What can I do to combat extreme tiredness on diet?

[Ohanarama]

I'm wanting to lose weight and also need to lower my cholesterol. I'm not following any particular diet but have cut down on what I eat and am also trying to eat more healthily. A typical day might consist of a bowl of fruit and fibre with skimmed milk for breakfast, a couple Ryvita with cottage cheese for lunch, grapes, banana and a biscuit for snack and some chicken, salad and jacket potato for dinner, plus more fruit afterwards and tea and coffee throughout the day.
The problem is that I'm mega exhausted, I've barely the energy to talk to people or go to work - I certainly can't do any exercise! My brain feels quite cloudy and it's an effort to move off the sofa.
I've been tested recently and I'm not anaemic but I do take an iron suppliment each day because I've been anaemic in the past. I also take a berocca each day but can't really tell if it's doing any good.
Could it be that my system is just adjusting to the diet or is there anything else I could try to get my energy back?

I don't pretend to be any kind of expert but have experimented with a few different ways of eating over the last few years, most recently, with cutting out/down on sugar. What strikes me is that you're possibly not getting enough protein and eating a lot of high sugar fruit. I used to eat a banana and some nuts for breakfast and found myself very hungry when I got to work. I discovered that bananas are very high in fructose so cut out the banana and now just eat the nuts. Felt much better. The fruit and fibre is very sugary (dried fruit has loads of sugar) and you would feel more full for longer with whole milk. (I don't eat breakfast cereal at all). Fruits which have lower sugar are generally berries, kiwi fruits and a few other which I can't remember at the moment. Your dinner looks pretty good, but take a look at your snacks.

What I'm eating today is as follows:

Breakfast: Almonds and cashews and a cup of tea with whole milk.
Lunch: Salad with spinach, tomatoes, red pepper, feta cheese (protein), cucumber and quinoa (again, high protein).
Tea: Whole wheat pasta with sauce and tuna.
Snacks are mostly cheese and nuts with a small amount of fruit.

You might find eating more at lunchtime would help - eating like this I don't get the afternoon slump that I used to get when I ate a sandwich.

2mad is right - very high in sugar which will cause insulin spikes followed by a slump in energy/shakiness ,which is when you usually reach for more sugar.

Example of my change of eating ( refuse to call it a diet!)

Breakfast: 2 egg omelette made with half a leek,a few halved cherry toms and a handful of spinach.

Lunch: Big salad with ham/tuna/feta/chicken/salmon- make it colourful with lots of carrot/peppers- sometimes couscous or sprinkle over with pumpkin seeds or a spoonful of potato salad ( homemade no mayo)
If its the winter I will have homemade soup with some rye bread - very cheap and easy to make soup ,I freeze in portions for work.
Kiwi or some berries.

Dinner: homemade prawn curry with lots of peppers, onions,spinach ( check out Hairy Dieters for lovely recipes) small portion of wild rice .

Fullfat ( yes fullfat !) yoghurt plain but no sugar.

Absoletely agree with above posters. Grapes and bananas are full of sugar. Thoey maje me bloat! Also don't get fooled by apples. They make my unsuline shoot up!

I have an apple with a spoonful of nut butter as a snack- it stops the spikes.

My current favourite snack is a small spoon of hummus and some veg sticks.

That's intersting rita, will try that.

I would swap fruit and fibre ( high sugar), for porridge or eggs

Have proper rye bread instead of ryvita. Add a salad of spinach, beetroot and pumpkin seeds. Just one fruit

Add houmous and veg instead of biscuit.

I think this is where I go wrong then too many carbs and high sugar snacks. I end up feeling the same as the op. It makes dieting impossible because I still have to function.

What do you all do when you get sugar cravings? hides biscuits again

I agree with other posters. My buggyfit trainer advises me (sleep deprived) to aim for 30 % carb 30% fat and 40% protein (aiming for 75g protein per day). If you set yourself up on MyFitNessPal then u can set up these as goals and it tellsu how much protein is in eveything. But I find as a guide that I hit my protein goal if I have an egg for breakfast, nuts for snack, tuna salad at lunch and chicken or turkey for supper. And snack on vegetables not fruit. When I stick to it I have loads of energy. The 'food doctor' does a bag of roasted soya beans or roasted bean mix and that's high in protein and not meat - so a good snack to have at work and no prep needed. I've only found it in waitrose though.

I don't get sugar cravings at all Nella

I stepped off the sugar/feel tired/crave sugar/more sugar cycle a few years ago.
I just don't want to eat sweet stuff anymore.
However occasionally I will have a piece of cake/pudding if its a special occasion and I fancy it.

Its actually really liberating strangely !

I can imagine being off the sugar cycle is liberating.

It's just getting off it that is the problem! Until I tried to reduce sugar I didn't realise how the consumption of sugar is foisted at us at every opportunity. Think I need a shot of very strong will power.

Baby steps!

Start off by eliminating processed foods- so much of it is full of sugar
I would get a book with low GI focus - I like Anthony Worrall Thompsons book and also Anna Richardson has a book which is about changing your eating rather than dieting to get to a certain weight then stopping.

What are your triggers for eating sugar?- mine are tiredness and PMT .

I go to bed when Im tired now- try a sleep app to find out how much sleep you are getting, I was seriously sleep deprived. I spoil myself when I feel hormonal- hot bath, good book, peace and quiet instead of eating crap.

Ah. My triggers are stress tiredness and not having chance to eat properly (work related)
But yes so much sugar eating is emotional rather than an actual need to eat the stuff.

I wouldn't be shocked to find sleep deprivation is a factor. I just haven't thought of it like that before. I'll try a sleep app. Thanks

The sleep app has been brilliant - I found it a bit weird at first that it tracked my movements but it really hammered home how sleep deprived I was!

You could try taking a multimineral as well as a multivitamin and the biggest recommendation Id say is to take omega oils- they will really help,and to lower fruit and up the protein.