Need Energy to Keep Up

When I'm really dragging, I opt for a small glass of Pepsi Maxx. Normally, I just try to eat right, fit a little exercise in (even if it's just 10 mins), & get enough sleep. I know it's easier said than done. I found that when I don't drink the Pepsi Maxx daily, I'm ok if I have some V8 Infusions fruit juice because it gives something like 8 servings of fruit/veggies in an 8oz glass.

I am home full (with a 4 y.o. and 16 month old) and I feel like that a lot of the time too. I imagine that eating better and getting a little more sleep would help but I wouldn't know from experience! It is hard to have the energy and motivation to make changes when you are already exhausted. I have got as far as taking a multivitaman and B complex for energy.

I get more help from my husband (and actually most other people too) when I give him very specific jobs, especially if it is not something he usually does. He is a bright guy and usually helpful but sometimes totally clueless.

My 4 year old can be very demanding of attention but he is also satisfied by small stuff like 5 minutes of playing cars, playing play dough or some simple craft at the table when I am in the kitchen. As long as I am talking to him it helps.

1) take a few minutes (doesn't have to be a 1/2 hr) before you get home to breathe
2) get the men to clean up after themselves
3) plan to spend time with the baby/4 yr old, and have hubby make dinner and roommate clean up or vice-versa. After all day with the kids, hubby will probably be happy for the break. You do bath, etc so you get to spend time with the tykes
4) focus the weekends on the kids. Plan to enjoy the heck out of them for those two days - forget the house.
5) and here's the big one - if you can do it - see if you can work 1 day a week from home. Just one day without the commute will seem like heaven.

stop cleaning up after the men!!! if hubby is watching the kids, he needs house duties as well. is roomie paying 'maid service' as well as rent? do either work? you might have more energy if you weren't cleanng up after the big kids.

There may be lots of reasons behind your fatigue including the obvious ones that you are commuting a long way to/from work and working a full time job on top of taking care of your family & home. If you have not gotten a full body physical check-up in the past year, I agree with others to get yourself checked by a doctor to rule out any health issues. And you are probably not eating regularly and/or the healthiest that you possibly can due to time constraints. So I highly recommend that you take a good vitamin supplement since you are probably not getting what your body needs to function at her peak performance. I am taking one now (& I have asthma) and I got to tell you it gives me lots of energy (I don't take afternoon naps anymore) and I feel great and I don't get sick as much as I used to and they guarantee absorption and antioxidant protection with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Feel free to e-mail me at ____@____.com if you like more info (No, I don't sell them, but love them). :-) Take care and hope I will have the chance to help you further.

Take a good b-complex vitamin and have your iron checked. If it is low, take a good multi that has iron in it, along with the b-complex vitamin. Drink lots of water (no pop or energy drinks) and get 30 minutes of walking in a day. I take Anabolic Laboratorie's Tri-B plex and Aved Multi. I can tell a huge difference when I take them and when I do not.

I think its time for vitamins to come into the picture. You are wearing yourself thin. Take B12,C,Folic Acid, Ecchineccia (only 1wk. then off a wk. then back on) You could also be borderline nemic yourself. Get some iron pills as well. Don't take more than 2per day. Some ppl. find that they cause constipation. If with 2 you find this happening only take 1 a day. You can even try one of those boost energy drinks. They do boost you unless your a coffee drinker because they are basically made with caffeine. I wish you the best, try this for about a month. If it doesn't work its' time to see the good ole' Dr.
Good luck and I hope you get your energy up. Take care!!

I don't have any great solutions for you, but my sister (mom of 5) just recently started making and drinking green smoothies. I haven't tried it yet, but plan on trying it after I get back from vacation. Apparently people swear by them in terms of energy and overall health. Here's a website to check out...www.greensmoothiequeen.com
Good luck--I feel your pain.

First, check with your doctor and make sure you are not Hypo-Thyroid.

Second, here are two products that sent my energy off the charts after years of slugging around.
Multivitamin Strip:
http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...
Energizing Protein Shake (drink one or two a day):
http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...

You will be amazed!

If you've ruled out medical cause and diet... and you're "just" exhausted from a long day... here's the best trick I know of:

Go ALMOST home. Stop somewhere (within 2-5 minutes of home, or you'll have to drive, which negates the whole thing). Coffee Shop, bookstore, restaurant, wherever. Stay there for 20-30 minutes and do nothing. Read, goof of on your laptop, call a girlfriend, read the paper, whatever you would do when you got home if you could. Use their restroom to change out of your work clothes and into something ELSE. (Why IS it that work clothes feel so different from street clothes?). Wash your face. Get your UMPH! and your grins back!!

Then go home, excited instead of exhausted, and give your hubby the same treatment. Literally say "Baby, go take half an hour to yourself, I got this". You'll be so much more energized for having taken a little time for yourself that you'll be able to walk in the door and hand-off immediately and even WANT to (instead of the "but-i-needa-come-home-from-work-and-relax-for-a-few-minutes!!! wail... c'mon we've all done it, mentally or out loud). Which HE will appreciate bigtime since he hasn't even had the peace and quite of being alone in a car for an hour.

As each of you consistently start getting that peace and quiet each and every single day... you'll wonder how on earth you ever got on without it.

((BTW... I know hundreds of couples now who do this, and sooooooo many of them tried to "do the same thing but at home"... and I only know one couple who it worked for. Here's why: The moment the working spouse comes home, the sahs hear's the "bell". It's like being forced to sit in class and wait after everyone else goes to lunch. It's 1000 times as hard/ boring/ exhausting to be "on" when you're watching someone else on break. So the sahs gets resentful, even if they get their break afterward. But when the WS takes their 30 minutes of me-time elsewhere (as long as it doesn't turn into some ridiculous 1-4 hours), the moment the WS gets home is a flood of relief.))

I felt just like you when the kids were small. I had three kids and that was why the doctor said I was so tired that I fell asleep reading to them at night, and seemed to need a nap in the afternoon. But actually it was a combination of things - a little depression, some disappointment in how my life was turning out, and nutritional imbalances, all causing Chronic Fatigue. Not so bad that I couldn't get out of bed, but so bad that when I took the kids to the park, all I could do was watch.

I eventually went to a nutritionist/chiropractor who gave me a simple diet and testd me for food allergies and nutritional deficiencies. The results have been amazing! It took several months (no quick fix) but now I have the energy to live my life, and gets lots done.

Since then I have found the book, The UltraMind Solution, by Dr. Mark Hyman, that includes just about all the information that my nutritionist tested for. Give it a try! If you are self motivated, his plan will work for you. If you are like me, and need a kick in the butt to stay on track, find a practitioner.

Good luck as you find your energy.

I know that you have heard this before but here it goes.
Eat lots of fruits and veggies. If you don't like to eat alot of those then try Juice Plus. ( contact me if you want more info on that ).
Drink alot of water to clean out your system.
Stop with the coffee and tea.
Don't smoke.
And gets lots of exercise. ( I know, I know - how do you exercise when you have no time and you are tired )?
Well you got to make time for it.

I wish you the best.

Welcome to motherhood. You can find a job closer to home. If husband
is watching kids, why can't he keep the house up? Ditch the roommate.
Get a cleaning person once a week. Possibly your priorities need to
change. Kids first. Then house.

Get a great vitamin, I use a liquid vitamin daily. Also found two great DVD's for energy and fitness which only use 30 minutes of your time for each workout "AM/PM Yoga" or "AM/PM ThaiChi". These make all the difference in my busy world and will definitely help you.

I would get my thyroid tested. This my be difficult because the "normal" curve for thyroid is broad. B complex helps a lot. Amino acid complex is also good.

Mominneed, you must be reading the page to my book. Your story sounds exactly like mine. I work full time 1 hr away too and have a 4yr old and baby. I was just thinking to myself, I am going to pass out one day and then they just pick me up and bury me. No sense in saying have a better diet, because who is going to prepare that...oh yeah, me with no energy. I could buy it really, but who has the money to throw away like that. This is what I do and it's rare - go in the bathroom and hide for 15mins, lol, then when you hear your son calling, pretend you're running away from him, he will crack up thinking you are playing and before you know it, you have just released the tension in something called exercise, he's happy, you're pooped and you get to rest. Seriously though, I have yet to find the answer because it's non stop...maybe a good scream will actually buy you some energy :-))

You don't need more energy, you already have more then most mothers. You need more help! Tell the room mate to clean up after himself or learn to live in the mess. (BTW There is no such thing as a "normal messy male". He's just being lazy because he knows he has you to clean up after him! Stop being an enabler!) Tell hubby he has to take care of the baby so you can spend time with the 4 yer old. Just a half hour a day will do wonders for both of you! As for the housework...you have 2 grown adults in the house besides yourself. Assign them chores to do. They can take out the garbage, vacuum/sweep the floor, wash dishes or load the dishwasher. They can also get up with the baby once in a while during the night. They can even do some of the laundry. Time to put your foot down. Tell the 2 males in the house that you are taking the kids out to play or for a walk while they get their chores done. Girl, you already work one full time job! You don't need a second full time job!

I am in the same boat. I work an hour away and am earning a degree online.
I find that if I make a list of what I want to do for the day and times and stick to it as much as I can, I am not worn out.

If you have people staying at home while you work, it's their responsibility to do the clean ups. Set a certain time and schedule for the day for your family to follow. (TV time-8-10am, clean-up 10-11:30am, lunch 12-1pm...etc.)

That seems to work at my house...with a 4 year old an a 17 year old...lol.

Best time to be w son is when u first get home--take a walk for energy! Walk around the block and make a counting game (count yellow things u see, or let him decide) or once in a while arrange a playdate for him for an hour when u get home so u can rest then when u go get him, have 1 hour alone time daily!
I am so tired too. And our baby is waking all night lately post-surgery (tonsils) so I really want me-time but its all temporary so do whatever u can!