If you have chronic fatigue or any number of fatigue-related health conditions, you’re probably familiar with energy crashes. Your limbs may feel like lead, it’s hard to keep your eyes open, your brain is in a thick fog, and the thought of doing anything more than lying on the couch seems impossible. But no matter how zombified you feel, you still need to eat, right?
If you’re like me, you’ve probably made some pretty poor food choices when you’re in the midst of an energy crash. Tortilla chips and hummus, cookies, cake, cinnamon rolls, ice cream—basically anything that doesn’t require chopping, heating up, or cooking. Inevitably, I end up feeling even worse after eating like this, which does nothing for my energy.
When you’re dealing with a chronic fatigue crash, your body needs even more care and attention to help it recover.
But how can you give yourself the nourishment you need when your mind, body, and soul are completely tapped out?
At times when cooking just seems too hard, I can always rely on this low-stress meal plan to provide me with well-balanced nutrition without much work or the expense of ordering from Grubhub or DoorDash.
Low-Stress Shopping List
Preparing ahead of time is the most important part of implementing a low-stress meal plan for energy crashes. Keep these items on hand, and you’ll always have whatever you need to make quick, easy, healthy meals and snacks.
- Chocolate protein powder (or your favorite flavor, but I find that chocolate is the most versatile)
- Milk (whatever type you like)
- Ground flaxseed
- Cacao powder
- Rolled oats
- Baby spinach (or your favorite greens like kale or Swiss chard)
- Berries (frozen or fresh)
- Baby carrots
- Celery
- Apples
- Hummus
- Peanut butter (or your favorite nut or seed butter)
- Decaf coffee or herbal coffee
- Herbal tea
- Eggs
- Bread, English muffins, bagels (whichever you like—I prefer Dave’s Killer products or organic bakery bread)
- Healthier frozen meals such as veggie burgers, Amy’s burritos (or other frozen meals), veggie pizzas, or cauliflower mac and cheese
If you find yourself in the middle of an energy crash but haven’t had a chance to stock your fridge and pantry with these items, try to enlist the help of a loved one if you can. Provide this list for them and ask if they’ll shop for you. If you don’t have anyone to shop for you, take advantage of grocery delivery options through Instacart, Shipt, or your local grocery store.
Low-Stress Meal Plan
Everyone has different preferences and dietary restrictions, so allow yourself some flexibility when implementing a low-stress meal plan. I use this plan when I’m having an energy crash, but you don’t have to follow it strictly. Feel free to make modifications so that it works for you.
Breakfast and Lunch
When my energy is low, the last thing I want to worry about is spending a lot of time preparing meals. Smoothies are my top go-to meal for times like this. I make the same smoothie for breakfast and lunch.
Here’s my all-time favorite smoothie recipe:
- ½ cup milk of your choice
- ½ cup water
- 1 serving chocolate protein powder
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp rolled oats
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 1 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 cup fresh or frozen greens
- Handful ice cubes
To make it even easier, I just make a double batch at breakfast time and divide it between two glasses. I put one glass in the fridge, and at lunchtime, I dump that glass back into the blender, add a handful of ice cubes and ½ cup of frozen berries, and blend it up again to refresh it.
Dinner
When you’re feeling drained, you don’t want to stress out over an elaborate dinner. I choose something easy and low-key, which is usually either:
- Eggs and toast/bagel/English muffin
- Frozen meal
If you want to do a little batch cooking, you can make a bunch of hard-boiled eggs at one time. They’re usually good for up to seven days in the fridge. If you’re dealing with a severe crash, you might want to try pre-made hard boiled eggs or egg bites.
Frozen meals are a dream come true when you don’t have the energy or motivation to cook. Just try to choose healthier options whenever possible.
Snacks
If you tend to get hungry between meals, it’s a good idea to have some quick, easy snack options that are also healthy. How often you snack will depend on your individual situation. For example, I’m very sensitive to low blood sugar, so I usually snack twice a day. My favorite snacks for energy crashes are:
- Apple slices with nut butter
- Baby carrots and celery with hummus
You can change up the fruit or veggies used for these snacks. I just try to pick those that are the easiest to prepare. If you’re really struggling, you may want to opt for pre-cut fruits and veggies and single-serve cups of nut butters and hummus.
Drinks
While you might feel like grabbing pre-packaged drinks when you’re tired, most of these are loaded with sugar or caffeine. I typically drink:
- Filtered water
- Decaf coffee or herbal coffee with unsweetened milk/creamer of choice
- Herbal tea
If you plan on having more than one cup of coffee or tea during the day, go ahead and make a larger batch at one time to save yourself some energy. You can always put the extra servings into the fridge and make iced drinks later.
Keeping Meals Simple Saves Energy
So there you have it! There’s nothing fancy needed when you’re trying to feed yourself during a chronic fatigue crash.
The goal is to provide your body with the nutrients it needs while minimizing energy expenditure.
Give the low-stress meal plan a try, make any tweaks needed to fit your preferences, and let me know how it goes! And if you have any tips for healthy eating during energy crashes, please feel free to share. I’m always looking for new ideas to make life with chronic fatigue feel better. 🙂