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Always feel tired - Is it my diet.

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  • 25-05-2019 7:08pm
    #1
    devlinio
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 172 ✭✭


    Hi

    I feel tired quite often and I'm starting to think it's my diet. I'm slightly overweight (about 1 stone), but I go to the gym 3 times a week so hopefully, that will shift soon. I'm not sure if I need to change my diet or take supplements etc. I'm 23 Male and a vegetarian.

    Breakfeast
    Coffee with milk.
    Either
    1. Porridge/Special K with a Banana and a handful of blueberries.
    2. Poppyseed bagel with two fried eggs, and two Quorn sausages..


    Lunch
    Either
    • Microwaved rice, mixed into fried vegetables and Quorn chicken with soy sauce.
    • Bolognese with Cesar salad.
    • Egg Mayo, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich on whole grain bread.
    • Poppyseed bagel with two fried eggs, and two Quorn sausages.. (If I didn't have it for breakfast).

    Dinner
    I could have the first two lunch options for dinner, or I'd have potatoes, vegetables with some vegetarian item. Sometimes I'd have cereal if I'm lazy.

    I don't really eat sweets. Sometimes I'd have a bar in the evening, but its rare. I go out for pints once or twice a week also.

    Any advice on my diet.


Comments

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    #2
    IvoryTower
    Registered Users Posts: 3,825 ✭✭✭IvoryTower


    How much sleep?

    Tired day after pints anyway that's a given :)


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    #3
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 17,728 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    What's your average daily calorie intake and what weight are you?


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    #4
    devlinio
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 172 ✭✭devlinio


    IvoryTower wrote: »
    How much sleep?

    Tired day after pints anyway that's a given :)

    I get about 6/7 hours usually every week night. 8-9 hours at the weekend.


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    #5
    devlinio
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 172 ✭✭devlinio


    Augeo wrote: »
    What's your average daily calorie intake and what weight are you?

    I don't actually know my calorie intake. I'd reckon its a bit over 2K.

    Im 13.5 stone right now. The lightest I've been is 11.5 stone 3 years ago, the heaviest is 15.5 stone (5 years ago).


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    #6
    zoe 3619
    Registered Users Posts: 624 ✭✭✭zoe 3619


    Vitamin b12 supplements,and maybe folic acid.
    Chick peas/beans and loads of green leafy vegetables.
    Maybe get bloods done and see what you're lacking?
    Just to edit,I'm not an expert on fitness,but have vegetarian kids.


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    #7
    4068ac1elhodqr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,586 ✭✭✭4068ac1elhodqr


    Maybe try gluten free* for a while, any intolerance, will affect B12 abosrbtion.
    Basic Iron suppliments {100%RDA} (ideally alongside Vit C) mightn't do any harm too.
    *Not easy with those bagels/cereals.

    Likely a given, but there is no mention of 'water intake'.


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    #8
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 17,728 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    devlinio wrote: »
    I don't actually know my calorie intake. I'd reckon its a bit over 2K.

    Im 13.5 stone right now. The lightest I've been is 11.5 stone 3 years ago, the heaviest is 15.5 stone (5 years ago).

    You shouldn't be tired eating over 2k kcals/day....especially at 13.5 stone.
    If you aren't losing weight currently you can rest assured you are eating quite a bit over 2k/day too.
    You'd need to be eating 3k/day to maintain that weight if anyway active.
    On a slight deficit you'd likely feel more alert if you have the bodyfat to burn.
    How many pints/week do you drink......light on nutrients but high in calories....the pints could be keeping you in a calorie excess but you might not be eating enough.

    First thing to look at is sleep though....quantity & quality of it. 6/7 hours a night at 23 might be a tad light.


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    #9
    silverharp
    Registered Users Posts: 17,840 ✭✭✭✭silverharp


    get a sleep app on your phone like Sleep as android , if you snore a lot or have some form of apnoea that would be one reason. maybe more protein less carbs

    A belief in gender identity involves a level of faith as there is nothing tangible to prove its existence which, as something divorced from the physical body, is similar to the idea of a soul. - Colette Colfer



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    #10
    Springfields
    Registered Users Posts: 258 ✭✭Springfields


    I'm no expert but your diet seems reasonable and you are active. Maybe a few hours.more sleep if you can.
    But.would def recommend getting bloods done.
    Only way to tell ..
    You should probably be taking vit D as most Irish adults are deficient..also b12 could be lacking especially if you are vegetarian..this supplement does wonders for energy levels..


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    #11
    mada82
    Registered Users Posts: 577 ✭✭✭mada82


    If you read the book “why we sleep” then you aren’t getting enough sleep at all and you also can’t catch up on sleep either.

    You should be aiming for 8 hours sleep every night. So that would mean having a 9 hour window in bed.

    It’s a very interesting book. I’d recommend it to everyone.


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    #12
    Alf Veedersane
    Registered Users Posts: 24,552 ✭✭✭✭Alf Veedersane


    Well, most people need 7-9, as per author (Matthew Walker, who was on Joe Rogan's podcast a while back...worth a listen too) but the OP may be someone who needs more. I'm perfectly fine on 6/7 hours of usually broken sleep but it's very much an individual thing.

    Pints two nights a week won't help on the sleep front, all the same.


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    #13
    DareGod
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,298 ✭✭✭DareGod


    You're eating a lot of processed foods: quorn sausages, quorn chicken, special K, mayonnaise.
    You're drinking pints once/twice per week.
    You're eating lots of carbs: bagels up to twice per day, bread, potatoes.
    The fruit you eat is high in sugar: banana.

    I'm not claiming that any of these is the cause of your tiredness. However, it's quite common for one / all of these to cause a crash in blood sugar (due to high GI.) Meanwhile, the processed foods may be leaving you deficient in nutrients.

    Consume more nutrient-rich foods (especially green vegetables and leafy vegetables, and try not to cook them too much as this kills the nutrients.)

    Since you're not able to get your vitamin B12 from meat, you may be deficient in it, and this too could cause fatigue. You should get a blood test done to see if you're deficient in this.

    You should get a blood test done to see if you're deficient in anything, actually.

    Without knowing your height, it's hard to tell how much of an impact the 1 stone of excess weight is having on you. The impact will be different between an extra stone in weight on someone who's 5ft5 versus someone who's 6ft3. However, if you want to lose a stone in weight, just "going to the gym" unfortunately won't do it. What you need to do is make sure that you are creating a calorie deficit. (Obviously, yes, going to the gym can play a part in this.)

    Finally, 6 hours sleep a night is probably not enough for you (nor 7 hours). Make the necessary lifestyle changes to get 8 instead.

    TL;DR-
    • remove the processed foods from your diet (quorn, sauces, crappy cereals) and start eating nutrient dense foods (veg. especially green / leafy veg and don't overcook it)
    • replace processed carbs / high GI carbs with proteins and fats (or, be sure to include high fibre veg *with* the carbs)
    • get blood tests done to see what you may be deficient in (especially B12 since you're vegetarian)
    • focus on creating a calorie deficit if you want to lose weight, instead of just focusing on "going to the gym"
    • get more sleep - approx 8 hours, seven times a week (not just weekends)

    I'm not a health professional and this is my personal advice based on what I've read, or what I've heard has worked for others.


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    #14
    Jessie1965
    Registered Users Posts: 22 ✭Jessie1965


    devlinio wrote: »
    I don't actually know my calorie intake. I'd reckon its a bit over 2K.

    Im 13.5 stone right now. The lightest I've been is 11.5 stone 3 years ago, the heaviest is 15.5 stone (5 years ago).

    You aren't eating enough protein or carbs, hence your body is screaming at you for food by being tired and listlessness is also showing in the way you phrase your posts. Listlessness is caused by malnutrition.

    You may be making the classic diet mentality mistake of regarding your body's normal needs for adequate fuel as some kind of character weakness. This explains the unnecessarily hard life you are giving your body.

    If you've experienced uncomfortable or difficult emotions in the past it's possible you have gone on auto pilot in starving your body of energy in a subconscious effort to quell your body's ability to remind you of a conflict caused in your mind by a bad experience.

    Look in your family resource centre for counselling and get yourself real help. There is a lot of reason for you to have a good hopeful outlook with counselling.


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    #15
    ondafly
    Registered Users Posts: 2,162 ✭✭✭ondafly


    Blood test should be the first thing you do. Don’t go taking supplements until you know what you are deficient in.


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    #16
    namastehealthy
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭namastehealthy


    Check your iron levels! I use to feel that way and realized my iron was very low. Once my levels were up everything leveled out.


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    #17
    ittakestwo
    Registered Users Posts: 1,642 ✭✭✭ittakestwo


    I would try get 8 hours sleep a night.

    Also you are vegetarian so you don't eat red meat which is the best source of Iron. A lack of Iron in your diet would make you feel tired.


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    #18
    ondafly
    Registered Users Posts: 2,162 ✭✭✭ondafly


    ittakestwo wrote: »
    A lack of Iron in your diet would make you feel tired.

    likewise too much iron will also make you feel tired. Get a blood test ! only way to know for sure.


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    #19
    Blazer
    Registered Users Posts: 17,415 ✭✭✭✭Blazer


    Definitely aim for 7-8 hours sleep every night.
    I'm awful myself at it but now need to force myself to adhere to this.
    Whatever about you feeling alert your body itself needs this rest period.
    I had same issues before and once I nailed down a sleeping pattern and my diet I stopped napping during days/evenings and have bundles of energy.
    Bedtime was 10:30pm and back up at 6am.
    It made a world of difference and the weight just fell off me.


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