Feeling shakey

[Kymlee]

So I'm pretty sure I didn't eat enough yesterday (3 boiled eggs for breakfast, an apple and a handful of almonds pwo, taco salad for lunch) and by the time I ate dinner I could feel my blood sugar dropping. After I ate dinner (oven roasted chicken  quarter, sprouted spud cakes w/ garlic mayo, steamed green  beans), I was feeling jittery. 

I woke super hungry, had a blt salad w/boiled egg & 1/4 a large avocado, and a cup of mixed fruit for breakfast. I couldn't finish the salad, but ate the leftovers after yoga, then made a 4 egg omlet, topped with avocado and salsa, and sweet potato hash for lunch. I still feel jittery and a little shakey. 

In terms of energy, I'm usually pretty fatigued (I have lupus and I've been in active flare for about a month) by late afternoon and I'm falling asleep by 10 pm. I stated my whole 30 on Monday and I havent experienced the afternoon fatigue all week! I also had some trouble falling asleep last night. 

Its nice to have more energy but this jittery shakey feeling the last tow days has me a little concerned. Any thoughts on what might be going on and how I might fine tune? 

Thanks, 

Kimberlee 

[ladyshanny]

Sorry to hear you aren't feeling great. Your meals generally look a bit small. The three eggs is great but you would also want 2-3 cups of veggies and a denser form of fat (avocado, ghee, mayo) before getting to the apple. Salad as a meal is generally less food than expected because lettuce chews down into next to nothing. Add bulkier/sturdier veggies to that.  

Avocado as a fat serving is half to whole. Not sure how big yours was but try upping that next time to at least half.  When it's not eggs as protein, what is your serving size like? Palm? 2?

Generally if you are undereating at your first meal and consistently over the few days, you'll feel less fantastic.  Try bumping up your meals and make sure you have sufficient fat.

Are you salting your food? When we cut processed foods, we basically eliminate sodium but your body does need it. Make sure you are salting your food. How much water are you drinking? Any exercise? If so, eating pre and post workout foods? Where are you in your menstrual cycle? Often women need more food during this time to begin with.

And finally, being in the crux of an autoimmune condition, you could probably afford to eat more anyway. Your body is going to be prioritizing healing and trying to break the illness cycle so you could need more nutrients to assist with that. Again, protein and fat. 

[Kymlee]

Thanks @ladyshannyfor responding so quickly. I thought it might be under eating. I teach (6-8 classes/week) and practice (4-5/week) hot yoga, so I'll figure have to figure out those pre and post workout meals.

I've eaten a lot of chicken this week, and I usually butterfly a skinless/boneless breast and eat half. Guessing I need to just eat the whole thing? I'm thinking I might want to eat more fatty fish and a little more red meat. 

I wasn't eating processed foods (mostly cooking from scratch and very little takeout), and I'm always on the edge of hypertension, so I maintain a relatively low sodium diet (using sea salt instead of table or kosher). Despite threat of hypertension (blood pressure pretty good recently), I do live in the desert, and with the hot yoga, sodium is a pretty important electrolyte. 

I'll work on making the meals bigger overall; I struggled to finish lunch, but I knew I hadn't been eating enough. More protien, more fat, more hearty starchy veggies. Suggestions for hearty starchy veggies? I love potatoes (all varieties) but I'm open to experimenting with other options. 

[ladyshanny]

For the chicken breast, it really depends on your own palm measurement. The length, width and thickness of your own palm and then 1-2 of that. Maybe that's the whole bird-boob or maybe it's half, I'm not sure.  

Are you able to go 4-5 hours between meals comfortably? 

That is a LOT of exercise you are doing for someone who is also having an AI flare up. For SURE you need to be eating at least post workout (lean protein and starchy veggie) in addition to your other meals.

Starchy options: turnip, rutabaga, winter squash like acorn or butternut, sweet potato, regular potato, carrots, beets. We recommend that (outside of the post workout requirement), you start with a fist sized serving daily. You'll likely end up having more than that due to your exercise regimen. 

[Kymlee]

Yeah, I'm pretty active. Lol. When it's not too hot, I sometimes ride my bike to the studio. The yoga is part pain management, part fitness, part spiritual practice.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll check in after some adjustments and let you know how things are going. 

Have a great day! 

[linguistenator]

1. Drink more water. You do a ton of hot yoga. You're probably dehydrated. That would explain an elevated heart rate.

 

2. Also to that point, eat more salt and magnesium. You're sweating out a lot of electrolytes and that can make you feel woozy. 

 

3. More calories. Your meals are too small to support your activity. Bump up the protein and the fat. I get super shaky when I'm not eating enough fat.

 

4. More starchy veg. You probably have the shakes because you aren't getting enough carbs. Try sweet potato or butternut squash. 

[Kymlee]

Thanks @linguistenator. I'm working on all of the above. I'm feeling a lot better since I posted this. I wasn't eating enough at all; and the biggest change has definitely come from eating more protien and fat. I also got carrots, sweet potatoes, and three kinds of squash for this week's meals. The spaghetti squash with meaty tomato sauce was a winner for sure!