constantly low energy- what foods should I eat?

shamblertine

I have always had low energy levels and I'm constantly feeling tired and lethargic, what could I add to my diet that will give me more energy? I tried taking multivitamins for about 2 months but they did nothing.

In terms of my current diet I take in about 3,500 calories and 160 grams protein a day.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Khannie

I'll answer if you get rid of that sig.

ApeXaviour

Eat less sugar and more green leafy vegetables. The former should stabilise your insulin and hence blood sugar. Chlorophyll in the veg contains magnesium of which many do not get sufficient quantities. Magnesium helps you get good sleep and so you have more energy during the day.

shamblertine

I don't eat much sugar as it is, don't put it in tea or anything, the only sugary thing I take is a can of coke at lunchtime. Also when I took the multi-vits they gave me slightly more than the recommended daily amount of magnesium but it had no effect....

jdivision

Post your actual diet.

barbiegirl

I agree on more green veggie suggestion plus any other iron rich foods as you may be slightly aneamic (can never spell that word). Cook food from scratch where possible so you know exactly what is in it, and exercise as it will up your energy levels. Not to extremes but a decent walk, jog, class or match/training session three to four times a week.

cozmik

Make sure you're getting enough Vitamin C from natural food sources.

Jarrath

Have you ever had a blood test done to see if your low on iron or certain vitamins?

shamblertine

jdivision wrote: »

Post your actual diet.

7.30 am Bowl of cereal
8 am Banana and a cup of tea
8.30 am Pint of water with 25gram protein shake
10.30 am Bar of chocolate and cup of coffee
1 pm Chicken sandwich, banana and bottle of coke
3.30 pm An orange and a cup of tea
6pm Cup of tea and wheaten bread, then a pint of milk
8pm Steak or burgers
10pm Pint of milk with 25gram protein shake
11pm Tin of tuna to give me 20 grams of protein

I do weights 3 times a week.

shamblertine

Jarrath wrote: »

Have you ever had a blood test done to see if your low on iron or certain vitamins?

no never got one done

injured365

Not to sound sarcastic or anything but are you sleeping enough?? Or are you a restless sleeper......by the looks of it you can only be getting 7 hours sleep max.....and as your eating a food like tuna (which is something that would take a while for your body to digest) so close to going to bed it would take longer for your body to fully relax

taram

I always find that any refined sugary thing I have during the day has a price to pay later when I get a sugar low from it and feel sluggish and tired. A bottle of coke has 58% of your daily allowance of sugar in it, that'd get you up and drop you down pretty fast, same with most types of cereal and the chocolate bar.

barbiegirl

There's quite a lot of high GI or high sugar (both natural and added) in your diet. Maybe look at this and reduce some of them to low gi options such as nuts over banana or indeed mix high and low gi to balance them out. High gi leads to a surge in energy followed by slump, low gi spreads energy out better leaving less slumps.

WindSock

Maybe try adding some more fresh veggies in your diet?

jdivision

Àlso what's the cereal and what's the bread? Can make a big difference. You also drink a huge amount of milk (up to 1.7 litres a day I'd guess based on what you've posted above) which contains a lot of natural sugar. Combined with the coke, chocolate, teas and the protein shake you're probaby consuming too much sugar. Try cottage cheese at night instead of tuna.

shamblertine

I'm trying to gain weight thats why I'm drinking so much milk, the cereal I have is multi grain start, and the bread is cambridges wheaten bread.

I do only get a max of 7 hours sleep a night but I thought most people only get this? Can really change this though as I work till 6 and then when I get home I have to study for exams and I also work out 3 or 4 times a week which makes it hard to get to bed early.

Thanks for the advice people.

jdivision

Hey, you should check out the stickies and threads on gaining weight. Eat more but healthily, i wouldn't drink milk to achieve it. Best of luck with it. I can't find nutritional info on the multi-grain Start but remember it being sweet so much better to have porridge or eat a really big egg omelette, maybe with salmon, for breakfast. if you're looking to bulk you'll have to change your idea of what's normal for meals. Also lift carefully, I messed myself up for years by overdeveloping my front to the expense of my back and ended up with severe back pain for years. Only getting back to it now.

slicus ricus

shamblertine wrote: »

7.30 am Bowl of cereal
8 am Banana and a cup of tea
8.30 am Pint of water with 25gram protein shake
10.30 am Bar of chocolate and cup of coffee
1 pm Chicken sandwich, banana and bottle of coke
3.30 pm An orange and a cup of tea
6pm Cup of tea and wheaten bread, then a pint of milk
8pm Steak or burgers
10pm Pint of milk with 25gram protein shake
11pm Tin of tuna to give me 20 grams of protein

I do weights 3 times a week.

Ok, first thing to note - your body can only absorb large amounts of protein (20g+) every 2-3 hours! The rest you just urinate out. You are taking in too much protein between 7.30-10.30am and between 8-11pm and not enough between 1-6pm. Overall, your protein intake appears very good at 160g, just make sure you ain't wasting any of it.

Second thing to note, you are eating very little carbs. That is why you are noticing low energy levels. You're body needs carbs for energy, particularly to do high intensity weight training. Make sure you eat a good carb & protein meal an hour and a half or so before training.

Third thing to note, you are drinking a pint of milk at 10pm, not a good idea in my opinion.

Forth thing to note, i see no sign of healthy fats or vegatables. You need healthy fats, particularly omegas. Flax seed in particular helps with protein synthesis.

Allow me to restructure your diet for you based on what i've said above:

7.30 - Porridge with milk - easy to prepare, throw porridge oats into a bowl, pour milk on top, stir, heat in microwave. As i've mentioned on another thread, you can get milled seeds and berries which will provide a source for omegas - there are other foods/ supplement containing these, just make sure you get them in at some stage during the day.
Also yoghurt

10am - Chicken salad (packed in tupperware)

1pm - Lunch time! Chicken/Beef/tuna wrap/sandwich

4pm - Tuna/chicken - meat containing protein

7pm - Steak/Mince/Chicken/Fish with potatoes/pasta/rice and vegetables

8.30pm - Weight training - Discussion for a different forum but weight training should only last 45mins to an hour max - your body goes into catabolic mode after that. Sometimes, less is more.

9.15 - Post work out shake - RAM from nutrition X has pretty much everything you need, simple carbs (sugars such as dextrose/glucose to give your body a much needed insulin spike post workout) and plenty of protein.

10.30-11pm - Protein shake with water, no milk! There are many schools of thought on this: I personally belong to the one involving no milk in protein shakes before bed! This is an ideal time to take a protein shake as it's hard for your body to digest solid food when you lie down. The protein will more or less be working while you sleep.

If you go to sleep at 11pm and get up at 7am (you must do if you're eating breakfast at 7.30am), then that's 8 hours sleep!

Edit: Also, I notice you have cups of tea down on your diet - have a cup of tea whenever you want, it shouldn't affect your diet.

shamblertine

ok thanks for the advice people, going to try some of the suggestions and see if that helps