A Prescription To Increase Energy, From An Emergency Medicine Doctor

“I am exhausted,” “I am SO tired,” “Don’t talk to me until I have some caffeine in my system.”

Does that sound like you?

Well as a busy Emergency Medicine doctor I can tell you that for years those words came out of my mouth. Between the demands of work, studying and my home life, I constantly felt like there was not enough time in the day. For years I was addicted to caffeine and constantly felt tired. And for me, the worst feeling is getting to work and wishing you could take a nap. I also turned to sugar for short bursts of energy, which did not help my hips or my desire to lose weight. And you can imagine that in my stressful workplace, it is incredibly important that I maintain my energy and stay alert.

So I made a decision one day to stop giving into my excuses and to truly take back my health and energy. I needed to stop the excuses of “I am too busy” or “I’m too tired;” they were causing me to put myself last. Everything that I had learned pointed to the fact that the body knows how to have natural energy without relying on supplementation to keep us awake and alert.

I started taking small consistent actions that led to massive changes in my stamina, energy, physical body and mood. While in the beginning it was not easy, I found that within 2-3 weeks I felt like my body had finally woken up! So what worked really well for me? 

1. Limit the processed foods and sugar. We eat way too much junk in our everyday lives and most people are filling their bodies with processed foods that are truly not serving us, they are the opposite of nutrition. So the first thing I did was go on an elimination cleanse for at least 3 weeks. Why 3 weeks? Well it takes the body 21-24 days to fully remove from our system the antibodies that we create toward food. I had never fully eliminated gluten, sugar, and dairy from my diet, but let me tell you that within 1 week I started to feel dramatically different within my body. As someone who was a sugar and caffeine addict, those first few days were tough and I absolutely had withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches and initial low energy. But after I pushed through those initial days I noticed a significant difference in my energy levels and I found myself waking up with more energy than ever before.
2. Eliminate caffeine for a month. So before you stop reading and think I am crazy, hear me out. Our bodies become addicted and dependent on caffeine. If we never remove caffeine from our diet, even for a short period, then we won’t allow our body to reboot and figure out how to create natural energy. I know for me I absolutely get addicted and after a certain time, the caffeine no longer has the same effect. I also know, for example, that I am a fast caffeine metabolizer, which basically means that I process caffeine quickly and my body adapts to more of it easily. I learned this through DNA testing. So now every few months I eliminate it completely from my body for at least 3 weeks so that I can allow my system to clear it and reboot. And once my body is no longer dependent on it, my energy level goes through the roof! Please trust me on this and try it!
3. Become a student of your body. One thing that is crystal clear is that everyone’s body is different. What may work for one person may not work for the next person. And what that means is that you must be patient with yourself and be open and willing to figuring out what will work best for you. This is especially true when it comes to figuring out what foods are best for your body and how many hours you should be sleeping. It’s also important to be mindful of how stress is affecting your body. If you are looking only for fast results, if you give up at the first set back or abort after something doesn't work right away, then you are setting yourself up for failure. When it comes to improving energy levels you must be open and willing, through trial and error, to figure out what is going to work best for you.
4. Sleep. Most people need at least 6 hours of sleep per day, while some need about 7-9 hours of sleep. But with our busy schedules, sleep is usually the first thing to suffer. I know for me I prioritize sleep. When we sleep, our body gets to work repairing the cells in our body and healing anything that may not be working properly and processing memories and knowledge that we accumulated that day. Sleep is incredibly restorative and without it we would not be able to function. I mean just think about how irritable you are after being up for close to 24 hours. So what can you do to improve sleep? Two big things are to try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day and to set up a regular sleep ritual that signals the body when you are winding down and getting ready for bed. A popular ritual is to take a nice hot shower to calm the mind before heading to sleep.
5. Exercise and move daily. Energy follows movement. If I don’t exercise every day then I feel sluggish. It’s true when they say that exercise will wake you up and give you energy for hours. Our bodies were designed to move and unfortunately, most people spend the majority of their day sitting. So I recommend getting at least 30 minutes of movement daily.  This can be in the form of a walk outside, a home workout, heading to the gym to do a group fitness class or maybe joining an amazing yoga studio. Whatever you do, commit to doing it no matter what. There will be some days that you won’t feel like it, but I want to encourage you to push through those days and still keep the commitment to yourself. Even if you can just do 10 minutes, that’s important to developing the daily habit - the key is that something is better than nothing!

You absolutely can improve your energy levels, but it’s going to take breaking up with certain foods and making your self-care more of a priority. It’s not selfish to make the time for yourself and it is absolutely necessary if you want to improve your health and thrive! Come see how I transformed my life and learn more about other ways to improve your energy on my blog at healthyerdoc.com.

Dr. Stephanie works with women on how to balance mental and physical fitness with personal and professional success so they can renew their energy, restore clarity and rebuild confidence. You can learn more at healthyerdoc.com or follow her on Instagram @healthyerdoc.