Feeling weak and sick...is this normal?

mfp_pillar
mfp_pillar Posts: 14
in Getting Started
Just started trying to lose weight, I've made my diary public so people can check it out.
Basically I feel okay in the mornings but then I often feel like absolute crap by the end of the day. Like, weak, jittery, tired. Maybe even a little flu-like. (I'm not sick though.)

The exercises I entered aren't quite right. The "weight lifting" is really just stacking and carrying firewood to the back porch, and some of the foods are approximates. The calories should be roughly the same as what I've been eating.

What am I doing wrong? Or is this normal for dieting? I've never dieted before so I don't know.

Replies

  • wimpywrx
    wimpywrx Posts: 103 Member
    You should not be feeling like that at all. Check that you are getting what you need on the mfp table and make sure you do not under eat. Eating to little is not good for you at all. I get the symptoms you are saying if my blood sugars drop to low.
  • mfp_pillar
    mfp_pillar Posts: 14
    So it's okay to go over the calorie goal for the day? I mean, it's still going to be a deficit?
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    It's pretty typical if you've gone cold turkey and radically changed your foods and calorie intake. If you want, you can tough it out for another week and it will usually get better as your body adjusts.

    IMHO, folks should do a few days or a week logging their "normal" food intake (scary as it might be) before transitioning to "diet" mode, and if the drop in calories or change in eating habits is pretty radical, do it in stages.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    I feel this way all the time too. Getting blood tested Monday. I've had it for almost a year.
  • krennie8
    krennie8 Posts: 301 Member
    i have these issues too, generally 3-5pm, I get overheated and icky feeling. Probably you're sugar. Mine seems to be evening out, but the first few weeks weren't great, I felt nauseous all the time. I generally try to eat a small snack when I'm feeling that way. I can't say this is the best way to go about dealing with it, but that's what I've been doing.
  • mfp_pillar
    mfp_pillar Posts: 14
    It's pretty typical if you've gone cold turkey and radically changed your foods and calorie intake. If you want, you can tough it out for another week and it will usually get better as your body adjusts.

    IMHO, folks should do a few days or a week logging their "normal" food intake (scary as it might be) before transitioning to "diet" mode, and if the drop in calories or change in eating habits is pretty radical, do it in stages.

    This is probably it. I've been just eating whatever I wanted, whenever since childhood. I tested MFP and input my current weight and wanted to see what it would take to maintain it. It wanted me to eat about 1000 calories more per day than what it tells me now. So it IS a big change. At least in my regard.
    So yeah, I did cold turkey. Probably shouldn't have.
  • mfp_pillar
    mfp_pillar Posts: 14
    i have these issues too, generally 3-5pm, I get overheated and icky feeling. Probably you're sugar. Mine seems to be evening out, but the first few weeks weren't great, I felt nauseous all the time. I generally try to eat a small snack when I'm feeling that way. I can't say this is the best way to go about dealing with it, but that's what I've been doing.

    What's good to eat when I get like that, by the way?
  • Cadaverous_Bones
    Cadaverous_Bones Posts: 47
    Maybe start off by only setting out to lose .5 or 1 lb per week (not sure what your goal is set at currently) Drink half your weight in oz of water a day. Your foods looked mostly healthy, it may be just withdrawals from stuff if you are used to eating a lot of processed crap and sugary stuff, but I don't know your past. If you can maybe go for a 30 minute walk or light jog in the morning or beginners yoga, it could help your energy levels.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    So it's okay to go over the calorie goal for the day? I mean, it's still going to be a deficit?

    Your calorie goal is already a huge deficit from a theoretical maintenance level of calories. You're not trying to make it bigger with MFP...you eat to your goal, you don't shoot under it. If you're doing exercise on top of what you put into your activity level then you're supposed to log that and eat those calories too. You're not trying to burn off every calorie you eat..you burn calories all day 24/7...the vast majority of your calorie requirements are just to keep your body functioning and alive, you need to give it fuel.

    I never had this issue when I was losing...a reasonable calorie deficit is pretty painless...if you're feeling ill, you are doing it wrong...it is not normal in the least.
  • mfp_pillar
    mfp_pillar Posts: 14
    Maybe start off by only setting out to lose .5 or 1 lb per week (not sure what your goal is set at currently) Drink half your weight in oz of water a day. Your foods looked mostly healthy, it may be just withdrawals from stuff if you are used to eating a lot of processed crap and sugary stuff, but I don't know your past. If you can maybe go for a 30 minute walk or light jog in the morning or beginners yoga, it could help your energy levels.

    It's set to 1 lb per week currently, and I drinking water till it feels like it's coming out of my ears. ( I have a huge insulated mug that's mostly empty of water by bedtime.)

    It's probably huge withdrawals. I was hydrating myself entirely with soda (and diet soda till recently) and just eating the most horrible stuff you can imagine.
  • mfp_pillar
    mfp_pillar Posts: 14
    So it's okay to go over the calorie goal for the day? I mean, it's still going to be a deficit?

    Your calorie goal is already a huge deficit from a theoretical maintenance level of calories. You're not trying to make it bigger with MFP...you eat to your goal, you don't shoot under it. If you're doing exercise on top of what you put into your activity level then you're supposed to log that and eat those calories too. You're not trying to burn off every calorie you eat..you burn calories all day 24/7...the vast majority of your calorie requirements are just to keep your body functioning and alive, you need to give it fuel.

    I never had this issue when I was losing...a reasonable calorie deficit is pretty painless...if you're feeling ill, you are doing it wrong...it is not normal in the least.

    OKAY, THIS. This is also probably to blame. I've been trying to keep it under the goal. I had no idea that was a big deal. I really am coming from a bad food background. My mom's idea of cooking was to heat up a can of vegetables with an entire stick of margarine. :P So that level of ignorance is what I'm dealing with. I'm a huge #$%&ing idiot who should probably be eating more.
  • krennie8
    krennie8 Posts: 301 Member
    In general I try to go for something with more protein. Here's a link about reactive hypoglycemia. I'm presuming that's what my (and your) issue is anyway. I used to snack all day.

    http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/snacks-reactive-hypoglycemia-1503.html

    They have some tips here.
  • sharebear2012
    sharebear2012 Posts: 122 Member
    I had a look at your food intake and it looks pretty balanced, you have protien and carb every meal so that is good. You do not say your weight and height so hard to know what you should be eating but 1500 calories is not unhealthy. But if you were eating 3000 a day before it could be a huge shock to your body.

    You should not feel the way you are feeling. I would suggest increasing your calories a little perhaps by eating a light snack mid morning and afternoon, a low fat yogurt or an apple to try to stabilize your blood sugar. That is what makes you feel jittery. Drink lots of water too. And if it does not pass you should seek medical attention and maybe have check up to ensure everything is ok. Good luck!
  • mfp_pillar
    mfp_pillar Posts: 14
    Feeling all giddy now.
    Basically I'm hearing:

    EAT MORE
    SNACK MORE OFTEN (within healthy limits, eating particular things.)

    Oh man, after what I've been doing, that should be a breeze. I can doooooo this! :3
  • David_AUS
    David_AUS Posts: 298 Member
    Is it hot where you are? I use to get this from heat stress (living in Darwin - it was that humid that I could not cool down with normal sweating and I was overweight which put other stresses on my system). Feeling sick does mean something is out of balance.

    You may be over-exerting yourself with physical activity - take it a little easier and ramp up. Lugging timber around is hard and engages many muscle groups (bending carrying, balancing etc....).

    Diet wise to me looks pretty good you could consider to increase protein a little (but I think this is me just looking for something, you have been very disciplined). Other than I would suggest that you increase your fluids if the 8 glasses a day is accurate (aim more for 10 - 12 glasses (around 2.5 - 3.0 L) - especially early in weight loss. The body finds it easier to digest with water around and yes you go to the toilet more (especially earlier on - but this makes sense as when your body is short on water it is going to conserve this resource).

    I don't want to worry you but I think it may be a good idea to get a basic physical check-up and / or monitor blood pressure.
  • eso2012
    eso2012 Posts: 337 Member
    Discuss with your doctor. And don't go too "cold turkey", as someone mentioned, and cut cals too drastically.

    You have such a healthy food log, congrats! (put me to shame :))
  • mfp_pillar
    mfp_pillar Posts: 14
    Is it hot where you are? I use to get this from heat stress (living in Darwin - it was that humid that I could not cool down with normal sweating and I was overweight which put other stresses on my system). Feeling sick does mean something is out of balance.

    You may be over-exerting yourself with physical activity - take it a little easier and ramp up. Lugging timber around is hard and engages many muscle groups (bending carrying, balancing etc....).

    Diet wise to me looks pretty good you could consider to increase protein a little (but I think this is me just looking for something, you have been very disciplined). Other than I would suggest that you increase your fluids if the 8 glasses a day is accurate (aim more for 10 - 12 glasses (around 2.5 - 3.0 L) - especially early in weight loss. The body finds it easier to digest with water around and yes you go to the toilet more (especially earlier on - but this makes sense as when your body is short on water it is going to conserve this resource).

    I don't want to worry you but I think it may be a good idea to get a basic physical check-up and / or monitor blood pressure.

    It's pretty cool where I am right now. Southern US, so while it never really gets frigid, it's not exactly hot here at the moment. :P
    Checkups aren't really something I can do. I don't have money or insurance for that, but I did have my blood pressure tested recently and it was okay.
  • mfp_pillar
    mfp_pillar Posts: 14
    Discuss with your doctor. And don't go too "cold turkey", as someone mentioned, and cut cals too drastically.

    You have such a healthy food log, congrats! (put me to shame :))

    Thank you! XD
    I have been miserable and optimistic at the same time! It's weird. :P
  • caroldavison332
    caroldavison332 Posts: 864 Member
    You could be eating too few calories or reacting to not eating salted sugar fat lumps. If so you will feel better in a few days.
  • Beet_Girl
    Beet_Girl Posts: 102
    This happened to me too. I think it was a water problem.

    Food can actually contain a lot of water. In the past, I didn't have to make a conscious effort to drink it because I ate enough food. But these days, I go for much longer periods without eating anything. If I have water or tea with me, then I don't get so lightheaded, and I feel much better.
  • FitGeekery
    FitGeekery Posts: 336 Member
    Okay took a quick look at your profile, and a couple quick calcs on http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ to find your average TDEE (used the first 2 formulas and just averaged them)

    Approx BMR (how many cals your body needs to just function): 1539
    Approx TDEE (how many cals you burn in a day - set at light weekly activity): 2116


    General idea is to make sure you eat above 1539 cals/day and to lose, and eat below 2116 cals/day to lose weight. It can be slightly different for everyone so tweaking and recalculating your numbers as you get closer to your goal is usually recommended. As you don't have much to lose a 10-15% deficit should be good, and that would mean eating between 1798-1904 cals/day to lose weight at a nice and steady pace.



    TLDR; Based on your diary and the above numbers you aren't eating enough to keep your body running well, which would explain feeling ill/weak. And it also turns out you can eat more than you thought and still lose weight, yay!


    Hope that helped, feel free to PM me if you have any questions, I know how confusing it can be starting out on this journey from a background of "Yeah it's fried, but it's a vegetable so... that's still healthy right?" XD
  • FTF2014
    FTF2014 Posts: 257 Member
    Also if you stay too low on calories 2 things happen

    1) You set yourself for binge

    2) You start looking at the scale too often waiting for diet to be over once goal weight is achieved.
  • ebayaddict0127
    ebayaddict0127 Posts: 523 Member
    I was doing 1200 calories for nearly two months with not a single problem. Then the past two weeks.. weak, dizzy, and feeling like crap. I've upped my calories to 1400 (for now). Perhaps you need to re-evaluate your intake?
  • mfp_pillar
    mfp_pillar Posts: 14
    :embarassed: Losing weight is more complicated than I thought it would be.

    >Edit:
    Gonna try and move it down to losing .5 pounds per week and see if I can do that without feeling too ill.
  • mfp_pillar
    mfp_pillar Posts: 14
    I decided to leave it set to lose 1 pound per week. I also started snacking a bit more. I have a small container i put some cashews in, and I nibble on that throughout the day (160 calories total) and then eating a little more in general when I allow an actual in between meal snack.

    Thus far feeling pretty good, no sicks, nothin' but awesomeness. :3
  • nerual13
    nerual13 Posts: 39 Member
    First, go you! Its a big change to make and we're all a little different. For me, I found that upping my protein WAY above what MFP has made this so much easier! I've pushed my protein up to about 140 grams per day and really find myself getting through the day so much better. My mind is focused, I feel energized. It may be something to think about. Like everyone has said, everyone is a bit different and eventually you'll figure out what your body needs. For me, it was to ditch a good amount of my carbs and trade em in for lean proteins (egg whites are awesome!)

    You've got a great attitude and THAT will be a big asset going forward too. You can do it!!!!!
  • EveyRose
    EveyRose Posts: 74 Member
    I decided to leave it set to lose 1 pound per week. I also started snacking a bit more. I have a small container i put some cashews in, and I nibble on that throughout the day (160 calories total) and then eating a little more in general when I allow an actual in between meal snack.

    Thus far feeling pretty good, no sicks, nothin' but awesomeness. :3

    I think this is a great plan and was very excited to see your thread, I have been going through similar physical symptoms and not only feel not alone anymore on this issue but have gotten ideas from yu adn the posts to your thread, going to send you a friend request, I think we could be good for each other! I grew up in a family whre it was all huge portions adn you ate fast to keep the others from stealing your food so eating in moderation is very difficult for me!

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