Energy!! - Kansas City,MO

Good morning M.!

Yes, please send me an email @ ____@____.com and I'll tell you all about it!

Thanks, Latisha

Take a good multi-vitamin, drink lots of water, turn off the TV and go to bed earlier. I don't think there are any healthy short-cuts to energy.

Take a shower and get dressed first thing in the morning so you are ready for what the day brings. Get through your exam first, THEN worry about exercise and housework.

I would let the housework slide or make some housework (like putting laundry away or picking up toys) into a game so that you are spending time with the kids AND getting something done. Put on some music and make it a dance party while you do the dishes....whatever works! Just prioritize and remember it doesn't all have to be perfect all the time.

I would encourage you to quit drinking pop, it's terrible for you and had the opposite effect you are looking for. Google "high fructose corn syrup", which is what pop (and lots of other sweet products) are made from. And if you drink diet, it's also got the fake sugars (sucrolose, aspertame, etc.) in it, also terrible for you. Try drinking organic green tea, using tea bags. Be careful, many of the canned/bottled versions have lots of sugar. Lipton green tea, has the HFCS and fake sugars.
It sounds like you are exercising, which is great and so important. Have you tried yoga?
I would also recommend finding a chiropractor who also specializes in nutrition and supplements. Most of the vitamins you find at the local stores are made from chemicals. A lot of chiro's sell whole food vitamins (I use Standard Process). A chiro that also does accupuncture would be better. They can do amazing things naturally w/o using chemicals. Drink lots of water and try to eat more fruits and veggies vs. processed foods. Organic as much as possible!
Do you eat breakfast? SOOOO important! Eat something high in protein and fiber. Kashi makes a great cereal, GO Lean which is a high protein/fiber cereal. Or a piece of whole wheat toast with a bit of PB&J. Or even a protein shake. And try to have healthy snacks during the day, eating every 3 hours or so. This will boost your metabolism and energy.

A great thing I found to help expedite laundry... I bought a bunch of small laundry baskets, enough to sort all the laundry, each load in own basket. So for example, I have a basket for darks, lights, delicates, jeans, etc. And as dirty close come off of anyone, they go straight into the appropriate basket. So you can see when you have a load ready, and it's easy to take it and put it in the washer. It makes it easy to do at least one load per day, and stay on top of it!
Lastly, don't sweat the small stuff. Who cares if your house is a mess? Don't miss out on the important things to clean the house or make the bed, it will just be cluttered again tomorrow anyway!

Good luck!

I read that you think you need energy, but perhaps you ought to consider doing less. Life isn't about how much we get done but how much time we spend with those we love. Your baby is still so tiny, and you still need to rest and let your body recover from pregnancy and birth.

Personally, I'm not for the drinks or things you take in any form but what about friends helping you out so you could rest or spend some time relaxing or doing what you'd like. Do you have a church and anyone who would give you a break regularly? Or maybe a teen who would watch the kids while they don't need you to feed and give you some time even there in the house alone or reading or whatever? It's not going to last forever and when the baby is a bit older it will seem much less tiring. I know what those late hours of work are like when your husband is gone so much and you are there so many long hours alone. Get a friend over or go there to their house. Or go to a mall and let the 4 yr. old play on the things there in the mall like at the Great Mall. I think you need a person there or go to them for support. You are still recovering from the birth and adjusting to another baby, etc. so it is tiring and drains you for a bit. Don't worry about doing anything you can let go for a while. Later when the baby sleeps more and is a bit older you can deep clean, etc., etc. Just do necessities now.

I know for my the multivitamin one a day for women plus energy worked for me. My only drawback was having to take w/ food b/c I wouldn't always remember to do that and it upset my stomach and sometime upset my stomach.

Good Morning M.. Sorry I had to stop this morning to get gr son to school.
I use these vitamins, 2 daily Super B Complex(converts food to energy), 1 daily Vit D-3 for bone health, 1 Chewable Vit C for immune system. None of them make you crash. I use the Spring valley brand at Wally World. Oops I also take 3 Omega 3 fish oil gel caps for cholesterol. Keep them in the freezer and there is no fish taste.

Hope this helps some
God Bless you
K. Nana of 5

1st of all, your youngest is only 2.5months?? Of course, you're tired! And you have a 4y.o., working, studying.... please!!! How do you even get out of bed???

Kudos to you for being a SuperMom! That said, with all sincerity...I truly recommend that you find time daily for a walk...around the block, on a treadmill....whichever works best. You will find that once you make time for this - you will benefit physically & emotionally! You will find that extra bit of stamina & brain power....+ it will increase your health exponentially.

I am dead serious on this....find this time for yourself & you will immediately see an improvement in the quality of your life....without adding caffeine, pop, or supplements! Vitamins are great, a healthier diet is even better...but all else is really unnecesssary! Good Luck.

i hear you on the whole lack of energy thing. i have noticed that the 5 hr energy drinks work for me with out any crash after ward. (grape flavored is the least offensive tasting imo)but the biggest thing that helps me is to have my bedroom temp at 68-70 degrees when i sleep. i know that sounds awfully cold, but it make the little sleep i do get more restful and productive. my husband hates the cold, but he also prefers to have the room colder when we sleep. good luck to u.

Let me introduce you to a natural way of getting energy check out the website. I was in pain for 10 years and now i am not and I have more energy and sleep better at night. painfreebody.cieaura.com

It sounds like you need more sleep. Can you hire someone to come in a couple of hours a day and watch the little ones while you nap? Or can you nap when they nap? Or what about family members helping out for a bit until your exam is over? I'm worried about you tyring to do too much. In the office that I work in we had a lady janitor tell me that she use to be an executive for a major company (yes, this was the janitor telling me this!)and that she was very career minded but set on being an excellent mom to her two children as well. She ended up having a nervous breakdown. She was hospitalized and had the doctor who was treating her tell her that it is very commom for women to have nervous breakdowns because they try and do too much. They want to give everyone 100% and that just isn't possible. He told her that most women don't talk about it to other women. She was cleaning my office one day and noticed that I was working at a rushed paced (we're a very busy office) and she noticed the pictures of my children on my desk and felt compelled to warn me about the dangers of trying to do to much. I'm forever grateful to her even though I never go the chance to tell her - she works the night shift now so I don't get to see her but I just wanted to pass that info along. Also, drinking alot of cafeine can lead to anxiety attacks (I've had plenty). I still drink coffee but only 1 cup a day. Your body is telling you that you need to rest....listen to it...it knows best.

M.,
I am right there with you! The energy drinks have drawbacks. But without them I just don't have the motivation to do all I need to do. It's all about rationing, not drinking them too fast or too many. I've been practicing and sometimes wish I had a slow IV drip LOL!

Seriously though, one thing that helps is to find 30 minutes when the chilren are asleep to lay back and listen to relaxatin/meditation tapes with headphones on. It really helps me to sleep better in the short times I do get to sleep. I can get more sleep in the 4 or 5 hours after doing a meditation CD than I could in 8 or 9 hours of fitful sleep where I wake up every few minutes. The hard part is having any energy to actually listen to the CD without just falling immediately to sleep. Sometimes I do the meditation during the day when I can get some help with the kids for awhile. It makes a HUGE difference. If I were you, I'd consider eating snacks at my desk if possible and doing the mediation over lunch.

Suzi

Exercise!! I know you have don't have much time, I am in the same boat as you. I work full time outside of the home, my hubby works nights, we have 3 kids - ages 20 mos. to 8 years. I get up an hour early 3-4 days a week and workout in the mornings, before anyone else is up. It's hard to drag my butt out of bed some mornings (especially the really cold winter ones!) but it does so much for your energy levels. I don't do energy drinks or pills or any of that stuff. I do take a multi-vitamin every night at bed time. Your body responds so much better to exercise, it's natural and it's healthy! All you need is 30 minutes a day, after the first week you will get used to feeling better than ever and you will be motivated to get up earlier. It also helps you sleep better at night, you may want to go to bed earlier in the evenings. Sometimes you just have to let things slide during the week and catch up on the weekends - like laundry, grocery shopping, etc. Good luck!!