Help! What do I eat for glowing health and vitality?

stephanj

So I have been on this ride for awhile, and without boring you with a long story, I have lost a lot of weight, I haven't had alcohol for months, I avoid treats, don't eat flour or wheat currently, eat lots of yogurt, less of other dairy, I eat lean protein, salads, beans, fruit, have leafy greens every day, drink TONS of water and green tea, get 7 hours sleep at least, work out 30-60 minutes every single day, and use higher-end products that are paraben free and as natural as possible on my body. Vices? I guess I drink a fair amount of coffee, and I eat cheese. No fast food, no chips, a tiny bit of chocolate and fruit juice gummies when I crave sweets. Protein shake every day. Take vitamin C, iron, omega 3's. Thyroid and iron just tested fine.

What's my point? I feel like I should be freaking GLOWING with health! like my skin should be radiant, I should feel energetic. People should look at me and go wow you look great!
Instead, I have lots of mini breakouts, occasional rosacea and eczema, look really gray and tired. I am 38 years old. Why don't I look fantastic? I guess my main question is about my skin, but in general I feel kind of gross and dirty, internally, if that doesn't sound too vague.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what you eat or do that makes you feel Fabulous? What gives you your glow? I've tried doing research but I already have all the obvious things covered. Do I start juicing? Do I go vegan? Do I take bee pollen? Any suggestions very appreciated. I'll open my diary in a sec.

stephanj

P.S. the only thing I do not do is take a multivitamin. Is it really that simple? Not sure if I "believe" in needing a multi. Thoughts?

Springfield_Rocks

not sure. sounds like you are doing great!! way to go! you are an inspiration!


trying a vitamin might help. i take kids vitamins as the adult formulas are so hard on my stomach.

sPaRkLiNgLYFE

have you tried taking a vitamin E supplement ?

NCchar130

I peeked at your diary. I know the 1200 calorie limit is a controversial topic here and I don't intend to start anything :flowerforyou: BUT - how did you arrive at this number? Maybe you feel tired and run down from simply not eating enough. You could try upping calories a little at a time as an experiment to see if you can continue to lose and see if that makes you feel better. I actually have had a lot of the same stuff going on, especially being constantly tired, and have upped mine a little at a time and continued to lose though it did slow down. Might be worth it to run your numbers again and see if you could try that. Good luck!

Springfield_Rocks

I peeked at your diary. I know the 1200 calorie limit is a controversial topic here and I don't intend to start anything :flowerforyou: BUT - how did you arrive at this number? Maybe you feel tired and run down from simply not eating enough. You could try upping calories a little at a time as an experiment to see if you can continue to lose and see if that makes you feel better. I actually have had a lot of the same stuff going on, especially being constantly tired, and have upped mine a little at a time and continued to lose though it did slow down. Might be worth it to run your numbers again and see if you could try that. Good luck!

i was thinking the same thing, because she is so active, but i didn't want to start a flame war! LOL

thisismeraw

For you, I would suggest eating more and eating better. There is a ton of processed foods in your diary which probably means high amounts of sodium in your diet. Personally, I have felt so much better when I transitioned to mainly a raw food diet... it works for some, not for others.

Not feeling as good as you should go be a vitamin issue... mineral issue.. intolerance to something you are consuming.. etc.

gmallan

Sounds like you're well on the right track. Haven't looked at your diary but maybe you just need to be eating more of all that healthy stuff.

Do you have a good skincare routine?

stephanj

Let's address this one right away, 'cause I shoulda known that's where y'all would go first: I am on my last 6 lbs. I didn't do 1200 when losing the majority of my weight. But I am at the point where TDEE is like 1700 cals. The majority of the time I do eat more, I also eat exercise back. But more than 1200 me no lose. What I am doing to lose the last ten pounds is not what I would recommend or have done the rest of the time. But my last ten pounds are FINALLY coming off. So it is working for me. Which means I ain't changing it! But I know it is said with love so here's some love back

Now, any other ideas? :bigsmile:

I peeked at your diary. I know the 1200 calorie limit is a controversial topic here and I don't intend to start anything :flowerforyou: BUT - how did you arrive at this number? Maybe you feel tired and run down from simply not eating enough. You could try upping calories a little at a time as an experiment to see if you can continue to lose and see if that makes you feel better. I actually have had a lot of the same stuff going on, especially being constantly tired, and have upped mine a little at a time and continued to lose though it did slow down. Might be worth it to run your numbers again and see if you could try that. Good luck!

i was thinking the same thing, because she is so active, but i didn't want to start a flame war! LOL

NCchar130

i was thinking the same thing, because she is so active, but i didn't want to start a flame war! LOL

Hah, I felt the same way!

stephanj

hmmm...ton of processed foods? Do you mean the protein powder? Or do you consider yogurt "processed"? I am upping the protein powder right now because I am doing P90X and want build muscle, and I don't want to add more meat or eggs than I am already eating. Lest I sound defensive, I want you to know I am considering doing more raw/juicing and cutting down on the meat once the macro balance isn't so key.

Got a good skincare regimen, just went for a seaweed facial last week :-)

P.S. I am really looking forward to phasing back in more stuff when I hit goal weight. More of all the good stuff. I hear you, I really do!

lilspringchicken

Have you tried cutting out dairy for a bit? I've never glowed more than when I followed a vegan diet.

Lesa_Sass

hmmm...ton of processed foods? Do you mean the protein powder? Or do you consider yogurt "processed"? I am upping the protein powder right now because I am doing P90X and want build muscle, and I don't want to add more meat or eggs than I am already eating.

Got a good skincare regimen, just went for a seaweed facial last week :-)

P.S. I am really looking forward to phasing back in more stuff when I hit goal weight. More of all the good stuff. I hear you, I really do!

Yoplait is not yogurt, its crap food.

You are not eating enough green leafy vegetables or fish. Your diet is not as good as you think it is and by not wanting to add any more protein while doing the p90x, you are not going to not only not look as good as you think you should, you are not going to feel as good as you think you should.

I really hope you take the advice you asked for into consideration.

lawmama_

Have you tried cutting out dairy for a bit? I've never glowed more than when I followed a vegan diet.

I agree with this statement! Also, no processed foods (if it comes in a box or a can, it's very likely processed). Eliminating caffeine, sugar, and gluten make my skin look so much better!

burnt_irish1

I also have bad skin and my dermatologist says genes pay a large role. So it's not all diet...maybe you can go to a dermatologist and see if they have any options?

jiggy_gibby

Eat an avocado 3 times a week! Yep, a whole avocado.

Drink coconut water in a green smoothie.

Are you drinking enough water?

You will be amazed at changes in your skin. Once a week, eat a tablespoon of unrefined coconut oil.

Also, as mentioned, you may have a mild milk allergy. Drop it for a month and see if your skin heals....

and check back in to update us! Good luck!

LyraVega02

I looked at a week or so of your diary, so I don't know how typical this is of your diet, but I saw low fat stuff everywhere. You could try adding more olive oil, nuts, avocado...stuff like that.

michelle7673

I would say that a multivitamin is a pretty easy experiment -- get a bottle and see if you feel better by the time you finish it. You may also want to try a supplement called xyflamend -- it's really a "cocktail" (in capsule form) of a bunch of different beneficial anti-inflammatory herbs like turmeric and ginger. How is the quality of your sleep?
I'll also say that your fat intake looks low. You are getting in a beneficial fat most days, but maybe more of them would help?
I have a juicer too and beet juice is supposed to be primo for liver cleansing. I am also a big fan of "green lemonade"

stephanj

hmmm...ton of processed foods? Do you mean the protein powder? Or do you consider yogurt "processed"? I am upping the protein powder right now because I am doing P90X and want build muscle, and I don't want to add more meat or eggs than I am already eating.

Got a good skincare regimen, just went for a seaweed facial last week :-)

P.S. I am really looking forward to phasing back in more stuff when I hit goal weight. More of all the good stuff. I hear you, I really do!

Yoplait is not yogurt, its crap food.

You are not eating enough green leafy vegetables or fish. Your diet is not as good as you think it is and by not wanting to add any more protein while doing the p90x, you are not going to not only not look as good as you think you should, you are not going to feel as good as you think you should.

I really hope you take the advice you asked for into consideration.

Thank you so much for your input. Those are reasonable comments, I wish you had expressed them in a less adversarial way. But I will consider upping my green veg and fish, thanks.

stephanj

Thanks everybody, I am hearing maybe I should experiment with adding in more healthy fats, maybe try a detox from dairy and see what happens. Stopped off at the health food store and got a multivitamin and some organic veg to juice tonight.

Cheers!

nornyb

I agree with the adding healthy fat options, plus.....get a facial! Relaxing, pampering, and good for your skin.