I don't have any energy?

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queensquidlet
queensquidlet Posts: 14 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm fairly new to this whole eating clean/exercising thing (I've been at it for about 1.5 months) and I've noticed something weird. When I eat healthy and exercise, I feel drained all the time.

When I was in school, I had the worst eating habits (nothing but Taco Bell for a week, nothing but coffee for a week, lots of candy, too much pizza, etc), but I felt perfectly fine (with the exception of stomach aches all the time). Now that I'm actually eating vegetables and whole grains and all that good stuff, I find myself lacking energy. I dunno, I guess I was just expecting that fueling my body with clean food would give me an energy boost or something (and not the opposite!)

I feel like part of it may be that I'm not eating enough calories? I'm 5'3", 125 lbs, and I have a desk job.. my calories are set at 1350, and to be honest, I have trouble eating that much when it's clean food. I could plow through a box of Pop Tarts with no problem, but now I'll eat a cup of broccoli and feel full for hours..

Anyway, since I'm new to this, there's probably something massive that I'm overlooking/not aware of.. if anyone has any wisdom to share, I'd very much appreciate it!

Replies

  • Jolinia
    Jolinia Posts: 846 Member
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    There are whole foods that you might be able to eat more of to give you energy. Have you tried sweet potatoes? If you aren't getting enough fat you might also feel lousy, trail mix and/or a little coconut oil might help. Although if you're like me, you might easily overdo on the trail mix. I make my own with raw seeds, nuts, and sometimes raisins. It's not cheap, but I find it gives me plenty of get up and go. If only I didn't eat so much of it when I make it!
  • queensquidlet
    queensquidlet Posts: 14 Member
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    I completely forgot that trail mix existed. I know what I'm making this weekend! (also I'll try to eat more sweet potatoes. I don't have them often, though they're super tasty)
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,514 Member
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    your calories seem rather low since your in a healthy bmi zone. try setting your weekly weight loss to 0.5lb a week

    nothing wrong with poptarts and other stuff to reach your calorie goals if it fits your macros and calories and youve had your fill of meats vegetables, fruits and grains etc for the day
  • Jolinia
    Jolinia Posts: 846 Member
    edited February 2015
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    queensquidlet wrote: »
    I completely forgot that trail mix existed. I know what I'm making this weekend! (also I'll try to eat more sweet potatoes. I don't have them often, though they're super tasty)

    One other thing I should have mentioned, if you aren't taking a multivitamin, it could also be good to make sure your foods are helping you meet your RDA of vitamins and minerals. It can be tricky on a lower calorie diet, and not getting enough iron for example can definitely make you feel lousy. Also as I said not enough fat, but also not enough protein can be an issue.
  • queensquidlet
    queensquidlet Posts: 14 Member
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    ruqayyahsmum wrote: »
    your calories seem rather low since your in a healthy bmi zone. try setting your weekly weight loss to 0.5lb a week

    nothing wrong with poptarts and other stuff to reach your calorie goals if it fits your macros and calories and youve had your fill of meats vegetables, fruits and grains etc for the day

    The problem is that the pop tarts and stuff make me sick. I feel so much better when I eat fewer processed foods.. and like I said, I already have trouble eating 1350. Changing it to .5lb per week gives me 1550, which is just more food that I'm not hungry enough to eat :open_mouth: it's a never ending cycle

  • queensquidlet
    queensquidlet Posts: 14 Member
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    Jolinia wrote: »
    One other thing I should have mentioned, if you aren't taking a multivitamin, it could also be good to make sure your foods are helping you meet your RDA of vitamins and minerals. It can be tricky on a lower calorie diet, and not getting enough iron for example can definitely make you feel lousy. Also as I said not enough fat, but also not enough protein can be an issue.

    whoops, I meant to mention that in the first post! I take a multivitamin and an iron supplement. I feel like it might maybe be that I don't have enough protein? I love my avocados and peanut butter! so I probably have enough fat (I'm still making that trail mix though yum yum)
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    You need higher calorie but lower volume foods. You don't have to eat junk. Full fat dairy products, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter. Peanut butter, nuts etc. Avocado. Olive oil (cook with it and put it on your salads, dip bread in it)

    You have no energy because you aren't getting enough fuel. Food is fuel. Eat it.
  • Jolinia
    Jolinia Posts: 846 Member
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    deksgrl wrote: »
    You need higher calorie but lower volume foods. You don't have to eat junk. Full fat dairy products, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter. Peanut butter, nuts etc. Avocado. Olive oil (cook with it and put it on your salads, dip bread in it)

    You have no energy because you aren't getting enough fuel. Food is fuel. Eat it.

    In that case, it probably comes down to this. Olive oil is indeed a yummy edition. Not to cook with, though, just drizzle it on various food. Yummy!
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,514 Member
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    queensquidlet wrote: »
    ruqayyahsmum wrote: »
    your calories seem rather low since your in a healthy bmi zone. try setting your weekly weight loss to 0.5lb a week

    nothing wrong with poptarts and other stuff to reach your calorie goals if it fits your macros and calories and youve had your fill of meats vegetables, fruits and grains etc for the day

    The problem is that the pop tarts and stuff make me sick. I feel so much better when I eat fewer processed foods.. and like I said, I already have trouble eating 1350. Changing it to .5lb per week gives me 1550, which is just more food that I'm not hungry enough to eat :open_mouth: it's a never ending cycle

    try drinking some of your calories then

    make a smoothie. greek yogurt, strawberrys, banana, other fruits and a scoop of protein powder is my go to if my stomachs rejecting solid foods
  • queensquidlet
    queensquidlet Posts: 14 Member
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    deksgrl wrote: »
    You need higher calorie but lower volume foods. You don't have to eat junk. Full fat dairy products, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter. Peanut butter, nuts etc. Avocado. Olive oil (cook with it and put it on your salads, dip bread in it)

    You have no energy because you aren't getting enough fuel. Food is fuel. Eat it.

    I don't eat dairy (woo lactose intolerance!).. I've noticed that things like nuts and avocados and olive oil, which are high in calories, are also high in fat.. is that something I need to be worried about? Like I said before, I'm super new to all of this, so I'm trying to learn these things.. thanks!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    queensquidlet wrote: »
    deksgrl wrote: »
    You need higher calorie but lower volume foods. You don't have to eat junk. Full fat dairy products, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter. Peanut butter, nuts etc. Avocado. Olive oil (cook with it and put it on your salads, dip bread in it)

    You have no energy because you aren't getting enough fuel. Food is fuel. Eat it.

    I don't eat dairy (woo lactose intolerance!).. I've noticed that things like nuts and avocados and olive oil, which are high in calories, are also high in fat.. is that something I need to be worried about? Like I said before, I'm super new to all of this, so I'm trying to learn these things.. thanks!

    You don't need to worry about fat (except trans-fats which is in "junk food"). Your body needs fats to absorb some vitamins and it is a myth that eating fat makes you fat. And it is necessary for other body processes like hormonal balances, etc. Eating more calories than your body expends makes you fat.

  • queensquidlet
    queensquidlet Posts: 14 Member
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    deksgrl wrote: »
    queensquidlet wrote: »
    deksgrl wrote: »
    You need higher calorie but lower volume foods. You don't have to eat junk. Full fat dairy products, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter. Peanut butter, nuts etc. Avocado. Olive oil (cook with it and put it on your salads, dip bread in it)

    You have no energy because you aren't getting enough fuel. Food is fuel. Eat it.

    I don't eat dairy (woo lactose intolerance!).. I've noticed that things like nuts and avocados and olive oil, which are high in calories, are also high in fat.. is that something I need to be worried about? Like I said before, I'm super new to all of this, so I'm trying to learn these things.. thanks!

    You don't need to worry about fat (except trans-fats which is in "junk food"). Your body needs fats to absorb some vitamins and it is a myth that eating fat makes you fat. And it is necessary for other body processes like hormonal balances, etc. Eating more calories than your body expends makes you fat.

    Okay, thanks! I always worry when MFP starts turning red and saying I ate too much fat (or too many carbs, or too much protein) since I don't know how much I'm actually supposed to be eating anyway :open_mouth: thank you!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    The number one thing in losing weight is being in a calorie deficit. As for macros, (carbs, protein, fat) those can be variable and you would still lose weight. I believe that the default settings on MFP is: Carbs: 50%, Protein: 20%, Fat: 30% but many people adjust those for their own goals. I have mine set to 40/30/30. But people who eat low carb have that set so that the protein and fat is higher than the carbs. As long as you don't have any sort of medical condition that requires you to eat a certain way, then just focus on getting the calories right. You can adjust the macros later if your goals change.
  • queensquidlet
    queensquidlet Posts: 14 Member
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    MeganMoroz89 wrote: »
    This is a side note, and I realize that since I post about it a lot people might get tired of hearing it, but did you get your iron and ferritin levels tested before taking an iron supplement?

    I have haemochromatosis which is a high iron problem. It's pretty much the opposite of anemia. When you have it, your body takes the iron from your blood (which can make you look anemic if you only have an iron test) and stores it around your body (like around your organs - this is why you need a ferritin test, as it tests for levels elsewhere). Having high iron presents itself the same was as it does if you were actually anemic. You get very fatigued, which in itself has numerous symptoms like light-headedness, drowsiness, fogginess in the brain, lack of focus, and the list goes on. As well, sometimes you can have some joint pain, stomach cramps/gastrointestinal problems, etc. If you were to have haemochromatosis and never treat it, it will eventually kill you because the stored iron eats away at your organs. I don't mean to be dramatic, but it's the truth. It affects about every 1 - 200 people yet for some reason doctors don't regularly do ferritin tests during yearly physicals.

    If you haven't had these tests done, please stop taking the iron supplement. Having too much iron is very dangerous and most iron supplements have a ton of iron in them, and if you're also taking that on top of a multivitamin that includes iron, that's potentially way too much for your body.

    This is interesting! I've never heard of haemochromatosis before. I'll keep it in mind, though my multivitamin doesn't have iron in it, and I suck at eating my dark leafy greens, so if I don't take my iron supplement, I would probably be super low on iron.
  • queensquidlet
    queensquidlet Posts: 14 Member
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    ((whoops, I definitely thought I mentioned this in my first post, but I guess I didn't.. I'm vegetarian. hence the iron supplements))
  • crystaleclark
    crystaleclark Posts: 6 Member
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    Check for a protien deficiency- i had one and was tired constantly, joint stiffness, foggyness, carb cravings, mood swings etc.. i was also a vegetarian at the time and it could be difficult to get the right protien. Check to make sure your eating whole sources of protiens (i.e. rice with beans, the rice has some of your nessecary protiens, but the beans will add the rest of your needed protien types)- you can search whole protiens for more info. Also make sure youre getting enough protien, since youre having trouble eating your full calorie budget, this may not be happening. I believe its 45 grams a day for woman? But, during winter time or when doing heavy workouts you may wanna raise that number to maybe 55 grams. =) hope this helps!
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,951 Member
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    ruqayyahsmum wrote: »
    your calories seem rather low since your in a healthy bmi zone. try setting your weekly weight loss to 0.5lb a week

    nothing wrong with poptarts and other stuff to reach your calorie goals if it fits your macros and calories and youve had your fill of meats vegetables, fruits and grains etc for the day

    ^Pretty much this...

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