If you prefer to listen than read, you can hear the audio of this blog post, read by the author, Vanessa Obagi, below

"One of the questions I hear a lot from women considering signing up for The Health Decode or The Fatigue Fix is:

“Is this really for me if I’m still functioning? Or is it more for people with severe fatigue?”

But what they are really thinking is:

“I know I don’t feel right, but I’m not sure my symptoms are bad enough to justify investing in this."

And I completely understand why this deliberation comes up.

When we talk about fatigue, it’s easy to picture someone who is completely exhausted or burned out, unable to work or exercise, and even struggling to get up in the morning.

If that isn’t you, you might wonder whether what you’re experiencing is severe enough,

Maybe you’re still working and you can still just about exercise. Maybe you see friends sometimes, and you get most things done that you have to do.

From the outside, you may look fine.

But you also know how much effort it takes.

Perhaps you have far less energy than you used to. You’re forcing yourself through things that once felt easy. And “should” feel easy.

Or you don’t recover from exercise as well, or you need more downtime after a busy week.

Perhaps your sleep is bad, or your brain feels foggy. Or perhaps you’ve simply lost that sense of get-up-and-go you used to just naturally have.

At the other end of the spectrum, for some, fatigue has already started making your life more limited. You’re turning down plans, struggling through work or you’ve even had to give up work completely.

So, how do you know when your symptoms are “bad enough” to do something about them?

I actually think there’s a much more helpful question to ask...

The question isn’t “How bad are my symptoms?”

It’s:

“Is the way I feel stopping me from living the way I want to live?”

There’s a big difference between the two.

You don’t have to be at rock bottom before you’re allowed to want to feel better.

And you don’t need to reach a certain level of exhaustion before it makes sense to start investigating why you don’t feel like yourself.

There’s a huge gap between feeling full of energy and being severely unwell.

You might be in that space right now.

You’re functioning (but you’re having to push)

You’re exercising (but it takes you much longer to recover)

You’re socialising (but you wish you could stay home, or you have to leave early)

You’re getting through your working day (but there’s very little left in the tank afterwards)

You’re doing all the things you’ve always done (but they feel way harder than they should)

All of that matters.

“But surely everyone gets tired?”

Of course! Feeling tired sometimes is part of being human.

A busy week, a few bad nights of sleep, a stressful period at work or a packed social calendar can leave anyone wanting an early night or a quiet weekend.

What I’m talking about isn’t that.

It’s that underlying feeling that your energy, vitality or motivation isn’t what it should be.

Perhaps you can remember a time when you woke up feeling refreshed, had plenty of energy throughout the day and didn’t have to think about whether you had enough in the tank to do what you wanted to do.

But now you find yourself managing your energy.

You might think twice about an evening out because you have something important the following morning. You might rely on coffee or sugar to get through the afternoon. You might exercise because you know it’s “good for you,” but feel wiped out afterwards rather than energised.

Or maybe there’s nothing big you can point to at all.

You just know: “I don’t feel like me.”

You don’t need to wait for that feeling to become significantly worse before you pay attention to it.

In fact, waiting until you hit rock bottom simply means you have a longer way to climb back up!

Fatigue doesn’t feel the same for everyone

The women I work with can be at very different points when they come to me.

Some are still working, exercising and maintaining social lives.

They’re doing everything they need and want to do, but they know they have less energy than they should.

Others have reached the point where their energy is actively restricting their lives.

They’re cancelling plans, or work takes everything out of them, or their brain fog is becoming frustrating. They need longer and longer to recover after doing things.

And some have been struggling with persistent or chronic fatigue for much longer, and their lives have become considerably restricted as a result. Some have even been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (known as CFS or ME), Fibromyalgia, or other chronic conditions affecting their day to day life.

There isn’t a single level of fatigue you need to reach before you’re “allowed” to investigate what might be going on.

The more useful starting point is noticing what has changed for you.

What do you want to be able to do that feels harder now?

What are you avoiding because you’re worried you won’t have the energy?

What do you still do, but only by pushing yourself?

And most importantly:

Are you happy to carry on feeling this way?

If the answer is no, that’s enough reason to start looking for concrete answers and solutions.

What if I’m tired, but I’m not even sure fatigue is my main problem?

That’s okay too.

You don’t need to have severe fatigue, or even identify “fatigue” as your biggest health concern for this work to be relevant.

Maybe you’re functioning ok, but you’ve lost your get-up-and-go, your sparkle, your MOJO.

Perhaps your moods are flat or low.

Perhaps your sleep isn’t as good as it used to be. Or you don’t recover from exercise as well. Or your concentration is limited and it's affecting your work.

Or perhaps you simply don’t feel like yourself and you want to check in and find out why.

I’m interested in looking at your health as a whole, rather than deciding whether you meet an arbitrary definition of being “tired enough.”

That wider view can be particularly useful when there isn’t one obvious symptom or explanation.

What if my blood tests are normal and my GP says everything is fine?

This is incredibly common.

You know you don’t feel right, so you go to your GP and they run some blood tests. You get a text message or phone call from the receptionist to say everything is normal, and that’s that.

That can leave you wondering whether you’re imagining things.

You’re not looking for a major diagnosis but you do want to understand why you don’t have the energy or vitality you used to have, and what you can do about it.

Blood tests are important, and appropriate medical assessment matters, particularly when you have new, severe or unexplained symptoms.

But normal blood test results don’t necessarily explain why you don’t feel well.

In my work, I look at your results alongside your symptoms, health history, lifestyle (and your minerals) to build a much broader picture of what could be contributing to the way you feel.

Rather than focusing on one number or one symptom, I’m looking for patterns and deciphering the bigger picture.

That gives me a clearer idea of where to focus your efforts rather than simply telling you to carry on because your blood tests are “normal.”

“But I already eat well, exercise and take supplements.”

A lot of the women I work with are already doing many of the “right” things.

They’re not living on takeaways, sleeping four hours a night and wondering why they’re tired.

They often eat a fairly nutritious diet, exercise regularly and take supplements. They often prioritise sleep and they’ve generally read about health and made changes themselves.

And yet something still isn’t right.

The problem is that what is generally considered healthy isn’t necessarily enough right now.

I shine a light on what you are missing, what may not be helping you and where your efforts are going to make the biggest difference.

That’s a big part of why I offer personalised support rather than giving everyone the same list of “healthy habits” to follow.

What if this is just hormones or menopause?

Hormonal changes can absolutely affect energy, sleep and how you feel.

So if you’re in perimenopause or menopause, it’s understandable to assume that hormones explain everything.

But they may not be the whole story.

Rather than putting every symptom down to menopause, I look at the wider picture and consider the factors that can be addressed alongside those hormonal changes.

That’s important because otherwise it can be very easy to dismiss changes in how you feel as something you simply have to accept.

The aim isn’t to pretend hormonal changes aren’t happening. It’s to understand what else may be contributing and where there are things you can work on.

What if I’ve felt like this for years?

Another worry I hear is:

“If I’ve been struggling for years, can I really expect things to change?”

Yes, it’s absolutely possible to make significant progress even if you’ve felt this way for a long time.

With The Fatigue Fix, we work together over four months.

That doesn’t mean I can promise that every issue will be completely resolved within four months, particularly if there’s a lot going on or you’ve been struggling for years.

The aim is for you to be feeling noticeably better, to understand your body and what it needs more clearly, and to have a direction for continuing that progress.

And that last part is important.

I don’t want you to finish the process with another collection of health advice and no idea what actually applies to you.

I want you to understand why we’re focusing on particular areas, what changes are making a difference and what your next priorities should be.

So, do you need The Health Decode or The Fatigue Fix?

This depends less on how “bad” your fatigue is and more on how much support you want.

If you want to understand what might be going on and get some clear first steps, The Health Decode is a great place to begin.

Using an HTMA test alongside your health questionnaire, I’ll look at your individual levels, ratios and patterns and give you a personalised report with clear recommendations on what to focus on first.

There are options to move onto after getting your report, if you then decide you'd like more support.

And if fatigue isn't your biggest concern, this is also a great place to start.

If you already know that you need or want more support to actually make changes, work through what could be contributing to your fatigue and have someone guide you through the process, The Fatigue Fix is the better option.

Don't wait until things get worse

One of the biggest things I want you to take away from this is that you don’t have to prove that you’re unwell enough to deserve support.

The most important question to ask yourself is what your current level of energy is costing you.

Maybe it’s costing you evenings with friends because you’re too tired after work. Maybe it’s stopping you enjoying exercise the way you used to. Maybe you’re technically doing everything you want to do, but you’re dragging yourself through it, so life just isn't as enjoyable as it could be.

Or maybe the cost is simply that you don’t feel like yourself anymore, and you don’t want that to become your new normal.

You don’t have to wait until you’re exhausted enough that fatigue starts taking over your life. And if you're already at that place, the only thing you should be asking yourself is, what are you going to do abou it.

If you already know that the way you feel now isn’t how you want to continue feeling, that should be enough of a reason to start asking what could be going on.

Ready to do something about your energy?

If fatigue is your main issue, and you know you want personalised support to work through what could be contributing to your fatigue, plus help to resolve other accompanying symptoms such as brain fog, weight loss resistance, flat moods, sleep issues... and help you get your energy and vitality back, take a look at The Fatigue Fix.

If you’re not sure you’re ready for the full programme, start with The Health Decode.

It gives you a simple first step: test, allows you to understand what could be going on and get clear recommendations about what to focus on first.

And if you decide afterwards that you’d like more support putting those changes into practice, you can always upgrade.

You don’t need to wait until you hit rock bottom to start feeling better.

If you'd like to learn more about my process for helping women just like you, check out this article or audio: The 5-Steps I Use to Help Women Overcome Persistent Fatigue