low blood sugar + low calorie diet

[canuhandleit]

I'm eating about 1600-1700 calories at 5'11" 172-174 pounds. I realize this is low but I know what i'm doing for the most part (it's a small, extreme cut lasting till August 25th to cut fat before my bulk up). Now, here's a question. Is it normal to feel lethargic after a grueling workout? Is it due to low blood sugar (due to the low cal diet?)?

[Jules Verne]

Yes and not necessarily. I usually feel nauseous and dizzy if I get low blood sugar (which I used to a few years ago).

For the most part your body will not allow you to go hypo if you are healthy (as far as I know).

This is one time where I have had better results - actually more fat loss - eating more calories. Basically by adding carb-up days to the low-calorie diet I was able to maintain a higher intensity in the gym and actually lose more fat than maintaining lower calories.

Finding the sweet spot is the key. You might not even realize how much less intense your workouts are - I didn't although I also felt very tired afterwards and thought 'WOW I'm exhausted, that must have been a good workout'. It wasn't until I incorporated carb-ups that I realized it wasn't as good/intense as it could have been.

On the other hand, you might do better just sticking with it and getting though the next 4 weeks or so. Personally I would try at least 2 high carb, 500kcal over maintenance 1-2 day 'slots' in that time period though.