Energy and BMI 21-22

[oneboy3girls]

I have lost 3 stone .Always had low energy, especially at night time .I am maintaining my weight ,but feel I am literally running on low fuel .If I increased my BMI, would I constantly feel tired so much. I am menopausal , do not want to put the weight back on ideally as it was such hard work to lose it .I eat a good , healthy diet .Had medical tests, nothing wrong with me, Anyone have advice?Thanks

Have you had vitD checked? Mine was in my boots and I felt exhausted.

Thankyou .I will investigate.

Also get vit B12 checked. I have pernicious anemia because I can't make B12 and my number 1 symptom was tiredness

I have a lower BMI and have no energy issue. When you comes to nutrition, a calorie is not a calorie so eating a 99 calories chocolate bar and 99 calories from a tomatoes and tuna salad with onion and parsley won’t give you the same minerals, healthy fats and other micronutrients.

You can be malnourished and hence exhausted but it wouldn’t show on blood test unless you make a very deep investigation.

How is your diet? What do you eat on a typical day? More processed food or fresh food?

I consider my diet good .A typical day would be porridge ,raisins Greek yoghurt , tinned fish, salad, stewed apples, omelette ,broccoli, carrots,tomato.2 pints skimmed/semi milk. I will look into B12.Thanks

Your diet is certainly a lot healthier than many I have seen here made of small packets, however it is very unbalanced and extremely high in protein, too high perhaps? Between the 2 pints of milk (that's almost a litre) , the omelette, the tinned fish and greek yoghurt, you are in the over 100 gr of protein a day, which might keep you from feeling hungry but excessive protein can cause fatigue and unexplained exhaustion.

In addition , if you have been eating like that for a while, you will be lacking essential fatty acids, more than b12 and it looks like you aren't that high in iron too despite the high level of proteins.

May I suggest a couple of changes? Instead of stewed apple and raisins, do a switch for a fresh pear, the greener the better and some fresh or frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries) and the calories saved from the processed fruit, you put into a can of lentils, or chickpeas instead of the tinned fish/omelette.

Well done for losing 3 stones and keeping it off. However there is little joy if you are feeling crap and exhausted. Do invest some time and do some research and reading on hyper protein diet and fatigue , try switching processed and dried fruit for fresh, add a tablespoon of whole grain (are you eating a porridge sachet or rolled oats?) .

I understand you are scared of making changes, so use a free nutritional analysis tracker to keep an eye on calories and nutrients (cronometer.com is a good one) and as it will take a while to readjust micro nutrients, take some supplements for a month:

• iron
• algae based DHA/EPA (omega 3)
• b12

Try to reduce your protein intake. If you are having an omelette for lunch, have some oven-roasted zucchini, grated carrots and green beans salad for dinner. You don't need to have high protein meals twice a day and you can still be feeling full without them.

@oneboy3girls almost meant to add, some morning you can prepare this green smoothie and I can guarantee you will feel full for hours

Blue .Many thanks for all your advice. I will follow it. They are rolled oats.

@oneboy3girls Rolled oats are perfect. I have them as well some mornings. In mine, I add a tablespoon a grounded flaxseed.
Many have a carb-phobia when it comes to weight control, but I keep a container with black or brown rice and another with cooked quinoa, and I add a spoonful or two to my salads.
There is a big difference between eating a bag of biscuits and a small amount of whole grains.

Soups are also great. Especially in winter. Make your own, I love my tomatoes soup (1 onion, 1 carrots, 1 celery stick, 5 fat and ripe tomatoes, 1 bottle of passata, then fill the bottle again with water, put lid on, low gamer for 45 min, and blend. ) or carrot - pumpkin (1 small kent pumpkin, 5 carrots, 1 onion, add water only to cover the veggies, not have them swimming in water, low flame, an hour on stove and blend). I sprinkle a bit of nutritional yeast on mine for get a lot of B vitamins , but not too much because it is quite high in protein and I am very mindful of my protein intake.

A healthy level should be at around 1 gr/ kg of body weight so if you weight let's say 60 kg, you shouldn't have more than 60 gr of protein per day. Longevity experts recommend even lower level, around 0.8/kg which I follow. I eat around 40-45 gr of protein/ day, and you would be surprise at how quickly the numbers go up.

High protein causes insulin resistance surprisingly. And insulin resistance causes fatigue.

Another food associated with fatigue is high mercury fish. So if tuna is the one you are having, don't have it every week and try to go fresh .

I no longer eat fish, but when I did, I use to boil some frozen cod (put in cold water, bring to boil, when fish floats, it is cooked) , drain and leave in the fridge and then eat a filet cold, straight out if the fridge, covered in lemon juice . With a butter lettuce, it was really nice. Or, as you live in the UK (I presume) , a small sole, cooked in a pan, with just the tiniest amount of butter is delicious and ready in 5 min, no smell, no mess.

Or instead of your omelette, try making your own hummus (a can of drained chickpeas, juice of 1 lemon, a bit of garlic, 1 tbs tahini, olive oil, blend) , eaten with celery sticks, it is a delicious lunch. Don't eat all of it in one day but it keeps in the fridge. Have celery always ready to eat in the fridge (wash, cut into stick and put in a container full of water and keep in water in the fridge, it stays crispy and nice and ready for so many days. ).

You can have very nice salads, without the need to add fish/meat/eggs/or beans.

Try a celery-oranges salad for dinner. Slice as thin as you can manage, squeeze an orange, salt and olive oil, leave aside for 30 min , then mix and add a bit of vinegar. done .

Try to experiment and eat 20 different kind of vegetables every week. It sounds like a lot, but it is only 3/day. When on a diet for a long long time, menus tend to become very repetitive. You end up eating the same meals rotated. Over and over again. It is safe and easy. But when it comes to micronutrients, variety is the key. So one day, cucumber, spring onion and tomatoes salad, next day an artichoke with vinaigrette for lunch (can you tell I am French! I love artichokes!!) and celery and carrots with hummus for dinner, next day green beans, red onion and olives salad and a tiny amount of feta for lunch, a pea soup for dinner and so on....

I hope you will find your energy back quickly.

Hi Blue,Thankyou for your detailed response. I have started to reduce my protein intake and tweaking my diet. How long will it take to reap the benefits of reduced protein? I have a slow cooker which is a great asset for planning and eating well .So nice of you to help me.