How did you beat ‘tired all the time’?

[SallyRabbit]

Hello,

I’m 43, about to be 44. I work funny hours and have 3 children so I’m busy and only work out once a week - if that. I’m exhausted ALL THE TIME. I realise I can’t expect to have the energy I did at 20, or even 30, but I would love a BIT more energy. It cannot be like this from now until I’m dead!

Now I know that healthy food, exercise and decent sleep is a massive part of it - and I know I am really rubbish at that. I cook healthy meals for the kids and then use biscuits to give me an energy boost (although not overweight). But I’d love some inspiration please ladies - can you tell me what change you made and how much of a difference it made to your energy levels?

I wish I believed in alt medicine - I’d love a big dose of placebo I really believed in!!

So not just ‘try eating healthily’ but what you specifically changed and how it affected your life. Inspire me please!

Thanks x

Yes drink more water as mentioned above

What helped for me was to level out my hormones by taking a new mini pill (called Slynd).

and I’ve also found as I’ve gotten older that I need more quiet time to rest and recharge. I work part time and make an effort to chill out/read a book.

Im 40 and found my energy really dropped from about 38.

Ask for full bloods to be done and then go from there , don’t take supplements until you’ve had them , could
also be peri , make sure your getting quality sleep also this is a factor in everything.

I’m 31 and I feel the same as you. I have two young children and haven’t slept properly in over 2 years, so I do put it down to that.
How old are your children? It’s just so exhausting being a mum and doing everything else.

Echoing other posters definetly get a blood test. I was abnormally exhausted a few months ago, I assumed it would be low vitamin d but it turned out to be low phosphate levels.

As a first port of call I would recommend asking for a standard round of blood tests for thyroid, HbA1C and iron.

Only reason I say it is that back in August 2024 I finally discovered my bone crushing tiredness was due to being T2 diabetic.

If they come back ok then the main things would be:

• quality sleep, so making sure you have decent curtains, a good pillow, you have a short period of downtime before bed without screens and maximise the quality of whatever sleep you get.
• Water or whatever clear fluid you like. I have flavoured water because it’s the only way I’ll actually drink it. 2 lts a day or thereabouts.
• switch out some of your carb sides for green veg, so instead of potatoes: rice do a steamfresh veg bag or roast some tender stem broccoli. You don’t need to go carb free but reducing can help make you feel less heavy and give you less sugar spikes which make you feel tired.

Team Blood Tests here. You've had lots of other good advice on this thread too OP, but get your levels of iron and Vit D in particular checked.

Get a blood panel, and push for specialist review. Things GP’s think are ‘normal’ can be optimised. For example, my thyroid was deemed fine by GP, but i knew otherwise, and endocrinologist agreed it was quite sub optimal and resulting treatment made a huge difference.

What transformed my life energy wise, has been the marina coil. I can't believe how good I feel on it. Also what are your ferritin levels? To feel good, they should be over 60, but NHS don't treat unless under 15. NICE guidelines recommend treating over 30. I had the marina coiled fitted in August last year, my ferritin is up, as take iron tablets, periods have pretty much stopped, I've got fit, sleep like a log and am retraining in a tiring profession. I wish I had done it years ago. Before this I tried all sorts, which costs loads and didn't work.

Reading this thread with interest as I have done all the right things & am still tired all the time particularly at certain times of my cycle.

I am terrified about my boobs getting even bigger on HRT though, they did when I went on the pill as a teen & it put my off.

I had this in my 40’s. Turned out my iron level was 7 which is apparently quite low. I’ve been taking iron tablets for a few years now and can tell the difference. I also had a few other symptoms that didn’t seem like much but turned out they were related and now I don’t have them either! 😀

Get your levels checked. When I was seriously fatigued, it was my iron levels.

I take vitamin d, and vitamin k to help with the absorption of vitamin d, mnm, iron and collagen.

The biggest thing that helped me was diet - eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, protein (you need more than you think, but not necessarily just meat), and avoiding added sugar as much as possible. This also helped with cravings for those foods which are actually energy saps. One of my favourite snacks in cottage cheese mixed with vanilla bean paste (please don't com3 at me 🤣) and chopped strawberries and blueberries. Tasty, protein-rich and good for fibre.

And going to the gym.

I’ve had low iron and low vitamin D at different times and a supplement made a huge difference to my energy levels in both cases. So get your bloods checked just in case

Thought of something else. At your age I was on HRT patches (due to early menopause). Switched to oegstrogen gel and progesterone tablet before bed, which has a soporific effect and, OMG, I now have the deepest sleep of my life and it has made a huge difference to my energy levels. I just assumed I was a crap sleeper before that and would be forever

What’s helped me:

• mini pill
• cutting out sugar completely including most fruit
• cutting out carbs where possible, although not full keto
• doing less

Get yourself checked for VitD deficiency, B12 (pernicious anaemia). Other than that, you've already answered your own question; eat decent food, sleep enough, and exercise.

I'm currently on Mounjaro and have found my energy levels (mental and physical) are significantly increased since I started.

I hear you!

Definitely get bloods done and levels checked, even if just to rule out anything.

But by far the biggest thing for me to boost energy has been moving more. My exercise and general movement dropprd dramatically 18 months ago after a knee injury and surgery, even after recovery, i didn't get back to any regalar exwevise habits again until about 3 months ago, when I realised after getting a fitbit just how little I was moving. Anyway, more walking and now a regular weightlifting class and I feel SO much better. Still more to go, but moving more means my sleep has impoved too.

HRT has helped a bit too esp with sleep, but not transformational for me.

Also in winter, getting daylight before 10am is important for good sleep rythms. Def helps me.

Good luck!

For me (45) it was a perimenopause symptom. A month on HRT and I feel like my old self again. I'm not saying that's the case for you, but it's worth considering. In hindsight I've been like it for several years.

I’m a registered nutritionist. Some of the advice in here is good and may well be what you are looking for but before you start taking random supplements you DEFINITELY need to have proper blood tests done to look at all the key markers that could be playing into this. Taking certain things like iron ‘just in case’ it’s that is not recommended as your body does not excrete it and high levels can be problematic. Also (and obviously I would say this!), you can’t underestimate the importance of a good diet (both in terms of nutrients and adequate caloric intake), a proper sleep schedule, stress management etc. if you have the means to work with a professional who can look at where you are with all these and help to create a proper plan off the back of blood tests then it would be useful.