Tiredness

Question
Hi,

I was hoping you can help.  I'm 24 years old, and have been very unenergetic
(if that's a word) and tired for many years, since my early teens at least.  I did
become vegetarian (no fish, but eat eggs) when I was 15. Until very recently I
was living off Red Bull (1-2 a day on average, I don't drink tea or coffee) until
I got a telling off from my dentist the other day.  So now the only thing that
kept me going through the day has gone.  

I do exercise 3-4 times a week for at least an hour in the gym.  And I've just
started to eat 5-6 small meals a day instead of 3 large meals.  I've been
taking a B vitamin complex and iron supplements for a long time as well
ginkgo biloba.  I do eat carbs on almost a daily basis (pasta, rice or potatoes)
and get at least 8 hours sleep a night, to be honest sometimes I get too
much sleep as I find it hard waking up (I manage to sleep through my alarm
and press snooze continuously for 2 hours - no exaggeration - every day).  I
drink maybe 3-4 glasses a day, mainly fruit juices.  You may have gathered
that currently I don't have an active life style.  I don't work, I'm starting a
masters in October.  I hope I've given a good enough 'history' and that it
wasn't too long!

Basically I was hoping you could recommend some good energy foods (with
low sugar content) that I could have as small meals to keep going through the
day.  I already eat bananas by the way :)

Thanks in advance

Nathalie

Answer
Hello Nathalie!

   Thank you for your nutrition question. In order to increase your energy choose foods wich are complex carbohydrates and healthy proteins.

Drinks:--stick to water or 100% fruit juice (in moderation. Take a cup of strawberry yogurt and put it in a blender with V8 fusion strawberry bannana to make a smoothie. It's delicious

Snacks: --bananas, oranges, try raisins and peanut butter on celery. Mix and match what is healthy and sounds good.

Dessert:--try to enjoy fruit more and more. Reward yourself with glazed apples or slightly braised apricots

Some other great examples include Kashi cereals and bars, avocados, almonds, smoothies.

If you need an extra kick before the gym, eat a handful or two of roasted unsalted mixed nuts, aswell as dried fruits. Also, if you get a good protein shake and mix it with skim milk it helps put the energy back after the gym and aids toning.

Let me know if you have more questions. You can also visit my website at www.planetyorgos.com I have authored some very helpful dietary books. There is also a great supplement at www.juiceblend.com that is made entirely of fruits and vegetables.

-George Rapitis, MS  

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