Feeling weak

dmiruna
dmiruna Posts: 6 Member
edited November 17 in Health and Weight Loss
I was struggling to lose weight for a long, long time. At first, I was just starving myself, but after I found myfitnesspal I get that I should eat 1,200 calories a day. But still I'm kind of feeling weak and tired and if I make sport this state is amplifying. I dont know what to do :(

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Eat more
  • mch2829
    mch2829 Posts: 70 Member
    edited May 2015
    It's normal to feel more tired or weaker when you start losing weight. That feeling subsides after a few weeks. When you have a calorie deficit, your body will use up glycogen and then start burning fat. Your blood sugar will temporarily go down and your cholesterol will temporarily go up. But none of those things are something to worry about. It's better to lose the weight than to worry about temporary effects from dieting and stopping the diet.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    Eat enough to fuel your workouts. Make sure your are properly hydrated, and if it continues, see your doctor. It could be something else entirely.
  • NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner
    NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner Posts: 1,018 Member
    mch2829 wrote: »
    It's normal to feel more tired or weaker when you start losing weight. That feeling subsides after a few weeks. When you have a calorie deficit, your body will use up glycogen and then start burning fat. Your blood sugar will temporarily go down and your cholesterol will temporarily go up. But none of those things are something to worry about. It's better to lose the weight than to worry about temporary effects from dieting and stopping the diet.

    Nobody has to feel tired and weak when losing weight. They just need to pick a less aggressive target for weekly loss. Please don't people that it is normal and ok to feel that way :/
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  • mch2829
    mch2829 Posts: 70 Member
    aimeerace wrote: »
    mch2829 wrote: »
    It's normal to feel more tired or weaker when you start losing weight. That feeling subsides after a few weeks. When you have a calorie deficit, your body will use up glycogen and then start burning fat. Your blood sugar will temporarily go down and your cholesterol will temporarily go up. But none of those things are something to worry about. It's better to lose the weight than to worry about temporary effects from dieting and stopping the diet.

    Nobody has to feel tired and weak when losing weight. They just need to pick a less aggressive target for weekly loss. Please don't people that it is normal and ok to feel that way :/

    But it is normal. It doesn't matter if your deficit is 500 calories or 1500 calories. Some people will feel tired and weak from the effects of having any deficit at all. It's part of losing weight.
  • SkinnyWannabeGal
    SkinnyWannabeGal Posts: 143 Member
    Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever fully get used to eating only 1200 calories a day. There are days when I feel like 1200 just isn't enough, so I'll go ahead and eat something healthy that puts me over by an additional 100 calories or so for that day. I do try hard not to exceed 1200 calories per day unless I really feel that I need to. What I find helpful is to eat as healthy as possible so that I can eat a much larger amount of food. Consulting a doctor always helps too, just to see if there may be any underlying health concerns that you should be aware of.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    deffo eat more. you are weak because of your diet, not eating enough sucks. Find a healthy deficit thats liveable and sustainable.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    mch2829 wrote: »
    aimeerace wrote: »
    mch2829 wrote: »
    It's normal to feel more tired or weaker when you start losing weight. That feeling subsides after a few weeks. When you have a calorie deficit, your body will use up glycogen and then start burning fat. Your blood sugar will temporarily go down and your cholesterol will temporarily go up. But none of those things are something to worry about. It's better to lose the weight than to worry about temporary effects from dieting and stopping the diet.

    Nobody has to feel tired and weak when losing weight. They just need to pick a less aggressive target for weekly loss. Please don't people that it is normal and ok to feel that way :/

    But it is normal. It doesn't matter if your deficit is 500 calories or 1500 calories. Some people will feel tired and weak from the effects of having any deficit at all. It's part of losing weight.

    It might be a natural consequence, but you need to find a level where you arent hungry, you arent weak, but still lose weight. Weak and hungry flash up warnings of not being stong enough for workouts, unhappy and more likely to binge or quit.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    1200 is meant to be a starting point for those days when you aren't doing much. If you exercise, you should eat additional calories.
  • JillianRN527
    JillianRN527 Posts: 109 Member
    I have felt horrible since day one. It is now day 6 and the fog is finally getting better. I think I started too much change at once but I just need to quick cold turkey or I'll never give in.

    I went from eating pure crap at work (RN who works 12 hour shifts), fast food, tons of coffee with Splenda, etc. Now I'm eating 1600 calories a day and only having 16 ounces of coffee per day (8 in the am, 8 in the afternoon), no more fake sugar, and having lots of protein. I'm sure the caffeine and sugar withdraw is what made me feel horrible. It was worth it because I lost 4.6 pounds this week and I drank 3/4 gallon of water per day.

    Good luck! You can do this!
  • LMS120yesIcan
    LMS120yesIcan Posts: 35 Member
    Make sure most of your calories are from vegetables and lean meat and not from pop, candy, potatoe chips, etc. if you are eating healthy then up your calories for awhile and see how you feel. If no change see your doctor for some professional advice.
  • nikkinoellemary
    nikkinoellemary Posts: 119 Member
    From strictly an anecdotal standpoint, I definitely did feel pretty tired when I started losing, though pushing through it by exercising anyway worked pretty well. I feel on top of the world after a good dose of cardio.

    It did go away quickly enough as I exercised consistently and maintained a reasonable deficit and now aside from grad school stress and late nights I feel pretty okay. Just really make sure you are getting enough to eat (i.e. weigh and log your food accurately, make sure the deficit you are at is right for you, etc.) and that you eat some of your exercise calories back when you work out. That's very important. Good luck!
  • justinriel35
    justinriel35 Posts: 3 Member
    1200 is meant to be a starting point for those days when you aren't doing much. If you exercise, you should eat additional calories.

    This.

    Eat more, exercise more. You will feel mentally and physically better. In my experience at least.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited May 2015
    mch2829 wrote: »
    aimeerace wrote: »
    mch2829 wrote: »
    It's normal to feel more tired or weaker when you start losing weight. That feeling subsides after a few weeks. When you have a calorie deficit, your body will use up glycogen and then start burning fat. Your blood sugar will temporarily go down and your cholesterol will temporarily go up. But none of those things are something to worry about. It's better to lose the weight than to worry about temporary effects from dieting and stopping the diet.

    Nobody has to feel tired and weak when losing weight. They just need to pick a less aggressive target for weekly loss. Please don't people that it is normal and ok to feel that way :/

    But it is normal. It doesn't matter if your deficit is 500 calories or 1500 calories. Some people will feel tired and weak from the effects of having any deficit at all. It's part of losing weight.

    Well, actually, it's not normal. It can be a sign that you are eating too few calories and not properly fueling your body, or it can be something else entirely.

    OP, you need to eat more. If that doesn't help, pay a visit to the doctor.
  • grandma107
    grandma107 Posts: 70 Member
    I have felt horrible since day one. It is now day 6 and the fog is finally getting better. I think I started too much change at once but I just need to quick cold turkey or I'll never give in.

    I went from eating pure crap at work (RN who works 12 hour shifts), fast food, tons of coffee with Splenda, etc. Now I'm eating 1600 calories a day and only having 16 ounces of coffee per day (8 in the am, 8 in the afternoon), no more fake sugar, and having lots of protein. I'm sure the caffeine and sugar withdraw is what made me feel horrible. It was worth it because I lost 4.6 pounds this week and I drank 3/4 gallon of water per day.

    Good luck! You can do this!

  • grandma107
    grandma107 Posts: 70 Member
    Did MFP tell you to start at 1200 calories? Seems low for a starting point. Blessings.
  • dmiruna
    dmiruna Posts: 6 Member
    grandma107 wrote: »
    Did MFP tell you to start at 1200 calories? Seems low for a starting point. Blessings.
    Yes.
  • dmiruna
    dmiruna Posts: 6 Member
    Thank you all of you, guys. It s har for me because I don t really know what and how much to eat, but I will try to improve my diet.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    1200 was the number MFP gave me and it just wasn't working. I could stay at that number but I felt crappy so I upped it manually to 1350. According to every calculator I've used, 1200 is under my BMR. That 150 extra made a huge difference and didn't affect my overall loss. I also eat back at least half of my exercise calories. Sometimes you just have to play with the numbers until you find the balance.
  • boredfatman
    boredfatman Posts: 100 Member
    Ok, my two cents.

    I have had a cold all week. On Friday I went for a run in the cold and think I overdid it, plus I ran without breakfast and also before lunch.
    I've been cold and shivery since then and I'm having fish and chips tonight because my body seems to be craving it. Our bodies tell us what we need I think...
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Everybody is giving advice without knowing a thing about this poster.

    OP... what are your stats? How tall are you, how much do you currently weigh? How much weight did you plug into the system as a projected loss per week goal?
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    mch2829 wrote: »
    aimeerace wrote: »
    mch2829 wrote: »
    It's normal to feel more tired or weaker when you start losing weight. That feeling subsides after a few weeks. When you have a calorie deficit, your body will use up glycogen and then start burning fat. Your blood sugar will temporarily go down and your cholesterol will temporarily go up. But none of those things are something to worry about. It's better to lose the weight than to worry about temporary effects from dieting and stopping the diet.

    Nobody has to feel tired and weak when losing weight. They just need to pick a less aggressive target for weekly loss. Please don't people that it is normal and ok to feel that way :/

    But it is normal. It doesn't matter if your deficit is 500 calories or 1500 calories. Some people will feel tired and weak from the effects of having any deficit at all. It's part of losing weight.

    No. It's not normal for an 18 year old girl. There are things everybody can do to mitigate the effects of eating at a deficit. I'm a 52 year old woman with multiple medical conditions, and save for when they're acting up, I never feel weak.

    Sometimes, people pick too aggressive a deficit. Sometimes, they can tweak their macro balance for more energy. Sometimes, they've exercised too aggressively for a beginner. Sometimes, there's an underlying medical issue.

    There is no reason for someone to feel weak while eating at a safe, sustainable rate for losing weight comfortably.

  • dmiruna
    dmiruna Posts: 6 Member
    Everybody is giving advice without knowing a thing about this poster.

    OP... what are your stats? How tall are you, how much do you currently weigh? How much weight did you plug into the system as a projected loss per week goal?
    I m 5.4 tall and I have 149 pounds. I just want to have like 116 pounds or something. I just adjusted my diet to 1,400 calories.

  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    dmiruna wrote: »
    Everybody is giving advice without knowing a thing about this poster.

    OP... what are your stats? How tall are you, how much do you currently weigh? How much weight did you plug into the system as a projected loss per week goal?
    I m 5.4 tall and I have 149 pounds. I just want to have like 116 pounds or something. I just adjusted my diet to 1,400 calories.

    That's a ... pretty low goal weight, verging on underweight by some estimations, for your height. Are you very small-framed? It was obvious that you chose too aggressive a deficit. You don't have enough to lose to try to lose at a rate of 2 pounds a week. You need to have a lot of fat on you to do that and still retain lean muscle mass.

    Please rethink your goal weight. You can have a leaner look at a higher weight if you incorporate strength training into your workouts.

  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    dmiruna wrote: »
    Everybody is giving advice without knowing a thing about this poster.

    OP... what are your stats? How tall are you, how much do you currently weigh? How much weight did you plug into the system as a projected loss per week goal?
    I m 5.4 tall and I have 149 pounds. I just want to have like 116 pounds or something. I just adjusted my diet to 1,400 calories.

    That's a ... pretty low goal weight, verging on underweight by some estimations, for your height. Are you very small-framed? It was obvious that you chose too aggressive a deficit. You don't have enough to lose to try to lose at a rate of 2 pounds a week. You need to have a lot of fat on you to do that and still retain lean muscle mass.

    Please rethink your goal weight. You can have a leaner look at a higher weight if you incorporate strength training into your workouts.

  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    dmiruna wrote: »
    I m 5.4 tall and I have 149 pounds. I just want to have like 116 pounds or something. I just adjusted my diet to 1,400 calories.

    I don't think it is normal to feel weak unless you are eating too few calories or are sick.

    Don't try to lose more than 1 lb a week.
    If you are a pretty active person without exercise then make sure you have selected active for your activity level instead of sedentary.
    If you exercise then eat a portion of the calories you earn from that.
    Get enough sleep.
    Drink water.

    If you still feel weak after eating more calories then please see your doctor.
This discussion has been closed.