Weight-Loss Ocassionally feel sluggish...what's the problem?

Weight-Loss
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speedy2056

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I'm not sure whether there is a problem with my metabolism but whether I spread my meals out to 5 day or eat 3 big meals, after a certain while I feel irritable, sluggish and like I have little energy.

For example, say if I am eating 5 meals a day, I will start to feel that way after a certain amount of weeks, but if I modify my diet and go back to eating 3 big ones, all that goes and I feel good again!

I think my weight loss slows down during these sluggish periods, too.

Can anyone shed any light on this?
 
Because the multimeal a day thing isn't for everyone. It has been shown to be more of a style than a rule. If you feel better eating 3 bigger meals then go with 3 bigger meals. Don't think that you won't lose weight if you go to that. It's all about the numebr of total calories.
 
Jericho said:
Because the multimeal a day thing isn't for everyone. It has been shown to be more of a style than a rule. If you feel better eating 3 bigger meals then go with 3 bigger meals. Don't think that you won't lose weight if you go to that. It's all about the numebr of total calories.
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Thanks for the reply!

However, I start to feel this way when eating 3 big meals, too, after a couple of weeks.

I'm thinking it could be my diet.

Here is what I eat when consuming 5 meals:

Cereal such as weetabix

Banana, mostly a big one.

Slice of bread and butter with a whole boiled egg

Slice of bread and peanut butter

Dinner. It may be a breast of chicken with fries.

I know this may seem too little to some but I am disabled and lead a sedentary lifestyle except for the weekends when I go out and enjoy myself.

I am also only 5'2 and weigh around 145lb, although I haven't checked my numbers in a long while.
 
i'd say you feel sluggish 'cause you're not eating enough. you've essentially got breakfast, 3 snacks, and dinner... no wonder you don't have any energy during the day. i partly agree with jericho, but i don't think you need to cut the carbs, just add the veg and protein. and don't forget about fat - use whole milk with the weetabix, the fat will keep you satiated and help dissolve the vitamins that come with it.

looking at your menu again, the only veg you've got is fries, which in my book doesn't count. would you say you're healthy?
 
Toddless said:
i'd say you feel sluggish 'cause you're not eating enough. you've essentially got breakfast, 3 snacks, and dinner... no wonder you don't have any energy during the day. i partly agree with jericho, but i don't think you need to cut the carbs, just add the veg and protein. and don't forget about fat - use whole milk with the weetabix, the fat will keep you satiated and help dissolve the vitamins that come with it.

looking at your menu again, the only veg you've got is fries, which in my book doesn't count. would you say you're healthy?
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I'd say I am reasonably healthy.

Vegetables are my main weak points, I admit that I do not get enough.

I do love my fruit, though, and can have more than one fruit a day sometimes, and not necessarily all bananas.

Also, I thought my protein intake was okay considering that I eat whole boiled eggs, chicken and peanut butter, which I heard has good fats.

I guess I will start to eat more meat.

I do find it a struggle to maintain my weight due to me being in a wheelchair so it's like a constant battle.

Even just slightly overeating one particular day can make me put on some lb, and this is when I am good with my diet and eat good foods!

I am doing weight lifting and upper body cardio as much as I can, every day.

But I do have periods when I will just lack motivation and stop for a certain time, and my diet will go off the rails, admittedly.

I was also thinking that the metabolism could adjust into a routine and that could have been the reason, but it was just a theory. A rather outlandish one, I know.

Anyway, thank you for the suggestions!
 
metabolism definitely adjusts to your routines, which is why dieting without exercise fails. if, for instance, you only eat 1200 cals a day, your body will learn to only burn 1200 cals a day. your body always wants to balance itself. you might put on a few pounds as you start to eat more, but keep exercising and your body will adjust to it and you'll level out.
 
I find that a good rule to stick with is to make my meals colourful. (yes we spell it with a u!)
If you added some salad leaves, homemade even guacamole to your chicken and chips then you have added nutrients and minerals to your diet. Not to mention essential fats, salts and fibre.
Eating fruit is fine but try and stay away from too many bananas, apples and pears. Light skinned fruit is made up of alot of water and fructose. Dark skinned friûits like kiwi, mango, papaya, pineapple, avocado etc would be better for you and are generally better sources of dietry fibre.
If you could add vegetables to your main meals (adding colour) then you immediately improve the nutritional value of your meals and your health in general will improve.
Boiled eggs are good sources of protien but they are also a great source of cholesteol, have you had your levels checked?
I understand that its hard to be in a wheelchair and get exercise, do you have enough movement for swimming? Does your physiotherapist have any suggestions? Your doctor?
 
yummimummi said:
Boiled eggs are good sources of protien but they are also a great source of cholesteol, have you had your levels checked?
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Plenty of studies show that dietary cholesterol doesn't correlate to blood cholesterol. In other words, your body makes its own cholesterol; what you eat won't add to that.
 
Toddless said:
Plenty of studies show that dietary cholesterol doesn't correlate to blood cholesterol. In other words, your body makes its own cholesterol; what you eat won't add to that.
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true but some foods can contribute to your blood cholesterol than other foods.
 
yummimummi said:
I find that a good rule to stick with is to make my meals colourful. (yes we spell it with a u!)
If you added some salad leaves, homemade even guacamole to your chicken and chips then you have added nutrients and minerals to your diet. Not to mention essential fats, salts and fibre.
Eating fruit is fine but try and stay away from too many bananas, apples and pears. Light skinned fruit is made up of alot of water and fructose. Dark skinned friûits like kiwi, mango, papaya, pineapple, avocado etc would be better for you and are generally better sources of dietry fibre.
If you could add vegetables to your main meals (adding colour) then you immediately improve the nutritional value of your meals and your health in general will improve.
Boiled eggs are good sources of protien but they are also a great source of cholesteol, have you had your levels checked?
I understand that its hard to be in a wheelchair and get exercise, do you have enough movement for swimming? Does your physiotherapist have any suggestions? Your doctor?
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Thanks for the informative post!

What I do is go through these "dieting" spells because I do put on weight ocassionally and I adjust my calorie intake and do exercise to lose the fat.

It doesn't usually take me long to lose the couple of inches that I put on.

As it turns out, Toddles was probably right, I wasn't eating enough!

I calculated my calorie intake and it came to, roughly, 1,400.

So I have upped it to 1,600 and I feel so much better - more energy, enthusiastic, no headaches, etc.

And I have even seen a shift in my weight loss because that came to a halt, too!

Imagine - I was living on 1,400 doing weight lifting and even wheeling around in my chair, too. I can travel in my chair up to around 2 miles every other day, just because I do, lol.

I used to count my calories but I got lazy with that, too, so this has given me a kick up the backside!

I do eat veg from time to time, but am generally not too keen on it and I find I can lose weight quite easily without it.

But I do understand what you are stating, yummimummi!

I eat it from time to time in spells but then I'll go right off it. I got a bag of green beans in my freezer that I am sure I'll get round to...some day.

Thanks!
 
Hey Speedy, for the first week of my diet not only did I feel sluggish but I would nod off at my desk at work. But after I just suffered through it I started having lots of energy about 2 months later and today I can go all day without eating (if I had to) and only feel a little bit sluggish. I guess you just have to get used to eating less and let your body adjust?

Coffee helps too ^_^
 
Jacklinger said:
Hey Speedy, for the first week of my diet not only did I feel sluggish but I would nod off at my desk at work. But after I just suffered through it I started having lots of energy about 2 months later and today I can go all day without eating (if I had to) and only feel a little bit sluggish. I guess you just have to get used to eating less and let your body adjust?

Coffee helps too ^_^
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Well, Jacklinger, I was only eating 1,400 calories a day so I needed to up that.

1,500 calories a day is the standard for weight loss.

Now I don't feel sluggish at all!

In fact, I just completed a workout and was much more efficient at it.

You should only cut down permanently on calories if you were eating too much for your body to begin with.
 
Speedy2056 said:
You should only cut down permanently on calories if you were eating too much for your body to begin with.
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Well put, Speedy!!
 
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