just started: exercise & diet routine, doing great on it, bu

Ever since starting my diet/excercise, which I feel is well balanced, my brain hasn't been as sharp and I feel more fatigued.

Has anybody else experienced this? Does it subside after a period of time? How long?

I suspect the big changes in how much I eat (and how much effort I'm expending to ignore my protesting stomach/brain) and the exercise I'm taking on can be the only explanation for my mental processes becoming significantly and noticeably slower the last week or two since I started, is this normal?? I really hate it, I'm not nearly as good at my job as normal (I'm in ad sales) which requires me to be very sharp/quick. I'm commission based so I am looking for your information and experiences so I can guage how long this might go on, or if it's just how things will be now.

I definitely am a bit stressed and though I get enough rest haven't been feeling like there's enough time in the day for the things I want to do that are important to me, now that I spend time exercising and cook at home a little more often than before (which was already a lot, because I usually enjoy it, but now I'm rushed).

Thanks for reading, hope you can share your insights..

thanks for the post purrr...

Yeah, I guess 6 lbs is some water weight, though. I tend to fluctuate a lot though during the day it's been a lot less from morning to night than it used to be. Less sodium than before, I guess

I don't really touch processed food and didn't even before starting the diet. i haven't had changes in caffeine levels (0-1 cups coffee a day, I don't do drinks other than water in general).

I eat a lot of vegetables, I've been eating more protein than I normally do (well, animal protein) and have been craving it slightly. I am eating the recommended calories to lose 1.5lbs/week, plus whatever i exercise. i've been basically on target with that every day (no more variation than 100 calories on a almost 1400 calorie target w/o exercise).

I doubt I'm over exercising because I havent had any injuries and I finish my workouts feeling like I still have energy. I don't work out more than 25 minutes at a time (though I'll walk up 7 double flights of stairs at work at lunch in addition or take a 10-20 minute walk etc which adds to my "exercise") and I don't do that more than once a day (+ the odds and ends, I don't use a car).

I just feel like I'm hungry all the time but I'm following everything pretty closely and am finding myself 1) hungry and 2) fuzzy in the brain compared to before starting this routine

my food log shows entries on breakfast, lunch, dinner, and usually 2-3 snacks. I try not to eat more than 500 calories in one go, and even try to spread out my lunch in two chunks over an hour if I can. I used to have a pre-diabetic condition so I'm pretty good about timing my food. Even still, I'm feeling like this..

I guess the short answer is I'm eating about 5-7 times a day, two of those times are bigger, more like 350-500 calories, though today i had a 700 calorie lunch and a 400 calorie dinner.