Normal hunger or something more serious?

For the past several months I've found that if I don't eat every 3-4 hours, I get really, really weak, especially if exercising and regardless of how much I eat at meals. 

For example, today I had already eaten about 1000 of my 1400 calories before noon and some grapes around 2pm so I didn't bring a snack to eat at 4pm before tennis practice.  I was so weak I could barely play.  Over the summer it was a lot worse, getting shaky and clammy if I worked in the yard and hadn't eaten for more than 3 hours. 

Is this normal or should I be concerned?  Until this June I never had a problem with weakness unless I went 6 or 7 hours between meals...

That sounds like you are having issues with a low blood sugar. The shakes and sweats or clammy skin are very typical symptoms of hypoglycemia.

To prevent this, try to eat less simple carbs in general, go more for whole grains that take longer to digest. Avoid white bread, sugar, white rice, pasta, ect. If you eat alot of quickly digested foods, your body will want another quick to digest meal in a few hours, and adjust you insulin levels in preparation for it. By eating whole grains your body can use the fuel from your food more slowly as it breaks it down, preventing those highs and lows in your blood sugar. Have a snack of some carbs and some protein about a half hour before you work out.

If you find yourself having spells like this often, try to keep a few small snacks available, a granola bar or almonds in your purse. If you start having symptoms, then eat some carbs immediately, OJ, hard candy, and glucose tabs are what doctors recommend to diabetics, because they work almost instantly. Candy and sugar tablets are also easy to keep with you, in a purse or pocket. After the symptoms subside, its important to eat some protein to prevent them from coming back.

Edit: You may also want to look at your calorie goals. 1400 is awfully low if you are doing any sort of exercise unless you are in your 60's and under 5 feet tall.

sounds like maybe youre not eating enough, especially if you excercise.  its good to eat every few hrs but maybe try eating some more.

good luck

Thanks katieydid2,

Keeping snacks with me seems to have helped, but I think I will try to replace more simple carbs with whole grain as well.  Do you have any idea why this would have started happening to me all of a sudden though?  Mid-June I had about 6 serious episodes in 2 weeks, and since then it doesn't happen if I eat regularly, but I used to be able to eat a big breakfast and be not hungry for 8 hours, and I just can't do that anymore.

Btw I'm only 5'2 and trying to lose the last 5 lbs, and on workout days my total calorie expenditure is only about 2000 calories according to the site's meter, so I aim for about 1400 calories knowing I'll underestimate what I eat a little. 

Sounds like hypoglycemia. I have that. What are you eating? That may be the problem. If you are eating nothing but fruits and veggies that is not good. It must be balanced. Example. For breakfast have a whole grain bagel with peanut butter on it. A banana and a glass of milk, or whole grain cereal, a hard boiled egg and some milk. Eat a snack between breakfast and lunch. Good lunch choices are sweet potatoes, tuna, chicken, fish. Cottage cheese, low fat cheese, salad with chicken and olive oil, grilled cheese sandwich with tomato, brown rice, peanut butter. Just make sure you are getting some carbs, fats and protein with your meals. Make an appt with the Dr. they can give you a kit to test your blood sugar when you feel like this. Keep a log. I am guessing your blood sugar is falling below 70 when this happens. You need complex cabs to keep it at an even level. Simple carbs and sugars spike it up quickly but then it quickly drops again.

I know it sounds counterintuitive, but you really need to eat more to lose weight healthfully. Your body needs a certain number of calories just so your internal systems function correctly each day. If you don't ingest at least that number of calories (even with a workout) you are cheating your body of the energy it needs.  If you make this a regular practice, you can do permanent damage to your various systems, as well as impede weight loss.

Try to find a calculator to find your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR. This will give you the exact number of calories your body needs each day if all you do is lay on the couch. If you workout, you must add those calories! For instance, I am 5'6", 144lbs and 25 years old. My BMR is around 1500 calories. I work out 5 times a week and burn at least 300 calories each work out. That means I must eat at leat 1800 calories a day just for my body to function properly. I will still lose weight, because my normal burn rate is around 2200 calories a day, just with normal walking around, errands and chores.

It's hard to do some days, because our minds tell us that we're eating too much and weight loss needs to be obvious immediately. But it is so much healthier to relax and take it slow, making sure your body gets what it needs than to starve it for those last five pounds. If you make it a practice to always provide your body with the appropriate energy, it will make maintenance much easier.

Cheers!