Sleepy...What am I doing wrong?

PurpleFlower777
PurpleFlower777 Posts: 12
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys! I know this has been posted several times but here we go again. I've been using mfp for about 1 year now. I lost 20 pounds from it. But with the holidays I gained some back. So I started my exercise and eating healthy regimen again.

The reason why I stopped in the first place is because of how tired I was feeling. I'm not even really hungry. I generally work out 3-6 days a week for 30 minutes at a time. I don't eat back those calories. I stick to about 1300-1350 calories a day. That's because I'm 5 feet 1 inch and weigh about 130 pounds. I'm not anemic. But every time I diet I get super tired and it makes me want to stop.

My question.... Do I need to add more calories? Exercise harder?

Thanks for the replies.

Replies

  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    Probably add calories. If you're feeling tired or lethargic while dieting, that's pretty much a sign that your body needs some fuel. I'm 5'2, so I understand the short thing... but since you're exercising too, you might not be giving your body enough nutrition. Try upping your calories 100-150 more and give that some time, see where it goes.
  • PurpleFlower777
    PurpleFlower777 Posts: 12
    Okay thanks. I think I will try that. Thanks so much for your reply!
  • tracybrent
    tracybrent Posts: 9
    Try to focus more on what you are eating. Really watch the overall nutritional value. You can eat low calorie foods, but not all of them are the healthiest. Keep your protein high and sugars low. :)
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Hi there! Using this website, I estimated your TDEE (the amount of calories your body burns every day, including exercise) to be around 2150 calories:
    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    With that in mind, you'll want to subtract 10-20% from that and eat that amount of calories for a healthy weight loss. So, realistically, you should be eating around 1800 calories a day (which is what I eat, yay) to lose weight at a healthy pace, and hopefully feel a little more energized! That's assuming you don't eat back your exercise cals, since that was factored into the number.

    Feel free to add me as a friend if decide to increase cals and you want to be friends with someone eating around the same amount as you! Just don't judge my diary right now, I'm on vacation haha.
  • PurpleFlower777
    PurpleFlower777 Posts: 12
    I eat a lot of fish. And I eat a lot of greens. I have some fun snacks too like popcorn and chez it's (my weakness). I stay away from fruits for that reason. They are very high in sugar. I will keep that in mind thank you! If you think of any other helpful tips please pass them along.
  • californiabella
    californiabella Posts: 152
    it may be just as simple as eating back those exercise calories. If you only eat 1300-1350 and moderately workout for 30 minutes 3-6 days a week, I'm guessing your net calories hover around 1050-1200 calories. Personally, when I ate at 1200 calories and despite I'm only 5' tall, I had no energy for anything and eventually the weight loss stalled. So.. eat back those exercise calories and see if it makes a difference. Good luck!
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
    I would eat your exercise calories back and measure all food accurately (if you don't already)

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