps.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    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/
    160933386653933440_XDkHzL9R_f.jpg

    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!
  • LittleMissRainey
    LittleMissRainey Posts: 440 Member
    You could be lacking in B vitamins which can help with tiredness. Namely B6 and B12 are usual culprits for me, especially at a certain time of the month.

    Feel better. x
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    I agree that you're aiming for a rather low weight for your height and you might be better off weight training to change body composition.

    Few of us reach our University weights again - your body is still changing during those years, and although you could fit in the same size again, the same weight is often too low to aim for.

    As close to your goal as you are, you certainly shouldn't be aiming to lose more than 0.5lbs a week. Changing your settings should give you more calories. Check out the "Eat more to lose more" group for inspiration.

    As far as fatigue goes, check you aren't overtraining. Make sure you get one full rest day a week and mix up what you do.
  • tenaheff
    tenaheff Posts: 88
    I find that when I diet, I also get very tired unless I take a multivitamin each day.
  • Annabel89
    Annabel89 Posts: 63 Member
    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!


    WOW. I guess what I'm looking for, as you said, is to lose 'vanity pounds'. As you said, there is no shame in wanting to improve ourselves. I know a lot of people would kill to have the BMI I do, but I'm really unhappy and I've had people make comments too about the weight I've gained/muscle I've lost in the last few years.

    I think you're right...it's more about my arms, thighs and muffin tops than my actual weight. There is only so much I can do about nature- I will always be bottom heavy..but maybe I need to get to the scary gym, eat more and lift heavy!

    No idea where to start, but I'll look into it- thankyou.
  • siren1974
    siren1974 Posts: 66
    remember you are 5'9. 135 is model mode.. I would kill to be even 150 right now.. I think with your height, you should be between 135 to 170 at the highest and any lower than that you probably will feel bad. Your diary isn't open so can't tell you WHAT you are eating for your cals. Perhaps you just need to do some strength training to tone what you have. At our height,we will never be that petite little frame of 125 or whatever. Eat healthy nutrition and perhaps some vitamin supplements to give you a boost. Sounds like your body is saying FEED ME> Good luck!

    Thankyou for your reply. I've opened up my diary in case you wanted to look- I feel that I eat pretty well except this weekend when I was at my boyfriend's parents..who own a cake business and drink lots of wine...eeeeek! You're probably right that I don't need to lose all that much more, just tone it up...working from home all day doesn't make for tight arms :( Having said that, when I was at uni, I weighed around 130/135 and I was happy with my weight then.

    I used to have anaemia..so I'll take a trip to the shops today and get a multivitamin with iron and see if that helps.

    I've just been diagnosed as anaemic so it's quite possibly that as I had much the same symptoms.

Categories