No More Energy? It’s Time to Fill Your Tank!

If you’re anything like me, you’re always on the go. You’ve got a lot going on each and every day. You want to do it all and do it to the best of your ability. You just don’t have the time to get sick or become exhausted. However, your body will eventually get tired and force you to rest. How can you tell if you are nearing the point of exhaustion? Fatigue is the signal that you may be getting close to burning out.

Being fatigued is your body’s way of telling you that you’ve been overdoing it or not getting enough food or sleep. Of course, there are also many medical conditions and diseases which can also cause fatigue, so it’s probably a good idea to ask your doctor first if you are suffering from severe or chronic fatigue. However, if it’s just your over-scheduled life that’s causing you to feel a little lacking, the cure is pretty simple. You need to focus on sleep, nutrition, relaxation and hydration.

These are four very important things for your overall health and they don’t come in a bottle. Well, water can of course and people will try to sell you special beds, but you really don’t need these; you do need sleep and water though. While this may seem such a common sense thing that it doesn’t bear mentioning, think about it for a minute. How often do you actually drink two liters of water in a day? How often do you get a full eight hours sleep? And when it comes to nutrition, you probably hear a lot of half-baked diet advice about avoiding some foods and loading up on others, rather than the much healthier habit of eating, small, frequent meals which are varied and nutritionally balanced.

Another thing you no doubt hear a lot about is the enormous number of energy drinks, bars and supplements out there. All of them are extensively advertised; and all promise to give you a higher energy level if you’ll only buy them. Now they can’t all be telling the whole truth. Think back to the basics of nutrition. You can make energy from three things and only three things – proteins, carbohydrates and fats. That’s it; all other nutrients just help you to use the energy made from these three primary sources. This means that no pill or energy drink can give you the same kind of energy as you get from food. Guarana, caffeine and all of those other energy boosting supplements are just stimulants; the effect is only temporary and we all know about the crash that comes later.

To put it simply – energy means calories. If there’s no calories, it’s not real energy. While there are no supplements which can offset unhealthy lifestyle habits, by just adopting a healthier set of habits, you’ll have no need for these energy supplements. Now it may take some doing to adjust to living a healthier life, the results will be more than worth the effort.

If you’re in need of more energy, the first step is to start keeping an energy log. Track the following for two weekdays and a weekend – when you eat (it doesn’t matter as much what you’re eating, but keep track of the time), when you sleep and for how long, what beverages you consume and how much, any and all relaxation taken that day and a record of how much energy you had – track highs and lows. Now start your log and we’ll compare notes in two weeks. At that point, we’ll talk about your results and how you can increase your energy level.