Am I over doing it?

siantastic
siantastic Posts: 12
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey folks! So although I've been on something of a weight loss journey for a while I've only been using MFP to it's full advantage for just over a week. I'm currently 285lbs and 6ft 1 (tall for a girl right!) and so for a 2lb weight loss per week MFP has put me at 1720 calories a day. Now I've been staying under 1500, and generally eating around the 1300/1400 mark. I also burn at least 400 calories a day...sometimes around 700, and I don't eat them back.

So my dilemma is that the first 6 days of this I felt amazing. However yesterday and this morning I feel rubbish. I'm tired, irritable and have a headache I can't shift. I've been eating low carb, and been getting plenty of protein, and everything else consists of fruit and veg. I also make sure I drink plenty of water (I have a 2litre bottle I fill at the start of the day and drink it through out). Now in doing all this I lost my 2lbs this week so nothing too extreme there. I guess my main question is should I up my calories? Or maybe I'm just coming down with something?

Replies

  • auabby
    auabby Posts: 3
    That happened to me. If you are going to keep working out hard you need to eat a couple hundred more calories a day to keep up your energy. You will still drop the lbs fast. Keep up the great work!
  • susancelli928
    susancelli928 Posts: 190
    Your blood sugar levels may be low..
  • zacherybinx
    zacherybinx Posts: 215 Member
    Listen to your body and make sure you eat at least some of those workout calories back.
  • Hotbottom
    Hotbottom Posts: 168 Member
    You could be cleansing if you are eating heaps of fruits and veg, stopped carbs blah blah... or yes sounds like your not eating enough. I went like this too until I started eating protein at every meal. When I do fruit and mainly veggy days, I go spacy too now. No wonder vegetarians get the piss taken out of them... hubby takes the piss out of me now when I do a cleanse as I go all stupid.
  • Kat120285
    Kat120285 Posts: 1,599 Member
    If you aren't eat back exercise calories and you're eating 1400 then burning 400 or 700 then you're only leaving 1000 or 700 for your body to use. Definitely up the calories and eat what they recommended. My goal is 1250, I eat anywhere from 1850 calories to over 2000 on some days because of how much I burn exercising. This leaves me at a NET back around 1250. I have fantastic energy for my work outs and in general and am still losing a pound a week as I set it up for.
  • Imthatg1rl
    Imthatg1rl Posts: 109
    When I over do it I get like this as well. Slow down a bit your body needs time to rest. Maybe eat a little more protein :)
  • beccafertig
    beccafertig Posts: 61 Member
    Hey folks! So although I've been on something of a weight loss journey for a while I've only been using MFP to it's full advantage for just over a week. I'm currently 285lbs and 6ft 1 (tall for a girl right!) and so for a 2lb weight loss per week MFP has put me at 1720 calories a day. Now I've been staying under 1500, and generally eating around the 1300/1400 mark. I also burn at least 400 calories a day...sometimes around 700, and I don't eat them back.

    So my dilemma is that the first 6 days of this I felt amazing. However yesterday and this morning I feel rubbish. I'm tired, irritable and have a headache I can't shift. I've been eating low carb, and been getting plenty of protein, and everything else consists of fruit and veg. I also make sure I drink plenty of water (I have a 2litre bottle I fill at the start of the day and drink it through out). Now in doing all this I lost my 2lbs this week so nothing too extreme there. I guess my main question is should I up my calories? Or maybe I'm just coming down with something?

    Hey! We have similar stats. I'm somewhere between 5'10 and 5'11 (depends on if I'm slouching or not :-), and 298 lbs. Went through this same thing when I got started last month. By eating that amount of calories PLUS working out on top of it, you could actually be slowing your metabolism. Your body might be throwing itself into starvation mode. Throw a little extra fuel in your fire, so to speak. It will make a big difference. I tried low carb too, but it didn't suit me too well when it came time to do a solid workout. I've switched over to complex carbs, staying away from refined/processed foods.

    Good luck!
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
    If you feel awful, you probably need more food. You should still be able to lose your 2 pounds a week if you follow the guidelines. If you don't you can always decrease your calories again. Eat your target calories daily and see how you feel. If you can lose your 2 pounds a week while eating more calories, why not do that? Eating right and eating enough as well as exercise will increase your metabolism.
  • siantastic
    siantastic Posts: 12
    Thank you lovely people! I guess I already knew that I should be eating more, the only thing that confused me was that I'd felt so great to start off with. I will make sure I eat at least the 1720 and on days when I do a harder work out I'll try and get more in too.
  • louiseei
    louiseei Posts: 254 Member
    Think of it as providing fuel for your workouts, and the new muscled you'll be building. Eat more and you'll have the energy for an even better workout.
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