Do you ever have days when you wake up and feel fine but then suddenly your energy drops and you are completely fatigued? A day when you feel physically heavy and mentally hazy? This is how I felt yesterday. I had 0% energy and there was no "Loop Juice" left in the tank. This feeling led to me not posting on schedule, and while I was kind of frustrated with myself, I had to be honest and knew that I wasn't up for it. While I wanted to write, I had no motivation for it and I had to tell myself that was okay.
Through my journey with holistic nutrition, listening to my body has been the single largest lesson that I've learned. After all, holistic nutrition is based around figuring out how to feed your body the foods it needs to feel good and prosper. These days it feels amazing to be completely in tune with my body, so I instantly know when I am feeling energized or lethargic. I was trying my hardest to backtrack what I had to eat the day before but none of it was out of the ordinary or should have made me lag, so I came to the conclusion that maybe I had exhausted myself with my morning workout and my body was just not up for a normal day.
We have days like these and sometimes you can't explain it. I remind myself to be patient and cut myself a break. This time in quarantine has been strange on all of our bodies. Our sleep patterns may be off, our diets are out of the ordinary, and we aren't socializing like we used to. Over the course of the past few months I have accepted that these down days are totally normal and it just means that my body needs some self care and love.
I wanted to share with you the methods that I use when I am having a sluggish day:
TAKE A NAP
If my body needs the rest, I give it rest. I have never been a nap person because I typically feel that I wake up crabby, but if I end up taking a nap, I know it was meant to happen. When I have low-energy days I also will go to bed a little earlier than usual, that way I have a full nights rest and wake up feeling my normal self.
GET FRESH AIR
I've learned that getting fresh oxygen really boosts my energy and mood. Going for a small walk or sitting outside does wonders.
STAY HYDRATED
Dehydration can affect your overall mood, brain, and energy levels. Water should be your best friend everyday, but I try to give myself more on these low-energy days. Plus, if I am doing an intense workout I constantly need to remind myself to hydrate even more.
SOCIAL INTERACTION (AT A DISTANCE)
Even though this is almost impossible at the moment, studies show that having some social interaction on days when you feel low can be very helpful. If you are like me, being social is one of the last things I feel like doing on a day like this. However, I pushed myself a bit yesterday and arranged a FaceTime date with my cousins, which instantly lifted my spirits and energy level.
NUTRITIOUS DIET
Although I feel like I eat pretty well on a daily basis, I make sure to be my best on fatigued days when it's really important. While all you want to do is stuff your face and watch a movie, I try to stay away from added sugars and drinks so that my blood sugar levels don't jump and then drop. This would just leave me even more sluggish. I instead feed my body more nutritious foods that will keep my energy up and hunger satiated.
All in all, it's important to understand when your body is telling you that certain foods don't sit right or to relax and take a day off. When it needs some extra love and care. It doesn't mean that you are lazy, it means that your body needs a break. I woke up today (the next day) after having a good night sleep and feeling a lot more like my energized self.
What I Want To Know: Do you have any tips when you have a low-energy day?
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