How to have energy on 1200 calories?
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Amani800
Posts: 18 Member
So I usually have 1500 cals per day and maintain 129 pounds (5ft5.5). But I was recently on a medication that messes up metabolism/the way your body processes food and stores fat ect. So despite being on the same diet and exercise regime, I gained around 9 pounds within a few weeks.
I was on this same type of medication 3 years ago, and that time gained 14 pounds within a couple of months. After coming off the meds the weight wouldn't shift (like now), until I finally had had enough and went for a 1200 cal diet. I then lost about 16 pounds in less than two months on that diet.
Since I find myself in the same position again, I'm now back to the 1200 cal diet. I've been on it for nearly a week and have seen some movement, so want to keep at it.
The only issue is I'm really struggling energy wise. I feel like I can barely carry myself for long when I walk, I'm having slight dizzy spells, and I can't think as clearly or do work as well. I don't even feel hungry, just weak and rubbish. I'm also anxious, as I can't help but feel what I'm doing can't be healthy if I'm feeling this way. Btw I do eat back my exercise calories.
So I would like to know if anyone else feels this way on 1200 calories. And if anyone has any tips to keep energy levels up etc. Thanks.
I was on this same type of medication 3 years ago, and that time gained 14 pounds within a couple of months. After coming off the meds the weight wouldn't shift (like now), until I finally had had enough and went for a 1200 cal diet. I then lost about 16 pounds in less than two months on that diet.
Since I find myself in the same position again, I'm now back to the 1200 cal diet. I've been on it for nearly a week and have seen some movement, so want to keep at it.
The only issue is I'm really struggling energy wise. I feel like I can barely carry myself for long when I walk, I'm having slight dizzy spells, and I can't think as clearly or do work as well. I don't even feel hungry, just weak and rubbish. I'm also anxious, as I can't help but feel what I'm doing can't be healthy if I'm feeling this way. Btw I do eat back my exercise calories.
So I would like to know if anyone else feels this way on 1200 calories. And if anyone has any tips to keep energy levels up etc. Thanks.
6
Replies
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if you are seeing physical signs of weakness i'd talk to your doctor and increase your calories. that's not good.
are you SURE you maintain in 1500? Have you added exercise?8 -
If you lost 16 lbs in two months on 1200 calories, you maintain at 2200.
You are lean, so increasing calories is likely the better option26 -
Panini - 100%. I've been on 1500 for 3 years and am always between 128-130 pounds (I weigh myself weekly). The only complicating factor to change that in the last few months is this medication. And yes always adding exercise.
Any increase in calories won't allow me to lose weight due to the after-effects of the medication. So I have to make the choice between feeling rubbish or keeping the weight on (unless anyone knows of how to feel less rubbish without going up on the cals).
psuLemon - That isn't the case at all. If I had that much I would be pretty huge. I used to be on 1700 and I was about 136 pounds.
I think there's actually little point analysing my stats here, because losing weight after being on a medication that changes how your body works doesn't follow the same formula as far as I can tell. I just really would like tips on how to feel better on a lower calorie diet.17 -
If you lost 16 lbs in two months on 1200 calories, you maintain at 2200.
You are lean, so increasing calories is likely the better option
This. Something is not adding up. You can't both maintain on 1500 calories a day and also lose 2 pounds a week on 1200 calories a day. One of those two things has to be incorrect.31 -
Panini - 100%. I've been on 1500 for 3 years and am always between 128-130 pounds (I weigh myself weekly). The only complicating factor to change that in the last few months is this medication. And yes always adding exercise.
Any increase in calories won't allow me to lose weight due to the after-effects of the medication. So I have to make the choice between feeling rubbish or keeping the weight on (unless anyone knows of how to feel less rubbish without going up on the cals).
psuLemon - That isn't the case at all. If I had that much I would be pretty huge. I used to be on 1700 and I was about 136 pounds.
I think there's actually little point analysing my stats here, because losing weight after being on a medication that changes how your body works doesn't follow the same formula as far as I can tell. I just really would like tips on how to feel better on a lower calorie diet.
Well, there isn't a simple solution because you haven't said what medication you have been on and being lean can have a major impact on how you feel. Being lean can drive metabolic adaptation and cause lethargy. This is widely demonstrated in many very lean men (sub 10% body fat) and women (sub 18%). It's a fairly well known phenomenon in the body building community.
What have your doctors actually said? What do your blood results show? Do you have other deficiencies?
At the end of the day, eating high quality foods and eliminating junk will provide a big bang for your buck. Now that may mean you have to try a variety of macro ranges (from high carb to maybe even Keto) to see how it's affects your energy. For me, even on my aggressive cuts, the biggest impact on my energy levels is consuming more carbs and less fats. For others, it's the opposite.10 -
If you lost 16 lbs in two months on 1200 calories, you maintain at 2200.
You are lean, so increasing calories is likely the better option
This. Something is not adding up. You can't both maintain on 1500 calories a day and also lose 2 pounds a week on 1200 calories a day. One of those two things has to be incorrect.
If you paid attention you'd see that this is because of the medication I've been on messing with my system.28 -
Panini - 100%. I've been on 1500 for 3 years and am always between 128-130 pounds (I weigh myself weekly). The only complicating factor to change that in the last few months is this medication. And yes always adding exercise.
Any increase in calories won't allow me to lose weight due to the after-effects of the medication. So I have to make the choice between feeling rubbish or keeping the weight on (unless anyone knows of how to feel less rubbish without going up on the cals).
psuLemon - That isn't the case at all. If I had that much I would be pretty huge. I used to be on 1700 and I was about 136 pounds.
I think there's actually little point analysing my stats here, because losing weight after being on a medication that changes how your body works doesn't follow the same formula as far as I can tell. I just really would like tips on how to feel better on a lower calorie diet.
Well, there isn't a simple solution because you haven't said what medication you have been on and being lean can have a major impact on how you feel. Being lean can drive metabolic adaptation and cause lethargy. This is widely demonstrated in many very lean men (sub 10% body fat) and women (sub 18%). It's a fairly well known phenomenon in the body building community.
What have your doctors actually said? What do your blood results show? Do you have other deficiencies?
At the end of the day, eating high quality foods and eliminating junk will provide a big bang for your buck. Now that may mean you have to try a variety of macro ranges (from high carb to maybe even Keto) to see how it's affects your energy. For me, even on my aggressive cuts, the biggest impact on my energy levels is consuming more carbs and less fats. For others, it's the opposite.
Thank you for your response. My doctor just says that 1200 calories is too low for anyone. All my bloods are fine except a slight vitamin d deficiency, which I recently started taking supplements for,7 -
What do your doctors say?4
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So I usually have 1500 cals per day and maintain 129 pounds (5ft5.5). But I was recently on a medication that messes up metabolism/the way your body processes food and stores fat ect. So despite being on the same diet and exercise regime, I gained around 9 pounds within a few weeks.
I was on this same type of medication 3 years ago, and that time gained 14 pounds within a couple of months. After coming off the meds the weight wouldn't shift (like now), until I finally had had enough and went for a 1200 cal diet. I then lost about 16 pounds in less than two months on that diet.
Since I find myself in the same position again, I'm now back to the 1200 cal diet. I've been on it for nearly a week and have seen some movement, so want to keep at it.
The only issue is I'm really struggling energy wise. I feel like I can barely carry myself for long when I walk, I'm having slight dizzy spells, and I can't think as clearly or do work as well. I don't even feel hungry, just weak and rubbish. I'm also anxious, as I can't help but feel what I'm doing can't be healthy if I'm feeling this way. Btw I do eat back my exercise calories.
So I would like to know if anyone else feels this way on 1200 calories. And if anyone has any tips to keep energy levels up etc. Thanks.
So you lost 16 pounds in around 8 weeks? That is 2 pounds a week on average which is a 1000 calorie a day deficit give or take a few calories. This maths over nearly 2 months is telling me that your maintenance is higher than the 1500 calories you are claiming. Something is incorrect with your figures.8 -
OP, mediation generally doesn't have calories, so the medication in and of itself doesn't cause us to gain weight. What many medications do is affect our behaviors that can, in turn, cause us to gain weight. The biggest impact usually come from increased appetite, and/or increased malaise/lethargy (lack of energy). Many folks don't realize they're eating a little more or that their calories out part of the equation has a lower output than normal. In fact, when folks are worn out, they may feel like the workout was super intense because it took so much effort when it was actually below their regular intensity levels.
Another area where some medications can affect us is by increased water retention. While the scale may show an increase, water weight isn't really fat as there hasn't been any fat gain (though bloating can sure feel that way!).
Hope you're feeling better soon!15 -
Lillymoo01 wrote: »So I usually have 1500 cals per day and maintain 129 pounds (5ft5.5). But I was recently on a medication that messes up metabolism/the way your body processes food and stores fat ect. So despite being on the same diet and exercise regime, I gained around 9 pounds within a few weeks.
I was on this same type of medication 3 years ago, and that time gained 14 pounds within a couple of months. After coming off the meds the weight wouldn't shift (like now), until I finally had had enough and went for a 1200 cal diet. I then lost about 16 pounds in less than two months on that diet.
Since I find myself in the same position again, I'm now back to the 1200 cal diet. I've been on it for nearly a week and have seen some movement, so want to keep at it.
The only issue is I'm really struggling energy wise. I feel like I can barely carry myself for long when I walk, I'm having slight dizzy spells, and I can't think as clearly or do work as well. I don't even feel hungry, just weak and rubbish. I'm also anxious, as I can't help but feel what I'm doing can't be healthy if I'm feeling this way. Btw I do eat back my exercise calories.
So I would like to know if anyone else feels this way on 1200 calories. And if anyone has any tips to keep energy levels up etc. Thanks.
So you lost 16 pounds in around 8 weeks? That is 2 pounds a week on average which is a 1000 calorie a day deficit give or take a few calories. This maths over nearly 2 months is telling me that your maintenance is higher than the 1500 calories you are claiming. Something is incorrect with your figures.
Nothing is incorrect. I'm not going to repeat myself once again about the medication I was on. Read more carefully.31 -
If you lost 16 lbs in two months on 1200 calories, you maintain at 2200.
You are lean, so increasing calories is likely the better option
This. Something is not adding up. You can't both maintain on 1500 calories a day and also lose 2 pounds a week on 1200 calories a day. One of those two things has to be incorrect.
If you paid attention you'd see that this is because of the medication I've been on messing with my system.
It still doesn't track. Medication can affect your metabolism, but it can't alter the laws of physics. You can't both maintain on 1500 and lose 2 pounds a week on 1200. If you lose 2 pounds on 1200 you should also lose about 1.5 pounds on 1500. If the medication affects your metabolism, it would be affecting it for both values in the same way.
It's quite possible that your medication caused you to put on some excess water weight and it just eventually left on its own when you were off the medication for a set amount of time. In that case, it should do the same if you stay at 1500 and just be patient. I would not eat at 1200 if your doctor is recommending against it and it is harming your energy.21 -
If you lost 16 lbs in two months on 1200 calories, you maintain at 2200.
You are lean, so increasing calories is likely the better option
This. Something is not adding up. You can't both maintain on 1500 calories a day and also lose 2 pounds a week on 1200 calories a day. One of those two things has to be incorrect.
If you paid attention you'd see that this is because of the medication I've been on messing with my system.
It still doesn't track. Medication can affect your metabolism, but it can't alter the laws of physics. You can't both maintain on 1500 and lose 2 pounds a week on 1200. If you lose 2 pounds on 1200 you should also lose about 1.5 pounds on 1500. If the medication affects your metabolism, it would be affecting it for both values in the same way.
It's quite possible that your medication caused you to put on some excess water weight and it just eventually left on its own when you were off the medication for a set amount of time. In that case, it should do the same if you stay at 1500 and just be patient. I would not eat at 1200 if your doctor is recommending against it and it is harming your energy.
It's a bit confusing, but I think the 2 lbs a week was from 3 years ago, prior to medication.1 -
Really we are all getting caught into semantics, a bit, and you, OP, are getting caught into your mind-*kitten* issue of having had this medication that has messed you up.
It really doesn't matter what or how caused your weight gain. and it really does not matter what you may know or think you were eating in the past... what matters is what you're DOING NOW.
#1: You've lost 16lbs in two months this indicates either a water weight drop or a fat drop commensurate with a 1000 Cal a day deficit or some combination.
#2: You feel like **kitten**. This is not a desired result independent of anything else.
#3: you do not have a medical life threatening need to lose the weight today. You're losing weight, one would think, in order to feel better. Feeling like **kitten** is not accomplishing your goal, not really!
So what can you do?
You can:
Use a weight trend application. It doesn't sound like you have been. Feed back all your weight data and concentrate on your trend. Consider your trend to be your weight.
EAT MORE OF YOUR CURRENT TYPE OF FOOD AND CALORIES. If you've been counting 1200 now under your current conditions and you've been losing at a rate commensurate to a 1000 Cal a day deficit, eat 1700 of the current type of calories and cut that deficit in half.
WHAT IS THE WORSE THAT CAN HAPPEN? You will either lose slower while feeling better (mission accomplished), or you will NOT lose while feeling better (mission will need to be tweaked in a few weeks in order to get you back into losing without feeling like **kitten**).
I mean, honestly, you can always go back to eating 1200 and feeling rubbish if this eating a bit more and feeling better backfires... right?
20 -
If you lost 16 lbs in two months on 1200 calories, you maintain at 2200.
You are lean, so increasing calories is likely the better option
This. Something is not adding up. You can't both maintain on 1500 calories a day and also lose 2 pounds a week on 1200 calories a day. One of those two things has to be incorrect.
If you paid attention you'd see that this is because of the medication I've been on messing with my system.
It still doesn't track. Medication can affect your metabolism, but it can't alter the laws of physics. You can't both maintain on 1500 and lose 2 pounds a week on 1200. If you lose 2 pounds on 1200 you should also lose about 1.5 pounds on 1500. If the medication affects your metabolism, it would be affecting it for both values in the same way.
It's quite possible that your medication caused you to put on some excess water weight and it just eventually left on its own when you were off the medication for a set amount of time. In that case, it should do the same if you stay at 1500 and just be patient. I would not eat at 1200 if your doctor is recommending against it and it is harming your energy.
'You can't both maintain on 1500 and lose 2 pounds a week on 1200.' I 100% did both those things. Also isn't it possible my metabolism changed in that time?
It's not just a case of just water weight but how the body needs to readjust after stopping the meds. I did initially think that it was a coincidence that I lost the weight with the 1200 cal diet, and that the medication just happened to lose its effect on me by the time I went on the diet. But it was about 6 months after the fact until I went on that diet and finally started losing weight. This time it was 2 months. So completely different time frames with the only consistent factor in me losing weight being starting a 1200 calorie diet.
I have also spoken to others on the same medication that have also only been able to lose weight on 1200 calories - which is what prompted me to try it again.
There are multiple medical journals that state that no one knows how or why weight gain and subsequent weight loss work they do on this medication, so I'm not expecting anyone to know the answers on a forum about fitness rather than medicine. All I know is that 1200 calories is the magic number for me and others to kickstart weight loss after being on this medication, and all I would like to know about is the best way to go about that diet. I almost didn't include my stats on my post as I knew it would confuse people on here.
21 -
OP, mediation generally doesn't have calories, so the medication in and of itself doesn't cause us to gain weight. What many medications do is affect our behaviors that can, in turn, cause us to gain weight. The biggest impact usually come from increased appetite, and/or increased malaise/lethargy (lack of energy). Many folks don't realize they're eating a little more or that their calories out part of the equation has a lower output than normal. In fact, when folks are worn out, they may feel like the workout was super intense because it took so much effort when it was actually below their regular intensity levels.
Another area where some medications can affect us is by increased water retention. While the scale may show an increase, water weight isn't really fat as there hasn't been any fat gain (though bloating can sure feel that way!).
Hope you're feeling better soon!
Thank you. My food intake and length of exercise stayed exactly the same so these weren't factors. I closely monitor these. I was eating exactly the same meals, doing exactly the same types of exercise for the same length of times. I had no increase in appetite. It is widely known that these meds change your weight despite no change in diet/exercise.
I'm not sure about water weight, but I visibly put on weight on all body parts both times I was on these meds. Not sure if water weight does that. Also the weight can stay on for months or even years after stopping the meds.
8 -
OP, mediation generally doesn't have calories, so the medication in and of itself doesn't cause us to gain weight. What many medications do is affect our behaviors that can, in turn, cause us to gain weight. The biggest impact usually come from increased appetite, and/or increased malaise/lethargy (lack of energy). Many folks don't realize they're eating a little more or that their calories out part of the equation has a lower output than normal. In fact, when folks are worn out, they may feel like the workout was super intense because it took so much effort when it was actually below their regular intensity levels.
Another area where some medications can affect us is by increased water retention. While the scale may show an increase, water weight isn't really fat as there hasn't been any fat gain (though bloating can sure feel that way!).
Hope you're feeling better soon!
You beat me to it - medication can cause weight gain by:
1. Increasing appetite and thus calories in
2. Decreasing energy and thus decreasing calories out
3. Increasing water retention
OP most likely one of those factors was in play for you and now that you are off the meds you will normalize. Meanwhile, you can tell by how you feel that 1200 calories is not enough for you so do eat more, be patient, and trust the process.9 -
Just taking your original question about having energy on 1200 calories, my experience is that I do better when those 1200 calories consist of at least 100 g of protein, at least 40 g of fat, and the rest carbohydrates consisting of whole fruits, vegetables of all types, and whole grains.4
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What medication caused this?
The medication is fluoxetine.
This person explains the complexity of weight gain/loss on SSRIs better than I can:
https://www.quora.com/Do-antidepressants-lead-to-weight-gain/answer/Mark-Dunn-64
https://www.quora.com/Will-tapering-off-SSRIs-cause-weight-loss/answer/Mark-Dunn-64
3 -
What medication caused this?
The medication is fluoxetine.
This person explains the complexity of weight gain/loss on SSRIs better than I can:
https://www.quora.com/Do-antidepressants-lead-to-weight-gain/answer/Mark-Dunn-64
https://www.quora.com/Will-tapering-off-SSRIs-cause-weight-loss/answer/Mark-Dunn-64
I'm almost positive that there have been numerous threads on MFP in which people have said they've been able to lose weight while on fluoxetine (among others SSRIs). This also this study (click the link in the upper right hand corner for the full text).4
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