Feeling tired? Here’s what could be causing it…
I know firsthand what it’s like to feel tired all the time, and how life-changing it is to correct it. In January of 2021, I had routine blood work done. My doctor called me shortly after and asked me how I was functioning. It turns out that my iron markers were REALLY low… I check them with most of my patients, and I had never seen someone as low as I was! In fact my hemoglobin (the protein that carries the iron and oxygen) was half of what it should be. Normally that only happens when someone is undergoing cancer treatment or is really sick.
I was shocked. If someone had asked me if I was tired, I would have honestly said I wasn’t too bad. Sure, I felt tired every afternoon, my heart raced walking up the stairs, my hair was thinning and really oily, cardio workouts made me extremely grumpy because they were so hard, I was cold all the time… it made sense that I had low iron when I stopped to think about it. Once I got it corrected, then I realized how tired I had been before. Sometimes you just don’t know things can be different until they are. Getting there involved not just taking iron, but also optimizing the nutrients needed to be able to use the iron properly to produce energy (that’s a whole other newsletter topic).
Here are my suggestions to make sure that your energy level is as good as it can be:
Get your blood work checked from a nutritional perspective- I routinely recommend to patients that they check their vitamin A, B12 and D, ferritin (iron stores), serum copper, red blood cell magnesium (not just the serum magnesium that is usually checked), CBC (this includes hemoglobin which is very important for transporting iron and oxygen and producing energy) and oral glucose tolerance testing with insulin (this is the best way to check for insulin resistance versus just blood glucose). Many of these tests aren’t run routinely by medical doctors because they aren’t associated with a disease (for example if your blood glucose is fine, you don’t have diabetes), but they are very important to help your body function optimally (insulin resistance without diabetes can still cause a lot of symptoms). I am able to order all of these tests for patients through LifeLabs. While they aren’t covered by OHIP, they aren’t expensive and I get the results back within a week of ordering them and review them in detail with each patient making it easier for me to create an individualized treatment plan.
Make sure you are getting enough good quality sleep. It makes sense that you will be tired if you aren’t able to charge your batteries with restful sleep. In fact, it creates a vicious cycle because you are forced to push through the day because you are tired, which raises cortisol, which makes it harder to get good sleep… and so it continues. Prioritizing sleep is SO important. We don’t all need the same amount (usually somewhere between 7-9 hours), but you will know you are getting enough if you wake up feeling rested and have the energy to comfortably do what you want to during the day. Last week’s newsletter was about sleep (let me know if you’d like me to send it again). If you are struggling in this area, please reach out - this is one of the main concerns that I help patients with.
Move your body regularly. Almost no one exercises and then feels less energized after (if that’s the case, they you want to look at the other points mentioned). To have energy, you need to create energy. Any form of movement is great, but if you’ve following me for a while, you know I am a big fan of strength training for many reasons.
Take a look at what you are eating. Eating enough protein, carbs and fat are essential to help your body produce adequate energy. Almost all of my FASTer Way clients are surprised to find out how much food they optimally need to eat when they start tracking. When I first tracked my food 6 years ago, I found I was unknowingly underconsuming carbohydrates by quite a bit. When I increased them, I noticed an increase in my energy. This makes complete sense because carbohydrates are your body’s most efficient way to make ATP (energy). Just like a car, you can’t expect your body to operate well without the right fuel.
Make sure you are well hydrated. Your body is made up of a lot of water, so having enough is very important. Dehydration can sometimes be misinterpreted as fatigue and/or hunger. It varies based on your size and activity, but a general rule is to aim for half of your body weight in ounces of water. The app I use with my FASTer Way clients calculates how much water we want to aim for (mine goal 101.5 ounces!) and also includes a water tracker as a motivational tool.
It’s really hard to take the steps that you know are good for you if you are feeling tired a lot of the time. I love the FASTer Way lifestyle I teach because so much does get better with the right nutrition and exercise and hydration. It’s also really important to look at your blood work and sleep quality and quantity though to make sure there isn’t anything getting in your way of taking those steps. I firmly believe that it is possible for women to continue to have lots of energy as they transition through peri/menopause. It makes me so sad when I hear some women say that life is going downhill for them after 40. If you feel that way, please reach out to me. I know there are many amazing things ahead for you and I want you to enjoy them to their fullest.
Join my next FASTer Way to Fat Loss new client group - save $20 with code BELLYBLAST: this is where I coach your daily over 6 weeks to help you get leaner, stronger, and healthier with a sustainable approach to optimal nutrition and effective workouts that are 30 minutes or less.
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