It all starts with energy ……..

Are you feeling tired all the time? Lacking motivation and feeling stressed over the slightest thing in life?  Read on, because dialling up your energy and boosting your enthusiasm for life may be easier than you think.

Without “physical” energy it’s hard to do the day-to-day things that we need to do just to get through life. It all becomes too hard. Then our motivation plummets. This can start to affect how we feel emotionally and how we deal with stress and the slightest setbacks in our day. We function at the survival level. There’s no energy in the tank to enjoy all the other “things” in life, and certainly not the motivation to plan for them.

“Mental” energy is another level. Sometimes we might feel ok physically but the mental “get up and go” has got up and gone. This can also show up as “can’t be bothered” no matter how much you try to pick yourself up.

There is enough evidence to suggest that each area of our energy is interconnected – physical, mental/emotional and spiritual/metaphysical energy.

If you’re lacking energy on any level, let’s look at some of the possible causes. Here you’ll find some suggestions as to how to start the ball rolling to get your energy back on track, and then your life can get back on track, too.  So you can enjoy your life to the fullest.

1) First things first – we are what we eat (and drink).

We know this, but are we doing this on a consistent basis?

1. Eating for energy and health – make sure you are including plenty of fresh plant foods
• minimum of 3-5 cups of vegetables /salad per day
• minimum 2-3 serves of fruit each day

2. include protein with each meal and snack (that can be plant-based protein eg nuts, pulses; or animal-based protein eg fish, chicken, meat, eggs)

3. quality starchy carbohydrates such as sweet potato, rice (brown, basmati, wild), oats

4. energy-boosting, healthy fats – a small handful of nuts and seeds; avocado;  and 2 tablespoons of good quality oils such as olive, coconut, flaxseed oil

5. water –  filtered clean water – 1 ½ – 2 litres per day.  Add a dash of lemon or lime juice every now and then during the day.

If you’re not eating like this at the moment, start implementing one change at a time. Start creating healthy habits for yourself.

This is what not to do…..
The standard western diet is very high in carbs. For example; cereal or toast for breakfast; biscuit/cake or muffin for morning and afternoon tea; sandwich for lunch; pasta/rice and meat for dinner. This way of eating wreaks havoc with your blood sugar levels, making you more lethargic as the day goes on – ie the 3pm energy slump which leads to binge eating sweets/chocolate or relying on caffeine to get you through the afternoon plus overeating at the evening meal. This way of eating is common; however, is the most energy-depleting way of eating.

Junk foods/highly processed foods = poor energy, low mood/motivation, damaging to our health! Why would you want to do this to yourself??

2) Exercise boosts your energy – physical and mental energy!

• Pick one or a few exercise types that you enjoy and JUST DO IT!
• Consistency is the key , pick a time in the day that works for you, find an exercise buddy
• Just an investment of 30 minutes of exercise 5-6 days a week will repay you in so many ways – cardiovascular health; keep your muscles toned – so you stay looking and feeling younger; circulation to your brain so you can stay focused all day; release of endorphins (your happy hormone) which is great to alleviate stress, anxiousness
• Helps improve your sleep pattern, so then you have more energy the next day
• Don’t make exercise feel like a punishment, exercise because you want to gain all these positive outcomes

3) Sleep

It goes without saying if you’re not getting enough sleep at night, you will be tired the next day. This will make everything in your day feel like an effort. Your resistance to stress will be effected. Your focus and performance will be affected. Your moods will certainly be affected. Heard of the saying “tired and grumpy”? Don’t be that person.

• Start implementing healthy sleep habits. Turn off the screens and devices a good half hour before your bedtime.
• Don’t have caffeine in the afternoon, and certainly not from dinner onwards.
• A lot of people find, having a light meal at night helps with sleep.
• Chamomile or peppermint tea after dinner helps calm the digestion and nervous system
• Having a warm shower or bath just before bed, triggers the body to unwind and relax.
• There are lots of wonderful herbal formulas to help with sleep – ask me which one would suit you best
• Taking a quality magnesium supplement at night can help to relax the muscles and nervous system
• Essential oils such as lavender on your pillow or more unusual oil is Vetiver rubbed on your feet is brilliant to help you to instantly relax and get a good night’s sleep.
• Guided relaxation meditations – plug in some soft ear buds/plugs, and check out some FREE YouTube guided meditations to help you calm down an overactive mind and drift off to sleep. If you wake up through the night and the brain goes into overdrive thinking about what you have to do tomorrow etc, plug into some relaxation music/guided meditations to help you drift back off to sleep
• Take an afternoon nap – forget about feeling guilty. If you’re struggling to get through the day, the best thing you can do is take a nap (when you can, say on the weekend/days off). Studies suggest that a 20-30 minute nap between 12 midday and 4pm is one of the best things you can do to restore depleted adrenal glands (fight or flight hormones) if you are experiencing long term adrenal fatigue.

4) Stress is one of the biggest energy drainers

Managing stress is so important to help you balance your energy and health. Stress can take over and rule every part of your existence. So address it.

Check the above suggestions as each of the above points are just as relevant for managing stress as they are for managing energy.
• Poor food choices can affect your nervous system and then increase your reaction to stress
• Are you getting out and moving your body to release stress from your body ?
• Poor sleep can compound the effects of stress on your body

Talk to me and we can work out the best natural medicine anti-stress formulas for your body. With the help of the Asyra Bio-resonance screening that I have in my clinic, I can determine the underlying reasons for your stress. It could be:

• hormonal imbalances
• nervous system out of balance
• nutrient deficiency
• food sensitivities

5) Adrenal Fatigue

Being tired and lacking motivation is different to “adrenal fatigue”. Adrenal fatigue usually comes about after you’ve had a virus or have been unwell for some time, and your health has not come back to how you were before. The “never been well since ….” scenario.

The adrenal glands sit on the kidneys and are responsible for our “fight or flight” hormones such as cortisol and adrenalin. When our body is constantly stressed, or struggling to get over an illness, we may keep trying to get back on top of it and get our life back to normal, but the longer it goes on the more the adrenals glands become fatigued. The end result is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That can be prevented and helped if you already do have it.

Natural medicines have a variety of evidence-based immune boosting herbs and nutrients to support adrenal recovery.

You may have heard of the healing properties of medicinal mushroom such as Reishi or Coriolus . Immune-boosting herbs such as Astragalus and Echinacea help to support your immune system and also help with your energy and adrenal support. There are many adrenal tonic herbs such as Withania, Rehmannia, Ginseng and lots of nutritionals that are specific to support the adrenal glands. But which remedies are going to specifically support your body? You certainly don’t want to be taking handfuls of tablets each day. We can discuss in your appointment which supplements are most beneficial for you.

6) What other energy drainers are in your life?

• Are you working in a job that you no longer enjoy?
• Are there areas in your relationships that are taking your energy down?
• Are there any other areas in your life that you feel are out of sync?

Now focus on the positives of these:
If you could see yourself resolving this area of “discontent”, what would it look like? Map out some steps to start implementing those changes and start with the first tiniest step to head you in the direction you want to go, that would make you feel more fulfilled, happier and bounding with energy. Then what would the next step be? And so on…..

Allow yourself some quiet time and do some “Journal writing”. This can really help you to get more clarity about what is draining your energy, then you can work out solutions to help solve these areas.

If you have some deep issues that you can’t seem to resolve or get to the bottom of – I have a list of wonderful practitioners that I can point you in the right direction. From fantastic psychologists to amazing kinesiologists to help clear the unwanted stuff that is pulling your energy down and keeping you from achieving all that you want and deserve.

Finally……

All that said and done, get back to the basics, eat well; do some gentle, fun regular exercise; and a get a great night’s sleep and if need be, take some quality supplements that are relevant to what you need right now. These simple steps can make a world of difference to how you feel in just a few days and even better still in a couple of weeks. Remember: consistency is the key.