Coping with feeling faint?

Phoebemiller3 · February 2023

So I'm a 5'3.5 (135cm), 115lbs (52kg) woman. I am trying to get back to 105lbs (47kg), perhaps 100lbs (45kg) if possible. MFP recommended 1200 calories a day for my goal. About every other day, I add in a 300-400 calorie burning workout, but I do not compensate the full amount in my total calorie goal. I've been aiming for this for the past two weeks, some days even managing to eat less- other days failing and eating more by around 300 calories. I am not loosing weight. However, I am struggling with feeling weak/ faint especially when I stand up. A few times after (barely) dragging myself through a workout I started to back out. In-between meals I often get so weak I struggle to talk, focus, walk, or carry on conversations. Are there some tips to prevent feeling so faint and out of it?

tomcustombuilder · February 2023

You shouldn’t be trying to get that thin. Re access your goals.

sollyn23l2 · February 2023

You're already at a healthy weight. Your body is fighting it because it wouldn't really be healthy to lose more, so it doesn't want to.

*Please note, I will not be checking responses, so any responses will go unseen and unresponded to.*

AnnPT77 · February 2023

Feeling faint is a strong sign that you're either underfueled, undernourished, or both. How fast did you tell MFP you want to lose?

With only a few pounds to lose, you shouldn't be trying to lose faster than half a pound a week. If you're sedentary outside of exercise (office job, light home chores, not many steps, etc.), 1200 might be the right level for that, at your relatively small size. If you aren't that inactive, your base calories should probably be higher.

When you eat less than your goal, with not much weight to lose, you're under fueling yourself. When you under-fuel yourself, odds are good that you're not getting adequate nutrition. (Just hitting the right percentages of nutrients, at too-low calories, is insufficient nutrition. You need minimum amounts of certain nutrients for health.)

What is your exercise? If it's very intense, beyond what you've been used to previously, that's another form of stress, and another potential source of weakness and fatigue.

Exercising in addition to an aggressive calorie deficit, and not eating enough calories to fuel that exercise, would further increase health risk. You're having symptoms that suggest that risk is coming home to roost. All of that can add stress-related water weight that makes the scale suggest you're not losing fat and muscle, when you actually are.

It's time for a re-think.

At your current weight of 115, your BMI is 20.0, quite low in the normal weight range.
At your intended weight of 105, your BMI would be 18.3, in the underweight range.
At the maybe weight of 100, your BMI would be 17.4, well into the underweight range.

Being underweight is a bigger health risk than being overweight, statistically.

Is BMI perfect? No.

But it's a useful screener. In your case, a good idea would be to talk with your doctor about whether your goal weight would be a healthy weight for you.

Current circumstances strongly suggest that your current way of eating/exercising is too aggressive for your health. Slow the bus down. Eat more until you can talk with your doctor.

penguinmama87 · February 2023

You've received really good advice so far. I often feel faint (side effect of naturally lowish blood pressure, many family members are the same) and my strategy is to rest, hydrate, and eat something. I don't do sudden big increases in activity.

If this is a new thing for you, then you're definitely getting a signal from your body to reassess.

neanderthin · February 2023

Adipose (body fat) is an organ that has connective tissue and interacts with our nervous system to help regulate our metabolism and communicates throughout the body to other organs, hormones and it does effect how the body regulates our energy supply with hunger and satiety, so it's just not fat, and is a necessary component for survival. I'd imagine your body is signaling it to resist weight loss at this time possibly from finding it might have a negative effect for survival and your symptoms are quite normal, just my thoughts (opinion) on this. It might look good to have low body fat but it's a relentless task master and not the norm for human physiology and it's pushing back.

PAV8888 · February 2023

People with sufficient energy reserves who encounter an energy deficit draw from their reserves and keep on ticking. The reserves reduce. Weight loss is the result. Woohoo! Good job!

People with insufficient energy reserves who encounter an energy deficit by definition do not have the reserves to draw from. Bad processes start to take place from minor things such as reduced cellular activity, or core temperature, and up to and including eventually using one's organs for energy. Or at the very least having them start to fail because the body can't keep them in good repair.

Hopefully before you get that far, you start noticing that you're getting tired easily, or feel faint, or drop to the ground unconscious in the middle of exercise. That sort of stuff.

Sort of like warning bells.

yirara · February 2023

What the others have said.

Also, why do you feel the need to be underweight? Please question this and answer it for yourself.

Do you experience body dysphoria at your current weight? If you do I urge you to seek specialist help. It's a very slippery slope to be on.

Do you feel like you're too flabby? Then not losing weight is the answer but to build more muscles, increase posture, become 'more tight'. Losing weight at a normal weight here is never really the answer.

ninerbuff · February 2023

If you're feeling faint, it's an indication you're undernourished when dieting. Your goal is pretty unrealistic IMO if you're trying to workout to get to that weight. Your body is telling you NOT to do it.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

kshama2001 · February 2023

Like the other posters said, you're likely not eating enough.

I've also had those symptoms when my anemia was not under control and when I had low blood pressure. Don't just start supplementing with iron - get your blood levels checked. Take this opportunity to discuss your weight loss goals with your doctor.

NC_Gardener · February 2023

It's almost certainly dieting related. I have extra fat stores and do this, too when dieting at even a small deficit. I don't know that we're the same at all, but it's another possibility: I am super sensitive to large blood glucose drops and get a non-dangerous form of "hypo"glycemia. I always have. It is dangerous for driving, etc.

Sometimes 1 banana is enough to fix it. Sometimes I need a whole Equate Meal Replacement drink (190 calories with protein) or two cups of 1% milk.

Try different immediate snacks and see if it's that. You have to just sit down and wait for it to kick in. I can predict my first spell of the day and just eat what I need to first. That does work, thank goodness.

39flavours · February 2023

"So I'm a 5'3.5 (135cm), 115lbs (52kg) woman"

5'3.5 is 161cm, not 135cm. Are you using the metric or imperial height to calculate your goal weight? Or are you actually 4'5 tall, in which case your goal weight of 100lbs would make more sense.

Phoebemiller3 · February 2023

39flavours wrote: »

"So I'm a 5'3.5 (135cm), 115lbs (52kg) woman"

5'3.5 is 161cm, not 135cm. Are you using the metric or imperial height to calculate your goal weight? Or are you actually 4'5 tall, in which case your goal weight of 100lbs would make more sense.

I am 5'3.5 oops, I am American and just looked up a metric system converter. sorry for the confusion!

westrich20940 · February 2023

I'm the same height as you and 1200 would be too few calories for me --- even if I was completely sedentary.

I have no clue about what other medical issue might cause these symptoms for you but you should def tell your doctor (dizziness when standing up for example could be related to low blood pressure). But, overall based on what you said - you are simply not eating enough and when you properly fuel your body you probably will feel better.

Refigure your TDEE (this isn't the way MFP calculates calorie goal but may give you a better idea of what your calorie needs are).

And I don't know your exact situation but for *most* females at 5'3" --- 100/105lbs is nearer the 'underweight' range than the healthy weight range. I think it might go down to ~105...but I've seen my own body at 115...and I felt I looked 'really' skinny and ppl actually asked me if I was sick so....

Coping with feeling faint?

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