Does this sound like malnutrition?

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Especially this past week it has gotten worse. I feel really tired and want to sleep way too much, yet I still have my insomnia and I end up sleeping during daylight hours. I am fatigued during the day most of the time, and I actually have fallen asleep several times at work in the past few weeks, including today. And it's not like I have a desk job, I'm sanding/finishing wood, standing all day except at break (at least I'm supposed to be). I fell half asleep many times while standing, and I've fallen totally asleep sitting on a table last week, and in the bathroom today. And the summer heat is making it much worse I think. I'm staying very hydrated but that doesn't seem to be the issue.

I also have appetite fluctuations. I'm either not hungry, or I suddenly feel painfully hungry (but then I can't eat as much as I try to). This is usually day to day, today being a day where I feel painfully hungry, almost in a way that makes me nauseous. Then there are days where I eat very little (around 300 calories maybe, possibly almost none).

I don't know why I didn't consider this until now, but maybe the reason I'm always so tired is because of my diet. Not that I'm eating the wrong things, just that I'm not eating very much. I've pretty much maintained my weight for the past couple years so I figured that couldn't be it, but maybe I was wrong. Considering how much I've slept for the past couple days I shouldn't be tired but I am still exhausted.

And this brings me to the next part of the problem, which is how to fix it. I don't have a lot of extra money for food, but I think it is mainly just that I don't find time to make food and even just take care of myself in general. It's always an afterthought. Like, "Oh, I haven't eaten anything all day, I should probably at least have a cup of milk." It's just hard for me to make time and plan for things like meals, hygiene etc. I know that probably seems weird but in my mind they aren't a priority. I just want to do other things. This has always been a problem for me, as a kid up until I was about 9 I wouldn't even make time out of my activities to go to the bathroom IN the bathroom.

My stepmom always had me make my own school lunches and I never had anything except ramen noodles, every single day that was my lunch. In retrospect I wonder how my parents didn't think that maybe it wasn't very good that I only had one cup of ramen and then dinner every day (no time for breakfast of course). Maybe that's why I've been so tired all this time.

I guess what I'm asking is, what do I do? I mean, even if this isn't why I'm so tired, now that I really look at my habits, this can't be good for me. But I've tried to be better at it before and I just can't. Same as always

I too get involved with things and postpone eating longer than I should. This results in unstable blood sugar levels which can cause me to lose energy. Or, when I do eat, if it is on a too empty stomach I will feel ok for a while but can then experience a reactionary blood sugar crash which puts me in even worse shape.

If I add caffeine to the above scenario every becomes worse and it f*cks up my sleep cycle. So the next day I am tired and the whole messed-up spiral can continue.

So based on what you describe, if I were experiencing that here are some things I might try to do:

- Eat a reasonably high protein, low or no sugar something every 3-4 hours. I would shoot for about 500 calories and, say, 15 or more grams of protein.

- Avoid using caffeine as a substitute for eating. No caffeine after, say, 3pm or so.

Good luck!