Tired and Weak

try upping your calories to 1500. it may take a little longer to lose the weight, but you need to be healthy for yourself and baby. takes a lot of extra energy to take care of babies. Good Luck to you!

Carbs?

Quick glance at your diary and you are eating WAY too many carbs and not near enough protein. Cut the rice & cereal out and go for protein sources instead. Protein provides longer lasting fuel and your energy won't plummet in the afternoon.

For starters, if you are breast feeding I would urge you to contact your physician before pursuing a 1200 calorie intake.

Are you breastfeeding? If so you should be eating extra... something like an extra 500 cals I believe - someone will correct me if I'm wrong!

Maybe you just need to eat more. 1200 is really hard, and some people just can't do it. Up your calories to your BMR, and see if that helps. There's no shame in eating a little bit more, in fact, your body will thank you! You may even find that you lose weight faster.

Good luck!

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AGREED

You have a 2 yr old and a new baby. Your body is probably still recovering, your sleep is disrupted, and no doubt you are busy. Also, are you breastfeeding? I'm guessing you need to eat more. Be kind to yourself. :flowerforyou:

Edit: I see you don't breastfeed. I still think you may need to be eating more. Check with your doctor for advice. This is not the time to wear yourself completely out. {{HUGS}}

Since doing the 1200 calorie a day plan with MFP I'm finding myself very, very tired and weak by 3pm and I usually eat those 1200 by lunch then have to work my butt off so that I can eat dinner. By night time I am so tired and weak which is dangerous because I have a 6 week old baby I have to get up to feed every 2 hours and a 2 year old that doesn't sleep in when the baby does of a morning!

Gee, I think you're tired because you're sleep deprived and feeding a new baby. I understand the desire to lose lots of weight fast after having a baby (I've had 4), but you need to be kind to your body as well. I wonder if 1200 might not be too low? Have you discussed it with your doctor or the health nurse? Exercise wise, a short walk around the block or at the park is probably enough while your sleep is so disturbed.

Food wise, try popcorn, fruit and have a low calorie drink (like water, I'm not fan of diet drinks) when you feel hungry just in case thirst is an issue too. Also you could try eating half of what you've prepared and then have a break of 10-15 minutes before you eat the second half, you may find you do feel full in that time.

And please try to stop looking in the mirror for awhile - instead look at your 2 beautiful children and be proud of yourself for that. And remember to take care of yourself.

I also have a young baby at home. Since I am breastfeeding I know I need to eat between 300 and 500 more calories. I added an "cardio. exercise" labeled breastfeeding and have it set up that every 30 minutes breastfeeding burns 50 calories. (based on 400 calories need to be added over 8 feedings a day). Every time I nurse I enter that as an exercise. That will at least up the calories you are allowed to eat.
I also believe that high protein and high fiber foods make you feel fuller longer. You may want to research what all they include. Good luck to you...and just remember, it took 9 months to gain the weight, give yourself at least that much time to lose it.

Yup... eat more

Protein is a good idea. Are you a meat-eater? If so, lean chicken, turkey, eggs, milk, cheese... uh... lean beef, pork... that sorta thing. Cheese sticks are great! One cheese stick is only 60 calories (if you get the 2% mozzarella kind).

If you're a no-meats gal... uh... almonds, beans, tofu... you get the idea. They might not be low-fat, but you shouldn't be afraid of fat.

Whole grains are also a good idea. They're more sustaining than refined grains. So trade your white rice for brown rice, your white flour for wheat flour, and so on. (No, I'm not saying the other things are bad... just that whole grains are going to be more 'filling').

And then 'volumize' with veggies. As in, eat veggies with every meal. When I'm being 'good" I try for one cup per meal.

Those are things that have helped me. But I totally agree with everyone here. Bump your calories up to 1500 or something.

Protein - lean meats (not deli or lunch meat, too high in sodium), eggs, yogurts, nuts are your most protein dense sources. They digest slower than carbs and stay with you longer. Mixing them with carbs lowers the over glycemic index of the meal, slowing the overall digestion of the meal. This is why many eat eggs with their breakfast.

You need to eat real food. 900 calories of weight loss shakes and vodka cruisers would leave me feeling weak too.

I would recommend that you make sure you are getting in your veggies and fruit in addition to the protein, healthy fat and carbs! What works for me is a protein smoothie for breakfast, a hardboiled egg and some veggies in the morning as a snack and a piece of fruit and a hardboiled egg in the afternoon as a snack and for lunch and dinner lots of veggies, lean protein and about a half cup of a healthy carb and lots of water all day long. Good luck!!!

No wonder you're feeling tired and weak!!!

I agree with lots of the posts, it wouldn't be a bad idea to up your calorie intake. 1200 cals was my original goal and I found that even just bumping it up to 1290 was helpful- MFP even says that less that 1200 is not healthy.

You really need to think about what you're "spending" your calories on. All those shakes and carbs are going to give you sugar spikes and no lasting energy. You need to fill up on lean protein and veggies. It's not that hard to track either one. If you're unsure of portion control you could use this visual guide to judge without a scale. (http://www.wayneresourceguide.org/portion-control-guide_opt.jpg)

Try focusing on meeting or exceeding your protein goal (as set by MFP) for a week and worry less about the actual calorie count (within reason) and see if you don't start feeling better.

Thanks for that portion control guide, looks pretty helpful! I just find that if I eat a proper meal then it takes up over half my daily calories. For instance, spag bowl.

The pasta would be at least 300cals, then the beef would be a fair chunk I'm sure, then the vegies, then the garlic... I find just eating one thing easier, even though it's boring.

I have a lot of 'safe' foods that I know I can go to without thinking too hard about them. Cheese sticks, yogurt, protein bars. Meat does have more calories than the same amount of spaghetti, but the PROTEIN in the meat will be a longer lasting energy source that the carbs in the pasta.

Try starting off your day with a couple tablespoons of peanut butter on celery sticks, and see if that helps to curb the cravings and provide you with energy.