Why Am I So Tired After Eating? How to Stop Energy Crashes | Weekly Wellness

Hello everyone, and welcome to another weekly wellness live. I'm Eliza Riley, your holistic menopause coaching specialist. And today we are talking about something that so many women struggle with, and that's feeling completely wiped out after eating. So I don't know about you guys, but for years, I will tell you, I thought this was normal. It didn't matter what I ate. Within minutes, I would feel heavy, foggy, and desperate for a nap. I apologize. I just realized I can't see— I can't see my chat, and I want to make sure that I can. Okay, there we go. Yes, I literally would. I would, no matter what I ate, I would just— I would just need to nap afterwards. And I'm going to tell you guys a little bit about me that may be a little too much information, but I actually started to plan around meals because, you know, some days I would wake up often, actually, I would wake up with just a ton of energy, right? So I would be like bopping around the house, getting the house clean, getting my work done, taking care of the kids, you know, doing all of the things. And you feel so good when you're being so productive. And I knew that as soon as I sat down, whether that was for breakfast or lunch or even a late afternoon snack, if I could push it that far, I knew as soon as I ate, I would Like crash. I would be done, and then I would never get the energy back. I would be done for the rest of the day. So I would, I would literally wait as long as I could until like my stomach is turning and my head is spinning and I'm lightheaded and, and I, and I literally can't wait any longer. I have to eat something. But like I said, when I did eat, I mean, forget trying to get back to work. I would literally just push my plate away from me and then lay down and take a nap because I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, any longer. And I'm curious, is it just me? Am I the only one who took it that Let me know in the chat if this, if this sounds like something that you've ever done. Make me feel better. But so, and I will tell you guys honestly, I— good. Okay, good. Not just me. Okay. So, and I will tell you guys honestly, I used to believe that it was normal to be exhausted after you eat. I really, like, I told myself it's just my body that's working so hard to digest. And so I don't have the energy to like process my food and like walk around, you know, like I don't have the energy for anything else. So of course I'm going to be tired. And it's interesting. It was so interesting to me, you know, when I, when I posted the questions in the Facebook groups, you know, do you get tired after eating? I had so many people who gave advice on how to, how to fix that. You know, they said things like you need to eat lighter meals or you need to cut out carbs. And that's great. Like, that's— I I appreciate that they're trying to be helpful, but I've tried all of those things. I've tried eating less. It just made me hangry and still tired. I tried going low carb, which I will tell you guys honestly, it worked for a little while, but then my energy would just plummet. And, and, and to be completely honest, I would go carb crazy. Like, I would go low carb for a little while, and then I would just like eat all the carbs, and then I couldn't go back to going to, to the low carb thing. It was really hard. Yeah, Bonnie, I've been there. Yeah, drink lots of coffee. And I actually tried. That was my next thing, my next thought. I would— I tried drinking lots and lots of coffee, which, which really wasn't good for me because I'm super caffeine sensitive. So I would actually have a lot of anxiety after drinking coffee. And then when it would wear off, I felt even worse. So here's what— and hopefully that didn't happen for you, Bonnie. But, but here's what I didn't realize. The problem wasn't that I ate. It was what I was eating and how my body was processing it. So my meals, what I was eating for my body, was sending my blood sugar on this roller coaster— spike, crash, nap, right? And so what made it worse was that I wasn't eating in a way that supported my hormones. And this is why so many women struggle with fatigue after meals. It's not just what you're eating, but how your body is processing what you eat. And hopefully that makes sense for everyone. But so the question, the big question is, what can you do about it? I'll tell you, there are 3 simple ways to eat for energy instead of exhaustion. And the first one is you have to balance your blood sugar. If your meals are mostly carbs, even healthy carbs like fruit and whole grains, without enough protein and healthy fats, your blood sugar spikes too quickly. leading to the inevitable crash, and then you're tired. So you want to make sure that you're building, building your meals with protein, fiber, and healthy fats for steady energy that really lasts. And I'll tell you guys, if you have— if you're at midlife, and I think most of us are, most of us here are, not most of the world, but most of us here are. If you are at midlife and you have not yet embraced healthy fat, you're really missing out because it's truly one of the biggest things that causes us to— causes the midlife transition to either be easy or difficult. It's really— I think that it was at the last summit, Dr. Brendan was talking about how our grandparents didn't have as many struggles with midlife, with menopause as we do. And one of the biggest reasons is because they ate lots of healthy fats. And we have just gone on this, like, no-fat kick. And we haven't really gotten out of that yet. So, the sooner you can get out of that, that way of thinking, the better for you. The 2nd thing is to support your digestion, because if your gut isn't absorbing nutrients properly, your body cannot use the energy from your food. So, fiber, probiotics, gut-friendly foods, they make a huge difference in your digestion and therefore in your energy. And the 3rd thing is you need to avoid inflammatory foods, and I will tell you guys, What is inflammatory for me is different for you. Like, if you— like, if you're someone who can't eat eggs because they're inflammatory in your body, then you should avoid eggs. But most of us really thrive on eggs. That's just one example. There's lots of foods out there that can be inflammatory for one body and not for others. But for most of us, ultra-processed foods, refined carbs, and excess sugar All trigger inflammation to some degree, which can drain your energy and worsen hormonal imbalances. So you want to stick with whole, real foods like those in the Mediterranean diet, which will help to keep your energy stable. And let's be honest, though, figuring all of this out on your own can feel super overwhelming because it is so varied. It's so— each of us are so different. It would be so much easier if we knew This way of eating is good for everyone. Just do it. Like, that would be great. But unfortunately, we are so different. Everybody is so different. And, and even like, even within families, like what your mom eats and what works for her, or what your sister eats and what works for her, may not work for you. So when it comes to anything around our diets and our nutrition, knowing it's not just about knowing what to eat, it's about making it work. For your body and in real life, right? So, again, I mentioned the summit, and I'm going to tell you guys, during the summit, many of the experts spoke about the research on the Mediterranean diet specifically for balancing hormones. There have been so many studies on different types of diets for hormone balance, especially for midlife, and the Mediterranean diet always works. In studies, I will say, like, in studies, it always works. Does it work for everyone? Probably not. I don't know. I haven't met anyone yet who it didn't work for, but you may be the one. I don't know. But I have seen it work firsthand with women that I work with. This— the Mediterranean diet is a way of eating naturally balances your blood sugar. It works with your hormones, and it actually gives you energy so that you stop feeling that intense post-meal crash. You have steady energy all day without having to rely on caffeine or coffee, and you eat and feel good afterwards. So like you eat a meal and you actually still feel good after you've eaten. In fact, one of the women who just— who recently signed up for the Mediterranean meal plan beta, she was telling me that she loves that it's a week-by-week plan so that she can prep ahead and not feel overwhelmed. And another one said it's so nice to not have to scrounge for something to eat when she's too tired or too busy to cook. So I'm curious. I know I think that probably most of us have heard of the Mediterranean meal way of eating, but have you ever tried eating the Mediterranean diet? I would love to see yes or no in the comments. Please let me know. Oh, and I move things around again. I gotta stop doing that. Try to make sure I can see the chat, and then I mess up my whole screen. That's okay. Yeah. So, okay. So, and I'll tell you guys, if you're, if you're on my mailing list already, and thank you so much for being there. Yeah, it can be. Yeah, Bonnie's saying that she's tried some Mediterranean recipes and lots of beans and grains, and it absolutely can be. And that's why even with the Mediterranean diet, you may need to tweak it so that it fits your body. Because I know a lot of people, beans tend to spike their blood sugar. So you want to be careful with that. And it's also so important to monitor your blood sugar so that you know this food is good for me and this food doesn't work for me. So yeah, so if you guys are already on my mailing list— and let me go ahead and put that in the chat so that you guys can see that there. So if you're already on my mailing list, you've probably seen me talking about my Mediterranean Meal Plan Beta Challenge. Let me say that right. The Mediterranean. It's a 21-day Mediterranean meal plan challenge beta, right? Okay. So I what I'm doing is I've created this Mediterranean meal plan, and it's a true beta because because right now it's the first iteration. It's the first time it's going out there. It's the first time I'm I'm I'm opening it up for you guys to to sign up for it and try it out. And I've got it. I've got it priced really low because I I really need people who are. Willing to give it a try, give me honest feedback, and, and, and do the program full out. And so, so right now, for me, the bigger, the bigger intention, the bigger purpose is really just, just seeing how it works for you guys. So I, and I've had a lot of ladies who have responded to my email letting me know that they're interested and that they want to do the program, but they haven't actually, they haven't, all of them haven't signed up yet. And I will tell you, I can't count you until you actually sign up. And right now I have just 4 spots left at the beta price. And the beta price, by the way, is $37. And that includes the entire 21 days meal plan, shopping lists, recipes. And you get, you get access to me because I want to hear from you. I want to hear if you want to reach out to me every day after every meal and tell me how you felt. I am. I— that's what I'm here for. I want to— I want to be very hands-on with this. So I want you guys to, to definitely communicate with me lots and lots. As much as you feel called to do. So I do have, like I said, just 4 spots left. And if you would like one, comment, I'm in, and I will reach out to you with the link to sign up. But just know it's not— it's a true beta. It's not something that you can sign up for and start somewhere down the road. I need you guys to be ready to start right away, at least by the end of the month, by the end of March. That way you can give me feedback for the next iteration of it. Again, $37. And, and, and signing up is the only way to lock in your spot. If you just let me know that you're interested, I can't, I can't hold that spot for you. Okay, now that to the side. I need you guys to come back to me for a moment, because what I'm going to share right now is the most important thing that you're gonna hear me say. And I'm going to say this a lot, not, not, not necessarily right now, but I'm gonna say it a lot. The key thing to remember here when, when you're, when you're struggling with your health is that small daily shifts add up to big changes. And it really is key. You cannot expect to have a protein shake today and think, oh, I'm good for the rest of the year. You have to decide to make small, consistent changes each and every day. Today, tomorrow, and the following day. You gotta keep going, keep doing it, keep making these changes. They will compound each time you repeat the action. It may seem like a small thing can't make a big difference, you know, like adding lemon water in the morning. You would say, oh, it's just lemon water, it can't make that big of a difference. But it's actually the only thing that does. I'm not saying lemon water is, but these small changes are the only thing that makes a difference because it's when we continue to make, to make these choices, when we continue to do something a little different than we did yesterday, it compounds, it adds up. And it gets you to your to closer to your goal, and future you will love you for it. So what do you want future you to look and feel like, and what decisions are you going to make for her today? Again, if you'd like information about the meal plan, drop I'm in. I will send you that information. And just to let you guys know, I am taking a little time away from from being from doing these lives next week. So there will not be a weekly wellness live next week, but I will be back in two weeks. With another topic to help you feel your best, and I may actually send out the information about that live next week. So if you want to make sure that you know what's coming and never miss an episode, be sure to sign up for my newsletter again. The the link for that is in the chat. If you're watching this on YouTube, you will have the link in the comments below. Thank you guys so much, and that's it. Thank you guys so much for for being here today. If you have any questions for me, please either Put them in the chat, or put them in the comments, or message me back. If you're getting this in your, in your email box, just hit reply, and I'm happy to answer your questions. And I thank you guys so much for being here today. I do. I really do love these conversations with you. I hope you all do too. And I thank you guys for being here. I appreciate you all so much. Take care, and I will see you guys back here. next time for the next Weekly Wellness Live. Bye, everyone.