When Doing All the Right Things Wasn't Enough
What losing my spark taught me about a part of nutrition I’d been overlooking.
For a while earlier this year, I just didn't feel quite like myself.
There wasn't anything dramatically wrong. I wasn't unhappy. I wasn't unwell. I just felt blah.
And initially, I thought I knew exactly why. We'd spent months preparing for my daughter's 21st and I had the genius idea that since we were tidying the house up for her 21st, we might as well go all the way and do things properly, as we've been thinking about downsizing. It seemed like an ideal opportunity to leverage our time and do both things at once! Anyone who's lived in the same home for 15 years will probably understand what "getting the house ready" can turn into!
What started as preparations for a party became weekends of gardening, cleaning windows, decluttering cupboards, painting, fixing things and tackling all those jobs we'd successfully ignored for years.
By the time the party was over and our marketing campaign finished, I was exhausted
So when my energy disappeared and my usual spark seemed to disappear with it, I wasn't particularly concerned. I'd simply overdone it. Or so I thought.
I Was Doing All the "Right" Things
I expected that with a bit of time I'd bounce back.
Except I didn't.
I kept exercising of course, that rarely stops with me! I was eating well. I prioritised sleep. I returned to my morning routine because I know how much that helps me mentally. I gave myself some breathing room after what had been a really full-on few months.
And still, I couldn't quite get back to me. That's probably the best way I can describe it. There wasn't one big symptom I could point to. I just didn't have my usual energy, motivation or enthusiasm. I'd lost my spark.
And it was frustrating because I felt like I was doing all the things I usually talk about: nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management, mindset and self-care.
But something still felt off.
Then Something Unexpected Happened
Around the same time, I'd started addressing another issue entirely.
Dry eyes. They'd become increasingly bothersome through menopause, and nothing I'd tried seemed to make much difference. So I'd started taking an omega-3-rich product because I was interested in whether increasing my intake of essential fatty acids might help my eyes.
I'd also had my fatty-acid levels tested before I started, which gave me an objective picture of my starting point. My results showed that my omega-6:3 balance and several other markers of my fatty-acid profile were a long way outside the target ranges.
At the time, though, I was really only thinking about my dry eyes.
I certainly wasn't expecting what happened next.
Around six weeks later, I realised something had changed. My dry eyes had improved, but that wasn't the only thing I'd noticed. I felt happier. I had more energy. I felt motivated again. And one day it occurred to me...my spark was back.
When I later retested, my fatty-acid results had changed too.
Of course, my experience is still my experience, and I can't say that changing my fatty-acid levels was responsible for every change I noticed. But I now had something more than how I felt to go on. I could see an objective change in my fatty-acid profile alongside the very real changes I was experiencing in how I felt.
And that made me curious. Really curious!
That curiosity sent me down a rabbit hole learning much more about omega-3 health benefits, essential fatty acids and the roles these fats play throughout the body.
The Nutritional Blind Spot I'd Overlooked
This was the part that made me laugh at myself.
I talk about nutrition all the time.
- Protein for maintaining muscle.
- Fibre for gut health.
- Eating plenty of plants.
- Hydration.
- Blood-sugar balance.
All incredibly important.
But when I looked honestly at my own diet, there was a pretty obvious gap: Omega-3.
I actually love fish. My family doesn't, so we rarely cook it at home. And to be honest, it's not that convenient to get good fish, and it's expensive!
I'd have fish when we went out for dinner and occasionally at other times, but somehow I'd let that become "enough". It wasn't that I didn't know oily fish was good for me. Of course I did. I simply wasn't prioritising it. I know...health coaches are human too!
And I think there's something quite interesting in that. As I always say, knowing something and actually making it part of our everyday lives are two very different things.
Convenience Had Quietly Won
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
I could easily have bought salmon and cooked it for myself for lunch. I could have included other omega-3 foods more intentionally, but it wasn't on my radar.
And sourcing good-quality fish felt like one more thing on the never-ending list of things I should probably get around to. So convenience quietly won.
There's a lesson in that which goes well beyond omega-3.
Sometimes we know something is important, but if it isn't causing an obvious problem today, it gradually slips down the priority list. We do what's convenient rather than what we know matters, until something makes us pay attention.
What I've Learned About Omega-3 Health Benefits
Over the past few months I've learned much more about omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA, and just how widely they're used throughout the body.
EPA and DHA are incorporated into the membranes surrounding our cells and are involved in cell signalling and the regulation of inflammatory responses.
DHA is also an important structural component of the brain and retina, while EPA and DHA have been extensively studied for their role in cardiovascular health.
That was a reminder for me that healthy fats aren't simply another item on a nutrition checklist. They're part of the raw materials our bodies need to function.
And while I was very familiar with the importance of protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals, I'd simply stopped paying enough attention to this particular part of my own nutrition.
It Wasn't About Finding a Magic Answer
This experience has also reinforced something I feel very strongly about.
There isn't one nutrient that fixes everything.
Omega-3 doesn't replace protein.
Protein doesn't replace fibre.
And none of them replace sleep, movement, stress management or the other foundations of our health. They work together.
I often talk about looking at the whole picture when it comes to our wellbeing, and this was a lovely reminder to do the same for myself. Because sometimes we can be doing so many of the right things and still have something we've overlooked.
A Reminder I Needed Too
These days, I'm paying far more attention to my omega-3 intake. I've found a simple, convenient way of doing that with an Omega-3 product that actually works.
And yes, sometimes that means buying the salmon even though nobody else in my house wants it!
Most importantly, though, I feel like myself again. I have my energy back, I have my motivation back, and I have my spark back.
I can't know with certainty exactly what was happening inside my body, but I do know what I experienced. The only thing I'd changed was my omega-3 intake, and within weeks I felt noticeably different.
For me, the bigger lesson has been a reminder that our bodies need many different things to function well — and sometimes the thing we've overlooked is worth getting curious about.
Because doing all the right things doesn't always mean we're doing all the things our own body needs.
And sometimes, it's worth looking at the whole picture again.
If reading my story has made you curious about your own fatty-acid balance, feel free to reach out. I'm always happy to have a chat and share more about the test I used and what I learned along the way.