The moments you realise you need a steak.

We’re a pretty resilient bunch, us ladies.

There’s a lot we can soldier through and plenty of things we can bounce back from.

But – news flash, if you hadn’t already realised – that interminable feeling of exhaustion, the kind that threatens to overwhelm so many of us if we so much as blink for a second too long, that is not normal.

One in three women aren’t getting enough iron, and the symptoms of not having enough iron can be easily mistaken for busy-life-syndrome.

Tired, grumpy, drained of physical and mental energy.

Those feelings ring a bell for most of us. So when we recognise these moments in ourselves we need to consider whether we’re getting enough beef – and the protein, iron, zinc and magnesium that comes with it – in our diets.

These are the moments that might trigger a realisation that your exhaustion isn’t temporary. And these are the moments you realise you need a steak.

1. That second, third, fourth – oh, let’s be honest – tenth press of the snooze button.

My alarm tunes have turned many of my favourite songs into borderline torture devices I’ve had to hear them that many bloody times. Spice Girls Spice Up Your Life – never, ever again. I can skip my morning work out because sitting up to hit snooze so many times is basically exercise. But when I’m lying there so inexplicably exhausted, I consider that this feeling might not be normal.

2. The walk/limp/jog as you attempt to flag down your bus down the street.

Yes, I see you. You, all smug on the bus, staring out the graffiti-laden window with eyes full of judgment… and pity. I’m that poor sod who has routinely mistimed her morning routine (all of that snoozing, probably) and ends up doing an awkward Kath and Kim style powerwalk in an attempt to flag down the oncoming bus in time. It’s the moment you struggle to mutter thank you to the driver without busting a lung, that you realise your energy is not what it used to be.

3. The second set of office stairs.

When the elevator is out of order again (seriously, is it Michelle Bridges backed conspiracy?!), the fire stairs beckon. After the first few steps you’re wondering why you were daunted in the first place – You. Are. Killing. It. But as you round the first corner for the second set your heart rate could be mistaken for an oncoming herd of elephants. That’s the moment you realise how drained you feel.

4. The mid-afternoon slump.

Precisely 3:30pm is when hamburgers start dancing across my computer screen. It’s around the time I accidentally throw my phone in the bin rather than the tissue I intended. It’s the twilight zone when regrettable ‘reply all’ emails get sent. It’s when I look back on everything I ate that day, and the days prior, and struggle to remember the last time I ate red meat.

5. The post-work couch collapse.

With the rest of the afternoon passing in a blur, the couch is the soft, fluffy light at the end of the rapidly darkening tunnel. Save a few seconds to whip off my bra and shoes, I’m face first on the couch once I’m in the door. And that’s a position I’m likely to stay in until I can repeat a similar contortion in bed. When I’m considering developing crane contraption to get me from room to room, that’s when I realise I need to re-evaluate my shopping list.

6. When the first glass of Friday night vino is poured.

Despite a six a day coffee habit and some explicit groaning when you’re forced to pick something off the ground – sometimes it takes something really obvious to make your realise you need a steak. You might not realise your insatiable need until you’re hit with that aroma of a thoroughly caramelised, medium rare eye fillet. With an accompanying glass of Pinot.

Someone get me a towel, I’m drooling.

When do you feel like a steak?