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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not understand why my healthy (I think) way of eating isn't making me feel energetic and fabulous

389 replies

LindyFoo · 22/03/2026 10:17

AIBU to consider this is a healthy daily diet (not looking to lose weight as already a healthy weight). I want to feel more energetic and fabulous :-). Don't eat meat or drink alcohol. In my 60s, fit and well, very minimal stress.

AM
Smoothie with banana, kale, milk, peanut butter, avacado, skimmed milk powder, greek yoghurt
SNACK
Sourdough bread with peanut butter
MIDDAY
2 egg with onion, peppers, cheese and a mixed salad with olive oil dressing
5PM
Salmon with salad or brown rice with prawns and lots of vegetables and spices

What is missing? Or not helping?

OP posts:
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9
Hellometime · 22/03/2026 10:28

I’d swap out your breakfast for something with more protein.
Have you had blood tests? Could you be low iron etc.

Tontostitis · 22/03/2026 10:27

Joy? But seriously I eat like this 80% of the time if I do it 100? I get miserable feel deprived and binge on crap. Then I start again determined to be 'healthy'. If I do a more balanced 80/20 approach the binging happens less.

Summerhillsquare · 22/03/2026 10:27

UniquePinkSwan · 22/03/2026 10:21

You’re eating a lot of carbs. It’ll give you an initial energy boost then make you tired a couple of hours later. Where’s the meat? Meat contains all the vitamins you need and it’s bioavailable unlike plants

Hilarious. She's eating virtually no carbs.

OP you must be starving and exhausted.

mindutopia · 22/03/2026 10:27

You might feel rubbish for reasons unrelated to your diet. I eat very healthy. I don’t drink. I have an active lifestyle. I felt exhausted and just off for years. I was eventually diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. While the symptoms I was feeling weren’t directly related to the cancer, my body was obviously fighting something that was going haywire for a few years, despite my healthy lifestyle (my cancer in my 40s is caused by childhood risk factors, so no amount of good healthy living could overcome what I was exposed to as a child).

Before you start panicking about hidden cancers though, what’s the rest of your lifestyle like? How much proper out in the fresh air exercise are you getting? What’s your support network like? Do you have positive supportive relationships that make you feel loved and looked after? Have you had your vitamin levels checked? You can eat all the right things but if your gut is crap and you can’t absorb them, you’ll feel awful.

KimberleyClark · 22/03/2026 10:26

UniquePinkSwan · 22/03/2026 10:21

You’re eating a lot of carbs. It’ll give you an initial energy boost then make you tired a couple of hours later. Where’s the meat? Meat contains all the vitamins you need and it’s bioavailable unlike plants

She really isn’t.

AirMaster · 22/03/2026 10:26

Are you getting enough sleep? Enough fresh air? Enough exercise? Social interaction? Time doing things you enjoy? Mental stimulation?

Your diet sounds fab to me!

Boots89 · 22/03/2026 10:24

I think your AM smoothie is super high in sugar which will probably peak your sugar levels and then they will crash. Same with your snack. I'd go for somethinkg like blueberries, tangerine, a rice cracker for a snack. Lunch and evening meal seem fine. You could have something like avocado and scrambled eggs for breakfast rather than sugary.

dizzydizzydizzy · 22/03/2026 10:24

Maybe get your GP to run some blood tests. If you don’t take a vitamin D supplement for example, you are likely to be low in vitamin D. But quite a number of other things could be off too eg thyroid, B12, ferritin

5128gap · 22/03/2026 10:24

It depends on your lifestyle. There wouldn't be enough carbs there for me to give me the energy I need, and depending on portion sizes, possibly not enough calories either.
I'm 56 and eat a whole food vegan diet with loads of fruit and veg, nuts, seeds etc. But I have carbs at every meal otherwise I'm flagging. Try some potatos with lunch and make sure it's salad AND rice with your evening meal and see how you go.

Giraffemug30 · 22/03/2026 10:21

There's a myriad of reasons you can have low energy, and no diet is going to magically make you feel amazing

It's lots of healthy food but it's quite low in calories. I would feel pretty drained eating that

TwelvePiecesOfFlair · 22/03/2026 10:21

Sounds lovely. There’s nothing wrong with your diet. If you feel unwell or more tired than you should, pls go to the doctor.

UniquePinkSwan · 22/03/2026 10:21

You’re eating a lot of carbs. It’ll give you an initial energy boost then make you tired a couple of hours later. Where’s the meat? Meat contains all the vitamins you need and it’s bioavailable unlike plants

damelza · 22/03/2026 10:21

Similar age, very similar diet and no alcohol and I feel OK. I don't think we have to feel FABULOUS, just feel reasonably well and with the energy and enthusiasm to do things and have a good mood generally.

Maybe get your ferritin, Vit D and thyroid checked, and the usual things on a full blood count. It's amazing what supplementing can do if you are deficient.

PauliesWalnuts · 22/03/2026 10:19

There’s very little fruit in there, so no sugar - either refined or natural - and that gives energy. But I’m no professional so take that with a big pinch of salt (or sugar!).

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