Help - I'm a little scared...

I've been on CC fo 6 weeks - started at 242 and now at 227 at 6' tall and 37 years old. My daily calorie target is 1600 but I've been between 1200 and 1300 for the past week or so. Occasionally I have gone under 1200 -not because I'm trying to but because I have been busy and now that I am swapping healthy food for junk food I just don't eat as many calories. Yesterday I had 1180, but it may have been more or less because my husband cooked cincinatti chili for dinner and I had to approximate the calories. This morning I woke up around 6 just not feeling right - when I got up I was walking sideways. I had to grab on to the walls and couldnt stand up right - it was severe. Like the worst kind of being drunk. I almost fell over in the bathroom. And it's not just feeling lightheaded, its also the vertigo, like the room is spinning.

Is this related to low blood sugar or low calories? I'm really freaked. I did eat a popsicle and go back to bed for a little bit, and now I feel a little better, but still not all the way right.

Anyone else experience this? Thank

You're running on empty.... Lack of food has most likely crashed your blood-sugars and you had a mild hypoglycaemic attack. Did you consult your doctor before you started dieting?  Have you had your resting glucose levels tested?  Could be a good idea in the circumstances.

Please stop starving yourself and do make sure you get a small meal or a light snack every 2 or 3 hours from now on.  If your target is 1600 (and that sounds rather low for someone your size) then make sure you never dip below that.  I'm sorry but 'too busy' is no excuse.  Give food priority because it's your health that's at stake if you don't.   Best of luck

Yeah it can be amazing how dipping below that number can affect you. At my size, being quite busy and stressed, I only had the appetite for around 1200 per day. Only when I went to Denny's with some friends a few days later did my weight begin to fall off because I had around 2100 calories that day instead. Just an observation; and yes I had to drink a ton of water, that food is salty as hell.

ok this is weird because I too have been experiencing the same exact "vertigo"  like symptoms....now my question has been answered, at 5ft 6in 138 lbs 1200-1400 calories is still too low -I have been undereating!  Blood sugar dipping too low-thank goodness for this post.  I will eat ( or try to get in)  1600-1700 calories today and just see what happens.

Here is a trick if you are finding yourself in a time crunch. Go to costco and pick up a bag of almonds and take them to work for your desk. I love cracking them in half and mounging one at a time. Also enables you to not over eat them. Also get some fiber one bars that way you get 9 grams of fiber for 140 calories and they have chocolate so you will feel satiated.

Good luck!

Update - I talked to one of my best friends who is a nurse. She agreed that it was probably a low blood sugar incident. She recommended eating something small before bed to give your body something to run on during the night if you have been cutting calories.  She's been working on losing 40 pounds too, so she knows my pain!

I could never have guessed how hard it would be to get all my calories in! Before I wouldn't eat often, but I'd have junk like Chick fil A or pizza. Now I don't eat often or much, and it almost feels gluttonous to eat 1600 cals! I usually keep Kashi Trail Mix chewy granola bars, which are packed with almonds and dried fruit, and are an easy 140 calories - need to go back to the store!

Thanks to everyone for your help and replies!

Vertigo can be caused by a problem with your inner ear... if it comes back again, go see a doctor to make sure you don't have an infection - a friend of mine had an inner ear infection and she could NOT stand upright by herself unless she was holding onto a wall or the furniture because her equilibrium was so messed up. It took her several weeks to recover.

I really wouldnt say that you calorie intake is severe enough for you to be having any problems with it. I would also have to say inner ear infection or a sinus infection. Try a decongestent next time.