QuestionHi there! I need some advice about what I could do to be healthier/more energized, maybe what special vitamins/minerals I should take daily (i try to take a multivitamin but sometimes i forget). I have been getting sick more often lately although i am the kind of person who rarely gets sick. I know its because i dont sleep nearly as much as i used to since I have a new job now.
Another big problem I have is that I never had much of an appetite...I actually DONT even like food much..if i could survive without eating i wouldnt mind (as long as i could have some chocolate, cheese, pasta every once in a while!)
So i eat very little and i dont include much fruits and veggies in my diet as i dont like them much and feel i dont have time to prepare/buy them. i tend to eat cheese sandwiches more than anything else and noodles or pasta once in a while. sometimes I order eggs and orange juice to my work for breakfast but not everyday. (im a vegetarian by the way so NO beef/chicken/fish)
I know im a difficult case but do u have any suggestions somehow? i used to have mild anemia but i think im better now as the last time i checked i didnt have it...i didnt have anything wrong with me except i almost had high cholosterol! (which runs in the family..i dont have it yet though but bordering almost) Im a 24 year old female who looks pale with circles under my eyes but other than that i dont have anything serious....yet! please HELP!
AnswerDear Nada,
Un poco mas de algo! (A little more of something!since your name sounds like "nothing" to my little Spanish ear).
Really, dear, you can't get something for nothing! Diet means regimen, it's hard work feeding yourself, there is no two ways about it. Cows work on it all day, so comfort yourself with that thought: you need to make relatively little effort.
Poor diet makes you eventually loose your appetite. The starving are also not hungry, trust me. Also, you have to acquire tastes. Your tastebuds are utterly corrupted and your gut (with all that cheese and sluggish pasta) is a bug trap. You are playing a very risky game. From my point of view you are being disrespectful to the gift of life you may contain in your body.
Health is a kind of religion which requires devotion. Not fundamentalist mania, but regular practice based on sound, ethical, gentle and respectful principles. In the end one's health is a measure of will-power. Practically, you first need to understand it is urgent time to do something about your life-style. See clearly how you are malnourished and decide to train yourself up. Be honest, and if you are not ready to dedicate yourself to a fitter you,forget it: it will only frustrate you and cost you money and time.
But if you want to save yourself a lot of nasty consequences, get with it and get some rules and then stick to them. That is the key to health. Your body, a temple, is not merely a stack of bricks. It is run by a mental attitude.
You know that you need veg and fruit. You are being childish in saying you can't be bothered with them. You'll have to suffer the consequences. There are no shortcuts.
The circles under your eyes, fatigue and low energy are symptoms to be taken seriously. After age 30 damage leads to greater faults (weaker organs, eventually chronic disorders). Towards 30 repair slows down dramatically. You can't catch up so easily (if at all). If you ever want kids, now is the time to bear that in mind. A child will rob you of 1/4 of your body during pregnancy and if you are not resilent you'll never recover (it takes 2 years anyway). Your irregular eating patterns, with predominantly carbohydrates and processed foods could set you up for diabetes, especially since you are prone to cholesterol problems. Cholesterol problems in themselves (borderline, already) are red alert warning signs of potential rapid decline and fatal diseases. You will look remarkably aged after thirty, since healthy, supple, elastic skin is dependent on fresh foods (sorry, but I mean fruit and veg again!). Aenemia is worrying enough in itself (can't repair/build without good blood) and don't you find the quality of your life is diminished by your lethargy? Where is the calcium+magnesium coming from to prevent osteoporosis which can hit you at forty if you carry on like this. (It is a seriously debilitating condition making you very frail and possibly linked to hardening of arteries).
So, enough of the scare tactics, and now back to addressing your core problem: lack of self-respect for your life force, which is probably coupled to apathy. Lack of sleep is also a sign of a lack of discipline (either your head is too full with worries in the case of insomnia, or you are partying too much and probably way past having a good time).
Some simple tips. Get some staple, high quality foods in the house (I hope you have a fridge and a hob, at least!). A couple of packets of OJ, please try to swap cheese for yoghurt or cottage cheese, ever tried muesli? Or toast with nutpaste? A vegetarian (tofu) spread? If you can't do breakfast, you must do lunch. Hot cocoa in the mornings with honey and organic (non-homogenised) milk could be a way in to set you up on a regular eating pattern (it's chocolate and comforting - not ideal but a good beginning for now). When you don't eat at all in the morning, it's really hard to start half way through. Your body simply can't be bothered and focuses on thoughts instead. Food then only gets in the way, and you begin to dislike it.
If you don't prepare a full evening meal, with a main ingredient (pulses, tofu burger, quiche, omelet etc. etc) you will indeed conveniently forget about veg. There is no point just serving yourself a plate full of peas: they won't go down too well! Veg must accompany, in your case. Force an apple/bunch of grapes/handful of strawberries (take your pick) down you as a medicine for a snack (take those ten conscious minutes out and decide how "disgusting" it actually is and then congratulate yourself for managing to eat it all up - because of course it's not disgusting, you're just lazy).
Nada, dear, as you can tell by now, my advice to you, is: be duely concerned about your poor health and shake yourself back into a respectable condition. I know you can do it: your self-awareness is already in tip top shape!
Once you start shopping and preparing simple meals with the right intent a whole new world will open up for you. Tons of cheap and easy recipes will come your way, and a new radiance will inspire you more and more.
Good luck,
Love Evelyn.
- Prev:Renal Disease
- Next:Low fat, low sugar diet