I just turned 44. With two young kids running around and lots of responsibilities, my energy is better than it was at 30. I don't follow any extreme diets and don't own a gym membership. This is the way I stay in shape, limber as ever, and keep my energy up all day long. I'm sharing it here because it's what works for me.
If you're a parent with an incredibly busy schedule, over 40, I think it'll work for you.
Start with intermittent fasting
I fast for 16 hours and eat during an 8-hour window.
My eating window runs from noon to 8 PM. During the fasting hours (no later than noon), I drink black coffee. The coffee suppresses appetite and helps boost my energy without breaking the fast.
I found that this gives your body time to repair instead of constantly digesting food.
Fix what you eat
Whole foods only. I cut out almost everything that comes in a package.
Before reaching 40, I had trouble concentrating and felt what I refer to as "foggy head," where I felt like the world around me was hazy. I also felt sleepy around midday. Not to my surprise, I was inhaling carbs. Sandwiches, rice, potato. I thought I needed medical intervention but all doctors did was perscribe medication. I had to take matters into my own hands. I researched possible causes and began experimenting on myself. I eliminated foods that are considered inflammatory.
• Bread
• Pasta
• Rice
• Dairy
So, I eliminated bread. I limited rice and pasta. These spike blood sugar and crash your energy. They were responsible for those times I was falling asleep around 2-4 PM.
I stopped consuming dairy, cheese, or yogurt. I learned now that I digest it poorly.
After removing these, I felt good but I was still having a little bit of that haziness. At this point, I was having the occasional dinner drink. Something like wine or scotch. I didn't think anything of it at the time. I also had the tendency to have something sweet after lunch or dinner. Again, didn't think it was harmful – until I found out it was.
This called for zero tolerance. No refined sugar. Few oils.
Within a couple of days, I noticed a significant difference.
Time your carbs right
Eating something starchy like rice or potatoes at lunch made me crash every time. So I moved them to dinner.
I keep carbs low during the day. At dinner (6-8 PM), I eat rice, potatoes, or similar foods. It helps produce serotonin and melatonin for a good night's sleep.
Better sleep means a full battery of energy the next day.
How to handle hunger
When hunger hits during fasting, I drink water. If plain water isn't enough, I drink more. This time with a pinch of salt. It works.
The salt replaces electrolytes and kills the appetite. It's a quick way to satiate hunger.
Sleep
Bad sleep can mess up everything else you do right.
I stop drinking coffee at 12:00 PM. Noon is the hard cutoff. Not 1 PM. Not 2 PM.
Caffeine after noon wrecks my sleep cycles. Poor sleep creates a viscous cycle. If I sleep badly, I make bad food choices, feel tired, and sleep badly again. Break the cycle by protecting your sleep.
Cut alcohol
Alcohol kills energy. I proved it over the holidays. I wasn't productive. At my age, it can take days to recover from a "fun" hang. Even a few drinks mess with sleep quality and spike cravings for junk food.
I'll have a drink from time to time but cut it out almost completely.
Bone broth
I make homemade bone broth and drink it regularly.
It's loaded with collagen, amino acids, and minerals. These support gut health and reduce inflammation. Bone broth is a great alternative to drinking water to suppress hunger, especially in the early stages of fasting. It can be a great lunch replacement from time to time. Filling and delicious. I have a recipe here, if you're interested in giving it a try.
You don't need to exercise every day
Keeping exercise simple helps build the habit. It's less stressful and more rewarding. You feel accomplished after each workout and look forward to the next one.
I work out 20-30 minutes, three times per week.
I started with bodyweight exercises and later added some dumbbell work. Full-body circuits. Bodyweight exercises need no gym membership and no equipment. You have no excuses to skip unless you have a medical condition that prevents exercise.
This circuit training builds strength, speeds up metabolism, and doesn't beat up your joints.
If you're eating right and sleeping well, you don't need hours of exercise.
Protect your mental energy
Screen time drains you as much as bad food.
I think we're going through a societal social media detox. Could you believe we've doom scrolled collectively as a society for years and at the end only received jealousy, anxiety, and more human separation by using tools that were supposedly made to bring us closer?
Less or no social media clears your head.
No screens in th evening unless I'm recording video content. The time goes to family, reading physical books, or finishing tasks I've been putting off.
No phone for the first hour after waking up. I use a basic alarm clock and a vibrating watch alarm. No emails. No news. No stress before my day starts.
I cut social media way back. Constant empty calories and comparison drain our mental energy. Less consumption gives me more clarity.
Energy matters more now
These changes work. They're sustainable. You don't need perfect execution every day.
Start with one thing. Add another when you're ready. The energy you gain makes everything else easier.
Feel free to experiment and track your energy levels. See what works for your schedule and body. When I started fasting, I used the Zero app to keep me on track. It helped until fasting became second nature.
Don't be too hard on yourself. The goal is long-term sustainability. This isn't a trend. It's a lifestyle that hopefully lasts many years and keeps you in top shape.
Fix the basics and your energy comes back.