calling all career folks, manic mums and people who feel crappy - supplements etc

[DaddyCool]

i need advice. i'm trying to juggle my home life with my career. i've been treading water with my career for about two years now since DS was born but now i've got a promotion and i need to step it up a notch. I've got no time for anything like the gym. I work all day, get home to bath DS and put him to bed, then I have dinner and possibly log back on to work from home then go to bed. there is no time for anything!

I feel like crap most days. I don't get enough sleep because of DS's sleeping habits and I need to know what kind of supplements i should be taking. right now I drink alot of strong filter coffee but i don't think that's doing me any of good! my diet is ok at home (plenty of fresh fruit and veg, no crap).

I'm looking for stuff I can consume at work. i'm thinking of substituting my coffee for green tea and i'm thinking of taking vitamin supplements and ginsang stuff or whatever. I'm not an expert on this. anyone out there who is?? Basically i need anything that will provide a boost but still be legal and healthy.

The more I think about it, DC, the less use I think supplements really are. Like WWW says, you need more sleep, less coffee, more water, more exercise...and probably less booze (honestly) and BREAKFAST.

do you drink?

best thing dh and I ever did was give up drinking in the week - loads more energy

Yes, I agree, giving up booze in the week = more energy, definitely. And you may lose weight (no idea if you need to)!

Transcendental Meditation on the train! (no good if you drive to work of course)

I have recently been substituting my usual morning cup of tea(s) with a cup of hot water with the juice of a lemon, pinch of salt and teaspoon of honey in it. It's fabulous! Read about it in some supplement and can't remember why it is supposed to work (each ingredient kickstarts something or other) but it seems to be doing the trick for me, really wakes me up.

Also, as many others have said, cutting out / down on the booze is a real winner.

and porridge. with fruit in it if you can be bothered.

i agree with many/most of these points re sleep, caffeine etc.

however, it does remind me of a conversation i had a while ago. about 2 1/2 yrs ago i decided the only way to kick-start an exercise regime was to raid our savings to fund some sessions with a personal trainer. i found i achieved small but measureable improvements in fitness, flexibility and muscle tone quite quickly. despite this, i never found my energy levels were any better. in fact, i had to get up even earlier to fit the training sessions in and it was just one more thing to juggle and fit in. anyway, i discussed this with my trainer. he paused and thought it over for a while, then said, "you know, your life is just tiring".

not that i disagree with more exercise, sleep etc but hey you know sometimes our lives are just tiring.

Do you know, BK, I was trying to say something along those lines earlier but couldn't sum it up, which you've done perfectly.

Thing is, I do find that all the other stuff helps make one feel worse.

Decrease your caffeine level slowly though or you'll end up feeling worse. The Half Caf stuff is good to start with. Water is great but it is hard to motivate yourself to drink enough of the stuff. I also have a tub of nuts & dried fruit in my desk at work for when I get the nibbles & I always take one of the probiotic yog drinks in with me.
Mind you I still feel knackered !

mi, i agree, i think we should all try and get rid of the energy sappers such as caffeine, sugar, late nights etc - i just think life with small kids is plain knackering, end of story!

can't believe i spelled measurable wrong before

no booze? nnnoooooo!

thanks for the advice. caffeine is now officially off my morning routine. i'm sitting here drinking green tea and feeling rather sorry for my self because i have man-flu today but i'll post another thread on that....