Ugh… so TIRED. You know the feeling, right? For the past few months now, I’m just… dragging. (No, I’m not pregnant.) You know how some days are just sooo looong and you’re sooo tiiiired and you can’t get to bed soon enough? Well, that’s been pretty much every day for a while now. I know nothing major has changed in my life, no big stress, no illness, so what gives?
I got to thinking that maybe, just maybe, things change a little as you get older? (Gasp!) And maybe, just maybe, I’ve been not-so-great about always taking care of myself. I’m doing pretty good at not being too much of a workaholic, yay! But I could definitely use an upgrade in my personal health regimen. So here’s my plan, and it’s already going better than I expected.
Food! Duh, food… Who doesn’t love food? I think I love food a little too much, and maybe it needs to love me back. So what do I do when I’m out of my element? I go to a professional. I got hooked up with this nutritionist through a mutual friend and we had our first consultation just last week. And I learned a lot about what foods might love me back a little better.
Tired all the time? Try a little iron. Spinach, beef, kale, beans, dried fruits like raisins and apricots. Hey, I can do that! A little extra effort on my part, and tacos for dinner or spinach salad for lunch is no big deal. Shoot, put the raisins in the salad and I get a twofer! Right on! I’m an artist, I can throw a little ‘design’ work at this whole food thing.
She also told me two other big rules. One, lay off the sugar/refined flour. These foods are literally tiring to your body. Even if you get that little sugar high, you crash after and feel worse than you started. So, that part is maybe not so easy, and I’m working on it, I really am. Two, try to put the right kinds of fats in your diet, so that you’re getting all the nutrients you need. Did you know that almost half the nutrients you need (like vitamins A, D, E, and K!) are fat soluble? If you stick to that low fat diet, you won’t be getting these important vitamins! Holy crap!
So here I am, adding those healthy-fat avocados to my spinach/kale/romaine/leafy green of the day salad, and I have to admit it feels pretty good. I mean, it feels good in my stomach, not like eating three servings of fettucine alfredo for dinner feels…. I can’t say my energy levels have really rebounded a whole lot, but I think there’s a difference, and it’s growing. I think I’ll go ahead and book another appointment with her (check out her work here), see what else I can do to get this apple cart on the right track!
