Energizing Diet

amberfay85

Hey y’all

Dieting is definitely not on my list of things I’m good at! I have a very addictive personality...started with cigarettes when I was 14, I gave those up when I was 25. Then developed extreme anxiety...I self medicated with alcohol for quite some time. I quit drinking cold turkey almost 2 years ago. But I have replaced the alcohol with (you guessed it) food! In the 2 years that I quit drinking I have put on 50+ lbs!

I am using Herbalife shakes as meal replacements for 2 meals a day and eating dinner with my family. But I find myself draggin! I know it’s likely mostly becuz I’m 150 lbs overweight, but I feel like there has to be something to help with energy levels while I’m working my way down to a healthier weight!

So what’s your suggestions? What foods, what exercises, what drinks do you use that boost your energy and make you feel ALIVE for the day?!

I’m also brand spankin new here and have few friends for motivation and support, so feel free to send a friend request! 😃

AnnPT77

huskymom85 wrote: »

Hey y’all

Dieting is definitely not on my list of things I’m good at! I have a very addictive personality...started with cigarettes when I was 14, I gave those up when I was 25. Then developed extreme anxiety...I self medicated with alcohol for quite some time. I quit drinking cold turkey almost 2 years ago. But I have replaced the alcohol with (you guessed it) food! In the 2 years that I quit drinking I have put on 50+ lbs!

I am using Herbalife shakes as meal replacements for 2 meals a day and eating dinner with my family. But I find myself draggin! I know it’s likely mostly becuz I’m 150 lbs overweight, but I feel like there has to be something to help with energy levels while I’m working my way down to a healthier weight!

So what’s your suggestions? What foods, what exercises, what drinks do you use that boost your energy and make you feel ALIVE for the day?!

I’m also brand spankin new here and have few friends for motivation and support, so feel free to send a friend request! 😃

What calorie level are you eating now, how fast are you dropping weight, and what does your day (daily life chores/work, exercise) look like? Eating too few calories is the A#1 cause of reduced energy.

Have you asked your doctor for relevant blood tests? I can't give you an exhaustive list, but iron (in various forms), D, B12, thyroid conditions, etc. would be on the list. Get tested *before* trying supplements, because supplements can distort your results (maybe even the Herbalife could do that, I haven't looked at the supplement profile in that).

How is your daily protein level? Healthy fats? veggie/fruit servings? Nutrition affects energy (and ultra-low calories can hinder nutrition: Getting the percentages OK on too-low calories is still poor nutrition, because we have absolute-value requirements for some nutrients, not just percentage-of-calories requirements.

The big issues with energy are avoiding punitively low calories, getting good nutrition, making sure you don't have relevant health conditions . . . and sleep. Getting enough? Snoring? Insomnia? Sleep apnea? Poor quality, too-low quantity of sleep for sure affects energy.

I'm a slacker on the MFP friend side of things (more of a forum gal, personally), but that's a few things to consider in the energy equation. I'm sure there are other things, but those are a few biggies.

Hoping you find solutions!

hipari

Did you have sufficient energy before starting the meal replacement shakes? I’d start ”diagnosing” there. If the dragging started after switching to Herbalife, I’m guessing you’re either missing out on some nutrients or, more likely, missing out on calories. While obese, you still need a certain amount of calories to function and pull the rest from fat storage. If you felt this way before, it might be nutrients, sleep or something else in your life that might be worth a check with your doctor.

To further self-diagnose (especially if you don’t want to or can’t afford a doctor visit), I’d start by running the guided MFP setup with a weight loss goal of 1 or 1.5lbs/week, and hitting that calorie goal every day for a couple of weeks to see if conditions start to improve. Not staying under, hitting it within, say, +-100 calories. This means logging every single thing you eat and drink precisely. I might also run a comparison of logging what you currently eat in a day, with the Herbalife and everything and seeing what it looks like compared to your MFP-given goals.

Once you figure out what caused the problem, you can start fine-tuning. My personal energy-boosts include, in no particular order: personal hygiene, enough sleep, frequent ”adult time” with husband, lots of protein, enough veggies, enough calories, plenty of fruits and berries, being social with people I like, and foods that bring me joy.

BTW, congrats on conquering your cigarette and alcohol addictions! Those are huge steps towards a healthier you. Also, you’re here now, so congrats on taking this step.

kshama2001

I also suspect you are not getting enough calories.

Questions:

1. How long have you been doing the shakes?
2. How many calories do you get per day?
3. How are you measuring those calories?
4. How much weight have you lost per week?

I too have a long history with self-medication. Exercise helps with this, as does therapy, especially Cognitive Behavioral-based therapy.