Am I eating too little? Constantly tired/lethargic....
Discussion
Hey Folks
Apologies if this is a stupid question but I'm relatively new to the concept of eating less/exercising more and would appreciate some thoughts!
Since the turn of the year I have been going to the gym 2-3 times per week in addition to making wholesale changes to diet.
The long and short of it is that I now burn somewhere between 1,600 - 2,400 calories per week from exercise (whereas before it was zero) and on average consume around 1,500 per day (unmonitored prior to the turn of the year so no idea what it was beforehand, but I'd estimate minimum of 2,000-2,400 per day).
My exercise normally consists of 5k on the rowing machine (~ 20mins) in addition to 40 mins or so on the cross trainer, 2-3 times per week.
I've always eat reasonably healthy meals, the main difference now is drastic reduction in alcohol consumption (red wine) in addition to pretty much zero of the usual culprit foods (cakes/sweets/biscuits in the office being the main offender). We also used to snack a lot at home on evenings/weekends, things like big bags of crisps and biscuits which has all gone out the window. We now have one bottle of wine between us per week, and that's it on the alcohol front.
I've lost around 1 stone in the five weeks since I got started, which I'm really pleased with, but I feel really tired/lethargic all the time. I don't know if this is just normal reaction to the double whammy of reduced energy in vs more energy out or whether I need to up my food intake? I wake up feeling as if I've not been to bed most mornings.
It's having the desired effect on my body (i.e. lose body mass!) but I want to ensure I'm doing it in a healthy way.
Thanks all
Apologies if this is a stupid question but I'm relatively new to the concept of eating less/exercising more and would appreciate some thoughts!
Since the turn of the year I have been going to the gym 2-3 times per week in addition to making wholesale changes to diet.
The long and short of it is that I now burn somewhere between 1,600 - 2,400 calories per week from exercise (whereas before it was zero) and on average consume around 1,500 per day (unmonitored prior to the turn of the year so no idea what it was beforehand, but I'd estimate minimum of 2,000-2,400 per day).
My exercise normally consists of 5k on the rowing machine (~ 20mins) in addition to 40 mins or so on the cross trainer, 2-3 times per week.
I've always eat reasonably healthy meals, the main difference now is drastic reduction in alcohol consumption (red wine) in addition to pretty much zero of the usual culprit foods (cakes/sweets/biscuits in the office being the main offender). We also used to snack a lot at home on evenings/weekends, things like big bags of crisps and biscuits which has all gone out the window. We now have one bottle of wine between us per week, and that's it on the alcohol front.
I've lost around 1 stone in the five weeks since I got started, which I'm really pleased with, but I feel really tired/lethargic all the time. I don't know if this is just normal reaction to the double whammy of reduced energy in vs more energy out or whether I need to up my food intake? I wake up feeling as if I've not been to bed most mornings.
It's having the desired effect on my body (i.e. lose body mass!) but I want to ensure I'm doing it in a healthy way.
Thanks all
Meant to add, I'm a 30 year old male, 5ft11, now weigh 11st8
I'm really skinny framed (really thin wrists/fingers/ankles etc) but have always carried fat in stomach and chest which is what I'm trying to address (though I wanted to make healthy changes to my food and drink intake anyway, not just for weight loss per se)
I'm really skinny framed (really thin wrists/fingers/ankles etc) but have always carried fat in stomach and chest which is what I'm trying to address (though I wanted to make healthy changes to my food and drink intake anyway, not just for weight loss per se)
944fan said:
Use MyFitnessPal, it will work out target calories for you based on current weight and weight loss goals. You can then track your progress. You should eat back the exercise calories you burn.
Thanks will check it out. I know the missus uses it - we basically eat the same except I have more snacks now and again (mainly fruit) so if she's eating the right amount I guess I'm eating too little. She's lost pretty much exactly the same amount of weight. I find it hard to get out of the 'I can't eat more as I won't keep losing weight' mindset.
BRISTOL86 said:
FredClogs said:
If you're tired why not try sleeping more?
I wish...busy job and home life so I already get as much as possible! 7ish hours a night is pretty respectable isn't it? I don't even have kids...I imagine most who do get a lot less!There's a lot of bro science around these things, who really knows? The likelyhood is if you've gone from nothing to gym 3 times a week and changed your diet at the same time your body is probably letting you know about it.
You're on a calorie deficit of around 9500 a week. That's a lot. Eat more to compensate for the exercise. You can't burn the candle at both ends indefinitely. 1500 calories a day is not a lot in the first place but is doable but then you are exercising on top. Plus not sleeping much. Something has to give.
Thanks for the info and feedback guys, appreciated. Don't see much chance of drastically increasing my sleep in the foreseeable but will ramp up the calories for a while and see what difference it makes.
Re water - I drink water all day every day, I'm permanently thirsty so I probably drink 8 pints of water a day minimum I reckon!
Re water - I drink water all day every day, I'm permanently thirsty so I probably drink 8 pints of water a day minimum I reckon!
BRISTOL86 said:
FredClogs said:
Are you getting enough sleep?
Probably 6.5-7 hours on average during the week. This is just my opinion but if I was you I would:
- Get a solid 8hrs sleep a night
- Eat much more, like 3000kcals a day at least
- Eat healthy. Low sugar, little processed food, moderate unrefined carbs and loads of protein and vegetables.
- Stop doing low intensity machine cardio altogether. Start lifting heavy weights to build some muscle, increase your testosterone, mix it up with HIIT if you like that sort of thing.
Have you tried taking a multi vit each day? perhaps supplemented by cod liver oil capsules.
I have taken them since May 2014, when I dieted and was down to 1200 calories (making every single one count) per day for a few months and I honestly never felt lethargic - always made sure I got more than my daily requirements for vitamins and minerals. (as I was weight training, too)
I have taken them since May 2014, when I dieted and was down to 1200 calories (making every single one count) per day for a few months and I honestly never felt lethargic - always made sure I got more than my daily requirements for vitamins and minerals. (as I was weight training, too)
TurboHatchback said:
Probably not then. 1500kcals a day is practically a starvation diet, I would say you are absolutely not eating enough. At your height and weight if you say you are carrying some fat then I would guess you don't have much muscle mass.
This is just my opinion but if I was you I would:
I agree with Turbo, especially looking at your stats:This is just my opinion but if I was you I would:
- Get a solid 8hrs sleep a night
- Eat much more, like 3000kcals a day at least
- Eat healthy. Low sugar, little processed food, moderate unrefined carbs and loads of protein and vegetables.
- Stop doing low intensity machine cardio altogether. Start lifting heavy weights to build some muscle, increase your testosterone, mix it up with HIIT if you like that sort of thing.
Meant to add, I'm a 30 year old male, 5ft11, now weigh 11st8
That's already on the light side, so your issue is more likely body composition rather than how much you weigh?
If my back of fag packet maths is right that's about 73kgs, so no it's not.
I'm 6'1" slim build but with a little more muscle mass than 'normal' and about 15% BF and I'm 78kgs, and I'm getting on for 24 years older than him.
Anyway, weight alone is a poor metric. Body composition is more important but quite difficult for those not familiar with it to judge.
Having said all that, sounds like he needs to eat more (quality whole foods) and maybe lift some weights.
I'm 6'1" slim build but with a little more muscle mass than 'normal' and about 15% BF and I'm 78kgs, and I'm getting on for 24 years older than him.
Anyway, weight alone is a poor metric. Body composition is more important but quite difficult for those not familiar with it to judge.
Having said all that, sounds like he needs to eat more (quality whole foods) and maybe lift some weights.
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff