Why do I always feel so weak?

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
    Are you getting enough sleep?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • Nicola0000
    Nicola0000 Posts: 531 Member
    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
    I think so, usually I sleep 8 hours but today I slept 10 and a half
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    Eat more.
  • sarafischbach9
    sarafischbach9 Posts: 466 Member
    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
    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
    You're trying to be 110lbs at 5'4", that's why.
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
    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
    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!
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    Not eating enough. You can't build muscle eating that little.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    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.

    ^This. I have lost too much weight too fast before, and experienced muscle weakness.
  • rodduz
    rodduz Posts: 251 Member
    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.

    Try having a refeed day. One day this week eat a fair amount more, mostly carbs. Take it up to your maintenance calorie level, don't go over, that way you won't gain any fat. See if it gives you an energy boost. I know for me when I am low cal the day after a refeed day I'm strong as hell! It's amazing!

    Maybe get more rest/sleep, supplement with magnesium is excellent for improved sleep.
  • NutritionDivaRD
    NutritionDivaRD Posts: 467 Member
    Without a doubt, you should see your physician and have some bloodwork done. A deficiency in a number of vitamins or minerals can lead to fatigue and are an easy fix. Recently I kept feeling exhausted and would fall asleep on the couch every night. I had bloodwork done late April/early May and learned my iron was really low (which is a new thing for me). I HATE taking iron supplements as they make me sick to my stomach. However, I've learned if I take them at night they don't bother me. So that's my new plan and I feel SO much better. Again, take your concerns to your physician. There could be a very simple answer. :) Good luck!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Many vitamins are FAT SOLUBLE meaning they need fat to be transported and stored and used in your body. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble. If you are not getting enough fat, you could be vitamin deficient. Up your intake of healthy fats, and have a blood screening done.
  • ruffnstuff
    ruffnstuff Posts: 400 Member
    You're trying to be 110lbs at 5'4", that's why.

    This was my first thought as well, especially after I saw your age and the fact that you dont have an open diary. Someone with ylur stats and exercise should, in theory, be able to consume many more cals than 1200. So, seems like a few things are potentially going on. 1. You have to evaluate why you are loomi g to lose 20 lbs when you are right in the avg range of your bmi. You are NOT overweight. 2. No one here can really see how much protein, iron, fiber, fat, carbs etc you actually eat. My suspicion is it isnt as hjgh I protein as you think. 3. There is a possibility that something else is going on, though slim. If you still think you should continue eating 1200 cals a day and losing 20#, then make an appt with your doc for bloodwork. And tell her your current plan. I suspect she, too, would ask why you have this goal. Good luck to you!
  • prettyfitchick
    prettyfitchick Posts: 502 Member
    Is it possible that you could be pregnant? being really tired was the only symptom i had for the first 8 weeks of me being pregrant and I had light period which i should have known was not normal for me but I never thought i was pregant but all the sleep and food wasnt making me feel better i just randomly took a home test
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
    You most likely need to up your intake. You mention that you exercise every day, are you eating you exercise calories back? Also, you should have a rest day, some people can get away without one but for the most part it’s a good thing. And say yes to a multivitamin.
    If you want any truly productive input you should either make you food and exercise diary open so people can judge you, I mean make more informed recommendations. That or pick a few people that you feel comfortable with and make your diary open to them.
    Good luck I wish you the best.
    V/r,
    DW
  • dulceproductions
    dulceproductions Posts: 19 Member
    If I were you, I would get bloodwork done. You could be anemic. I would take a multivitamin and extra iron/folate.

    I agree.

    OP, I would strongly suggest you see a doctor and get blood work done (to check for anemia). In my case, I was found to be very anemic and was put on a large dose of prescription iron. It takes a while to build up your iron levels (months), so if this is your issue too, you are better off addressing it now rather than later.

    Also, when you are on a low calorie diet, it needs to be well balanced, not just low calories. Taking a multiple vitamin supplement will help, but eating the right foods help with energy and blood sugar spikes.

    That's my two cents.
  • tamwins
    tamwins Posts: 22
    I agree with the calories. When I started trying to lose weight, I strictly only ate 1200 calories, but that obviously was not giving me enough energy. I thought maybe I was just worn out from school, which did play a part, but also not eating enough did as well. I wasn't eating enough servings of grains, fruits, vegetables, proteins, etcs. I went to go see a nutritionist because of how low in energy I always felt and she gave me a checklist of food groups that I should try to fulfill in a day. I tried that and my energy shot up. It was so bizarre! I did gain a little more weight, but eventually found my happy medium and lost that weight and more.

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