Less -not more- energy due to weight loss?

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Hungry_Shopgirl
Hungry_Shopgirl Posts: 329 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey y'all,

I've been really struggling with fatigue lately. I spent two days this week in bed all day sleeping (and slept through the night too) and have needed extra naps during the other days as well. This has been ongoing for a few months but it's gotten worse. I don't have the flu, am not pregnant and don't have an infection (at least that I'm aware of).

I workout 5x a week (following FitnessBlender's 4 week mass program at the moment), am not eating at a deficit and am a great weight for my height (BMI is 23).

I did go to the doctor. He was not very helpful. Checked my thyroid levels (I've been on synthroid for over a decade) and they all came out fine. Gave me citrulline malate (stimol) to drink every day and sent me on my way saying it would sort itself out. That was months ago. It hasn't.

At this point the fatigue is really interfering with my life. This was never an issue for me before losing 50ish lb, which is tempting me to just gain it all back on purpose just to feel energized again!!

Has this happened to anyone else on here? Any ideas or suggestions?
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Replies

  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
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    I'd go back to the doctor.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    You've been eating at too big of a caloric deficit for too long? If so, take a diet break, eat at maintenance for 4-6 weeks and see how you feel.

    You're anemic and not getting enough iron? Check with your doctor, maybe you need an iron supplement.

  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    What were the results of your thyroid tests? Was this TSH only or did this include fT3, fT4, and rT3? Also noting that the revised TSH normal range is 0.2-2.0. What dose are you currently on and do you take this early/late on an empty stomach?

    I would not recommend gaining the weight back - that's correlative, not causative. There's something else going on that you haven't isolated yet.

    When speaking with your doctor show them your MFP diary and see if they note anything. Medical professionals do well with data - not so much with subjective information and that make diagnosis extremely difficult.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,166 Member
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    Did the doc check iron, vitamin D, anything else?
  • Hungry_Shopgirl
    Hungry_Shopgirl Posts: 329 Member
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    Thanks everyone for your ideas. I'm going back to the dr this week and will get all that checked (the different thyroid parameters, iron, Vitamin d). Hopefully I can get some answers. Thanks again!
  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
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    I agree with checking the others. How long did it take you to lose the 50 pounds? How large is your deficit? Try eating at maintenance for a little bit and see what happens. Did you cut carbs?
    I take iron because i was anemic, it has helped a little with energy
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Iron levels?
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    To reinforce everyone's good advice:
    • Check vitamin/mineral levels: Iron/ferritin, vitamin D and Bs.
    • Complete thyroid panel, not just TSH. If yur Free T3 is low, you may need additional supplementation (Cytomel).
    • Too few calories for too long. Consider eating at maintenance and be sure to evaluate what maintenance should be for you. Take a diet break and don't fear eating more. Maintenance does not mean gaining weight.
    • If the fatigue comes with shortness of breath when not exercising, accelerated heart beat, and/or any pain above the waist ask your doctor for an immediate referral to a cardiologist.

    Hope you're on the mend soon! :heart:
  • foodhasfeelingstoo
    foodhasfeelingstoo Posts: 13 Member
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    Or perhaps working out five days a week is too much?! Depends on how exactly your workout makes you feel. If it's exhausting I wouldn't be surprised that you're tired all the time. Happened to me recently. Got a bit too excited over running every day.
  • McGuite1976
    McGuite1976 Posts: 2 Member
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    Are you depressed?
  • Hungry_Shopgirl
    Hungry_Shopgirl Posts: 329 Member
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    Hey everyone! Here's an update in case you're interested:

    I went to the doctor today. TSH levels were 1.78 uIU/L (normal); she wouldn't check my T3, T4 or rT3 unless TSH was abnormal, so I don't have any data there. Instead of checking my Iron she checked MCV and RDW; both were flagged as low but close enough to normal that she said there was no problem there (79.4 fL for the first, 8.9% for the second). So no anemia or iron deficiency.

    She checked my heart with a heart ultrasound and an ECG. Turns out I have a textbook normal, healthy heart. Resting heartbeat of 69 (even though when the nurse measured it earlier it was 98; I asked about this and she said it was normal).

    So by the end of the appointment the doctor kinda turned to me and said: "You're great! Everything looks great!" Of course, I'm glad I don't have heart problems, but not being able to get out of bed twice a week is not being "great". It was frustrating to leave there a few dollars poorer and no closer to an answer.

    She prescribed me with multivitamins. I'm so frustrated I could cry.
  • cs2thecox
    cs2thecox Posts: 533 Member
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    foodhasfeelingstoo wrote: »
    Or perhaps working out five days a week is too much?! Depends on how exactly your workout makes you feel. If it's exhausting I wouldn't be surprised that you're tired all the time. Happened to me recently. Got a bit too excited over running every day.

    This.
    I was pushing it too hard because I wanted results, and over did it to the point of seemingly endless fatigue.

    Now I only really work out 3 days a week, plus incidental hikes and stuff, and feel a TON better, am able to eat better because I'm not trying to battle through fatigue using food, and am actually getting better results.

    Also, if you've been training hard for a long time, maybe you just need a deload and a rest week. Most people do from time to time. Listen to your body, give it the breaks you need, and it'll pay you back.
  • Lou_trition
    Lou_trition Posts: 41 Member
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    Hey, I tried to view your diary but you dont have it open.
    I have also lost a lot of weight and have no obtained a diploma in nutrition.

    Fatigue- energy is low yet all of your blood tests are coming back normal- my first initial thought is you arent eating enough and secondly you arent eating enough carbs.

    Working out 5 times a week you need to be eating carbs (especially if you arent in a deficit!)
    If you want to open up your diary- Id be happy to help guide you.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,298 Member
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    I'm sorry you may have a similar problem to one many of us have with our doctors. they think they can tell from tsh what is going on with our endocrine systems and those above who say test both forms of t3, t4 and even thyroid antibodies are right. Its complicated because the most important, active thyroid hormone is the t3 and there can be issues of not having enough, conversion or other glands not requesting enough be made.

    If you have high levels of thyroid antibodies this too will diminish your activity levels. In the early stages of Hashimoto's it presents with so called "normal" thyroid levels, this is documented. Many doctors do not see any reason to test for these because they are of the opinion there is nothing to be done to help. But there is, you may have read of people going dairy free, gluten free and the like, the reason is, food molecules get mistaken for our own tissue and then our immune system tries to rid us of those and our own cells.

    Please go back to your doctor again and again if necessary, though finding another possibly from a list compiled by thyroid support sites, from patient recommendations, might be more helpful because these medics are more inclined to test to see what is going on rather than go by the tsh being under 2 which is now being seen as old hat, under 1 being what some take as adequate.

    Trying to over exercise is not always helpful either because if one of the other glands, which one escapes me at the moment, if its is low functioning its counterproductive and only makes one more tired.

    So please read what you can, list your additional symptoms, to the ones when you were first diagnosed and use your food diary from here. this additional information could make a difference otherwise, please find another doctor.

    All the best, please keep pushing this one.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    loopysilvette wrote: »
    Hey, I tried to view your diary but you dont have it open.
    I have also lost a lot of weight and have no obtained a diploma in nutrition.

    Fatigue- energy is low yet all of your blood tests are coming back normal- my first initial thought is you arent eating enough and secondly you arent eating enough carbs.

    Working out 5 times a week you need to be eating carbs (especially if you arent in a deficit!)
    If you want to open up your diary- Id be happy to help guide you.

    I tend to agree with this.

    I am very, very active, but whenever I cut my carb levels, I just can't keep it up.

    Plenty of starchy carbs (like whole grains and starchier vegetables like potatoes/sweet potatoes and winter squash) and protein are key to keeping my energy levels up.

    Also, I find it helpful to not give in to the desire to nap and to do my best to keep consistent sleep/wake times.

    I have several medical conditions that carry fatigue as a side effect, so I've become pretty vigilant about managing it.

    If I were in your shoes, I'd check cut back on exercise at first (or at least switch out two of your workouts to something simple like walking), and play around with macros while trying to sort out your sleeping schedule into something more regular.

    Also, how is your caffeine consumption? One of the things I have to do is manage my caffeine consumption. I only drink two cups of tea in the morning. When I have a taste for coffee, I only drink decaf (since it has caffeine, and drink a French press full of it.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    how many calories a day are you netting?
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
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    You could be over training, under eating, or both. Spending whole days in bed to recoop isn't a good sign. Like others said, post some specifics. Exactly how much do you eat in a day, exactly how much exercise? Open up your diary for people to poke around. If you're not eating enough, you will get fatigued over time and it's tough to recover from. You might think you're eating "a lot" but if you're exercising hard you might still need more. If you're exercising too much you can get fatigued even if you're eating enough. Gotta find balance.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    I was super fatigued while "trying" to diet this fall, but was always in maintenance. After bloodwork came back for something else, it turned out I had mono all fall and just kept working through it...I don't know. Is it possible you are sick? Any other symptoms?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,898 Member
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    Geocitiesuser wrote: »
    You could be over training, under eating, or both. Spending whole days in bed to recoop isn't a good sign. Like others said, post some specifics. Exactly how much do you eat in a day, exactly how much exercise? Open up your diary for people to poke around. If you're not eating enough, you will get fatigued over time and it's tough to recover from. You might think you're eating "a lot" but if you're exercising hard you might still need more. If you're exercising too much you can get fatigued even if you're eating enough. Gotta find balance.

    Once anemia was ruled out, I was wondering about undereating/overtraining too.

    @Hungry_Shopgirl - what percentage of the calories you earn from exercise do you eat back?
  • Dr__Girlfriend
    Dr__Girlfriend Posts: 100 Member
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    Honestly, could you be depressed? It manifests in many different ways, but over-sleeping and lethargy are definitely a flag. Something to consider if you've been feeling more stressed out lately. You could be overtraining - exercise is stress after all.

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