Why am I tired

[tabby23tech]

I have a question... Okay so i'm starting to workout in the mornings, eating healthy, drinking lots of water. I feel great in the mornings but around 2 I am SO EXHAUSTED.. I just want to go take a nap... I eat small meals every 4 hrs, no junk food. The only thing i don't do is drink gatorade cause i cant get clarification if it is good or bad to drink. Yes i know my body is in chaos cause i'm starting to make it move, but why am I so tired!! Any tips to not be tired?? Thanks

[sourpuss]

You really don't need gatorade. It's just full of sugar. A glass of water and a few salty crackers would to you much better if you're really worried about electrolyets. But if you're drinking water before and after you working and eating a balanced diet then you're probably fine.

Are you taking a good multi-vitamin? Are you getting enough vitamin B and iron? How much sleep are you getting?

Go to the health food store and pick up those Emergen-C packets. They make an electrolyet replacer and they have tons of vitamin ones. Try one of those around 1pm for a week and see how you feel.

And try to get an extra 30-hour of sleep a night since you're working harder than you were before.

[Loveshoes]

4 hours between meals is too long. Your starving your body. You need to be eating about 2 1/2 hours. Everything you eat after that up to 3 hours gets stored as fat because your body thinks your starving it. And, as Sour mentioned, your iron could be low. If you aren't a natural meat eater this will certainly be a big deal. Be very careful of taking in carbs with no protein. The protein will keep your blood glucose low so that you don't get that insulin spike with a drop that will make your body feel fatigued. I train people for a living...personal training and group training. We deal in nutrition and quite often they are low in iron.

If you wanted to do gatorade, you could as it has more than just electrolytes in it, but be careful of the sugar, that can dehydrate your body as well. The gatorade (G2) isn't bad, but I usually mix 1/2 water with 1/2 gatorade. I drink it when I train for marathons and during the marathon. It helps and it replaces not only electrolytes but also the magnesium and potassium that our bodies displace.

Let me know if I can help with anything else. Best of luck.

[KMonte85]

You may be tired because you are not getting the right KIND of sleep. When you go to bed, are all lights/sounds/distractions gone? TV is a big problem, it deters the deep sleep we require! Are you on a regular sleep schedule? Setting a regular time to sleep and wake can help the body to relax and fall into a deep sleep cycle faster (even sleeping in on weekends can screw up your internal system).

Are you ingesting caffeine? Even if you aren't drinking coffee or soda, many "healthy" foods contain large amounts of caffeine, especially bars and drinks. Too much caffeine can have the opposite affect on your body and you will "crash."

So bigger, more serious issues could be anemia or underactive thyroid. You would need to get tested to see if you're fatigue is because of a more serious problem like this.

[OhThereYouAre]

4 hours between meals is too long. Your starving your body. You need to be eating about 2 1/2 hours. Everything you eat after that up to 3 hours gets stored as fat because your body thinks your starving it.

No matter when she eats, if she's burning more than she's taking in, her body won't store anything.

[tabby23tech]

I'm going to address the post as they came in.
Sourpuss, I don't take a multivitamin, should I be? And if so which one should I take? I will definately try the Emergen-C packets I've never heard of those.. I will have to google for more info... Also, I usually get 8 hrs of sleep.

Loveshoes- I am a meat eater. I eat Turkey, Chicken, Fish and occasionally low fat ground beef. Also I'm not sure how i'm starving myself if I eat. I usually eat like this... Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner and occasionally Snack. I do try to eat my carbs earlier in the day so by the end of day they will be burned off. I couldn't survive on an all veggie diet.. LOL.. More power to you if you are..

Kmonte85- Um as far as my sleep is concerned as mention above I get 8 hrs of sleep. Undistracted sleep, no T.V., no radio, no lights, comfortable pillow, supportive mattress. I couldn't sleep with t.v., radio & a light. YUCK!! LOL I do sleep a lil longer on the weekends because of being tired lately.
As far as my thyroid.. QUestion.. So I did have my thyroid checked and they gave a scale something like this, (not like this but example) lets say 1 to 50 and my scale was like 5, is that inactive? I'm assuming that since the dr said that whole range was healthy that I'm good. I was a little concerned bc to my way of thinking shouldn't it be in the middle? But anyways that's why i'm not a dr. LOL..
Any more questions or tips would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks abunch for replying....

[tabby23tech]

Oh and about caffeine, I don't drink coffee and if i do drink a soda, mind you not very often its caffeine free. I also don't eat bars or other drinks containing caffeine. Even though i'm tired I don't want to resort to taking pills or drinking expresso's to stay awake, Yes even if it means falling asleep. Besides, Coffee makes my tummy upset. Maybe bc of the caffeine, I don 't know but I just stay away from that stuff.

[broseph]

Can you post your typical diet up so I can get an idea of what's going on?

And how many meals a day? How far are they apart?

[miamidiva]

A lot of factors to weigh in on here. Of course, there are many things that it could be.

How do you sleep?

What do you eat? When? (eat carbs in the AM for energy)

Do you get enough potassium?

Do you suffer from high levels of stress?

Lots of factors, and those are just a few of the questions I would answer personally before anything.

[OG612]

I have a question... Okay so i'm starting to workout in the mornings, eating healthy, drinking lots of water. I feel great in the mornings but around 2 I am SO EXHAUSTED.

You're exhausted because you're not used to being up that early to work out. You're body is trying to adapt to your new schedule. Also, mix in some black tea with a splash of lemon juice from time to time. The caffeine will perk you up without making you feel cruddy like soda does.

I just want to go take a nap... I eat small meals every 4 hrs, no junk food. The only thing i don't do is drink gatorade cause i cant get clarification if it is good or bad to drink.

Gatorade is good, but you need to mix it with water. It even says so on the package.

Yes i know my body is in chaos cause i'm starting to make it move, but why am I so tired!! Any tips to not be tired?? Thanks

You're tired because you're not used to it yet. Give it a week or so. Also, now that it's dark at 5PM, you're body wants to shut down even earlier. It's a seasonal thing. I'm feeling it, too.

OG