how come I am so tired

I might sound like a hypocondriac but I really think there is something wrong with me. I am just so tired everyday! I am just so not a morning person but I have fieldwork and have to be up by 6 and my body just cannot get used to it. I jave even tried goin to sleep as early as 9 or 10 at night! It is literally so so hard for me to get out of bed and I emmediately need to eat or drink something to have a little more energy. I eat an average of 1400 calories a day and I do not think that it is because I am eating too little because some days I eat way more than that and I am still tired while other days it is the opposite. I really dont feel like I have really "woken up" till at least 2 in the afternoon but that is not good since I feel so tired at work! I took my blood pressure at work- since I am in the health care proffesion- and saw that it was really low- like 84 over 66. Do you think this have anything to do with it? I really want to have more energy. Does anyone have any advice on how I can have an easier time getting up in the morning and not feel so tired all day. By the way I am 21, 5"2, and 115 pounds and this has been going on for about 2 years already. Any help or advice would be very much appreciated!!

You do fieldwork, are up at 6 am and don't think that eating 1400 calories is the problem?! That's the problem.

You are 21 5'2", 115 and physically active all day -- you likely need 2200 calories a day!

Every day. Even if you eat more some days (what, a mere 1800 maybe?) you have such a deficit running that it needs to be 2200 for a couple of weeks before you'll be catching up from the damage.

1400 calories is not a maintenance diet for a 5'2" woman even if she were bed-ridden.

Here's a tour through what happening to your body now at restriction of 1200-1600 calories:

1. It lays down what little fat it can around the vital organs as protection (which actually increases risks for heart disease in later life); 
2. it pilfers calcium from bones leading to osteoporosis in later life;
3. it slows the metabolism to try to eek as much as it can from the little calories it can get (which leads to pre-metabolic syndrome/diabetes -- which surprises a lot of habitual under-eaters because they assume those are only diseases of the obese, not so);
4. it ignores the huge piggy glucose demands from the prefrontal cortex (which leads to slowed thought and poor judgment);
5. it ups the glucco-corticoids in the body (stress response) which in turn shrinks the hippocampus in the brain and that causes more glucco-corticoids in the body (vicious circle) and wrecks your memory capability possibly leading to dementia in later life;
6. it starts scrimping on the red blood cell count (anemia and profound fatigue).

The only difference is its a decline over decades rather than the immediate dump of anorexia.

Restricting calorie intake is for the overweight and it is not something to take lightly -- it actually has a lot of risks associated with it and should only be attempted when there are looming or existing health issues due to excess weight and should never be considered a way of life.

Please eat more and you need to visit a doctor ASAP -- that blood pressure is not o.k. and you may need some immediate intervention to ensure you are safe until proper calorie intake takes over and rectifies everything.

I'd second the view that you're probably suffering from a general lack of energy caused by an inadequate diet.... and that the low-level malnutrition you're getting by undereating is causing things like low iron-stores... a common cause of fatigue in young women.   Low blood-pressure is probably linked to the same thing.

Do see your doctor for a physical check and some dietary advice.

Thanks so much for your replies and for your advice. I do plan on seeing a doctor for the low blood pressure and fatigue so I will let you know what he says. I am just a little confused since 5"2 and 115 is a healthy weight and not at all underweight. Also, I am NOT physically active all day long- especially when I am in school all day and do nothing but sit and study. I try to walk as much as possible but that is about it. To maintain my weight I need 1400 to 1500 calories so why are you so convinced I am undereating?

A couple of things come to mind. Are you happy in your profession? Do you snore? As a nurse I know how tough burn out can be and it will often manifest in physical symptoms. The other thing that came to mind is that the sleep you are getting may not be REM sleep. In other words the sleep cycle is disturbed throughout the night by either snoring, noise, pain or discomfort...Also light to moderate excercise is often recommended to give energy, help with sleep disorders, and provide mental clarity. Something to think about. Good luck.

I am 5 foot 2 and 45 years old and maintenance for me is about 1700 calories.  Since you are already at a healthy weight and it sounds like you are not sedentary, you need to eat a lot more.

I was about to mention burnout too - I work as an addictions specialist and it can be tough. Im fresh out of college - it sounds like you are still studying, too and that is a different muscle in and of itself. If you dont believe that you and undereating no amount of words here will change your mind. I am eating at approximately that level as well and I am slightly over weight at 170 pounds and 5'8". Please get your vitamin levels checked, your thyroid, too - and if you really are concerned about anything that you MAY have, please, please get tests done now. I am 27 and I have felt the same way as you since I was 13. Some of the aches and pains and the fatigue are situational and other times I may be anemic or something else. I found that once doctors took me seriously and I got some tests done - I was feeling a bit better - but a bit is better than where I was. I hope this helps and dont think you are going crazy - your not, and feeling like that all the time everyday is not normal - healthy number of calories aside.

Original Post by calobsesor:

Thanks so much for your replies and for your advice. I do plan on seeing a doctor for the low blood pressure and fatigue so I will let you know what he says. I am just a little confused since 5"2 and 115 is a healthy weight and not at all underweight. Also, I am NOT physically active all day long- especially when I am in school all day and do nothing but sit and study. I try to walk as much as possible but that is about it. To maintain my weight I need 1400 to 1500 calories so why are you so convinced I am undereating?

There's a big difference between being a healthy weight and being healthy.  A healthy weight for someone 5'2" is anything between 110 and 145lbs so you are at the lowest end of that.  If you can only maintain 115lbs by under-eating on 1400-1500 cals a day then that's an artifically low weight - not natural for you.  Walking as much as possible means you are not sedentary.  Try getting a more reasonable amount to eat i.e. 1800-2000.... You may well gain some weight but you'd stand a much better chance of being better-nourished and therefore healthier.