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Exhaustion after exercise

oliviaedwards121
oliviaedwards121 Posts: 3 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys,
Just wondering if anyone could help me out- I’m an 18 year old female and I experience extreme tiredness after exercise. I have a good diet and I get a good amount of sleep. When I do cardio, I feel like I need to sleep straight after. If I go for a run in the morning, I’ll be struggling for a nap all day. If I do a workout at night, I’ll fall straight to sleep an hour earlier than usual and be exhausted - barely functioning (difficult to talk, difficult to keep eyes open, difficult to walk) the next day. The tiredness normally lasts about 24 hours and correlates with the intensity of my workout. Does anybody else experience this? Or know what this could be? Without exercise, I have heaps of energy.
Thanks!!

Replies

  • threewins
    threewins Posts: 1,455 Member
    I have a similar problem. I need a nap after an exercise session. I've been like that for ages. I haven't figured out the reason except my body just doesn't have the energy, and there is no real solution. I don't have any real advice other than to experiment with various factors, maybe have a diary and rate your tiredness.
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    Doctor.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Hey guys,
    Just wondering if anyone could help me out- I’m an 18 year old female and I experience extreme tiredness after exercise. I have a good diet and I get a good amount of sleep. When I do cardio, I feel like I need to sleep straight after. If I go for a run in the morning, I’ll be struggling for a nap all day. If I do a workout at night, I’ll fall straight to sleep an hour earlier than usual and be exhausted - barely functioning (difficult to talk, difficult to keep eyes open, difficult to walk) the next day. The tiredness normally lasts about 24 hours and correlates with the intensity of my workout. Does anybody else experience this? Or know what this could be? Without exercise, I have heaps of energy.
    Thanks!!

    This is normal. Dial back the intensity, find your sweet spot.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,463 Member
    What are your stats?

    Height, amount of weight you need to lose, calorie intake? Are you eating more on exercise days?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    What are your stats?

    Height, amount of weight you need to lose, calorie intake? Are you eating more on exercise days?

    Yes, this, and specifically - what percentage of the calories you earn from exercise are you eating back?

    It's common for people to not realize the way MFP works is for exercise calories to be eaten and/or to set a too aggressive weekly weight loss goal.

    This is the simplest explanation.

    If your fatigue is not related to under-fueling, see your doctor - when my anemia is untreated, I have crippling fatigue.
  • kshama2001 wrote: »
    What are your stats?

    Height, amount of weight you need to lose, calorie intake? Are you eating more on exercise days?

    Yes, this, and specifically - what percentage of the calories you earn from exercise are you eating back?

    It's common for people to not realize the way MFP works is for exercise calories to be eaten and/or to set a too aggressive weekly weight loss goal.

    This is the simplest explanation.

    If your fatigue is not related to under-fueling, see your doctor - when my anemia is untreated, I have crippling fatigue.

    I think I might be underfuelling myself - I’m 54.6 kg and 172cm - I realised that I might need to have a snack before/after a workout. My iron levels are also normally on the low side (literally if they are one point lower I’d be anaemic). At one point I was overestimating my caloric intake by a few hundred each day - then a friend told me I was eating significantly lower than what I expected. I used to workout on an empty stomach but now I’ll have a protein ball or some food before working out to keep me levels up. :) thanks for your advice
  • lollie1285
    lollie1285 Posts: 239 Member
    I deal with this often - especially if I don’t do something particular for a while and go back to it full force (I work at a gym and we work out HARD). Just this past week, I was zonked out for two days after some serious circuit training. Finally got back to it yesterday and cut my session in half to ease back in. Take it slow. Give yourself breaks. Hydrate. Eat enough. Add minutes on and exercises in day by day.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    edited December 2019
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    What are your stats?

    Height, amount of weight you need to lose, calorie intake? Are you eating more on exercise days?

    Yes, this, and specifically - what percentage of the calories you earn from exercise are you eating back?

    It's common for people to not realize the way MFP works is for exercise calories to be eaten and/or to set a too aggressive weekly weight loss goal.

    This is the simplest explanation.

    If your fatigue is not related to under-fueling, see your doctor - when my anemia is untreated, I have crippling fatigue.

    I think I might be underfuelling myself - I’m 54.6 kg and 172cm - I realised that I might need to have a snack before/after a workout. My iron levels are also normally on the low side (literally if they are one point lower I’d be anaemic). At one point I was overestimating my caloric intake by a few hundred each day - then a friend told me I was eating significantly lower than what I expected. I used to workout on an empty stomach but now I’ll have a protein ball or some food before working out to keep me levels up. :) thanks for your advice

    My pleasure :)

    It does indeed sound like you are under-fueling. And you probably need more iron.

    Also, you didn't answer this: what percentage of the calories you earn from exercise are you eating back?
  • ChickenKillerPuppy
    ChickenKillerPuppy Posts: 297 Member
    This used to happen to me and it was because I was under-fueling. I would go for a run and just hit a wall and then I would be exhausted all day. I needed not just more fuel, but specifically more carbs which I had been afraid of (this is when I was doing WW, not MFP). Once I ate more it solved the problem.
This discussion has been closed.