exhausted all the time

how many calories are you trying to stick to? You might need to up the number.

When I started exercising and monitoring my calories I felt energetic but now I am back to feeling really tired,

Did you change something recently in your exercise or eating patterns?

I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but I find that the more I exercise, the more energy I have for the rest of the day. I sleep like a baby at night, but it helps keep my blood moving through the rest of my daily activities.

how many calories are you trying to stick to? You might need to up the number.

^^^This.

According to your ticker, you want to lose 26 lbs. Set your goal to .5 lbs. per week—which is way more than 1,200 calories.

Please, read the Sexypants post: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants

Try green tea! It's so healthy and has caffeine in it and it always gives me more energy and keeps me awake

You need to have one treat a day and in the place of all the sugar, please eat lots of veggies of all kinds!
Also, I agree with the others-more protein also.
But you have no veggies in your diet!! You are missing a world of nutrients!!
I'm 60-sleep 7 hours and eat lots of different veggies. I have so much great energy!
I eat my chocolate too but I always make sure to get in all my healthy fats, protein, whole grains and lots of yummy veggies and fruits!

Honestly first thing that I think of as a potential problem when someone says they are low energy and tired all the time (especially on a weight loss forum) is....are you eating enough?

What is your calorie intake like? Your exercise load?

ETA: Just noticed that you answered you eat 1200 calories and go to the gym regularly. Yeah, you aren't eating enough...that is why you are tired. Eat more.

I am in a similar situation, but I gotta say that eating sugar just makes things worse. Deal with your fatigue by resting more. I need a lot more rest than other people and that is how it has been for 5 years. I take naps everyday and I need them or I feel horrid. But I gave up sugar and I feel better for it.

for me sugar was like my drug. But it wasn't helping, it was just masking. I am glad I faced reality. I have chronic fatigue.

I've got a couple of questions/possibilities for you. Based on your last few days entries, it seems like you have plenty of calories for your size (since you only want to lose 26 lbs, I'm assuming you're not 50+ lbs overweight). If you're getting adequate sleep, I'd start to look at a few things.

I know you said that your doctor checked out, but do you know if he/she checked the following:
-- Vitamin D levels
-- Magnesium levels
-- Iron levels (including Ferritin)
-- Free T3, Free T4, TSH and Antibodies (TPO/Tg) for Thyroid
-- Insulin Resistance (A1C level).

All of those things can lead to fatigue, and they aren't things that are generally checked without specific instructions from the doctor -- will not show up in your basic panels and CBC.

Do you have any other symptoms other than fatigue? Constipation, dry skin/hair, brittle nails, difficulty losing weight, etc.? Those are all classic hypothyroid issues. I also mention Insulin Resistance because your eating patterns sound like someone that may have that -- craves carbs/sweets, feels temporarily better, but then very fatigued again later. That's classic IR because of the funky glucose metabolism.

I ask because I was told I was "fine" for over 10 years by 4 different doctors, when lo and behold I had both low Vitamin D and magnesium levels, a thyroid condition and insulin resistance (I suspected the thyroid, but not the other three). And I too only had 30-40 lbs to lose at my heaviest (on a 5'9" frame). It wasn't until I start researching things myself and found an out-of-network specialist that I had to pay out of pocket were the right tests run and my conditions discovered. It's infuriating to me that I saw several doctors who didn't do any of these tests (aside from basic TSH tests for thyroid and your more basic lipid panels and CBCs).

okay:

I am 5"0

I have saved the link to the nutrition source so I can read through the full site tomorrow rather than skim it

Some days I am that tired I nap during the day sometimes for up to 2 hours even though I try to stick to 20 mins

Im not sure what tests exactly when they take my blood but I am always told 'everything is normal not diabetic not anaemic no thyroid problems'- I have had this fatigue problem for a while and have had it brushed off by countless doctors as stress as I have a pretty hectic life, maybe I should visit another doctor with your list?

I'd first just ask for a copy of the tests they did run, then you can compare the results -- see if they did any of these and then look at what the results mean. Sadly, many doctors are really behind on the thyroid tests, even some endocrinologists. There is a reason why they believe that 2/3 of thyroid conditions are undiagnosed and even more of that for the insulin resistance (over 40% of US adults have insulin resistance at diabetic or prediabetic levels).

I was pretty much treated the same. I was 20-40 lbs overweight, and being as tall as I am, I didn't look that overweight by many people's standards. I never had to wear clothes in the plus sizes, and doctors just told me it was stress too. And I did have a pretty hectic lifestyle through my 20s and early 30s, so I chalked it up to stress too. It got worse in my early/mid thirties -- some weeks the fatigue would be so bad, I'd have to take a quick nap before driving home from work because I was afraid of falling asleep at the wheel. Or I'd just go to work, come home and sleep -- sometimes up to 14 hours, and STILL feel exhausted. Then, it would go away and I'd continue to ignore it until it showed up again (very typical pattern for the thyroid issue I have -- Hashimoto's thyroiditis).

If you'd like to PM me, I'll talk to you in more detail about what I've learned along the way in my journey -- and wish I'd learned 11 years ago when I first suspected something was "off" and certainly not "fine".

Okay,

I have taken what everyone has said in to account and have changed up todays eating. My diary is still open and I would love some opinions on todays intake. I haven't worked out today as I have felt really tired and slept for 2 hours this afternoon. I have also struggled with finding things that take up calories now I have cut out sugar and re-cut out caffeine.

Based on today's meal plan only, your calories seem way too low. 1,018 is really low. I'd suggest throwing in some more protein -- 50 g is pretty low. I'd double that at the very least -- a good guide is 0.7 g per 1 lb bodyweight (or 1 g per lb lean body mass if you know your LBM).

If you're struggling to get protein in, doing shakes is a good idea. I personally like Optimum Nutritional's Gold Standard Whey. Two scoops is like 48 g of protein. And their flavors are pretty decent -- I personally like the vanilla ice cream and chocolate fudge. Add some milk or cream along with water/ice, and you can throw in frozen fruit or extracts for more flavor (like orange extract to the vanilla for a creamsicle flavor, or mint extract for chocolate mint or cinnamon to either).

I also see that you have virtually no vegetables -- except what you might find in the soup. You might want to consider eating more vegetables or substituting some vegetables for fruit. Grilled asparagus salad is really easy to so -- grill up some asparagus spears after coating them in olive oil, salt and pepper, then cut them up, add some lemon juice and zest and some feta cheese. Great, simple salad or side dish. Roast some brussel sprouts or cauliflower. Saute some green beans with red onions and bacon -- super tasty.

In the end, my guess is that this is about a big vitamin deficiency (like D or iron) or another medical condition (thyroid, adrenal fatigue, etc.). You just shouldn't be this fatigued due to diet -- especially as you've been getting a good deal of calories prior to today.