Why do I always feel so weak?

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Simonnnna
Simonnnna Posts: 49
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 5'4, 130 pounds. I eat 1200 calories a day (I don't think I feel weak because of my calories because on this BMI calculator it told me to lose weight I should eat between 1135-1300 calories a day or something like that, and I ate 1700 yesterday and still feel extremely weak today), I eat protein with every meal pretty much except dinner because I prefer really light dinners. I eat a good amount of carbs but maybe I'm a little low on fats. I exercise everyday but I don't think I overdo it really, I never have complete rest days though where I just don't do anything at all. I don't really know what I'm doing wrong though, I feel so weak everyday,

I don't know if I should take some vitamins? I only take biotin right now for my hair and nails but that's it.
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Replies

  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    Are you getting enough sleep?
  • Nicola0000
    Nicola0000 Posts: 535 Member
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    if you exercise every day, 1200 cals is very low. I would do a week of putting calories back up to maintain, and see how you feel. make sure you get enough sleep too. Eating high one day won't give you the energy you need, you need a few days. Never use BMI, its so general.
  • Simonnnna
    Simonnnna Posts: 49
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    I think so, usually I sleep 8 hours but today I slept 10 and a half
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    Try a true rest day without exercise and see if it helps. If not you may want to go to the doctor for blood work. You may be lacking in iron or vitamin D.
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
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    You sound like you don't eat enough at all, I suggest TDEE -15 or 20%, google Scooby's Workshop and go to the TDEE calculator.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    If you're not eating back your exercise calories, then you are netting below 1200, which means yes, absolutely, you are feeling weak because of your calorie intake, or rather lack thereof.
  • IamOnMywayNow
    IamOnMywayNow Posts: 470 Member
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    It is the 1200 cals. One day of 1700 cals will not make much difference on your energy levels. You need to eat more. Your energy levels will come back up. Also you need to open your food dairy if you would like more specific advice on macros and cals.
  • Keepcalmanddontblink
    Keepcalmanddontblink Posts: 718 Member
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    Do you have your goals set to lose 2 lb a day? You are trying to lose 20, so I'd set your goals to lose either 1 lb., or half a pound a week instead.
    Also yes, please see a doctor. I am anemic and have to take an iron supplement, but you need to have your doctor do some blood work to see what the issue is.
  • bowlerae
    bowlerae Posts: 555 Member
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    I'm the same way. I was eating 1,200 for a while. I've bumped it up to 1,500. I go to the gym doing a combo of HIIT cardio and weight lifting 3 times a week and play volleyball 2 times a week for 2-3 hours. I started feeling constantly exhausted and fatigued about 2 years ago before I started eating healthy and working out so then I was averaging 2,000+ calories per day.. I used to stay up till 2-3 am and wake up and go to work at 7 and be fine for years. Now I sometimes get home around 5 pm and go straight to bed on days I'm SUPER tired (like today). Other days I'm going to bed around 10-11 pm. I get around 8 hours of sleep or more and I'm constantly tired. I'm 25 years old, I should have a lot of energy. Someone has suggested to me that I might be anemic.
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
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    OP:
    Have you addressed your issues with food yet? (ex. wondering if cereal is considered a cheat meal? or eating nothing but fruits and veggies for a month?) If you have not addressed those issues, that may be your problem of feeling weak.
  • Fitnursejo
    Fitnursejo Posts: 28
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    Go see your doctor! There could be a litany of reasons for your fatigue. Sort it out with your physician! There are simply too many variables to seek answers from a public Internet forum! Be well!! I hope you feel better soon! Meanwhile...8 glasses of water/day, increase your calories (at least until you figure out what's wrong), .5-1.0 gms of healthy protein per day, and 2-3 servings of fruit and 5-8 servings of vegetables daily.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    If you're not eating back your exercise calories, then you are netting below 1200, which means yes, absolutely, you are feeling weak because of your calorie intake, or rather lack thereof.

    This...

    Also, I'm gonna leave this here...

    Read these:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

    TL:DR the link right above this one then ->http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet



    I also agree that you should go see your doctor.
  • 1HappyTurtleRunner
    1HappyTurtleRunner Posts: 125 Member
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    My advice would be the same as some of the other posts:

    Go and get your bloodwork done if you are constantly feeling weak and tired, I personally went in and got it done because I was always tired and weak. After I learned that I had really low iron and vitamin D, got on some vitamins and continue to improve my eating and I feel a lot better. I think it is important to have as much information and knowledge that you can. Good luck!
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    Eat more.
  • sarafischbach9
    sarafischbach9 Posts: 466 Member
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    Hi, I'm just a tad bit shorter than you... 5'3.5" so a half inch shorter. But I was your weight back in early january when I first started losing weight and I started on 1200-1400 calories. There were times I would feel weak and out of breath at work, or would feel like I was going to pass out. This continued until March ( yes, I was losing weight fast on 1200-1400 calories ) and then I finally upped my calories and the weakness went away. I still lost the last of my weight on 1500-1700 calories and now I'm at 1800-2200 depending on activity level and maintaining. I lost 31 lbs all together, but 25 of which were planned. The other 6 came off when transitioning into maintenance.

    It is a possibility that your low calorie intake could be making you weak. I think that is what was doing it to me in the winter, but it did take a week or so of a few hundred more calories to make it go away. One day of eating more won't make you feel better. It takes a while.

    But you could also check your iron levels, too.
  • fannyfrost
    fannyfrost Posts: 756 Member
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    No one answering here is a Doctor. If you feel weak all the time, I would definitely go for a check up. I was feeling sluggish, cold and a bit down. My MIL had stage 4 breast cancer and Dad's parkinson's was getting worse and I was in a boring job just waiting for my day to be finally let go, offices were closing. I thought it was from the stress. Then I read an article about sluggish thyroid and well I had all the symptoms. Sure enough it was my thyroid.

    go see your doctor, tell your Dr about dieting and feeling weak. Get your blood work done, check thyroid, iron level and vitamin D. You might also ask to check your B vitamins too. There are many reasons you could feel weak and not all of them are related to diet and exercise. Get checked and be sure.
  • BaconMD
    BaconMD Posts: 1,165 Member
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    You're trying to be 110lbs at 5'4", that's why.
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
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    I would echo the sentiment that you should probably see a doctor, because that's a good idea anytime you can't really isolate a cause.

    Something you also could consider is that, while you seem to be getting enough sleep as far as time is concerned, perhaps there is something interfering with the quality of your sleep. You may be asleep for eight hours, but it might not be as restful as it could be.
  • quellybelly
    quellybelly Posts: 827 Member
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    Same thing used to happen to me - I exercised every day and ate ~1200 cals and was feeling weak and very dizzy. Some MFP friends much wiser than myself suggested I increase my calorie intake to TDEE - 20%, which gave me a total of 1700 calories! It sounded like so much (that's an extra 500 calories!), but I increased slowly. First 1500 calories, then 1700 calories - and it made a world of a difference! I had the energy to push thru my workouts and get through my day. No more dizzy spells and I felt much stornger. One day consuming more will not make up for under consuming for weeks so give it a try :)

    ETA: At that time I was 130 lbs at 5'3" and eating more did *not* make me gain weight!

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