3 Simple Ways to Increase Energy Levels

There are times when you simply have no energy. You slept, but you don't want to get out of bed in the morning. You make it through work, just barely, and crash when you get home. Just getting through the day is an uphill battle. Sometimes exhaustion is beyond feeling tired at the end of a busy day. Sometimes exhaustion is a sign that the systems in your body are run down.

There are two types of exhaustion: mental exhaustion, and physical exhaustion. In many ways, they are connected.

If stress is building up, there are too many demands on you, and you feel overwhelmed, then it can literally feel impossible just to begin the first simple task on your list. If you are physically exhausted, then it gets harder to do the things that will make you feel in control - which leads to feeling overwhelmed. So, there is a cycle here, that feeds itself, and making you more stressed, more mentally exhausted, and unable to catch up physically.

The best way to tackle this is to boost your physical energy levels. Even one day, feeling like you've tackled some challenge, will invigorate you to do more, and begin an upward swing of feeling confident, and energized to do more. The more you do, the more that energy feeds itself, and you have the opposite effect - building yourself up, rather than running yourself down.

So, how do you jumpstart this upswing of energy?

As I mentioned, it must start with the physical boost. Fix what's not working, or sluggish in your body. You can't start with the mental motivation. Everyone knows, if you sit there telling yourself to get up and do something, when you have no energy to do it, will set yourself up for failure and feeling even more overwhelmed.

As someone who has been there - I found 3 critical components to regaining energy. And it's dramatic.

If you've been following my writing, you know that I am a cancer survivor. A HUGE side effect of cancer treatment is fatigue. Half way through 8 weeks of radiation I was so weak and tired, I could NOT walk around a track (at a local soccer field) without stopping and sitting 4-5 times. Once around was all I could do. By 3pm, I was ready to go to bed for the night. And I was so exhausted, I dragged myself through the day, just to get to 3pm.

After radiation was completed, my energy did not return. A year later, I was still exhausted. Maybe I could keep my eyes open longer, but mentally and physically I was in a fog. I knew I should be exercising, but I couldn't. That adds guilt which is a de-motivator. All I could do was make sure the kids' needs were met, and crash in an exhausted depression at the end of the day.

So, what brought me out of it?

1 - Drink Green Smoothies

I give all credit to Victoria Boutenko, author of Green for Life. I checked this book out of the library. It's a simple book explaining how eating raw greens are important for humans, and how our diet has moved so far from this diet. It also explains her own journey from raw foods to eating more greens.

Green foods provide energy. Green foods provide nutrients. Green foods clean up the digestive system and make it work more efficiently. Green foods detox the body.

Within a week of drinking green smoothies, my energy levels felt BETTER than they did several years before the cancer hit. And I still feel that way.

2 - Reduce Your Dairy Intake

At one point, I tried a vegan diet. For two weeks, leading up to a mammogram, which I did not want to show any glitches that might lead to further scans and poking and prodding, I went meat and dairy free. I discovered that just cutting out the half&half in my coffee, cut 350 grams of fat per month...

The mammogram went well, but what was startling was how much LIGHTER my body felt. Suddenly, it wasn't hard to get up off the couch and go do something I decided needed to get done.

In the months that followed, I payed close attention to how my body felt with certain foods. I didn't have this sluggishness with meat. In fact, if I needed iron, meat gave me more energy. While dairy, large amounts of it, would consistently slow me down and make me feel tired.

If chronic fatigue is a real issue for you, try cutting back the dairy, or try to go dairy-free for a week, just to see how it feels.

3 - Yoga

Try yoga, or any sort of movement that you can easily fit into your day. Something where you are breathing deeply, and re-energizing the body. Yoga has unique benefits that improve circulation, improves mental clarity, reduces stress, improves immune function, and it happens to be less intimidating to get started. It's a peaceful journey to wellness, and energy. It leaves you feeling relaxed and energized.

But if yoga is not your thing, even just committing to getting outside for a walk in the fresh air every day can do wonders to improve energy levels. It also improves circulation, and mental clarity.

It may feel like you don't have the time for exercise, but the little bit of time you commit to it, will pay itself back to you, in improved energy levels, reduced fatigue, more productivity, and still feeling energized, confident and strong at the end of the day.

Wouldn't it be nice to end the day, with some relaxed, satisfied, accomplished, peaceful energy...

Energy that you can devote to the things you love, rather than your 'to do' list.