I struggled with low energy for most of my adult life. There were entire weeks when daydreaming of sleep occupied giant chunks of my attention. There were countless google searches for “tired all the time”. Yet, if I’m being very honest with you, I wasn’t practicing any of the things I’ll be sharing with you today.
Now in my mid-thirties, I have more energy than I know what to do with. Far more than I ever had in my twenties! And I attribute my shift in energy to all of the following.
If you’re alive, you have access to a universal life force that is boundless and surging with vitality. This boundless, surging force is available to you at all times.
If you struggle with low energy, it just means you’re blocking the flow of life force, and once you remove those blocks, your energy will flow like a magnificent river of aliveness.
Get More Energy With Nutrition
Stabilize Your Blood Sugar
Too many processed carbs is the largest energy block for most people. Start tracking you glucose levels with a glucometer, and take note of the foods that spike your blood sugar. Those foods are big energy robbers.
Here are two separate blood glucose readings of mine. Notice how different they are. The high reading is from a huge serving of plantain chips (they are so dang delicious). I can have a few and be fine, but when I eat too many of them too often, they spike my blood sugar, and my energy tanks. This information helps me to make better choices.
When you spike your blood sugar, it creates a crash soon afterwards. This precipitates a craving for more carbs. More carbs compound the problems. The good news is once you stabilize your blood sugar, your energy will stabilize too!
Break Free from Caffeine
Caffeine was my biggest vice for many years. I never ever thought I could give it up. So from a former coffee addict, I understand how hard this is. But I guarantee you that your energy will improve greatly once you give up the ‘jo.
People assume caffeine gives you energy, but caffeine does not give you energy. It creates a state of stress in your body. This stressed state creates a short term burst of energy, but you’ll eventually have to pay for that borrowed energy with interest.
If you’re struggling with energy, try giving up caffeine for a few weeks and see what happens. Replace your caffeine with herbal tea to help your nervous system settle. Switching to herbal tea will help your adrenals to rest, while supporting your health in various ways.
Hydrate
Drinking clean, pure water first thing in the morning helps lubricate your intestines, and hydrate your cells. Keep drinking water throughout your day, aiming for half your body weight in ounces. Many times when you’re feeling tired or hungry, you’re actually just dehydrated.
Many times when you’re feeling tired or hungry, you’re actually just dehydrated.
I mix it up and drink both flat and sparkling water. This gives your body different trace minerals. I also just love sparkling water!
When you drink your water, be mindful. The process of drinking a glass of water mindfully is a powerful tradition from the east. Paying attention to the water that you’re drinking will immerse your senses into the process, relax your system, and help you to have more energy.
Focus on Nutrient Density
You can track your energy levels with the amount of vegetables you’re eating. The more vegetables you eat, the better you will feel. That’s because vegetables are packed with nutrients. Nutrients are like money for your cells. The more “money” you give your cells, the richer you’ll be in energy.
“Nutrients are like money for your cells. The more “money” you give your cells, the richer you’ll be in energy”
Dr. Terry Wahls, founder of The Wahls Protocol, devised a treatment plan for healing multiple sclerosis that involves eating nine cups of vegetables per day. The science behind this is to give your cells the enzymes, nutrients, and cofactors needed to function at their best
to Multiple Sclerosis
Healed with nutrient density!
You don’t have to eat nine cups of vegetables a day, but do aim for more vegetables throughout your day. Six servings of vegetables each day is a great number to shoot for, averaging two servings per meal.
Proteins like fish, beef, poultry, and organ meats are also packed with nutrients.
If you’re always tired, take a look at the nutrient density of your current meals, and see where you can add more vegetables or high quality proteins.
Replace Grains with Whole Food Starches
Humans didn’t eat processed grains until the industrial revolution. Things like bread, instant oats, and breakfast bars act more like candy in our body than nourishing food. Processed grains are also not great for digestive health.
These things might taste good, and add a bready, satisfying texture to our meals. But ultimately, grains are energy robbers. Most people would even do well to cut out most whole grains too. But if whole grains don’t bother you, you’ll still notice a significant improvement by eliminating processed grains.
Replace your grain based starches with sweet potatoes, plantains, squashes, and yucca root. These tend to be better for blood sugar, and are full of nutrients that grains just can’t match.
Get More Energy With Your Mind
Having more energy isn’t just a physical processes. The mind is just as important. Your mind and body are actually two parts of one whole. What happens in your mind directly & instantly impacts your body and vice versa.
Quit Being Busy
We live in a “busy” culture. We covet the act of doing, even if the doing isn’t relevant to what we want or care about. Being busy is a toxic habit that’s rooted in lack of focus. If you’re focused on what matters to you, you will never again be “busy”.
“Being busy is a toxic habit that’s rooted in lack of focus.”
Take stock of your day, and be brutally honest with yourself. How many of the activities that you engage in are necessary or add to your overall well being. Cut anything that doesn’t fall into those two categories and you just saved hours that will save your energy.
Do Things You Enjoy
If you’re not doing things you enjoy on a regular basis, your energy stores are never getting replenished. It doesn’t have involve a big life overhaul, like learning a musical instrument. If could be that you enjoy taking a quiet walk or reading for a few minutes in peace and quiet after lunch.
I like spending time with my friend Helen, and I love learning new things. Helen has been painting for decades, and we get together and she teaches me some things. Here’s a watercolor she helped me with. Isn’t it neat?!
Create little pockets in your life to enjoy yourself. The space you give yourself for enjoyment will always give you a boost of precious life force. The more you do this, the more energy you will have. Do the things you enjoy, and be present enough to enjoy them fully!
Meditation or Quiet Time
Our mind-body needs space to process and just be. If you struggle to find time to meditate, just do something else that’s quiet and gives your mind a break. Things like knitting, or gardening, or going for a walk are great. Anything that gets your mind-body into a state of ease will give you more energy. It is money in your energetic bank.
Quit The Worry Habit
You can either take action about something right now or you can’t. If you can’t, let it go. Worrying about a thing doesn’t solve it. It only wastes your precious energy.
You can put it on a shelf in your mind, and get back to it when action is appropriate.
If the situation is out of your control entirely, surrender the situation to a higher power, and have faith it is working out in the best possible way.
All of this is coming from someone who is a recovering worry addict. Worry should’ve been my middle name because lord oh lord your girl can worry. So I know more than anyone what a total waste of time and energy worry is.
Let go of worry and watch your energy soar.
Lifestyle Energy Boosters
Movement
Any forms of movement will give you more energy. Walking, biking, dancing, swimming, you name it. The body was designed to move. It was never designed for hours and hours of sitting.
Too much sitting stagnates energy and stiffens your mind-body. Get moving to open your mind-body to having more life force.
Move your body every day, and you will have more energy. It doesn’t matter what form of movement you choose, just get moving!
Wind Down & Sleep
Each day has a 24 hour cycle, with ebbs and flows of energy. In the morning we rise with the sun. Life is surging through nature, the birds collect their seeds and sing their songs. Squirrels dart about. The trees dance in the sunlight. We get out there and live!
An important part of the 24 hour cycle is the winding down of everything. Just as the birds go to their nests and stop singing, and squirrels stop scurrying, we too are meant to find stillness in the evenings. When you honor the cycles of the days and nights, you’ll get the perfect amounts of energy.
When you honor the cycles of the days and nights, you’ll get the perfect amounts of energy.
To be in sync with Mother Nature, dim your lights as the sun sets. I use the Phillips Hue lights, set to a soft amber color, dimmed to about the brightness of a candle. You could also just use good old fashioned candles.
Try to be in bed eight and a half hours before you need to wake up, so you can get a full nights rest.
Friends & Family
Surrounding yourself with uplifting people will give you more energy. It’s especially energizing to have friends who share the same hobbies and interests as you do. This can be tricky for many adults, but it’s absolutely possible. If you’re open, and you put yourself out there enough, I promise you will make friends that resonate with you.
I also promise that spending time with uplifting people will give you more energy!
My Biggest Energy Booster – Spiritual Practice
This is the most important factor for me! We are all eternal beings encased in bodies. Anchoring into the eternal aspect of myself every day gives me clean, beautiful energy.
I don’t believe there is a “best” spiritual practice. There’s just what works for you. Your best spiritual practice is doing whatever allows you to feel and know your eternal nature. To know your eternal nature just the way you know you have a hand or a leg. That’s different for each person.
Your spiritual practice will help you to ground all your other practices, and guide you to right action. Spiritual practice helps you to align with your highest aspects, and to let go of everything that no longer serves you.
All of these energy practices do one thing. They allow you to feel what is already there, and to know your inherent greatness.
Let go and let your life force flow!
Much love,
Brenda
