Why am I this tired?

No expert here, but could you be coming down with a cold or something? Anything else going on to add more work or stress?

I don't feel sick or anything- not so much as a sniffle.  As for work, it's stressful, but the level of stress has been pretty level for the last six months or so.  If anything, work is getting less stressful.  Maybe I should start taking some vitamin C just in case you're right about the sick thing.

I have weeks of fatigue... and other weeks where I'm so energized I can't sleep through the night. There typically isn't a lot of rhyme or reason to it.

Your body might just be tired from all the training and the lowered calorie count.

Honestly... 1200 calories as a base... is NOTHING. Everyone is different... I know... but at 5'4" and 125 pounds my base was 1400 and I was starving. If you are losing weight though, then 1200 must be a good base for you. Just make sure you are not sending your body into starvation mode- aka: not hungry and not losing any weight.

If you are too tired, maybe take a day off of training and get some extra rest.

All right I looked at your food logs... wow, you have a imbalance going on there.

Let's see...

6-11:
Fat (35%)
Carbs (48%)
Protein (16%)

6-12:
Fat (53%)
Carbs (26%)
Protein (21%)

6-13:
Fat (35%)
Carbs (31%)
Protein (15%)
Alcohol (20%)

6-14:
Fat (47%)
Carbs (30%)
Protein (23%)

6-15:
Fat (37%)
Carbs (43%)
Protein (20%)

So out of 5 days... YOUR FAT consumpution was MORE than your PROTEIN consumption. Sure, a day here or there, fine... but for 5 days? That's not a good balance of what your body needs. Most of those days your fat % was double what your protein % was.

Basically your body is running off carbs... fat and then protein. So yeah, you could get tired from that.

Shoot, 3 out of 5 days, your fat intake was MORE than your carb intake!

Now, I'm not a high protein-low carbs kind of person... but I do believe you need to aim for around 50% carbs/25% fat/25% protein. Your diet needs to be more balanced. Get rid of the fat.

KSH- Thanks for your input, I bet you hit it right on the head.  When I read your post I was thinking "but you took this last weekend when I slipped a bit from my diet so of course fat was out of whack- Hubby brought home nice cheese and brownies..." and then I realized that this explains why I'm all the sudden tired.  So thanks for pointing it out.  Time to go home and figure out how to get more protein in me. Good thing I messed up for a rest week and not for a serious week. 

I must say though... that the Fairy Tale brownies are DELICIOUS! I have given them to family and friends... and have gotten some myself. My Dad sent me 24 for Christmas! I finally sent them home with my boyfriend so I couldn't eat them anymore.

Also, I have found the peanut butter is not a lot of bang for your calories. Know what I mean?

Hopefully getting it all back into balance again will get your energy levels up!

Yeah, those brownies- mmmmm.  Hubby brought those home and said "I have a present for you" and my first thought was "Aw, you brought me derailment! How sweet!"  Then he brought home artisan cheeses and a bottle of NICE wine (no alcohol was part of my plan...)  Maybe he just wants a chubby wife, ha!  Either that or he's trying to condition my willpower muscle.

Well, upon further analysis I've realized that the days when I was tired I had really had a poor dinner the night before (too much fat, nowhere near enough protein) and so have been trying to make sure to get protein at every meal and especially at dinner. 

My percentages are still probably a bit high in the fat department and a bit low in the protein department, but I'm back to waking up before my alarm clock and feeling great.  So for whatever that's worth- problem solved and lesson learned!

Carbs are your body's main source of energy. Protein is a neccessity for building, maintaining and repairing muscle but it won't help with energy. Carbs are like gas in your tank; you can pimp out your ride, fill it with the best oil, etc. but if you don't put in gas, it won't run.

So what are the best carbs to eat for weight loss and training?  That's always my pitfall.  I usually end up so dog tired by week  two that I started eating a bunch of fat and simple carbs to make myself feel better

If carbs are the gas in a car then the oil is the protein.  If you don't have enough oil things are going to burn up.  Don't skimp on the protein!

Good carbs:  Vegetables and whole grains like oatmeal for breakfast.  Brown rice.  Whole grain breads.  Add in some fresh fruits as well.

Most of my carbs are in the form of whole grains (oatmeal, brown rice, etc.) or whole foods in their natural form (fruits and veggies). Veggies are either steamed or raw, so no extra fat added in preparation. Try to stay away from simple, over-processed carbs as much as you can....