I had trouble getting up in the morning; I was unable to stay awake on the train to work. I dragged my behind through the workday and I could barely keep my eyes open on the train back home.
I perked up slightly at dinner with hubby and the bears, but my energy level quickly plummeted during story time. On more than one occasion I nodded off in the chair before the little bear fell asleep in his bed.
Swimming ended in June for the summer, but I missed practices more than I went for the final two months. I had absolutely no energy for anything let alone swimming late at night only to get to bed even later which only compounded the lack of energy I felt.
Last week I received a clear sign from body. My body said, "EAT SOMETHING ELSE." So, that day I decided to forgo my lunch of salad, chick peas, fruit and other stuff for a sandwich and salad from Fast Fresh Foods.
After lunch, I was telling my friend about this lack of energy and struggle to get anything done. I noted that I was feeling more awake - more energetic - after eating a sandwich instead of the lunch instead of my usual fare from home. That's when she suggested a possible iron deficiency.
I thought back to the time when I changed my recent weekday food routine, substituting a meat-based protein for a plant-based protein. I'm fairly certain that the exhaustion came at some point after the food change-up.
And while I can't say for sure that an iron deficiency is or is not the reason for the lack of energy, I've come to realize that I need to better educate myself on plant-based proteins, I've learned that the food I decide to eat can have a direct impact on my energy level and the importance of eating a variety of foods. Plus I decided to add a once a day multi-vitamin to my eating regimen for good measure.
So, I feel better - my energy level is up and I'm excited to get back to writing.
How are you doing?
Glad to hear you have your energy back! I hate being tired, because I feel like I am falling behind on so much...haha. A balanced diet - both meat and vegetables, and some carbs, which beans have - is important to keep one's body from lacking in any one vitamin, for sure.
ReplyDeleteI ate vegetarian for about two years, in there somewhere, and then went back to lean meat. I still do not eat beef or pork. But I do eat chicken, fish, turkey. I think it is a heck of a lot easier to maintain (and lose) with lean meat. There is the iron issue. but mostly it is hard to keep protein high enough and carbs low enough with vegetarian food plan. And if you look around at the people doing well (have it off and keeping it off) we are careful with our meat, but do eat it. For the most part we are super careful with carbs, avoid processed, and stick to whole foods. Not every single person, obviously, but a very noticeable trend.
ReplyDeleteGlad things are going better. Is sun shine helping too?
The sun is wonderful, but we've had a lot of rain here.
DeleteI completely agree with you on the food. I eat mostly lean meat - I love fish in particular, but we do have beef every once in a while. Hubby is a talented cook and cooks from scratch, so while we do eat some processed food, it is very minimal and rarely meals such as frozen foods.
I eat mostly low GI foods, love eating grains over potatoes. Ummm quinoa!