How Not to be Completely Exhausted

Someone asked about boosting energy when you have lupus (SLE).
I've tried many things over the 16 years of having
this lupus follow me around (and sit on me like a
hippo). Really, these tips apply to anyone, even healthy people.
Here are some things i've done:

1- know when to quit. when i feel good, i tend to
overdo it (start cleaning up all the piles in the
house, and keep going forever til i drop), then end up
in bed for several days.

2-take as little painkiller as is effective. if i can
take 1/4 or 1/2 or a percaset for pain, i'll be less
groggy/ draggy.

3- drink less caffeine (yes you're more tired for the
first few days, but it makes your energy fluctuate big
time, then makes it hard to sleep). i've given up on
eliminating it completely, but i just have 1 glass of
green tea when i get up, and that's it.

4- eat less sugar. also sends your energy all over the
place. i have come to like stevia (acquired taste) adn
xylitol (nicer taste), both natural plant derivatives
with no calories. i was on a candida (anti-yeast) diet
for 1.5 years, and i felt amazing. then i fell off the
wagon... right now i'm doing the "fat smash diet" from
celebrity fit club, which i did last year, adn the
first phase is eating nothing but whole foods- fruit,
veggies, yogurt, oatmeal.

5- learn to meditate, if only for 5 minutes a day.
thinking takes energy.

6- find a good acupuncturist to restore your Chi (life
force/ energy). this has been really effective f or
me. ask around for a good one, or look for one who is
chinese-trained and also does herbs. even if you never
do herbs (i don't take chinese herbs), it says a lot
about their training.

7- Chi gong is suppose to be incredibly effective as a
self-help energy thing.

8- in 94 and 02 i had a series of chelation treatments
to remove the heavy metals in my system and i felt
like wonder woman.

9-exercise. the trick to this is to do enough to get
your heart rate up, but don't work so hard that you
set yourself back (see #1, know when to quit). a
reasonable amount of exercise (20-30 minutes on the
treadmill, or outside if you're in a decent climate, 5
days a week, for example. you can start with 10 if 20
is too much, and work your way up over time).

10- take digestive enzymes to help you break down your
food and get the nutrients from it. Udo's brand is
very popular. you can get at a health food store or
cheaper at vitacost.com

11- take 1 tbsp of pure, mercury free fish or flax oil
daily. this helps with mood and inflammation.
Barlean's is very popular and recommended to me by an
MD. vitacost or health food store.

that's all i can think of for now...