Diet fatigue

martinezjacqui403
martinezjacqui403 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been tracking everything I've eaten, exercising 50% more than normal, and skipping alcohol and dessert for two months. My results have been great. I'm down 18.5 lbs. I need to lose at least 40 in total according to my doctor.

That said, I'm mentally and physically exhausted. Everyone says they gain energy when they lose weight, but I'm tired mentally and physically. I had a full panel of blood work done 1 month ago, so I know there is nothing wrong with me. I think I'm just hitting a motivational wall.

I see the excercise and the choice of healthier foods as sustainable, but not the constant counting for the rest of my life. I just don't enjoy food anymore.

Any words of encouragement?

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    How many calories are you eating a day? Are you eating your exercise calories back?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Losing weight for health, doing it in a healthy way, should make you feel better. The mere thought of having to restrict food intake and exercise more and do it for a long time, can create diet fatigue. But if you're overdoing it (undereating and/or overexercising and/or depriving yourself of enjoyable foods), you will be downright exhausted and miserable. Have you overdone it?
  • martinezjacqui403
    martinezjacqui403 Posts: 4 Member
    1400 when I don't exercise, 1600 when I do. If I do a 90+ min bike ride, I'll allow myself more if I'm hungry. 1350 would be the target to lose 1.5 lbs per week with no exercise for my stats.
  • martinezjacqui403
    martinezjacqui403 Posts: 4 Member
    I don't think the calories are too low. Sometimes I can barely make myself eat them. The absolute lack of sweets (which I used to eat daily) and alcohol (which I used to drink in moderation a couple times a week with friends) is part of my exhaustion. I am two months in so any physical reaction to those changes should have passed, right? I also am sick to my stomach a lot more often.
  • Iheartrunning36
    Iheartrunning36 Posts: 73 Member
    Add me as a friend, I had the same attitude. I was tired the first three weeks...it's our body adjusting. You need lots of support along the way! Don't give up the first month is the hardest. I have over 40 to lose.....I'm down 18 pounds in 8 weeks. It's worth it. Start of slowly, choose to walk at least 30-60 man a day--it helps if you do activities you love or are interested in. Change your mind about food, if you hate food find food you love, get healthy low cal new meals to try.....find a partner to work out with.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    There's really no reason to eliminate fun and taste from your life. If you want to have a glass of wine with friends, by all means, do it! The way to do it and stay on track is to make sure you log it. Before I have my wine, I log it so I know how many calories are left to eat for dinner. The same with dessert. I had half a slice of cherry pie with Reddi Wip last night. I searched the database for homemade cherry pie and entered 0.5 serving. Fun fact: Reddi Wip has just 15 calories per 2 Tablespoons. Anyway, that works for me. My husband and I keep those little mini Ritter sport chocolates in the house. Sometimes a person's just got to have a piece of chocolate!!

    Life is meant to be lived.

    I used to get sick to my stomach at the beginning of this MFP thing, but I added more protein to my diet and that seemed to help. It also now keeps me feel more energetic between meals. My go-to breakfast now is two scrambled eggs with half an ounce of cheddar cheese. Cheerios just isn't the right kind of fuel.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Have a week at maintenance and then set your calorie goal to lose 1lb per week.
  • rmgnow
    rmgnow Posts: 375 Member
    18 lbs in 8 weeks is a lot.
    What are your stats?
  • martinezjacqui403
    martinezjacqui403 Posts: 4 Member
    Not vomiting. Just nauseous. No chance I'm pregnant.

    I think I may need to eat a little more. I also eat a lot of meals out and try to be really careful not to under log the calories. I may be eating less than I'm logging. I am just afraid to over shoot and then stop losing. My weight goes up and down 2-3 pounds at points so by the time I figured out that I'd done something wrong, it might be a month.
  • EJBarner
    EJBarner Posts: 68 Member
    I'd say there's no reason to completely eliminate alcohol or dessert unless your doctor explicitly told you to -- that would make me miserable, too! Just eat those things in moderation, and log them beforehand so you know how many calories you have left for dinner. For me, lower calorie desserts also hit the spot -- a big bowl of greek yogurt and protein powder, mmmmm. I can't believe how decadent it feels.

    Also, how much protein/fat/fibre are you eating? I personally feel hungry and miserable if I don't eat enough protein and fat. Meal timing can also be helpful; I need to leave the majority of my calories for the evening or else I feel deprived and hungry when I go to bed.

    Try adjusting things around and adding back alcohol/dessert in moderation and see how you feel. I know I feel way more full and happy eating 1400 protein/fat heavy calories compared to eating mostly carbs, and leaving room for a nice cider or bowl of ice cream to cap off the night. But it's highly individual -- find out what works for YOU rather than taking what other people say you ~should~ be doing to lose weight. If you feel exhausted and unhappy, something about the way you're doing this isn't sustainable and needs to change.
  • ccruz985
    ccruz985 Posts: 646 Member
    IT IS EXHAUSTING. Let's just get that part out of the way, right freaking now. I think what you're eating might be a culprit behind this. As in, have you taken any days off from the meticulous eating/tracking? When I do, I still track what I'm eating, every single bite (although I won't track everything the same day. I usually log one or two thing, close the app, and come back tomorrow to finish). But does that stop me from eating it on a day off? NOPE. I think being so meticulous and exercising MORE (question, are you changing it up or doing the same things?) but not eating more to make sure you're strong enough, plus not indulging and just resting sometimes are all parts of a larger whole of why you're feeling the way you are. I work out hard six days a week and eat healthy 90% of the time. But every 8 weeks, I take four days off from exercise and such meticulous eating. Do I put on a couple of pounds? Yep. Do they come right off when I go back to it? Yep. Do I feel stronger and better and back into my workouts again, thus resulting in more weight coming off and higher gains? Yep. I think you might need a mini vacay and you'll come back feeling a lot better. That first workout will most likely be a bit more difficult but once it's done, the rest won't feel that way.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    I figure there's no point in losing weight if I'm going to gain it back, and the only way to keep it off is to maintain the same habits you used to lose weight. So unless you're planning on skipping drinks and desert for the rest of your life, maybe slow down the weight loss and work those back in. Maybe only once a week instead of twice, switch to lower calorie options, whatever works for you and you can imagine continuing as a permanent change.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited July 2017
    You are losing at a pretty fast pace. You haven't mentioned your height and weight so it's hard to tell if that pace is appropriate or not.

    Take a week off of logging and dial back the exercise a little. Then set your goal to 1 lb per week and eat all your calories. Use the extra room to include some treats. It seems to me you are overly restricting your diet in an effort to lose weight quickly. It IS exhausting to constantly say "no" to the things you love, but it's also unnecessary. A glass of wine here, a bowl of ice cream there, are perfectly fine as long as you don't overdo it and exceed your calories.

    Edited to add: It is normal to have weeks where you don't lose, or even gain, weight. It doesn't mean you did something wrong. Even if you are perfect every day (which no one is) watching the scale is a bit of a roller coaster ride. Put the fear and judgement aside, and focus on the trend over time.
  • bruby28
    bruby28 Posts: 4,123 Member
    I feel the same at times , extremely exhausted from working out . I have been for 6 months plus consistently hard workouts . I feel awesome for 2 hours after my workout then I feel spent . I'm Still Waiting For That All day energy feeling that some claim to have lol . Sometimes I'll eat my exercise cals back or at least 50% to give me a boost. I also like the emergen c packets +energy with green tea , gives me a slight boost. I'm a stay at home mom with 2 kids , so that in itself exhausts me too haha . Hang in there , don't give up you'll be glad you didn't :smile:
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    You don't have to weigh and count forever if you can develop a good eye for portion sizes. I lost 150 lbs and only logged daily for the first 25 or so. I never plateaued and lost every month for 2 1/2 years. I tried not logging for a few weeks, and didn't seem to have a problem with portion control, so never had the need to restart. Had I stopped losing, or started gaining, I would have resumed logging. Now I log for a week a few times a year just to make sure my calories and macros are where I want them.
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