Why am I so tired ALL THE TIME?

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2

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  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
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    Maybe you could eat at maintenance for a while and see if that helps. Maybe increase your neat but taking some walking breaks.

    Usually when I eat too little I get exhausted.
  • motivatekait
    motivatekait Posts: 90 Member
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    evergreenlake wrote: »
    It sounds very similar to iron deficiency, if you don't eat red meat, iron from vegetables may not be enough. Consult your doctor and see if taking iron supplements would help (and take them with food!)
    Also, it's natural for all of our bodies to want to nap after lunch, so maybe scheduling in a bit of stretching and a power nap around that time would be helpful.

    The more I look into it, the more I believe it may have something to do with inadequate iron levels. I'll try incorporating more iron-rich foods into my diet this next week and see how I feel, thanks!
  • DresdenSinn
    DresdenSinn Posts: 665 Member
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    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    DresdenSinn wrote: »
    Your diet looks fine, I'm on 1200kcal/day diet with carbs/fat/protein macros of 5%/75%/20% and have plenty of energy (I'm well into Ketosis). And your sleep is good. There has to be an underlying issue, are you stressed or worried? Maybe your work is boring or mentally taxing and that makes you fatigued.

    not to sidetrack the post but being male why are you eating the amount of calories for a short/sedentary/elderly woman?

    LOL! I bulk in the Autumn/Winter and cut in Spring/Summer, it's only short term I assure you.

  • 12774
    12774 Posts: 1,416 Member
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    You did say that you had blood work done recently. . Maybe some additional blood tests are necessary. Please follow the advice of your physician and not MFP members.
  • 62apples
    62apples Posts: 132 Member
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    can you take a short nap during lunch?
    if you get 60 min, set your timer/alarm for 30 min.
    if you get 30 min, then 15 min might do it.
    one lady at my work took naps during lunch and it helped her.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    As a chronically anemic person, we don't absorb iron from plant sources as well as meat. So, if you're not hitting the rda from plant sources, you're likely not coming close to what you need.

    Also, vitamin d levels can drastically affect energy levels. Easy blood test at the doc. Both iron/ferritin and vit d.
  • CTcutie
    CTcutie Posts: 649 Member
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    Do you think you're getting enough exercise? Maybe take a short walk at lunch?
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    If your work time is flexible, your could try a more traditional European schedule with a break for "siesta." It would mean shifting everything you do after work a bit later but that nap at midday might be just what you need. Or you could go the opposite way and try a midday walk to rev up.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,148 Member
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    Do see your doctor and explain to him how tired you feel and ask him to do another blood test to cover any possible anemia, iron deficiency, complete thyroid panel and possible Vits B12 and D deficiency.
  • GoldenEye_
    GoldenEye_ Posts: 330 Member
    edited June 2017
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    Do you eat foods containing vitamin C with your plant-based iron sources? It increases absorbtion of the iron and since you say you don't get that much iron that seems like a good idea to do.

    Maybe it'd be nice to check your nutrients and vitamin intake on cronometer.com It's free and shows you what you eat and breaks down everything from lipids to vitamins to minerals, etc. It makes it easier to see if you're getting enough of everything.
  • motivatekait
    motivatekait Posts: 90 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the help!! After doing a little research (and looking at my daily logs) I think a low iron intake may be to blame, so I'm going to try to hit my iron intake from now on and see what happens.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Give the iron a few weeks to build up.

    By the way I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and I always sleep soundly. It just wasn't a restful sleep. You could get it checked out.
  • bribucks
    bribucks Posts: 431 Member
    edited July 2017
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    Following along because I am having similar issues - please keep us updated as to whether the iron intake helps!

    Have you experienced any difficulty with concentration or short-term memory? That's where I'm at right now. I am so extremely exhausted all the time, it doesn't matter how much sleep I get (and I am a heavy sleeper, I fall asleep fast and always sleep through the whole night). But then lately my short term memory has been getting worse and I'm having trouble concentrating too. My desk at work is literally covered in sticky notes because if I don't write something down, I won't remember it the next day or even an hour later.

    I'm considering getting a blood panel done, once I figure out if my insurance will pay for it or not ... I'm guessing it's either low iron or low vitamin b for myself.
  • lbcgirl25
    lbcgirl25 Posts: 15 Member
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    If you don't get anywhere with iron, try seeing a naturopath. After years of trying different things and doctors telling me I was perfectly healthy, and all the issues I was having was just due to having a 2nd baby, (which was 3 years ago by the way), I saw one, and she had me do saliva testing for my adrenals along with blood work for my hormone levels. Turned out my adrenals were not working the way they should, at all, and my progesterone levels were very low.

    She has me on a few different supplements (vitamin/herb combos) now, and I've never felt better! I was already taking B vitamins and evening primrose oil, and those do work well, but definitely see somebody that's a professional before just trying a bunch of things.

    If you are very young and don't have kids, I'm not saying your issues are the same as mine, I'm just saying that sometimes even regular doctors just don't know how to find out what's really going on. Best of luck!
  • chelllsea124
    chelllsea124 Posts: 336 Member
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    sunsweet77 wrote: »
    Everyone else could weigh in on this and I've never done it before but what about trying melatonin for a few weeks?

    Other ideas, leave a fan on for white noise. Maybe you're waking up and not fully waking up in the night and it's throwing you off?

    Room dark enough? Even an alarm clock can throw me off.

    Changing hormones as we age?


    I'm struggling with sleep too from a huge schedule change in my life. No fun!

    Just ideas...talk with your doc.

    I take melatonin every single night and I am experiencing an almost identical problem..
  • chelllsea124
    chelllsea124 Posts: 336 Member
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    motivatekait wrote: »
    evergreenlake wrote: »
    It sounds very similar to iron deficiency, if you don't eat red meat, iron from vegetables may not be enough. Consult your doctor and see if taking iron supplements would help (and take them with food!)
    Also, it's natural for all of our bodies to want to nap after lunch, so maybe scheduling in a bit of stretching and a power nap around that time would be helpful.

    The more I look into it, the more I believe it may have something to do with inadequate iron levels. I'll try incorporating more iron-rich foods into my diet this next week and see how I feel, thanks!

    I think I am going to do the same. I am experiencing the EXACT same thing as you.;.. except I weigh more. 5'2" and 169 pounds. i am ALWAYS exhausted.
  • Enjcg5
    Enjcg5 Posts: 389 Member
    edited July 2017
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    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    Could you be iron deficient?
    Could you be deficient in B-complex vitamins?

    How are you with getting sufficient good sleep?

    3 years ago I went through a period that I felt like I was hit by a Mack truck but had to continue on with my day. Turns out my iron was at a 9 (due to heavy periods). Always consider the iron!
  • chelllsea124
    chelllsea124 Posts: 336 Member
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    Enjcg5 wrote: »
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    Could you be iron deficient?
    Could you be deficient in B-complex vitamins?

    How are you with getting sufficient good sleep?

    3 years ago I went through a period that I felt like I was hit by a Mack truck but had to continue on with my day. Turns out my iron was at a 9 (due to heavy periods). Always consider the iron!

    I have yawned about 50 times in the last hour... i will consider this
  • phwdjones
    phwdjones Posts: 37 Member
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    Do intermittent fasting. Changed my life. No hunger in the morning. So much more energy. Insane
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    also for those who dont have iron issues and have become suddenly tired get blood work done. I went from having energy to barely being able to get out of bed. I told the dr she ran tests and turns out I had the epstein barr virus. I have never had mono and have no clue where I could have gotten it from. never had the symptoms.But there it was. I thought it was iron too because I had a past history of anemia/low vitamin D.

    Im not saying its the cause because tiredness can be caused by many things but I struggled to even do the laundry. so if you are that tired get blood work done(saliva tests arent going to tell you squat). another thing it could be is sleep apnea(it even happens in thinner people)

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