Blacked out/almost fainted!

sharibrat
sharibrat Posts: 39 Member
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
I've been doing about 1300 calories a day....normally I have about 800 left for my dinner meal.
Today was a bit strange for me.....I had breakfast at 6am, and then made and egg and whole grain toast around 10am because I was super hungry. Never really had a 'real' lunch just some veggies and a slice of cheese around 1pm. So by 1pm I had only consumed around 500 calories and most of it was by 10am.

I spend the afternoon helping the PTO unload and sort Joe Corbi pizzas for the school. It was constant picking up and putting down, bending over, lifting and standing up. Lots and lots of up and down. I started to feel a bit dizzy each time I stood up but didn't think much of it, it's happened to all of us. Then (around 5:30) I stood up, was dizzy and everthing went black. I regained my vision but felt my feet stumbling underneath me, then went black again. I grabbed the wall beside me eand a friend was standing near me (thank goodness) and grabbed me and made me sit down.

I ate half of a Z-bar and a glass of water but still felt really out of it and would still feel just a little lightheaded upon standing. Looking back on all of this now, I am thinking it is from going almost the entire day on less than 500 calories.....when I finally came home I ate some chicken for protein with my meal and made sure to have some water.......

At the risk of sounding stupid, do you think my low caloric intake today, combined with the fact that the calories I did have were so early in the day contributed to the blackout? Also, yesterday I was too full to eat my exercise calories so I was a tad low on calories going into today. This was not a normal eating pattern for me, so I am thinking it's all the cause of the blackout (combined with the constant up and down motion)...... does this sound like the culprit?

Replies

  • TonyaR
    TonyaR Posts: 78 Member
    Sounds to me like it was definitely lack of calories, low blood sugar will definitely cause a person to blackout or faint! Got to be careful!!
  • Emorriso165
    Emorriso165 Posts: 23
    I think if you are eating only 1,300 calories (which probably is too low..) you need to eat more throughout the day. Saving 800 calories for dinner means your body is doing most of its work off of only 500 calories!! Eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch and a pauper for breakfast :) I would also think that bumping up your calories might not be a bad idea, or if that really worried you, maybe add two or three days a week where you ate 1,600 calories, just to give your body a little something extra to stay healthy. Also make sure you are drinking plenty of water and getting enough rest, as you'll need more of both when doing such big calorie deficit. I sometimes get dizzy, too, but I've learned to eat 6 small meals a day to keep my blood sugar (and 'diet rage') under control.
  • beccasetsfire
    beccasetsfire Posts: 135
    Sounds like low blood sugar... This has happens to me before usually its a combination of heat, not enough water, & low blood sugar... like it happened to me at Warped Tour 2008... It sucks I hope you feel batter!
  • sharibrat
    sharibrat Posts: 39 Member
    THanks - your responses make me feel better.......like I don't need to call the doctor tomorrow or anything, just need to eat!
    Believe me, I eat MORE than 1600 calories at least once a week. We eat out alot on weekends and I am certain my intake is high those days! I don't drink enough water either, so I am sure that didn't help.

    Also, on a whim, I put in 'moving boxes' in the exercise and according to that (and I checked several other sources too because I couldn't believe it) I burned about 400-600 calories! Hell with going to the gym from now on, I am just doing to carry boxes around!
  • amk44
    amk44 Posts: 159
    Hope you're feeling better... Does sound like low blood sugar, but if you get any repeat episodes, it might be a good idea to check with a doctor.

    Also, as someone else commented, you might consider eating your major calories earlier (like for breakfast or for lunch) rather than waiting to eat them late in the day. When I was working, I tended to skip breakfast and have a diet cola for lunch, and eat all my calories in the evening... For me anyway, that was a really bad idea... The pounds just kept adding on... When I joined MFP, I changed my eating habits, and now I eat the biggest meal for either breakfast or lunch, and eat some kind of salad or low calorie soup for my evening meal. I don't skip any meals anymore, especially breakfast.

    Do take care of yourself.
  • lilchino4af
    lilchino4af Posts: 1,292 Member
    On top of everything else, make sure you drink plenty of water!! All that extra exertion makes you sweat and you need to replenish it on top of giving your body its daily requirements. That on top of eating more in the morning and lunch will help prevent another episode!
  • sharibrat
    sharibrat Posts: 39 Member
    I think if you are eating only 1,300 calories (which probably is too low..) you need to eat more throughout the day. Saving 800 calories for dinner means your body is doing most of its work off of only 500 calories!! Eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch and a pauper for breakfast :)

    I am curious why you think 1,300 calories is too low? when I first let this website calculate my calories it came up with 1,200. I quickly determined there was no way I would stick with it at that. So I manually upped it to about 1360. After your comment, I went in and ran through the goals again, thinking maybe with my lower weight something would change....again, it came up with 1,200 calories a day. I have lost 13 lbs at or around the 1,300 mark on most days.

    I am worried if I up my intake at breakfast and lunch then there is virtually nothing left for dinner (like today, I have only about 400 left for dinner). Dinner just seems, by nature of what we make, to be a higher calorie meal......casseroles, meats with starches etc. Since I have kids, I need to please everybody, not just me. Also, when I tried eating more smaller meals throughout the day, I found I was eating MORE than ever....

    just curious why you made that comment?
  • weaklink109
    weaklink109 Posts: 2,831 Member
    The comment about not enough calories would have probably related to the idea that if you are not eating back your exercise calories, or a good portion of them, you aren't giving your body enough to work with to stay healthy....
  • sharibrat
    sharibrat Posts: 39 Member
    So what do you do if you've exercised that day and just aren't hungry enough to eat your exercise calories?
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    I think it's a combination of low calorie intake AND the heavy lifting you were doing - burning calories on probably an empty stomach.
  • sniffles
    sniffles Posts: 295
    In response to what to do if you're not hungry and have exercise calories left over...

    I usually grab powerade during/after my workout. ): Heh. Weird, I know, but for some reason it always makes me feel good and is around 260 calories if I drink the whole thing so covers some of the exercise calories.

    You can also try some high cal (but healthy foods) like nuts, or seeds, or whatever. Won't fill you up too much but will add a few calories to your daily goal.
  • sharibrat
    sharibrat Posts: 39 Member
    Thanks, Sniffles. Those are good tips!
  • unknownndoll
    unknownndoll Posts: 161 Member
    protein shake powder in skim milk or some peanut butter!!
  • melville88
    melville88 Posts: 137
    Hi, probably was the combination of exercise and low-cals. I got dizzy spells every time i stood up from sitting down for a while; I've been told by a friend of a friend who is a doctor to watch my iron intake as it could be signs of acute anaemia. The last couple of days I've been taking iron/vitamin supplements and it has improved for me a little. xxx
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