Anyone else feeling like this today? Or regularly?
I always feel so tired, even when I get good sleep! I am doing good on my calories today, still under but I have no energy. I haven't had any soda and am on my 5th 12oz cup of water but I am just dragging.
What do you eat to keep up your energy?
Ive had coffee, 2 granola bars and a small piece of homemade lasagna so far today.
I plan to have 2 shredded chicken tacos with fat free beans for dinner.
I just don't know how I'm going to have any energy on the Elliptical tonight but I am dragging my butt there no matter what!
I probably need to plan a better, more protein and nutrient rich breakfast than a coffee and a granola bar for the future .... Suggestions?
Hi! It doesn't sound like you've had that much protein thus far today? I know I've read many times having protein in the morning really helps with energy the rest of the day. That being said I feel tired now, but know when I leave this windowless office and head home, and force myself to the gym and treadmill with a good book my energy level nearly always goes up.
Oh, this time of year with less sunlight is a challenge as well. In the past I've gone for a walk outside during my lunch break to soak up some sun and get my muscles movning.
Let me know if any of these ideas sound appealing and good luck!!! :-)
Eggs. Low in calories. High in protein. Scrambled. Boiled. Poached. Whatever, they all work.
Oats. They are the business as well. I mix mine with a dried apricot, low fat milk, honey, vanilla and cinnamon and microwave for breakfast. Yum.
Canned (or fresh) fish. Lean. High in protein. I like the ones with omega 3s and low in mercury. Sardines. Kippers. Trout. Mackeral. Wild salmon (smoked salmon goes great with scrambled egg).
Thanks for the advice Ian! I'm going to try some Mackerel or Kippers, I've never had them before but am interested. Sounds like a tasty lunch to me, maybe that can get me through my afternoon slump.
I'm not use to cooking seafood so I guess I'm not sure where to start on to cook them or with what, but I'll give it a try and see. Maybe I just need to pair with some yummy veggies?
Land O Frost Canadian bacon (the brand I prefer) and an egg or egg beaters for breakfast.
Snacking on a boiled egg, a can of tuna in water, or a serving of fat free cottage cheese really helps me keep my energy up and soothes the savage, growling tummy.
I recently started taking 4000 IU of vitamin D3 and it's helping with the seasonal lack of energy due to the short winter days.
Ian! I took your advice and went to the grocery store and picked up fresh salmon, canned salmon for salmon cakes, and canned sardines and kippers.
I'm going to try a spin on an Alton Brown recipe that is sardines and avocado on toast but I'm using a thick German Rye Bread and adding thin sliced onion, spinach, tomato and some lemon juice, plus the avocado. Going to try it for my lunch tomorrow! Fingers crossed, I dont know if I've ever eaten sardines before!
shcirerf, a Vitamin D3 supplement is a great idea, thanks!
Let us know how it goes steinanwine. Go easy on the bread though.
I either eat my fish straight from the can (if I am eating as a snack to keep me going) or with a very large salad if eating as a meal.
I hope you enjoy. And all of those fish are just so awesome for you. I really hope you enjoy them. You will enjoy the salmon. Hopefully the kippers. And if you like sardines, you are done and will like all fish so we can talk other types.
If you like these fish and keep eating them you will notice big benefits to your skin, hair, eyes and joints too because of the omega-3s. I can't believe how good my hair, skin and eyes look and feel. And I do not get joint pain any more...yet I run 6 miles a day!
[PS You don't need to run 6 miles. I eat A LOT to fuel that. 5 cans of fish today alone. Crab. 2 cans of kippers. 1 can of sardines. 1 can of smoked sprats. Oats for breakfast. And the largest salad you have ever seen. And scambled eggs.]
Ian, thanks, I know the bread is risky but I read the nutrition facts and its not too unhealthy. I'll only be eating 1 piece as an open faced sandwich and almost never eat bread because I just never make sandwiches.
I was thinking salad would be another option to put the fish in. Anything else you make with kippers or sardines that you recommend? We'll see how I respond tomorrow, I don't know if I'll enjoy them enough to eat them straight from the can but I hope I like them!
You can eat them with eggs. Eggs are great. Poached, scrambled, boiled. Whatever. 70 calories a pop (I normally eat two a day) and lots of great vitamins and minerals. Add some steamed broccoli and you are away.
My salads are pretty complex so you can also go a little wild there. For example, my lunch today was: Smoked sprats, kippers, 10 anchovies, crab, cod liver, argula, mushrooms, lentils, spinach, pickled garlic, hemp seed, black beans, salsa, seaweed, red onion, tomato, kimchi, scrambled egg, tobasco sauce, blueberries, 3 olives.
That's a lot because I exercise a lot. But it's all good for me. And I think I am still losing. We'll see tomorrow.
Well Ian ...... The sardines weren't the worst thing I've ever tasted but maybe not my favorite? I'm kinda torn on them but I'm not giving up! I still have the kippers to try too!
I do have to say the lunch I ate totally kicked my usual mid-afternoon energy slump in the butt, hardcore! I couldn't believe it. I had the German Rye with about 3 to 4 sardines (was too afraid to eat more than that) mushed with lemon juice, fresh dill, fresh parsley, half a mashed avocado, spinach, diced red onion and a few tomato slices followed by a banana and 2 glasses of water. Man, I didn't even realize it but by 3PM it occurred to me I didn't feel like crap and I hadn't been yawning all afternoon! I don't know if it's all in my head but I really felt full and full of energy!
I have lots of left over sardines from that tin so I'm going to experiment with mixing them in lite sour cream with more fresh dill, maybe over a salad or something. Maybe adding in a little canned tuna will break up the flavor. Again, it wasn't the worst but its not a flavor I crave. I'm going to keep trying them though and maybe get some pickled herring too, I've had that before and enjoyed that.
Do you ever buy the herring or sardines in tomato sauce or any other sauces or just oil? Thanks again for the great energy boosting suggestion!
Last edited by steinanwine; 12-20-2013 at 11:00 AM.
Well Ian ...... The sardines weren't the worst thing I've ever tasted but maybe not my favorite? I'm kinda torn on them but I'm not giving up!!
If you're willing to give them another shot, I LOVE the jalapeno sardines by king oscar eaten with rice crackers.
However, for another quick meal that I've had, I saute 1/2 a chopped onion, 1/2 a chopped tomato and let that meld with a little bit of adobo. After it's soft, add in your sardines, breaking them up. I use the kind in mustard sauce or hot sauce for this, then add the other condiment (ie if I have sardines in mustard sauce, I add some hot sauce or if I have sardines in hot sauce, I add a squirt of dijon).
This is good with a bit of rice or a piece of bread, but can also be eaten with crackers, etc.
I have my favorite brands for all my canned fish that I either buy locally or online. My favorites sardines are Wild Planet Sardines in water. I like them in water because that cuts the calories even more. But I also eat plenty of fish in oil because that is just how some are sold. I try to go for the ones in olive oil rather than other oils because olive oil is healthy. But I do drain as much of the oil as I can to again reduce the calories.
I have also eaten them in tomato sauce. Calories are again a little higher but shouldn't do too much harm.
I also like pickled herring. I just opened a jar. I normally take just one or two pieces of that though and eat it with other fish.
I am slowly coming to the conclusion that, as long as you don't deep fry the stuff, it is virtually impossible to get fat from eating fish. Granted, if you eat a lot of it then you may just maintain but I do not think a fish diet is at all conducive to weight gain.
I eat a lot of fish and am still losing. So far today I have had kippers, sardines, crab, prawns and clams. And I will be eating seafood again tonight on a date night.
I am so far tied on my lowest weight set back in October (164lbs). I am so hoping to see that drop tomorrow. But with all this food, we will just have to see.
Ian my weigh ins the least two days were good, lower but yesterday was a bad food day and i'm up two pounds today .....
I'm happy to report I found a way to really enjoy sardines! Mash them with white beans, red onion, fresh basil, salt and pepper, a little ricotta because I had it and wanted the mash to be more cohesive and a splash of milk too, served on saltines, it's REALLY TASTY!
I again only used about the sardines in the recipe but it was very tasty! I am definetly going to try to eat more fish, Sounds like it's a smart way to go!
Last edited by steinanwine; 12-22-2013 at 04:58 PM.
Feeling So Tired - No Engery
