Exhaustion
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Raw_moon
Posts: 19 Member
F, cw:130, h:5'3". Tdee 1500
Been eating at maintenance for three months, hitting my macro's(c-131, f-58,p-113), weighing and tracking. But feel exhausted!
Sleep is fine (8hr min), though I have been sleeping even more the last two weeks.
Sedentary to light 'life activity'. Weights 3x a week, Yoga 3-6x a week. <-No energy during or after, no stalls.
Had a blood test after the first month but everything is checked out fine, blood test and thyroid check. Meditate daily, moderate stress now due to being tired for so long. Feels like the wheels are spinning, you know?
Idea's?
Been eating at maintenance for three months, hitting my macro's(c-131, f-58,p-113), weighing and tracking. But feel exhausted!
Sleep is fine (8hr min), though I have been sleeping even more the last two weeks.
Sedentary to light 'life activity'. Weights 3x a week, Yoga 3-6x a week. <-No energy during or after, no stalls.
Had a blood test after the first month but everything is checked out fine, blood test and thyroid check. Meditate daily, moderate stress now due to being tired for so long. Feels like the wheels are spinning, you know?
Idea's?
1
Replies
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Are you actually maintaining your weight?
What did the blood test include? I have crippling fatigue when my anemia is untreated, but despite being anemic for 30 years, have to specifically ask for the iron levels tests to be include on standard labs. Did they test for other deficiencies that can cause fatigue, such as D?0 -
They did the full blood report, the doctor wanted to be sure she was getting as clear a picture as possible. Only comments at the time were genetically higher cholesterol, and high white blood cell count (which a few days later I became sick with a cold) Everything else came back in the normal ranges.
Yes, the weight has been maintaining. It wasn't a 'goal weight', but I wanted to eat more for energy. Which has not been helping.0 -
How did you calculate your TDEE? I'm under 5 feet tall, 110-115 lb, and maintain on 1400 not counting any exercise. 1500 for your maintenance sounds a bit low to me.4
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I averaged it from three or four sites and use it as a guideline not so much as this is your absolute limit. The weight didn't shift either way so I figured it was in the right range?0
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1500 does not sound right for TDEE for even lightly active. Are you both adding and eating back your exercise separately (which would make 1500 your NEAT instead of TDEE)5
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I averaged it from three or four sites and use it as a guideline not so much as this is your absolute limit. The weight didn't shift either way so I figured it was in the right range?
In three months, you may or may not see a lot of movement on the scale if you're eating in a small deficit. For example, if you're in a 100 calorie deficit every day for 90 days, that's 9000 calories or about 2.5 pounds. Given normal daily weight fluctuations, a gradual 2.5ish pound decline over 3 months may not be obvious depending on what tracking tools you use.
Neither strength training nor yoga burn a lot of calories, but they do burn more than being sedentary. Yoga encompasses a LOT of different teachings and some are much more "active" than others are. Depending on exactly what you do in your workouts, you may still be in a little bit of a deficit.
My other thought is how long have you been doing this exercise routine? If you went from completely sedentary to your current activity, that would be a pretty big adjustment for the body and might cause fatigue. If you're doing a relatively energetic form of yoga 6 days a week plus lifting every other day, that might be a lot if it's new to you.0 -
Are you actually sleeping though? I know many people who say they get 7 or 8 hours of sleep but are actually getting the equivalent of 4 or 5 hours due to various issues involving sleep. A sleep study might be helpful if you are confident in the blood results. Many doctors will not run a full thyroid panel so you may also want to check specifically what they ran.2
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1500 does not sound right for TDEE for even lightly active. Are you both adding and eating back your exercise separately (which would make 1500 your NEAT instead of TDEE)
No I have not been! Only because I was told the calories burnt were unreliable and I don't usually do anything really strenuous. Or work out more than 30min.2 -
I averaged it from three or four sites and use it as a guideline not so much as this is your absolute limit. The weight didn't shift either way so I figured it was in the right range?
In three months, you may or may not see a lot of movement on the scale if you're eating in a small deficit. For example, if you're in a 100 calorie deficit every day for 90 days, that's 9000 calories or about 2.5 pounds. Given normal daily weight fluctuations, a gradual 2.5ish pound decline over 3 months may not be obvious depending on what tracking tools you use.
Neither strength training nor yoga burn a lot of calories, but they do burn more than being sedentary. Yoga encompasses a LOT of different teachings and some are much more "active" than others are. Depending on exactly what you do in your workouts, you may still be in a little bit of a deficit.
My other thought is how long have you been doing this exercise routine? If you went from completely sedentary to your current activity, that would be a pretty big adjustment for the body and might cause fatigue. If you're doing a relatively energetic form of yoga 6 days a week plus lifting every other day, that might be a lot if it's new to you.
I had the yoga part before the 3 month mark, but the weight lifting was newer. I usually do power yoga 2-3 times then the rest is yin. 30 minutes usually then 1 hour yin class. Weight lifting is usually 30-45 just because of resting due to being so tired.
What would you recommend calorie wise then? That's something I can change quickly to see if there is a connection.0 -
I averaged it from three or four sites and use it as a guideline not so much as this is your absolute limit. The weight didn't shift either way so I figured it was in the right range?
In three months, you may or may not see a lot of movement on the scale if you're eating in a small deficit. For example, if you're in a 100 calorie deficit every day for 90 days, that's 9000 calories or about 2.5 pounds. Given normal daily weight fluctuations, a gradual 2.5ish pound decline over 3 months may not be obvious depending on what tracking tools you use.
Neither strength training nor yoga burn a lot of calories, but they do burn more than being sedentary. Yoga encompasses a LOT of different teachings and some are much more "active" than others are. Depending on exactly what you do in your workouts, you may still be in a little bit of a deficit.
My other thought is how long have you been doing this exercise routine? If you went from completely sedentary to your current activity, that would be a pretty big adjustment for the body and might cause fatigue. If you're doing a relatively energetic form of yoga 6 days a week plus lifting every other day, that might be a lot if it's new to you.
I had the yoga part before the 3 month mark, but the weight lifting was newer. I usually do power yoga 2-3 times then the rest is yin. 30 minutes usually then 1 hour yin class. Weight lifting is usually 30-45 just because of resting due to being so tired.
What would you recommend calorie wise then? That's something I can change quickly to see if there is a connection.
I would run your TDEE calculation again and call it "lightly active," assuming you used "sedentary" before. Give that a try for a week or two and see how it works for you. Also, yin! I hardly ever meet other people who do yin
Most people think I'm weird for liking it. ("You hold the pose for HOW long?") Your power yoga is burning a decent number of calories for a yoga practice...yin, not so much
If the lifting is new, then that might be what's causing you to feel tired. Your routine may be a little more than your body is ready for. Are you following a specific beginner's strength training plan?0 -
I averaged it from three or four sites and use it as a guideline not so much as this is your absolute limit. The weight didn't shift either way so I figured it was in the right range?
In three months, you may or may not see a lot of movement on the scale if you're eating in a small deficit. For example, if you're in a 100 calorie deficit every day for 90 days, that's 9000 calories or about 2.5 pounds. Given normal daily weight fluctuations, a gradual 2.5ish pound decline over 3 months may not be obvious depending on what tracking tools you use.
Neither strength training nor yoga burn a lot of calories, but they do burn more than being sedentary. Yoga encompasses a LOT of different teachings and some are much more "active" than others are. Depending on exactly what you do in your workouts, you may still be in a little bit of a deficit.
My other thought is how long have you been doing this exercise routine? If you went from completely sedentary to your current activity, that would be a pretty big adjustment for the body and might cause fatigue. If you're doing a relatively energetic form of yoga 6 days a week plus lifting every other day, that might be a lot if it's new to you.
I had the yoga part before the 3 month mark, but the weight lifting was newer. I usually do power yoga 2-3 times then the rest is yin. 30 minutes usually then 1 hour yin class. Weight lifting is usually 30-45 just because of resting due to being so tired.
What would you recommend calorie wise then? That's something I can change quickly to see if there is a connection.
I would run your TDEE calculation again and call it "lightly active," assuming you used "sedentary" before. Give that a try for a week or two and see how it works for you. Also, yin! I hardly ever meet other people who do yin Most people think I'm weird for liking it. ("You hold the pose for HOW long?") Your power yoga is burning a decent number of calories for a yoga practice...yin, not so much
If the lifting is new, then that might be what's causing you to feel tired. Your routine may be a little more than your body is ready for. Are you following a specific beginner's strength training plan?
I did use sedetary, but I will see how it changes with light. Another person mentioned eating back the calories but with no accurate cal count I didn't feel like I should?
Yin is pretty great, I like the easing deeper into a stretch. One of my goals is to be more flexible so I like to think it helps. Its also really good for letting go, my last session I reached one of those emotional release moments I had heard about. That was a pretty cool experience!0 -
The only absolutely for sure count that is wrong is counting zero.
Sedentary assumes that you spend less than a hour in TOTAL not sitting or lying down during your day.
I used to be sedentary when I would get up, go to the bathroom, commute to the computer room, order delivery or drive through the drive through, before adjourning to the tv room till bedtime, taking care not to double up too much between any of the rooms or when getting in and out of the car!
Does this sound like you?6 -
The only absolutely for sure count that is wrong is counting zero.
Sedentary assumes that you spend less than a hour in TOTAL not sitting or lying down during your day.
I used to be sedentary when I would get up, go to the bathroom, commute to the computer room, order delivery or drive through the drive through, before adjourning to the tv room till bedtime, taking care not to double up too much between any of the rooms or when getting in and out of the car!
Does this sound like you?
I picked sedentary due to what I read on different forums trying to figure out your maintenance and TDEE. It was as if picking any activity level meant you were 'exaggerating' what you actually did in a day. It seemed safe enough to start with and see, and since the scale didn't move I thought it was right.
I work at a high volume pizza place, mainly on dough. I try my best to stay on top of all the chores at home, plus exercise, and all the food/meal prepping. I am probably more active than I think I am.
I looked into light activity in the same calculators and I am coming up with an average of 1800 now. Which, to be honest is kind of scary, I struggle to figure out 1500, but if it helps I am very willing to give it a try.
Do I just jump to that number or add in 100 each week?1 -
I averaged it from three or four sites and use it as a guideline not so much as this is your absolute limit. The weight didn't shift either way so I figured it was in the right range?
In three months, you may or may not see a lot of movement on the scale if you're eating in a small deficit. For example, if you're in a 100 calorie deficit every day for 90 days, that's 9000 calories or about 2.5 pounds. Given normal daily weight fluctuations, a gradual 2.5ish pound decline over 3 months may not be obvious depending on what tracking tools you use.
Neither strength training nor yoga burn a lot of calories, but they do burn more than being sedentary. Yoga encompasses a LOT of different teachings and some are much more "active" than others are. Depending on exactly what you do in your workouts, you may still be in a little bit of a deficit.
My other thought is how long have you been doing this exercise routine? If you went from completely sedentary to your current activity, that would be a pretty big adjustment for the body and might cause fatigue. If you're doing a relatively energetic form of yoga 6 days a week plus lifting every other day, that might be a lot if it's new to you.
I had the yoga part before the 3 month mark, but the weight lifting was newer. I usually do power yoga 2-3 times then the rest is yin. 30 minutes usually then 1 hour yin class. Weight lifting is usually 30-45 just because of resting due to being so tired.
What would you recommend calorie wise then? That's something I can change quickly to see if there is a connection.
I would run your TDEE calculation again and call it "lightly active," assuming you used "sedentary" before. Give that a try for a week or two and see how it works for you. Also, yin! I hardly ever meet other people who do yin Most people think I'm weird for liking it. ("You hold the pose for HOW long?") Your power yoga is burning a decent number of calories for a yoga practice...yin, not so much
If the lifting is new, then that might be what's causing you to feel tired. Your routine may be a little more than your body is ready for. Are you following a specific beginner's strength training plan?
I did use sedetary, but I will see how it changes with light. Another person mentioned eating back the calories but with no accurate cal count I didn't feel like I should?
Yin is pretty great, I like the easing deeper into a stretch. One of my goals is to be more flexible so I like to think it helps. Its also really good for letting go, my last session I reached one of those emotional release moments I had heard about. That was a pretty cool experience!
You should account for your exercise calories, but there are a couple ways to do that. If you want to use the TDEE method, then you increase your activity level in the calculation and that will account for additional activity. However, if you use the NEAT method (which is how MFP calculates your calorie goal), then you do the calculation using your non-exercise activity level and add exercise on top of that. Both methods should ultimately give you similar numbers once all your activity is accounted for. You want to just make sure you are eating your exercise calories without “double dipping.”
I think yin has been really good for me both as a meditation and as a runner’s stretching routine. I’m rehabbing some injuries and I could definitely feel the setback when my yin teacher was out for two weeks!3 -
I work at a high volume pizza place, mainly on dough. I try my best to stay on top of all the chores at home, plus exercise, and all the food/meal prepping. I am probably more active than I think I am.
https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/occupation
You will note that bakery, light effort is a MET 2 activity. Baking, moderate effort is a MET 4, and cooking/chef is a MET 2.5 These are the averages of averages oh average. And apply to populations, not individuals. And there is a whole debate as to whether there are corrections to be made for certain body-sizes of which you may be one. But in general the portion of the day you are at work sounds like it exceeds the MFP very active setting which is set to an activity factor of 1.8 which would roughly correspond to a MET 1.8 average if my math un-skills are not missing something.
Of course MFP assumes that your very active setting extends 24/7/365/1440 minutes per day continuously and invariably! So, you know, between an AF of a bit below 1 when you're sleeping and say 2 or a bit more when working... you do have to average things a bit. But yeah, I don't see how you get to be anything less than lightly active plus your exercise if not active+
Of course expenditure is only one thing. Calories in and their correct accounting is another. And it is the interaction that determines the accuracy of logging, as well as to how closely you personally track to average
In any case. You're exhausted. You're eating low. Adding a bit more and monitoring whether your weight TREND increases beyond a single one off increase at the introduction of additional energy into your system sounds like a good idea to me. As well as getting checked out as per the suggestions above for any of the common issues that make people feel exhausted. I mean food won't fix internal bleeding as a more extreme example...
As to the rest of it... I am not sure what the benefit would be to go slow vs fast... I've seldom had a problem increasing my food consumption though I often have problems reducing it
I know that it is probably anathema... but you only need to eat so much broccoli per day before you're "allowed' to reach out sideways for a candy bar (or the $1 vanilla cone at a clownish location, which tends to be my goto before extended summertime activities
)
<I hasten to add that there is also nothing wrong with extra broccoli and boiled chicken breast... or even a slice of that pizza you're making... all calibrated to add about 300 extra Calories to your day!>4 -
I work at a high volume pizza place, mainly on dough. I try my best to stay on top of all the chores at home, plus exercise, and all the food/meal prepping. I am probably more active than I think I am.
Of course MFP assumes that your very active setting extends 24/7/365/1440 minutes per day continuously and invariably!
What makes you think that? Not only does it seem irrational that they would use a formula that assumes people never sleep, it also seems unsupported by the actual numbers MFP uses. I take "very active" to be at least a 6 to 8 MET activity (lumberjacking, carrying/loading/unloading, etc.) , yet MFP multiplies your BMR by a factor below 2 (I think it's 1.7, but maybe 1.9) for very active. If it were crediting people with 24/7 very active calorie burns, it would multiply their BMRs by 6 at least (or 5, or 4, if you think moderate baking activity is what MFP means by "very active").0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »What makes you think that? Not only does it seem irrational that they would use a formula that assumes people never sleep, it also seems unsupported by the actual numbers MFP uses. I take "very active" to be at least a 6 to 8 MET activity (lumberjacking, carrying/loading/unloading, etc.) , yet MFP multiplies your BMR by a factor below 2 (I think it's 1.7, but maybe 1.9) for very active. If it were crediting people with 24/7 very active calorie burns, it would multiply their BMRs by 6 at least (or 5, or 4, if you think moderate baking activity is what MFP means by "very active").
Not sure where exactly we disagree. MFP is using an activity factor applied constantly over 1440 minutes and we both agree that the factor is 1.25 or 1.4 or 1.6 or 1.8 (and if we don't it is simple enough to calculate by setting MFP to maintenance after running your MFP BMR calculation)
MFP multiplies BMR x 1440 x AF to get NEAT.
You can use whatever MET value throughout the day to arrive at that average activity factor. There are no limits. It is just METs applied over time.
So you can have 1 hour of MET 13 activity, have an extra 12 MET hours of activity, and increase your overall activity factor by 0.5 over the total of 1440 minutes.
Now how do you want to interpret and break-down the OP's day in terms of applying her pizza baking hours and her home cleaning hours over the complete day?
Is she closer to 1.25 or 1.4 or 1.6?
ETA: MFP very active is not a reference to a particular activity. It is a calculation of the average activity throughout the day. It could be caused by a single bout of intense activity... or 12 hours of very slow MET 2.0 shuffling walks... as long as you average out to 1.8 (or whatever else)0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »What makes you think that? Not only does it seem irrational that they would use a formula that assumes people never sleep, it also seems unsupported by the actual numbers MFP uses. I take "very active" to be at least a 6 to 8 MET activity (lumberjacking, carrying/loading/unloading, etc.) , yet MFP multiplies your BMR by a factor below 2 (I think it's 1.7, but maybe 1.9) for very active. If it were crediting people with 24/7 very active calorie burns, it would multiply their BMRs by 6 at least (or 5, or 4, if you think moderate baking activity is what MFP means by "very active").
Not sure where exactly we disagree. MFP is using an activity factor applied constantly over 1440 minutes and we both agree that the factor is 1.25 or 1.4 or 1.6 or 1.8 (and if we don't it is simple enough to calculate by setting MFP to maintenance after running your MFP BMR calculation)
MFP multiplies BMR x 1440 x AF to get NEAT.
You can use whatever MET value throughout the day to arrive at that average activity factor. There are no limits. It is just METs applied over time.
So you can have 1 hour of MET 13 activity, have an extra 12 MET hours of activity, and increase your overall activity factor by 0.5 over the total of 1440 minutes.
Now how do you want to interpret and break-down the OP's day in terms of applying her pizza baking hours and her home cleaning hours over the complete day?
Is she closer to 1.25 or 1.4 or 1.6?
ETA: MFP very active is not a reference to a particular activity. It is a calculation of the average activity throughout the day. It could be caused by a single bout of intense activity... or 12 hours of very slow MET 2.0 shuffling walks... as long as you average out to 1.8 (or whatever else)
OK, it doesn't sound like we disagree. Maybe I should have quoted the sentence after the one I quoted above as well. Taken together they gave me the impression you were suggesting that because OP isn't engaging in the activity you thought was very active (I'm confused here, too, because I thought OP was a baker, which I can see being active, but not very active, unless OP is spending most of the day lugging around 20 lb sacks of flour) while they're asleep, that the OP needs to engage in some kind of rounding down of the number that MFP spits out. But I'm guessing now that when you said, "you do have to average things a bit," you meant that MFP has to average a bit?Of course MFP assumes that your very active setting extends 24/7/365/1440 minutes per day continuously and invariably! So, you know, between an AF of a bit below 1 when you're sleeping and say 2 or a bit more when working... you do have to average things a bit.0
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