Energy still very low

[amy3509]

A bit of background . . . 18 months ago (at age 33) I was in great health - was eating paleo, very active, at a good body comp, etc.  I was at home with my toddlers at the time, but then I went back to work and things steadily declined.  I stopped being as active, started eating a lot of sugar and snack foods, relied on caffeine, was dealing with a fair bit of work stress/pressure. Fast forward to this past March when I found myself 40 lbs heavier and struggling to make it through each day.  I had to give myself pep talks to do simple things, like climb the stairs, carry my 3 year olds, stay at work, cook supper, etc.  I have never, ever been this tired in my life.  I have twins and I wasn't even this tired when I was exclusively breastfeeding them round the clock and getting no sleep.  I was so tired I struggled to make decisions, was nauseous often, and withdrew from interacting with people unless I had to. 

 

In late March I decided to visit the Dr. and get a full panel of tests.  While I was waiting for my results I decided to do another whole30 (my first was 2 years ago).  My energy improved a fair bit and I dropped 10 lbs but I was still not feeling as good as "normal".  After my whole30 at the end of April I decided I would commit to focusing on getting 8 hours of sleep every night, walking daily, and doing yoga a few times a week.  I am trying to make my way back to crossfit eventually, but right now I still feel too depleted to be able to recover from that kind of workout.

 

Since my whole30 I have had several 100% compliant weeks with one or two weeks that were scattered with some off roading (although not too bad).  My energy is still pretty low.  I don't wake feeling refreshed. I cut caffiene hoping that would help but it hasn't so far (it has been 2 weeks).  Weight is continuing to drop off, which is great, but I would like to feel energetic again.

 

FWIW, the tests I mentioned earlier came back completely normal.  Cholesterol, thyroid, iron, hormonal panel, etc were all perfect (and the tests were taken BEFORE whole30).  I now sleep 8 hours a night, straight through, thanks to my husband getting the kids to sleep all night.  I don't work extra hours (37.5 per week is my standard) and my stress is much better than it was.

 

I am wondering if anyone has ideas about what I could do to improve my energy?  Thanks in advance!

[amy3509]

Perhaps I put this in the wrong section?  In retrospect, perhaps it belonged in troubleshooting.

 

I am really struggling energy-wise and it feels to me like a medical issue since I have never had an issue with low energy before this past winter.  I am nourishing my body well and feel pretty awful a good portion of the time.  

 

I guess my more direct question is - do I just need to give my body more time to heal or should I be pushing for more tests with my Dr to see if something else might be wrong.  If so, what conditions might I look into?

 

Amy

[missmunchie]

Hi Amy,

I am not sure if I can help much with your situation, probably because it sounds just like me (except for the twins thing) but maybe I can commiserate a little I'm a 30-something mom of a toddler, and I acutally used my lunch break today to take a nap. But then, I'm on day 7 and want to crawl in a corner and die right now

 

Without knowing what your food is like, it seems like you're doing the right things - got the blood work done, taking yoga, kicking the coffee, finding ways to destress, etc. It's really hard being a working mom, and I can't imagine doing this with twins! Here are just some ideas I've bounced around in my own quest for awesomeness:

 

Perhaps you could increase your activity to walking or basic weight lifting in addition to the yoga? Lots of times I come home exhausted, but then I hit the gym and throw some weights around and I feel much better. Still tired, but not collapse-on-the-couch tired.

 

Where do you live? Are you able to get out in the sun? I only mention this because you say this fatigue seemed to start up during the winter. If you have a desk job keeping you indoors all day and two busy preschoolers at home, like me I bet you struggle getting enough sunlight and vitamin D.

 

Do you think 8 hours of sleep a night is sufficient? I know I need around 9-10 if I'm in a perfect world.

 

Finally, is your job particularly stressing/draining? Can you find ways to relieve the stress/workload or move around/relax more?

 

I hope you find what you're looking for and hit your awesome stride soon!