Tired All the Time? Looking Beyond the Obvious Symptoms
Sometimes, you can be doing all the “right” things and still feel like something isn't quite right.
You're tired all the time. Your sleep isn't great. Your mood is lower than usual. You're experiencing bloating or digestive symptoms. You may even feel generally inflamed or uncomfortable in your body.
Perhaps you've already spoken to your GP, tried different approaches or worked with practitioners before.
You might have noticed some improvements, but that underlying tiredness never really goes away.
This was the experience of one of my clients, a woman in her 40s who came to me looking for answers.
She wasn't looking for weight loss.
She was tired of being tired.
When fatigue isn't the only symptom
When we first started working together, my client was experiencing ongoing fatigue, poor sleep, low mood and bloating. She also described feeling as though she had inflammation in her body.
She'd previously worked with different practitioners and had noticed some minor improvements, but the ongoing fatigue remained.
She had also tried HRT to see whether that would help with how she was feeling, but it hadn't made a difference to the persistent tiredness.
So rather than focusing on one symptom in isolation, we stepped back and looked at the bigger picture.
What could be connecting these different symptoms?
That question became an important part of our work together.
Looking for patterns in her diet
One of the first things I reviewed was her weekly food and drink diary.
This is something I find particularly valuable when providing personalised nutritional therapy.
I'm not looking for a “perfect” diet.
I'm looking for patterns.
A food diary can sometimes reveal things that aren't immediately obvious when you're simply thinking about what you've eaten over the last few days.
In my client's diary, certain foods and drinks were appearing regularly.
Some stood out as potential contributors to the symptoms she was experiencing, so we decided to explore this further with a food intolerance test.
The results identified some food intolerances, including some that were quite surprising.
Interestingly, some of these were foods and drinks that she was consuming fairly regularly.
This gave us another piece of the puzzle.
But it wasn't the whole picture.
Looking more closely at gut health
My clients health questionnaire, symptoms and food intolerance results also highlighted that it would be useful to investigate her gut health in more detail.
So, rather than simply removing foods and hoping for the best, we went a step further with a stool test to explore her gut microbiome and identify areas that could be supported.
This was particularly relevant because her symptoms included bloating alongside fatigue and other changes in how she was feeling.
Gut health can be an important part of the bigger picture when someone is experiencing digestive symptoms, although there isn't always one simple explanation for symptoms such as bloating and fatigue.
The aim isn't to assume that every symptom has one hidden cause.
It's to be curious.
To look at the patterns.
To consider what has already been tried.
And, where appropriate, to investigate further.
Creating a personalised nutritional therapy plan
Once we had gathered more information, we could put together a plan that was specific to her.
And importantly, it wasn't about putting her on an extremely restrictive diet or completely overhauling her life.
We focused on realistic, targeted changes that could fit around her everyday life.
These included:
Simple food swaps
New recipe ideas
Looking at how she was eating, including slowing down and chewing her food properly
Targeted supplements where appropriate
Supporting the areas of gut health we'd identified
The goal wasn't perfection.
It was to make changes that were achievable and sustainable.
This is an important part of how I approach nutritional therapy for women. Your nutrition needs to work in the context of your actual life, not an idealised version of it.
Just one month in, things were beginning to change
One of the most encouraging parts of this client's story was that she was only around a month into her programme when she started noticing improvements.
She was experiencing:
More energy
Better sleep
Improved mood
Greater resilience to stress
She had more energy for work and getting things done around the house.
But for me, the most important change wasn't simply that she could be more productive.
It was that she had more energy to enjoy her life again.
She was getting back to activities she loved, including cycling and walking.
She'd also lost some weight along the way, despite weight loss not being her main goal.
That wasn't something we were specifically chasing.
It was simply another change she noticed alongside the other improvements she was experiencing.
And this is why I don't believe nutritional therapy should be about focusing on one symptom, one food or one number.
Why regular follow-ups matter
One of the things I think is often overlooked when it comes to nutritional support is what happens after someone has been given advice.
Knowing what to do is one thing.
Actually putting it into practice when you're busy, tired and dealing with everyday life is another.
That's why regular follow-ups are such an important part of my approach to personalised nutritional therapy.
We can look at what's happening, talk through what's working and what isn't, make adjustments and keep moving forward.
The weekly food and symptom information also gives us something practical to work with.
Instead of simply asking, “How have you been?”, we can look at patterns and changes over time.
And sometimes, having someone there to support, encourage and hold you accountable makes it easier to keep going when life gets in the way.
Looking beyond one symptom
This client's experience is a good example of why I believe in looking at the bigger picture.
If you're a woman in your 40s experiencing ongoing fatigue, poor sleep, bloating or changes in your mood, it can be tempting to look for one simple answer.
And sometimes there may be an obvious contributing factor.
But sometimes there are several things going on at once.
Hormonal changes can be part of the picture, particularly during perimenopause.
So can nutrition, gut health, stress, sleep, lifestyle and other individual factors.
That doesn't mean you need to test everything or completely change your diet.
It means taking the time to understand your symptoms, your history, your lifestyle and the patterns that may be relevant to you.
That's what I mean by taking a root-cause approach.
It's not about assuming there is always one hidden cause waiting to be discovered.
It's about looking beyond the obvious symptom and asking better questions.
Could this be relevant to you?
Perhaps you're a woman in your 40s who feels like you've tried lots of things but you're still tired all the time.
Perhaps your sleep isn't what it used to be.
Maybe you're experiencing bloating and digestive symptoms that you can't quite get to the bottom of.
Or perhaps you simply don't feel like yourself, but you can't put your finger on why.
You don't necessarily need another generic diet plan.
You may simply need someone to step back with you and look at the bigger picture.
As a Nutritional Therapist and Pharmacist with over 20 years' NHS experience, that's the approach I take with my clients.
My role isn't to replace your GP or other healthcare professionals. It's to work alongside appropriate medical care and explore the nutritional, lifestyle and gut health factors that may be relevant to your individual situation.
Ready to explore what's going on?
If you're experiencing ongoing fatigue, bloating, poor sleep or other symptoms and would like to understand your health from a wider perspective, you can book a free 30-minute health exploration call.
There's no obligation and no advice is given during the call. It's simply an opportunity to talk through what's been going on, what you'd like to change and whether my approach could be a good fit for you.
This is a relaxed space to talk through your symptoms, your history, and what you’ve already tried, and to see whether working together feels like the right next step for you.
Sometimes, feeling better starts with stepping back, looking at the bigger picture and asking better questions.
You can get in touch or book your call using the link below:
Remember, taking that first step is the most important part of the journey. You’ve got this, and I’m here to support you every step of the way.
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