# Will calories contribute to tiredness?



## texasgirl (Apr 23, 2006)

If you don't get enough calories, will that make you tired all the time? Or is it too much weight that will make you tired, or both? 
I've been doing about 1,200 - 1,300 calories, but, according to the calorie intake site that I posted on another thread, I should be taking in 2,120 to maintain and 1,610 to lose weight. That is 410 calories low for losing. Maybe I'm not taking in as many as I should and my metabolism is too slow, causing me to be so tired all the time?


----------



## Andy M. (Apr 23, 2006)

If you're getting the proper mix of nutrients, etc, a low calorie intake on it's own shouldn't make you feel tired.  Your body will just take the fuel it needs from reserves stored in the form of fat.

Are you doing this drastic cutback because you're in a hurry to lose some weight?  Such a drastic change will be difficult to maintain.


----------



## texasgirl (Apr 23, 2006)

No, not a hurried weight loss, just weight loss. I was just always told that a good number is 1,200 calories to lose. Now, I see it depends on the person on how many you need to have. I will be raising my calories by 410 now, just to see. 1,200 was a lot for me. I don't eat a lot during the day, just at dinner, which is a big no no anyway. I just have to learn to eat more and arrange it so that it isn't all at dinner.


----------



## amber (Apr 23, 2006)

Do you measure your food and calculate the calories you take in?  I never measure my portions out, I just eat several small meals per day mostly for breakfast and lunch and a light dinner.  I tend to get tired if I've had a heavy meal and eaten too much, lack energy too.


----------



## licia (Apr 23, 2006)

You should probably determine the right number of calories for you - your lifestyle, your weight now, etc.  The right number of calories in the right kind of food is much different than just a number of calories.  I'm trying to stay away from all the white stuff and that seems to be working.


----------



## Alix (Apr 23, 2006)

Texasgirl, often the culprit is not so much the amount of calories we take in, but the type of calories. For example turkey puts you to sleep because of the tryptophan, and dairy products also help you to fall asleep. 

Likely what you are needing is to change the calories you take in, and perhaps changing when you exercise. If you can fit in a short walk at midday it will boost your energy level for the rest of the workday. 

You can try to eat a bit more protein to carry you through the day longer. Protein takes longer to digest and metabolize than simple sugars or carbs so it helps you have energy longer. You might want to do some reading on the glycemic index. It will point you to foods that are better energy foods. 

OK, having said all that I am going to tell you that Stash tea offers a Triple Ginseng tea that tastes sort of citrusy and is very pleasant. (You can order it online.) I made a pot at work one day and all my coworkers commented the next day how energized they felt and that they didn't go home after work all dragged out. So...if you are happy with the way your diet is going, then maybe give this a shot.


----------



## luvs (Apr 23, 2006)

oh, tex, a lack of calories is exhausting. so is insufficient fluid intake. get your calories in. fluids, too!


----------



## auntdot (Apr 23, 2006)

Wow, texas, am impressed.  We have both been losing weight but are doing it by cutting back on foods. And trying to avoid the stuff we don't need.

We don't calculate anything.

And we both refuse to get on a scale, it puts too much pressure on us.

Just gaining a random pound one day can put us in a funk.

And ya gotta eat yourself out of a funk, right?

But it is working, no matter how unstructured, our waist sizes say it all.

Good luck, stick to it.

You sure are not alone out there.


----------



## texasgirl (Apr 23, 2006)

Thanks, Alix, Luvs and Auntdot.

Alix, is this it? http://shopstashtea.com/030280.html

How the heck should I know what kind of calories I'm suppose to take in? 
I get ,"Watch your trans fat" "Watch the calories" I don't know what I'm suppose to watch for anymore. This dieting stinks!!!!!!!!!!  
Is there a site that will have like menus that are already made up? I'm REALLY bad at figuring my own or I'll eat whatever is around.


----------



## Haggis (Apr 23, 2006)

> If you're getting the proper mix of nutrients, etc, a low calorie intake on it's own shouldn't make you feel tired. Your body will just take the fuel it needs from reserves stored in the form of fat.



True, but when the body feeds off it's own fat stores it is not getting its fuel source of choice, glycogen (coming from carbohydrate intake). When you deplete your glycogen stores it can make you feel tired and sluggish, and it's not just limited to physical feeling.


----------



## Constance (Apr 23, 2006)

Going without eating is not a good way to lose weight. Your metabolism slows down, and you burn fewer calories. Try eating a banana, a piece of whole wheat toast, or a bowl of cottage cheese in the morning. 
If you check the labels, there are lot of low calorie soups on the shelves, and a bowl of soup makes a good, quick lunch that will keep you going. 
Eat a well-balanced, satisfying supper so you won't wake up in the middle of the night hungry. The idea that eating a big meal and going to bed on it makes your fatter is not true. It doesn't matter what time of day you eat, the total calorie intake is what makes the difference in whether or not you lose weight.

Some hints: 
*Don't consume more meat per day than the size of a pack of cigarettes.
*Stay away from white foods (white potatoes, white bread, white noodles, white rice, etc.)
*Go heavy on the green leafy vegetables...besides being full of vitamins, they help keep you regular.
*drink lots of water 
*Weigh once a week, at the same time of day. 
*Walk...next to sex, it's the best exercise


----------



## texasgirl (Apr 23, 2006)

Constance said:
			
		

> Going without eating is not a good way to lose weight. Your metabolism slows down, and you burn fewer calories. Try eating a banana, a piece of whole wheat toast, or a bowl of cottage cheese in the morning.
> If you check the labels, there are lot of low calorie soups on the shelves, and a bowl of soup makes a good, quick lunch that will keep you going.
> Eat a well-balanced, satisfying supper so you won't wake up in the middle of the night hungry. The idea that eating a big meal and going to bed on it makes your fatter is not true. It doesn't matter what time of day you eat, the total calorie intake is what makes the difference in whether or not you lose weight.
> 
> ...


 

Thank you Connie!! And I WILL NOT be showing your hints to dh


----------



## Caine (Apr 23, 2006)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> If you're getting the proper mix of nutrients, etc, a low calorie intake on it's own shouldn't make you feel tired. Your body will just take the fuel it needs from reserves stored in the form of fat.


 
This is NOT true. If you do not take in enough calories (normally less than 1600 calories a day), your body will go into starvation mode, and it will start drawing nutrition from your muscles, not your fat. Your body will do everything it can to preserve the fat. It's a throwback to our cave dwelling ancestors.

The only way to get your body to use fat for fuel is be sure you are maintaining enough calorie intake to prevent your body from going into starvation mode, and to get enough exercise. Exercise will work in two ways. First of all, after approximately 15 to 20 minutes of aerobic exercise, all of the carbohydrates stored in your muscles as glycogen will be depleted, and you will start burning body fat. Second, by performing anerobic exercise, i.e. weight training, every pound of lean muscle mass you add to your body will burn an additional 300 calories a day, just because it is muscle.

Once you have *HONESTLY* calculated your calorie requirements, subtract 500 calories a day, and you will lose approximately 1 pound a week. You can go to 1000 calories less a day, as long as you do not go below 1600 calories, and you will lose 2 pounds a week. Inever recommend anyone trying to lose more than this. It's not healthy or safe, and crash diets will not allow you to keep the weight off. You gained it a little bit at a time, and that is the safest way to lose it, and make sure it stays lost.

Right now I am hungry, so I need to order a steak & cheese hoagy, but we'll discuss dietary requirements later.


----------



## Alix (Apr 24, 2006)

Texasgirl, yes that is the tea. I think you will like it. Here is a free diet plan menu thingy. And here is the Kraft meal and fitness planner. Either of those might help you. 

Read Caine's post a time or two, he is right on the money (no surprise there) and if memory serves, he may be persuaded to give you a few more pointers. 

I relate completely to feeling like the amount of calories recommended is too much. I frequently shake my head at the amounts I am supposed to take in. I just couldn't cram that much into me. Here is a copy of Canada's Food Guide which hasn't steered anyone wrong yet.

You have the right idea, take in fewer calories and exercise more to burn off the excess weight. That is really the only TRUE way to lose weight and keep it off. 

Don't stress too much about good calories and bad calories, you know which are which. An orange is preferable to orange sherbet...etc etc. You're doing great! Hang in there and whenever you need support we are all here for you.


----------



## texasgirl (Apr 24, 2006)

Thank you Caine and Alix. Now, tell me more about this steak and cheese hoagy Nah, just kidding!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 24, 2006)

Nutrition is an immensely complicated thing.  First, calories are a difficult unit by which to determine what type of foods, and the amounts of them that you should be eating.  

This is the definition of a calorie: The quantity of thermal energy required to raise one gram of water 1°C at 15°C at 1 atmosphere.  

It used to be obtained in controlled lab conditions at one atmosphere by burning a substance in pure oxygen, then measuring the amount of temperature change in a given amount of water.

Calories are quite simply, a measurement of heat energy.  But nutrition involves so much more.  Our body temperature is dependant on the calories generated as we metabolize food substances.  When we move, or think, or breathe, we are using up some of that energy.  But foods also contain nutrients that help us to rebuild dammaged bones and tissues, make it possible to move, to think,  to digest substances, and a whole host of activities that our bodies require to keep working.

Our bodies are immensely complicated machines that use the various subtances in the foods we eat, along with water and oxygen to maintain the functionality of that machine, and produce work.  To think of calories as a way of controlling weight is at best, primitive.

You asked if too few calories will make you feel fatigued.  The answer is no.  But too little water will, as will too much salt, too much sugar, too much caffein, to few vitamins, to few phyto-chemicles, too little exercize, too little sleep, too much sleep, and a host of other factors.  Even such things as too little sunlight can contribute to feelings of lethargy, fatigue, and deppresion.

Nutrition needs to be ballaced, that is, a wide variety of foods must be eaten to make sure your body gets the many chemicals, minerals, and compounds it requires to provide energy, and the molecular building blocks to maintain itself and all of its functions.  And it has been proven time and again that nutrients obtained from their natural food sources are much more effective at doing what they are supposed to do in the body than are the same substances obtained through pills, capsules, and suplements.  There are intricate chemical processes involved that depend on other compounds found in the foods that aren't available in pills.

The advise given above about losing slowly is sound.  And counting calories is a valuable tool in helping you to control protion sizes to a reasonable level.  But behavioral modification is far more effective, and lasts a lifetime.

For instance, learn to eat slowly from a variety of foods.  Eat small portions throughout the day rather than three big meals plus snacks.  If you aren't hungry, don't eat.  If you are eating due to emotional cues, learn to handle those emotions by working them out through exercise, or aritstic activities, or by resolving whatever is stressing you.

So learn about your foods, what they're made of, what theyr'e value is.  And I hope you have great success.

Seeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## texasgirl (Apr 24, 2006)

Goodweed of the North said:
			
		

> Nutrition is an immensely complicated thing. First, calories are a difficult unit by which to determine what type of foods, and the amounts of them that you should be eating.
> 
> This is the definition of a calorie: The quantity of thermal energy required to raise one gram of water 1°C at 15°C at 1 atmosphere.
> 
> ...


 
Thank you, Goodweed for such profound words, as usual. I really appreciate everyones help. Now, I have homework to do.  Have to find me good foods that will help me with my cravings and keep me full.


----------



## SizzlininIN (Apr 24, 2006)

I don't know about everyone else but when I think of dieting (always this time of year) ..... I end up craving and wanting food even more.


----------



## Lady C (Apr 27, 2006)

Goodweed gave some great advice. I would add a couple of things that might make it easier.

First, use a site like Fitday.com to help you add up your calories. It is free - you just have to sign up. It is quite educational to see what you are putting into your body.

Secondly, I would make sure to eat balanced meals/snacks. That means try to include protein, carbohydrates and fats (good fats) into each meal. A simple example would be a couple of eggs and whole grain toast or cottage cheese and carrots. Eggs and cottage cheese contain both protein and fats and the breador carrots are the carbohydrates.

Your cravings are usually your body saying it needs nutrition. Our brains don't always connect that ice cream and a chicken breast aren't the same nutritionally.


----------

