[cagedjade]

Hello Calorie Counters!

I've been eating low cal for about 2 months, and I've stuck to a fairly regular exercise program for just as long. I eat fairly "clean" (lots of fruits and veggies, very lean meats, and whole grains) with only the occasional indulgence... in any case, I've recently began to notice that I'm not able to make it through my normal exercise routine. I haven't dropped calories and eat roughly 18% fat, 58% carbs, and 24% protein. I've been getting 1400-1500 calories on average and I've been getting a full 8 hours (or more!) sleep almost every night.

Sorry for the long intro, but I was wondering if anyone had any insight as to why I could be feeling less energetic (mostly just when I exercise) all of a sudden? Does eating more protein or more carbs help you feel better?

Thanks in advance ladies!

[Tani]

You could try upping your protein a little and see if that helps, but I suspect that if you haven't made any changes in your eating habits lately that you're just coming down with something. You might also (if you're not already) try having a small carby snack about an hour before working out. If you're not eating close enough to working out, that could be why you're running out of juice. I hope you figure it out.

[chick_in_the_hat]

Yuo might also try asking the same question in the Ladies Who Lift forum...but I second the idea of maybe your protein is a little low.
Congrats on 35 pounds so far!!!!

[NowOrNever!]

My personal feeling is that you're not eating enough calories. Do you eat more on the days you exercise? On a very rough calculation (not knowing your age and normal activity level sans exercise), even at your GOAL weight of 180, you would need to eat about 2,000-2,100 calories per day. I suspect you've got your body going into starvation mode right now and it just can't support the exercise load.

The protein point is a good one too. In your shoes, I would increase calories up to about 2,000 for a few days to see what happens, and increase both the fat and protein levels. You don't mention what "exercise" you do, duration, etc. You should at least try to calculate your calories burned on exercise days and make some accommodation. Also, if you're doing a LOT of exercise, in addition to putting your body into starvation mode, you might also just be over-trained right now. Consider backing down on the intensity and possibly take a couple days off in a row (combined with some more calories) until you feel a bit more spring to your step. Whether it's calories, over-training, or both, having your body poop out on you in the middle of a workout that used to be ok is a warning!