So tired, why?

[bluegrrrl79]

I feel tired a lot. I keep telling myself that I'll exercise more often(since that's also supposed to wake you up), but half the time I'm just too tired to. I have no idea why though! I mean I try to eat kinda healthy... I notice I'm the most tired after I eat meals though. Is that weird? Like a lot of times after I eat a meal I'll lie down for awhile. I take a multivitamin everyday that has everything in it, including B12(plus I eat fortified foods) and 100% iron. What am I doing wrong??
:help:

[misq17]

I read someplace once that eating large amounts of food (especially a lot of carbs), makes you tired. I'm not sure why but after I eat a large meal I'm usually dead tired.

This may seem like an obvious quesiton but are you sure you are getting enough sleep? I think adulats are supposed to get about 7-8 hours and kids and teens should get 8-9 hours.

[bluegrrrl79]

I read someplace once that eating large amounts of food (especially a lot of carbs), makes you tired. I'm not sure why but after I eat a large meal I'm usually dead tired.

This may seem like an obvious quesiton but are you sure you are getting enough sleep? I think adulats are supposed to get about 7-8 hours and kids and teens should get 8-9 hours.
I wouldn't say I eat abnormally large meals though, I'm talking like regular meals. Sometimes I don't get enough sleep, but I try to get about 9 hours a night.

[toadstool]

I read that carbs--like starchy carbs--can make you tired.

I'm always sleepy after pasta.

Maybe you're not drinking enough water? Just a guess...

[Dr. Schmeebis]

After you eat, your body does a couple things that make you tired:

1) Releases insulin to gather up free blood sugar and distribute it to cells
2) Blood moves away from the head, extremities, etc., and into the intestines as they begin to do their digestion thing.

Both of these can make one tired. However, they usually are more of a problem if you overeat, which makes the effects more intense. Your body has to work hard to break down all that food, and a lot of extra is going to be stored as fat if you don't use up the food energy.

Also, raw foods and less-processed foods make my energy soar, I've noticed. I once in a while do juice fasts. This has the effect of cleansing my body, giving my digestive system a rest, and making my body not get too reliant on blood sugar spikes for energy. I don't know the science behind the last one, but I've noticed an extreme amount of energy, even with less sleep lately.

Hope some of this helps. Also, consider seeing/asking a professional, such as a doctor or a nutritionist. The "Dr." in my name is purely for humor and/or aesthetic value. :)

[veg*nfrog]

Have you tried eating small frequent meals throughtout the day rather than the standard 2 or 3 meals? That really seems to help energy levels.

Things like drinking lots of water, avoiding sugar, alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine, and eating lots of fruits and veggies help also.

Are you taking any medications? Are you under a lot of stress and/or depressed?

[IamJen]

Ditto to the small frequent, meals idea - "grazing" it's often called :)

With regard to carbs, I think it's important to distinguish between simple and complex carbs. If you're eating white bread, pasta, etc. you're going to burn through that quickly and suffer the associated blood sugar issues.

Exercise (even when you feel like you just want to crawl under the covers) is usually helpful. Your blood gets moving, raises your metabolism and you get a healthy dose of endorphins.

It also might be helpful to see the doc and get some simple blood tests done - they can check your iron levels, red blood count, B12, hemoglobin, thyroid...all things that can affect energy levels.

[vegan_hottie07]

Instead of going out and running, maybe you might be interested in aerobics. You could join a fitness program in your area if you have one, I've always enjoyed that kind of stuff.

[Chrysalis]

You should try learning yoga. Whenever I'm sluggish, I don't mind doing some yoga moves because it's preferable to jumping on a treadmill and running until I'm dead. The stretches really wake up your muscles, so that they're like, "why are you sitting down? I'm not tired anymore!" Or at least that's what they would say if muscles could talk :p

[bluegrrrl79]

Thanks for the suggestions! Hmmm...I will try to use all your ideas to figure this out. I think I'm just getting old! (I'm 24 lol)

[Bobsy]

Try cutting wheat out of your diet for a week or two and see if that makes a difference :)

[vegangurl191]

Don't cut too many carbs out, though. My mom switched our soymilk to a different kind that had like a third of the carbs, and I became really mean. I couldn't help it. Soon, (thankfully) she head a news story that not getting enough carbs can make you really moody...so now I'm back on Sun Soy (which tastes better 2...maybe that was also part of it)lol

[Dr. Schmeebis]

Thanks for the suggestions! Hmmm...I will try to use all your ideas to figure this out. I think I'm just getting old! (I'm 24 lol)

I will be turning 24 this year, and energy hasn't been an issue for me. :) There are a lot of good suggestions here. I sorta want to try out yoga some time; a lot of people rave about it.