Been calorie counting for 9 months, started lifting and felt my energy levels plummet...

For some reason I am not able to see your diary, but have you increased your calories? Lifting can be seriously draining in a deficit. I would try adding just a couple of hundred calories and see how you feel. The small increase will not have a dramatic effect on your weight loss, but should have a dramatic effect on your sanity.

Assuming you are getting adequate protein already, I would definitely make those extra calories from carbs! Personally, I am always hungrier the day after I lift, and I like to save the extra calories for then. Also, since you are doing strong lifts, make sure that you follow the directions and started off very light. That's a pretty demanding beginners program.

As far as your weight-loss slowing down, I think that is normal when you lose a lot of weight. If you've noticed it even more in the two weeks since you started lifting, that is also normal as you will retain water. Someone else can probably explain that part better than I can.

Hi- well done on your weigh loss so far! Amazing effort. From my experience sometimes when you plateau with weight loss it is usually caused by eating too much salt, not eating enough and not drinking enough water. I know sounds a bit counter-productive to eat more when you are trying to lose weight but the body does need the extra nutrients to restarts its processes and stop your muscles from eating themselves. I would suggest going into a bulking stage for a week or two. That is, eat clean and add about 100-250 more calories then you normally would through carbs and protein and minimise salt intake. By salt intake I don't mean to just stop adding salt on food, but to stop eating anything that is processed or that you didn't cook yourself. Many companies use salt as a flavour enhancer and preservative for their food. Cheese, sauces and anything that comes out of the box should be removed completely for just a little while until your body kick starts again. Also eat more carbs and more protein. Good carbs from veggies and proteins from vegetables, nuts and meats (turkey, chicken, beef, pork, tuna the list goes on) will give you the extra energy. Have something small to eat before you lift and have protein after to keep your energy up. You sound exhausted and a little bit of sweet potato and grilled fish with a scoop of ice cream afterwards will do your body and soul a lot of good. I hope this helps. There is a lot of literature available on the above points as well. Best of luck in your journey to meet your goals.

I'm no expert, but I am also doing 5x5 and I eat more than you do. Granted, I am only trying to lose that last 3-5 pounds, so my deficit will be smaller, but I really don't think 1400-1500 calories is enough. I try to net 1720.

Also, in my first few weeks of 5x5, my weight actually jumped up by 4 pounds and I couldn't get it to budge for about 5-6 weeks. Then my weight loss resumed its normal pace.

Oh yea! Can't believe I forgot WATER. Drink a ton of it! You'd be shocked how much dehydration can drain your energy. And don't be scared of adding in more food! You've done awesome so far and you are doing everything right. You got this!

Try the TDEE method. Google scoobys workshop, he has a calculator that is often recommended on here. The TDEE method takes into account your activity level + exercise so you will have a set number every day regardless of exercise. You do not eat back exercise calories. You can manually adjust your goal on MFP.

I use this method, and also base my calories on the weekly average rather than daily. This way if I'm hungrier one day, I can eat extra, and simply cut a little another day. It's really up to you how you approach it. But it does sound like a set calorie goal would be easiest for you, so I would go with TDEE.

cant access your diary.
i find 30 mins of strength training more draining than 2 hours of cardio.
1 more protein
2 rest day after strength training or just more recovery days.
congrats on the huge loss so far.

I'm doing Strong Curves, and I drink one cup of 1% chocolate milk after each workout. It has a 4:1 ratio of carbs to fat that is supposed to be ideal as a recovery drink. Then about an hour later I eat a regular meal. I find that a recovery drink, within my calories for the day, helps a lot with my energy. I am exhausted the rest of the day if I don't have a recovery drink. You can buy recovery drinks with this ratio, but a lot of people just do the chocolate milk thing. It's freaking yummy!

When I first started doing Stronglifts, I felt the same way, very hungry and tired afterwards. It did level off, though, after I was doing the program for a few weeks. And don't be surprise if your loss stalls for a few weeks after starting. It's completely normal water retention.