Random Energy Fluctuations

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Rororosie
Rororosie Posts: 113 Member
Hi dear near or post ladies....

I am near post, I hope, age 55 out of perio and trying to get to full menopause. So I still have hormone flucturations, random crying fits, bloating, and what not. never really had hot flashes just a few when I was 40 and they went away, but i am low thyroid....

Now - I have been recording my food since March and graduatlly cut down on calories. I had trouble exercising and was doing dance class about one time a week but had to save money for a major out of pocket dental expense and changed jobs so I was unable to go and ... then I got a dog, a rescue dog, who needs to be walked daily, so that has rescued ME.... so I generally eat between 1200-1600 calories a day in 4-6 meals, some veggies most days, not a lot of concentration on carbs or fats or what not although I generally avoid sugar but when I allow it I USUALLY not all the time experience a drop in energy....

So the way my energy is going is that for awhile I was very very tired every night right around the time I got my calories in tow, and very bleary in the a.m..... then someone told me to eat a little protein at night, and the bleary in the a.m. thing went away.

As I continued my food plan I found that I was doing better and better with energy like able to stay up later and feel less bleary in the a.m. regardless of protein ingestion at night...., but now I have about 1 night a week where I go to bed early, exhausted and wake up late. Otherwise I generally sleep about 7 hours a night from about 11 to 6 a.m. I also still have some nights were I poo out of energy earlier than I used to and I am generally useless at this point.

Is this normal aging? Should I change the structure of my food ... eat fewer carbs? eat protein before bed like I was? eat breakfast earlier? Exercise a different way. The current plan is to increase veggies and fruit and increase exercise by going to the gym and going back to dance class as well as walking the dog. Any other suggestions, tips, ideas? I do work a regular 8 hour a day job, I do service work, I do Toastmasters, and I like to sing and have several musical projects going on and... life regular life ... so like most of us I like to keep busy and this energy problem is harshin' my life buzz, man. :-D Thanks!

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  • issypops
    issypops Posts: 212 Member
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    Hi I would like to think the energy thing could be controlled through diet, I have noticed that my energy levels have become much more consistent since I gave up eating sugar and radically reduced refine carbs but it's not been a complete cure. I've been dog walking for years so my exercise levels have stayed fairly consistent but I still get days when I just slump, it feels like there's no gas in the tank and I'm ready for bed at 7.30. These days I not a brilliant sleeper (peri menopause symptom), I have to commute and my job can be stressful, but energy slumps can happen in holidays away from work and after a couple of really good nights sleep, so I do suspect it might be a age thing as well. I have a really good friend- same age, stick thin, perfect diet and a gym bunny and she too seems to have the same energy issues.

    To be honest I give in to it now, I embrace an early night and don't really care if it's only 8 o'clock if I feel tired I listen to my body and go to bed or have a short afternoon nap.

    I don't think that reducing your calories would help, 1200 calories isn't many to fuel a busy life on, if anything I think it would impact on your energy levels, I know if I get hungry my energy drops right down. It might be worth tracking your energy levels to your food, is it more likely to happen on your lower calories days? Have you eaten any particular food- I know bread can cause some people problems?
  • Rororosie
    Rororosie Posts: 113 Member
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    thanks.... well.... I am not totally sure I have mapped all the variables within the short time frame, but one day I did eat very low calories earlier in the day and my energy totally was sapped by the end of day.... so the next day I distributed my calories into the earlier part of the day and it seems like my levels were better... but not sure yet if I wll still have the one night a week go to bed early thing.... if I can keep my life well ordered and live with it, I will try to let it go but .... if it impacts my goals and life I suspect I will continue to look for solutions...
  • issypops
    issypops Posts: 212 Member
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    Interesting about moving your calories earlier into the day, I think being aware of eating patterns and trying to spot any corresponding link is something that will take time, as you say so many variables, I'm hoping that a steady weight loss will help impact on my energy levels.