I started going to the gym at the beginning of Feb and am really noticing an increase in fitness even this soon, which is brilliant. However I'm more tired in general and also am itchy! My legs and stomach itch not after exercise but just randomly.

My questions are: Should I raise my calories a bit? I've been on 1500 since August quite happily (losing a pound a week) but am only averaging 1350 at the moment. I think the exercise makes me less hungry! Shall I just make sure I hit 1500?

The other one is - does anyone know why I'm so itchy? My skin does seem a bit drier but I was also wondering if it was just that there blood flow had increased to those areas. I swear my stomach muscles havent worked this hard..ever!

Ooh right now my shoulders are itching like mad! I ramped up the weights on the arms yesterday so it certainly seems related. Any ideas?

I think your skin is shrinking and your muscles are getting stronger. My body's been itching from time to time, but my body has also been toning down too. I'll take the itching if it means I'm shrinking width wise!

Years ago when I first started a serious fitness routine, my legs itched a lot. It was very annoying. Eventually it did go away. In my case, I think it was due to increased blood flow. Hang in there! Try some nice lotions and maybe get a full body massage w/ lots of massage oil. Good luck!

Thank you thank you! I was hoping it was something positive! Will persevere.

I know my inner thighs and stomach are very itchy - those are also the "softest" parts of my body? I remember this happened last time I lost weight too. I had no idea why but thought maybe it had to do with circulation also.

I thought it was just me...I itch like alot, mostly on my back and the back of my legs, especially when I first began my exercise routine and shortly thereafter.

chiarij

I've been losing weight for a while and I have started to itch terribly. I don't know what it is. It's not when I've been exercising, just usually during the day at random times.

I thought it might be because I'm burning fat from nasty foods I used to eat. But I don't know, I hope its just something normal - a side effect from losing weight or something.