11 February 2024 , 13:59
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If you're noticing you constantly feel burnt out it could be down to certain foods you may be eating.
Eating healthy is something everyone wants to do, but there are certain "innocent" foods that could be to blame for feeling exhausted all the time according to a nutritionist.
Sydney-based nutritionist Susie Burrell has urged people to avoid 'quick fixes' such as coffee and sugar for an instant energy boost and urged people to "clean out" their diet in a bid to stop the burnt-out feeling. She instead advised people to opt for fresh food to help store energy instead of reaching for something quick to eat.
She said new mums are the biggest culprits of not looking after their diets and can often struggle the most with feeling burnt out. She told The Mail: "We start the day and the focus is never on ourselves. We're worried about the kids. The pets getting out of the house, getting to work so we're often forgetting to nourish first thing."
Because of this, she said people will grab "quick fix foods" such as coffee and sugar that are convenient but not healthy. She added: "It's like that quick kick all the time. You just grab a coffee and then, ultimately, that impacts your hormones, then you gain weight and then you feel even worse. It's that day-to-day short-term hit but it really undermines the long-term gain."
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She highlighted that women are often "deficient in key nutrients" that can leave them feeling as if they have run out of energy, and it's found that 25 per cent of women have low iron levels - so women already will start the day feeling exhausted so urged busy mums to prioritise nourishing the body with "beneficial nutrients" to help cope with the "stresses and challenges" that come with being a mum.
To combat the feeling of exhaustion, Susie recommended if possible, swapping out the coffee for green juice to start the morning right, and urged people to "create a space where you can order fresh food in" so you know what to cook and hailed having a filling, and healthy breakfast and lunch before 1pm will also help combat a mid-afternoon sugar or snack craving.
Lunches such as salads - which can be bought pre-made are a quick and easy option, and eating foods high in omega-3 such as oily fish and nuts can help get nutrition back on track. For dinner, Susie suggested roasting some vegetables at the start of the week and having them throughout the week with protein such as chicken or red meat.
As women are usually low in iron, lamb cutlets or beef is a good way to get iron levels up. "You've got to create a system around your lifestyle to make it easy, it's not about adding on more. It's about being more efficient with what you can handle. And we have to eat but we may as well make the best choices we can," she noted.