Why am I so tired? Very frustrating, please help!

samhelen

I noticed in your profile that you say your a vegetarian. I respect that, but you still need protein. Your daily protein intake is extremely low. I think I read you should get about 1 g of protein per pound of lean body mass. You're barely getting 50 g's. You might try increasing that.
Also, a couple weeks ago I felt the same way and went to the doctor's. My white count was elevated, but I didn't feel sick, just tired. Apparently my body was "sick" and trying to fight something off, hence the fatigue. A week later I was feeling much better and my white count was back to normal. You may just be fighting a bug or something too.

Feel better soon :flowerforyou: and remember, when your body says "stop, slow down, I need to rest", it's probably because it's true.

Thanks for the advice! Yeah, you're probably right about the protein. When I first went vegetarian I was really careful about it and made sure to get plenty of protein. More recently I have been slacking in that department and I know that's not good for me. I'll have to make a bigger effort there.

And interesting about the possible "sickness!" I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense. Hopefully that's all this is, because that would mean it should go away soon! :laugh:

Boca products are very reasonable price-wise and a good source of lean vegetarian protein -- the burgers and the veggie crumbles are very versatile and easy to use -- I noticed that you have a penchant for pizza, if you like italian food you can take the veggie crumbles and put sauce together and freeze individual portions of spaghetti and sauce that you can pull out on the go and make a big green salad to go with. Like what some of the other people have said, looking at your food diary it could be a combination of 1)not enough calories, 2) not enough sleep, and 3)food selection. Good luck! I remember being tired in college in my 20s too and i was still getting taller until I hit about 21.

LaurenAOK

Yay for a lot of responses! I don't have time to respond to everyone, but I read everything and really took a lot of it to heart. Here's what I'm doing for now:

-Got a liquid B-complex to take every morning
-Picked up a multivitamin to take every morning (mostly for Iron)
-Decided to start drinking a protein shake every day - I used to only drink one after working out, but I need help reaching my protein golas
-Started "fresh" today with making healthier choices - as I mentioned I've been so busy that I've been getting fast food a lot more than I'd like, but my life has calmed down a bit and now there's no excuse for that. Today was a much better day food-wise and I'll make sure to keep it up!

Thanks again for all the help!

froeschli

Back when I was in school, 40 hours a week plus homework, I used our Wednesday afternoon off and Saturday just to sleep. It may not be just your body being tired. Your brain needs sleep even more.

But the lunches could have something to do with it too. Are you eating alot at lunchtime? Could you possibly split it into a mid morning snack and lunch?

As for lack of vitamins etc - try a daily multivitamin, that should cover your bases.

myogibbs

Have you ever tried eating a light snack before lunch or going to the gym before you eat lunch? If you eat a snack like greek yogurt and kashi, it should keep you during your workout and then you can eat when you get home. I think you will see an increase in your energy level if you can just get past this and work out for a couple of weeks. That said, you will probably feel exhausted that first week. There are several studies that show that physical exercise helps you mentally as well...so an added benefit to working out is the potential to improve in your school work. I would definitely check out your iron level and make sure you are eating right. Vitamin B helps me a lot before a workout. Most importantly though, listen to your body. If you are that tired, your body is trying to get your attention.