so tired
BldnBlue
Posts: 8 Member
I am the typical yoyo dieter. I lose the weight, then gain it back.
Everytime I get "on the wagon" I am so tired. I hear so many people talk about all of the energy they get when they are eating healthy and working out. NOT me, I get so tired, to where all I'm doing is working, working out, and sleeping!! Please help. . . I try to stick to very low carbs, high protein. As little sugar as possible.
Help!
Everytime I get "on the wagon" I am so tired. I hear so many people talk about all of the energy they get when they are eating healthy and working out. NOT me, I get so tired, to where all I'm doing is working, working out, and sleeping!! Please help. . . I try to stick to very low carbs, high protein. As little sugar as possible.
Help!
0
Replies
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Sounds like you might be going through the initial adjustment period. if its been longer than 2 weeks, it might be the carbs...... You may need to add a little more back in, but then taper off slowly? Could also be that you aren't getting enough to eat... All of these have been my experience when trying low carb and vegan diets. they work well but I was always tired. If neither of these suite your situation,- try a multi vitamin with b12 in it! hope this helps!!!!2
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I take a daily multi vitamin, and sometimes supplement with 2 b-12's. I am on day 81, so I should be past the initials. I'm thinking I may need to add a bit of carbs, and maybe an iron supplement as well. This has always happened to me (I lose 15-20lbs every year, then gain it back) I stop the food /exercise religion once I get to my goal weight, because I'm so tired. I'd like to stay on track this time, since I'm so close to my goal weight again.
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I took a peek at your diary, and I would be tired too. You're typically undereating (assuming those low-calorie days are accurate), you've chosen a really aggressive deficit and you're choosing a lot of very calorie-dense foods so you're probably hungry a lot of the time.
Go back to the basics...tell MFP you want to lose 1 pound per week so you have more calories to play with. Weight loss isn't about how quickly you can lose weight, it's about how long you can stick to your deficit. (You already know this, because you've lost and gained it back in the past). I would aim for foods that are less calorie-dense and have more fiber to help keep you fuller longer as well.7 -
Try a different diet. Sounds like low-carb is just nothing for you.
There is no one-size-fits-all-approach in dieting - if there was, we'd already have our one proven miracle solution.
There's no point in trying the same thing over and over again when you keep failing at it and keep experiencing the same symptoms. Don't hop on the wagon. Dig your own road.3 -
Alice,
If you just looked at the last week or two, I've kinda slacked off a bit, on workouts and foods - but yes, all of my diary entries are accurate. The only things not logged are my daily multi vitamin and amino acids.
Even if I adjust and say I want to lose 1 lbs per week, Myfitness still tells me to stay under 1200 calories. If I go down to .5 it gives me 1300 calories per day.
I also track with FitBit.
I've lost 15lbs in 12 weeks. In the past I've been more extreme - losing 18 lbs in 6 weeks.
Maybe I should also add, that I have been caffeine free for about 2 1/2 months as well. Prior I used to have 1 cup of coffee per day, and sometimes drank iced tea.
Should I be using the "extra" calories I earn when doing workouts?0 -
Restricting your carbs is probably making you tired. Your brain and body runs on carbs. If you're a yoyo dieter try a high carb low fat vegan diet for a week and see if your energy levels go up!3
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Alice,
If you just looked at the last week or two, I've kinda slacked off a bit, on workouts and foods - but yes, all of my diary entries are accurate. The only things not logged are my daily multi vitamin and amino acids.
Even if I adjust and say I want to lose 1 lbs per week, Myfitness still tells me to stay under 1200 calories. If I go down to .5 it gives me 1300 calories per day.
I also track with FitBit.
I've lost 15lbs in 12 weeks. In the past I've been more extreme - losing 18 lbs in 6 weeks.
Maybe I should also add, that I have been caffeine free for about 2 1/2 months as well. Prior I used to have 1 cup of coffee per day, and sometimes drank iced tea.
Should I be using the "extra" calories I earn when doing workouts?
Maybe the reason you yo-yo is because you are being overly restrictive and losing the weight quicker than is comfortable for your body? You lost 1.5lbs per week before, but you gained it back. So maybe slower will help you find a way of eating that will stick.
Yes, you should be eating back at least some of your exercise calories.
I can't do low carb, it makes me tired, cranky, and unhappy, I lost weight fine with balanced macros, but everyone is different when it comes to which foods make them feel full and happy
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Alice,
If you just looked at the last week or two, I've kinda slacked off a bit, on workouts and foods - but yes, all of my diary entries are accurate. The only things not logged are my daily multi vitamin and amino acids.
Even if I adjust and say I want to lose 1 lbs per week, Myfitness still tells me to stay under 1200 calories. If I go down to .5 it gives me 1300 calories per day.
I also track with FitBit.
I've lost 15lbs in 12 weeks. In the past I've been more extreme - losing 18 lbs in 6 weeks.
Maybe I should also add, that I have been caffeine free for about 2 1/2 months as well. Prior I used to have 1 cup of coffee per day, and sometimes drank iced tea.
Should I be using the "extra" calories I earn when doing workouts?
Yeah, I only looked through about 10 days. Even so, you had some crazy low-calorie days, which isn't necessary unless you're doing something like a 5:2 fasting thing. Your goal should be to eat as much as you can and still lose weight, not to eat as little as possible and make yourself miserable. Again, you already know that the latter doesn't work.
What is your CW? Typically, when you're getting really low calorie targets even for a goal of 1 pound per week, it's because you're already at or close to a healthy weight. (Or it's a weird glitch, which happens sometimes). Did you choose Sedentary? Very few people are truly sedentary, so you may want to try Lightly Active, which will give you a higher target.
Yes, you should absolutely eat back your exercise calories! That's the way MFP is designed; other calculator methods average those in, so if you used another method you'd have those extras built into your target. Try eating back 50-75% of them, because sometimes the burn estimates are on the high side, but eating them back should help.
Congratulations on being caffeine-free! You're a braver woman than I am After 2.5 weeks, you should be past the initial withdrawals, so the lack of caffeine shouldn't be impacting your energy level much anymore. 1 -
I would never even think of doing low carb since I know I would be miserable on it. Same with cutting sugar, I wouldn't last a week so I don't do it. Still lost a bunch of weight, as long as you can stick to your calorie limit the food macros don't really matter.
Main thing for me was finding food that is filling (for me that's veggies/fruit/fiber) and allows me to keep a small calorie deficit. Definitely don't go too aggressive, so what if you "only" lose 0.5 lbs a week or less, at least you will still be able to function.0 -
Do you absolutely have to do low carb? When I tried it (low carb) I was the same as you're feeling now. I've upped my carbs from 100 to 150-160 grams and I've started loosing weight. I've found my balance now-I'm enjoying HIIT workouts without feeling overly tired.
You need to find your balance too. There is no one-size-fits-all plan.0 -
overly restricting and low carbs = recipe for tiredness and yo-yoing.2
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Will check back in with everyone in about 2 weeks and see how its going. I adjusted my intake calories up to 1360 per day via MFP. I had a few potatoes with my pork tenderloin for dinner last night, and started my day with oatmeal today. Will incorporate a few more carbs and see how my energy levels go.
I tend to do low carb, because when I allow myself carbs I eat the wrong ones, especially POTATO chips, PASTA and bread.
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Will check back in with everyone in about 2 weeks and see how its going. I adjusted my intake calories up to 1360 per day via MFP. I had a few potatoes with my pork tenderloin for dinner last night, and started my day with oatmeal today. Will incorporate a few more carbs and see how my energy levels go.
I tend to do low carb, because when I allow myself carbs I eat the wrong ones, especially POTATO chips, PASTA and bread.
I did find reducing carbs helpful, but low carb would not be sustainable for me. So now I have about 4 ounces of cooked pasta, plus a protein and non-starchy veg, and do not feel deprived. I have 75-100 grams of rice per servings now, which is probably half what I used to eat. I use bread made from sprouted grains rather than flour - bread from flour makes me sleepy.
Very rarely I have a single serve bag of potato chips. I don't buy full size bags because that would be difficult for me to moderate.3 -
Alice,
If you just looked at the last week or two, I've kinda slacked off a bit, on workouts and foods - but yes, all of my diary entries are accurate. The only things not logged are my daily multi vitamin and amino acids.
Even if I adjust and say I want to lose 1 lbs per week, Myfitness still tells me to stay under 1200 calories. If I go down to .5 it gives me 1300 calories per day.
I also track with FitBit.
I've lost 15lbs in 12 weeks. In the past I've been more extreme - losing 18 lbs in 6 weeks.
Maybe I should also add, that I have been caffeine free for about 2 1/2 months as well. Prior I used to have 1 cup of coffee per day, and sometimes drank iced tea.
Should I be using the "extra" calories I earn when doing workouts?
According to your profile you have around 10 pounds to lose? If this is the case your weekly weight loss goal should be no more than 0.5 pound per week.
MFP uses the NEAT method, and as such the system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p12 -
You may also need to adjust your percentages of Carbs, Fats, and Proteins. The default settings may not work for you. Try upping your carbs by 10% and your fats and/or proteins down a little. It may be a case of you are eating far too much protein or fats (don't cut fats to zero as your body needs them to metabolize vitamins and regulate other things.) Or you may need more Fats if your fat intake is too low. This has a good description of the fats and what they do. The only really bad fat is trans fats. Everything in moderation is the key.1
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I was on a strict allergy diet once. Very low carbs and fat. Since I have a diabetic son, I was able to test my blood sugar during that time. My blood sugars were 29-30 range. My son went into a major diabetic reaction at those levels.
Restricting carbs too much will affect your brain and can cause minor brain damage if deprived over a long period of time. Plus I felt like crap and very tired.
Your skin and heart need fats to function properly. Balance diet and losing at a slower rate will stop you from the yo-yo dieting. Go to half pound/week loss goal. You will feel better and will still reach your goal. Hope you feel better.0 -
I took a peek at your diary and I think you could feel a lot better with a few different choices. Ex - one day you ate 6 hersheys pieces with almonds for breakfast , 300 cals. That barely fills the tummy. You could fit something like a big old smoothie and eggs in that same calorie range but it will keep you fuller longer.
Other days you have a lunch of 8 oz juice and one graham cracker. It sounds like you are not giving your body nearly the fuel it needs. I would definitely try to eat at least a few more filling meals and bump up the calories a bit. 0 -
I would try eating more whole foods. Add in some fresh veggies, you said you like chips if that crunch is satisfying try some baby carrots or celery. Congrats on the progress that you have made so far. Sticking to your diet for 80+ days is no small achievement.1
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I have just been told by a medical professional that low carb depletes your energy. Also, have you gotten blood work done? I am the same way, and I learned that I have Hashimoto's, and possibly Chronic Fatigue and Candida. (I say possibly cuz even though my doctor said I do, the only way they determine it is to rule other things out first.)0
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I took a peek at your diary and I think you could feel a lot better with a few different choices. Ex - one day you ate 6 hersheys pieces with almonds for breakfast , 300 cals. That barely fills the tummy. You could fit something like a big old smoothie and eggs in that same calorie range but it will keep you fuller longer.
Other days you have a lunch of 8 oz juice and one graham cracker. It sounds like you are not giving your body nearly the fuel it needs. I would definitely try to eat at least a few more filling meals and bump up the calories a bit.
I had to laugh at this response! The last two weeks of my diary are horrible examples of my food intake.
The 6 mini Hershey's was PMS food, and that's all I allowed myself ! Sometimes I haven't made it to the 1000 calorie mark- especially low activity and low energy days due to my period, and I will inflate some of my portions just to get it to that make.
The second reference to the juice and a graham cracker was a day I was fasting for blood tests, stress test, and other medical exams, and the juice and graham cracker was what I got right after the stress test!
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some people function better with low carb, some people don't. I myself don't go crazy with carbs, but if I got to low im so tired, have foggy thinking and totally unmotivated. Carbs aren't bad, they are energy. Plus depending on how many calories your eating, they may be too low. low calories and low carbs are probably the 2 most common reasons for low energy.
If not im also anemic (low iron) and got a shot which has helped immensely with my energy levels.
good luck 0 -
Will check back in with everyone in about 2 weeks and see how its going. I adjusted my intake calories up to 1360 per day via MFP. I had a few potatoes with my pork tenderloin for dinner last night, and started my day with oatmeal today. Will incorporate a few more carbs and see how my energy levels go.
I tend to do low carb, because when I allow myself carbs I eat the wrong ones, especially POTATO chips, PASTA and bread.
Here's the thing, you can eat those potato chips and pasta! Just log them correctly and make sure they fit into your alloted daily calories. 1360 sounds much more doable than 1200. Give yourself some leeway to eat things that you love to eat.
Remember the most important concept to losing weight is your must burn more calories than you consume. As long as you follow that rule you can eat anything you want.
And give yourself a break and enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning!1 -
Alice,
If you just looked at the last week or two, I've kinda slacked off a bit, on workouts and foods - but yes, all of my diary entries are accurate. The only things not logged are my daily multi vitamin and amino acids.
Even if I adjust and say I want to lose 1 lbs per week, Myfitness still tells me to stay under 1200 calories. If I go down to .5 it gives me 1300 calories per day.
I also track with FitBit.
I've lost 15lbs in 12 weeks. In the past I've been more extreme - losing 18 lbs in 6 weeks.
Maybe I should also add, that I have been caffeine free for about 2 1/2 months as well. Prior I used to have 1 cup of coffee per day, and sometimes drank iced tea.
Should I be using the "extra" calories I earn when doing workouts?
Yes. Eat at least 1/2 of your workout calories back and add iron and vitamin C to your supplements. I personally don't do well on a low carb diet, but I know that isn't true of everyone.1
This discussion has been closed.
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