Tips for maintaing energy on the LE diet

[Cagirl09]

Hey all,

After exploring this site for a few weeks, I am getting ready to start a LE diet within the next few days. One thing I am most concerned about is how to keep my energy up throughout the day. I have given up coffee for to TTC so there is once source of energy gone. I am worried that if I have LE that I will not have enough energy to go to work all day and then come home to play with my son, do the housework, and exercise the reccomended 6-7 days per week. My job is not that active, but I do have to be alert. One of the most difficult things about dieting for me in the past has been when I felt exhausted becuase I didn't have as many calories as my body would expect.

I'd appreciate any tips from seasoned LE swayers!

Thanks!

[mydream]

I would say the best thing to do is to really try to meet the guidelines for protein. I found this to be hard, but once I was able to keep my protein up...I started to feel better. Diet coke also helped I also opted for no workouts at all. It was just too hard to keep up w/ the 6-7 days.
Good luck!

[atomic sagebrush]

Hi! Glad you came out of lurkdom!

If you're giving up caffeine for LE Diet, you don't have to, it's allowed. If you're giving it up for TTC then that's a different matter of course.

If you NEED to eat, then eat. LE Diet is meant to be relatively easy to stick to because if you're constantly miserable, you're setting yourself up for cheating.

That having been said, a lot of us have found that it gets easier over the course of time and so it may be best to make gradual changes rather than diving into a diet headfirst. So like, instead of skipping breakfast entirely, eat half as much and/or eat an hour later.

If you do need to eat between meals, eat pure protein or pure carbs rather than both together - this helps with your blood sugar levels. I would try not to eat very often between meals, but if you're really dying it's better to eat something small rather than trying to white-knuckle it through and end up eating an entire pizza because you're so miserable.

Sugar free gum and soda between meals has helped stave off the empty feeling.

Be sure you're getting the recommended 1500-1800 cals a day and also don't completely cut out fat from your diet, you need a bit of fat to function.

[black&gold]

I definitely noticed getting the right amount of protein helped. I had a really hard time with that as I'd be very low on protein but my carbs and sodium were getting high so it was hard to fill that gap. Just this past week (it's been about 6 weeks now of the diet) I've started feeling pretty good.. I'm never tempted at breakfast or ever between meals. I initially thought I was dying. I was so exhausted, had no energy and just felt lethargic. That lasted maybe a week and then my body adjusted. Really try and get the protein though, and potassium. I started having anxiety and chest fluttering a lot which I worried was from low potassium - when I bumped that up I noticed it helped. Good luck! It sucks, but that's why we're hoping for a BFP asap!!

[Cagirl09]

Thanks so much everyone! I will definitely try to stay between the 1500 to 1800 calories. I do think that limiting snacks and eating will be a challenge, so I like the idea of starting off slowly. It is also sooo good to hear that it gets easier off the first week. I think I am going to remind myself of that when it gets hard. Also, now that I am thinking more about it, I might put pictures of baby girl things on the fridge or the pantry to remind me of my goal when I need it the most!

[mindyjean]

I have been on the diet for almost 3 months now, and it is hard. I think you should add back in your coffee--caffiene is the only thing that gets me through these days. (when I was trying to get pregnant from my previous 2 babies, I gave up caffiene because I read it helped fertility and I conceived 2 boys, so there ya go. ). I also give myself permission to lay on the couch at night because I feel like I have zero energy by then. Good luck to you in finding ways to do it!