I dont know if there is even an answer to this - I totally stumped them in Holland & Barratt today.

Note, if suggesting stuff, please dont suggest USA-only brandnames, I cant afford the airfare to fly across the Atlantic to go shopping. Instead please suggest generic things.

Right, I have been expanding a bit around the waistline in the past year or two and I am getting a bit fed up with it. I dont eat sweets/fast-food or such trash, its all healthy, home made and organic. However I burn energy like its going out of style, have a very high metabolism, and have to eat three meals a day otherwise I loose energy and just end up a lethargic zombie and cant get everything done. I dont however crave food or "comfort eat", and I dont even "snack" very often.

I dont think I can cram much more activity into my life, so please dont suggest I take up "walking to the shops" or something. I dont sit and watch TV other than a bit of a DVD film for half an hour before bed on the rare evenings I am even at home.  I am a supply teacher (of theatre), I run a community theatre company, act in shows with them and other groups, do martial arts, sword dancing/stunting, stage combat, bellydancing, hiking, swimming (in the sea-in the summer, I dont go in chemically pools), gardening, LARP (in the woods, that puts in a good 10 miles on a weekend day of racing around) I dont have a car and cant afford the bus a lot so I walk most places, I am doing a masters degree part time as well, and spend my time zooming from pillar to post all day.

So really I am wondering either:
1) is there some natural suppliment that I can take that boosts my energy but not my waistline, (ginseng and yeast have had no effect, I tried those) allowing me to reduce standard meal sizes,
Or
2) is there some natural suppliment that helps you avoid getting plump, but also a product that doesnt reduce my energy and doesnt increase my metabolism yet further (that was the issue that stumped them in H&B today, as its very high already).

I have a physically demanding job at a kennel. This coming Tuesday I have to work a double shift- that's twelve hours on my feet with two 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute break between shifts. And I have to wake up at 5:20 AM. But my real problem is this: I have ulcerative colitis. That means eating a hearty, energizing breakfast of eggs, whole wheat toast, and fruit is kind of out of the question (normally I eat a single English muffin with peanut butter and jelly), as is caffeine (the most I ever have is a small cup of green tea).

Does anyone have suggestions regarding:

1. how to adjust my sleep schedule or otherwise fall asleep earlier than 10pm the night before? I really don't want to take sleeping pills, but 7 hours of sleep is nowhere near enough for me, especially with that kind of a day ahead of me. Have any of you had luck with any teas? I've heard that exercising and showering before bed can wake you up rather than help you sleep. Is that true? What about yoga?
2. breakfast, lunch, and snacks? Should I eat the hearty breakfast I mentioned above, risking the potential flare ups it may trigger, perhaps safeguarding with immodium? Speaking of which, are there any natural alternatives to immodium that I am unaware of? I've been thinking about trail mix for my snack breaks. I should be able to handle the nuts. But what about lunch? I'm thinking a sandwich is easiest- what are some low-fiber sandwich ingredients that will give me the most energy?
3. staying awake? I'm never going to touch an energy drink in my life, and caffeine pills sound far from appealing. I've never been a coffee drinker, but green tea simply isn't going to cut it, and I don't even know that black tea will. I'm really hoping that Dunkin Donuts coffee isn't my only option

Any suggestions are GREATLY appreciated.

Hey Everyone,
So I am a greeny for sure and into healthy living. But my diet seems to be lacking a bit, I live in a family where health foods are not really a high priority. I can deal with this for a little while but I begin to feel so sluggish and sick, like my body is telling me "whoa give me a salad or something". I'm not exactly rolling in $$, what are some  healthy things I can eat or drink daily to maybe serve as a pick-me-up if you will?
Thanks,
Missy

For any of the following:

1. Ear infections. I've had one for several weeks and it isn't going away despite treatment with antibiotic ear-drops. I really don't want to go on an oral antibiotic like Z-PAK.

2. Asmtha/lung pain/difficulty breathing. Even something weird, I'll try it.

3. General fatigue and weariness. I feel like my body is trying to fight off a ton of stuff right now (I just had a cold after the ear infection) in addition to dealing with my usual allergies and it's wearing me out.

Any advice or guidance is appreciated. Yes, I am seeing a doctor, but would like to see if you all have answers that don't involve antibiotics out the wazoo. I seem to be having a lot of 'general yuckiness' health problems since the new year.

Thank you!

What are your suggestions for supplements and foods for energy?

I can't really consume that much vitamin C, and I've been feel sluggish lately.

Thank you!

I tried looking in memories for this, but couldn't seem to find anything that worked for me, so maybe ya'll can help me. For the past month I have been beyond tired, I get 8 hours of sleep most of the time and still wake up tired. I started working out two months ago and now go to the gym 4-5 times a week (which I didn't before, so not sure if this is causing some of the issues). I am also currently on prozac and xanax, plus I take a multi and started taking a B complex mid day to see if that will offset being tired. (I typically crash at about 4). Is there anything you can recommend, food wise, vitamins, whatever......I just need something to freakin work at this point!!

Thanks.

oh yeah....I went to my regular DR to see if anything was wrong, did blood work....whole 9 yards...everything came back fine.

Alright, I posted a few days ago about constant fatigue.  To try to battle it, I have:

-Gotten treatment for my bp2 through prozac, acupuncture, and have recently started therapy
-Tried fiddling with my diet
-Started biking and hiking
-Started taking supplements, including a multivitamin (with iron), vitamin D, B-12, Omega-3's, and acai

And now, I am ready for the next step in this:  looking to hormones.

I know I've had problems with being tired constantly before.  It's how I originally got a diagnosis of depression (which later morphed into bp 2).  But now, thinking back, I think things might have gotten exponentially worse after Nov 2007, when I swapped out my birth control seasonale for Mirena, an IUD.  Please note, I pushed buttons to get the IUD, as in, I've never had a kid but they gave it to me anyway.

Anyone else have experience with this?  How might each affect hormones?  Can hormones be supplimented in this case, or should I prepare myself for IUD removal?  Does anyone have information on birth control methods and estrogen dominance?

I'm going to try to make an appt with my doc next week to test hormone levels and discuss the IUD, but I wanted to be armed with as much info and as many questions as possible.

I have been absolutely exhausted the past month, to the point that all I want to do is sleep. I'm looking for natural ways to boost my energy levels and came across this article on making an infusion from nettles and drinking it several times per week. I'm looking for a local source for dried nettles but wanted to ask here if anyone has tried this or had any experience with nettles for this reason?

What are some of your other favorite energy boosters?

Right now I drink coffee to keep me awake during the day which works great. But at night, sometimes I really want to stay up late and study. I dont usually make it past 1am and I'll get really tired. Is there anything which can give me energy boost just for a few hours?
A long time ago, someone else on another forum mentioned taking some kinda herb or supplement which kept her awake. I dont remember what it is but it started with the letter C?

How do you get more energy? I woke up about an hour ago, cooked some breakfast (vegan chili), sat down at the computer, and ate. And I already feel like I want to go back to bed. Not sleepy, just tired. This happens all the time. I'm always tired.

Normally I would blame sugar, but I haven't eaten any yet!

Caffeine doesn't sit well with me, so anything more than a cup of black tea is a bad idea.

I know exercise would help a lot, but all I do is walk my dog for a half hour a day and now that I'm unemployed I diddle around with exercise videos, squats and hand weights. I know I need cardio, but I have really big boobs. Sports bras don't work. So running is out. I know things like elliptical machines provide cardio without bouncing around but I can't afford to go to the gym. My bike disappeared, but I now live in an area that's horrible for bike riding anyway (all downhill in every direction and a narrow winding road with no lines on it that people drive REALLY fast on; I always think I'm gonna die)

So can anyone suggest any cheap/free exercise that gets my heart rate up, or at least any other fixes to my problem (like teas, or deep breathing or something)?