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The idea that our energy, motivation and drive will never wane is short-sighted. 

Hello, even the most disciplined and strong-willed fitness pros struggle with keeping their energy high and motivation up!

I like to think of energy as a bell-shaped curve that's influenced by 4 things: nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress. And when we have these four factors aligned perfectly, we experience high energy and sustained motivation. And when even one of them is out of whack, the entire pyramid is affected. 

The good news is that each one of these 4 aspects can be adjusted for optimal energy. 

For example, here are guidelines I use for the managing the nutrition component:

If you've ever killed a huge cheat meal, then you know firsthand how food affects energy. Too much volume and too heavy carbs can make you feel weighed down, not only mentally but physically. Ugh. 

Bottom line: what we put in our mouths directly affects how we feel. Protein and fiber help stabilize blood sugar (another way to say 'stabilizes energy'). So I always try to eat protein at each meal and as many fibrous veggies as possible, daily. The reason I choose veggies over grains is because foods that have a higher absolute amount of carbs tend to impact blood sugar levels more than veggies (even though veggies are also "carbs"--the ratio of total carb to fiber is lower). 

The final piece of the nutrition puzzle is what Metabolic Effect calls your "Carbohydrate Tipping Point" (CTP). This is how much starchy foods you should eat in a day. And it's individual for everyone. You want enough carb to keep your energy up for quality workouts, but not too much that you are either left lethargic (hello, pasta) or are storing fat as a result. Each person's CTP is different, and through trial and error you can find yours. 

ONE KEY TO REMEMBER: Too little carb is not ideal either.

Why? Because following a super-low carb diet for months on end can push you into a chronically high-stress state. 

What do I mean by that? Hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline/noradrenaline, which are pumped from the adrenals, end up working overtime to provide fuel for your body during exercise and normal activity, in the absence of carbs. They pull from fat stores some, but often from muscle stores to provide enough fuel to the body. 

When carb intake is high enough, however, these stress hormones can take a breather. 

So going too low-carb for too long is an energy-no no. 

Why? 

Well, remember those adrenal hormones working overtime? They don't just keep getting synthesized ad finitum without consequences. The pumping mechanism becomes fatigued. They become down-regulated and can't keep up with the demand. And if that happens, the resulting symptoms--fatigue, lethargy, overtraining, restless sleep, lack of motivation, disinterest, irritation, etc--can be debilitating.

Ask any competitor who's experienced metabolic damage. Ask any chronic long-distance runner who's experienced adrenal fatigue. Ask any crash dieter who's experience chronic fatigue syndrome. Ask any full-time mom who's needs to take naps every day!

Energy is not just a sleep issue. This a whole-body systemic issue that affects everything.

Energy crashes (or just chronic low energy) influences motivation to exercise, listlessness, desire for sugary/fatty/salty foods, metabolic damage to the point that your body just doesn't respond even to exercise and nutrition anymore, gut issues, sleep disruption, and on and on...

And the scary thing is that energy issues are moving to epidemic proportions. Besides, "fatigue" is the #1 complaint patients go to see their physicians about. And because fatigue is such a complicated condition with many underlying metabolic factors, conventional doctors really don't have any tools to help. They can't prescribe a pill and they can't test using one single assessment.

Enter my close friend and natural physician specializing in adrenal fatigue and exhaustion, Dr. Amber Golshani, ND. 

Dr. Amber sees patients across her desk every single day who complain of energy issues, lethargy, stress and sleep problems. And as a natural doctor, she understands how all of these complex factors work together--nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, relationships, etc--to create either a balanced energy or an unbalanced one.

Dr. Amber's Beat Your Fatigue online program has already helped hundreds of women who are battling fatigue, so when she told me she was opening up registrations for her in-demand program THRU THIS TUESDAY FEB 25TH ONLY, I jumped at the chance to share it with you. 

This kind of help is so, sooooo needed in the fitness and weight loss industry, especially for driven, disciplined women like us who are used to going, going, going and then BAM! Life shows us that they're not as invincible as we thought! And with traditional docs not really knowing how to handle these complex symptoms, the best thing we can do is take it upon ourselves to learn about fatigue and seek out the help of those with the insight and tools to help.

Beat Your Fatigue is only open through Tuesday for registration, so if you feel like you're suffering and don't know what the next step it, I highly recommend checking it out.

If you have any questions, email Dr. Amber directly, here!

Talk soon :)

Ox, Jill