Learn How to Increase Your Energy Naturally

My personal goal is to help you understand how to naturally, effectively, and enjoyably maximize your energy levels!
To start us off, I would LOVE for you to answer the following questions in the comments below...
1- On a scale from 1-10 (where 10 is optimal), how would you rate your current energy levels?
2 - Why did you give this rating?
3 - Why do you think this is?
Why Maximize Your Energy? There are ENDLESS benefits to maximizing your energy levels - and this potential just continues to grow the more energy you have!
Some of the more obvious ones include:
Maximized focus and productivity for work-related pursuits
More time to spend with family and friends
Higher levels of physical fitness
Heightened mental clarity and cognitive functioning
More time for hobbies and cultivation of artistic or creative pursuits
The question of ‘what can you do with more energy’ is a matter of personal preference - when you start to maximize your energy levels with these all-natural habits and methods; it’s up to YOU what you do with your time. That’s what makes it so exciting!
Nutrition One of the most obvious ways to increase your energy levels is by improving your NUTRITION. Regarding the foods which provide the body with the most energy-boosting nutrients, foods with a low-glycemic level are ultimately the best options.
Foods like beans, bran cereal, brown rice, whole wheat bread, and nuts have less impact on your blood sugar than foods with a high glycemic load (like white rice, spaghetti, potatoes, corn flakes, and sugary juices and drinks.) Even though we’ve been taught to associate these starchy foods with energy-providing principles, the long-term effects of consuming this kind of food have negative impacts on your energy levels.
The main issue with these foods is that the carbohydrates they provide are refined carbs which can play havoc on blood sugar levels. While they’ll boost your energy short-term, they are definitely not a good long-term solution.
For more on refined carbs such as what they are, and how to recognize them, see this link https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/why-refined-carbs-are-bad
Boosting Metabolism - As metabolism is the force which converts the nutrients in our food to energy, it follows that foods good for your metabolism will also provide you with a higher level of energy. Aiming to increase your metabolism is a great way to shift the focus from consuming ‘high-energy’ foods which can so often be misleading in their nutritional worth.
Optimal metabolism requires an abundance of vitamins and minerals which provide our cells with the proper fuel needed to release energy. When the nutrients in our food aren’t enough, the cells are low in energy-releasing activity which results in tiredness and fatigue.
Eating predominantly nutrient-dense foods like superfoods have been proven (see the link below) to increase energy levels and provide more nutritional value than foods which may contain fewer nutrients than it may initially appear.
Increasing physical movement and exercise is also a necessary factor to boost metabolism, and the combined effect of both nutrient-dense foods and exercise is an increase and abundance of health and energy.
Fitness Levels - Energy received after a period of activity function as a way to increase overall energy.
It’s essential, however, to engage in the right kind and intensity of fitness activity to encourage energy levels.
As Colette Bouchez describes in the first article linked below, activities that encourage ‘calm energy’ are more effective at sustaining energy release throughout the day and avoid the danger of burnout or slipping into fatigue. These are things like yoga, tai chi, pilates, and specific strength training.
Increasing fitness levels also encourage more profound, more improved sleep patterns, better heart health, and sharper focus (as the second article below describes in more detail).
Energy & Mental Health - Your mental health has a direct effect on your energy levels - just as physical health does. When we consider the mental energy that’s expended during periods of intense anxiety or depression, or even just a day of being very worried, this becomes evident, and so it’s important to maintain awareness of this as we aim to increase overall energy.
Becoming aware of where our energy is going is key to mastering it and cultivating more, and this is where things such as meditation and yoga are beneficial.
Meditation helps us learn how to direct our energy where we need it to go. It may seem simple, but being able to recognize where and how our thoughts affect our physical energy is SO important if we’re going to learn how to let it go into cultivating more positive relationships and connections around us.
Increasing your magnesium and vitamin D intake can also boost both mood and energy levels, and so consuming foods such as bananas, cashews, almonds, dark chocolate, leafy greens, and seeds is recommended!
For more on this topic, see here:
Meditation - It can be difficult for someone who has no previous experience with meditation to feel the benefits straight away, so I’d recommend you start small - trying even 10 minutes a day every morning will help you familiarize yourself with the practice and provide you a good foundation on which you can build upon for a longer and more regular practice.
By building up the stress response of both the mind and body, meditation helps us to save energy where before it would have been lost on worry and unnecessary problem-solving. Studies like the one mentioned in the article below have proven that meditation can reduce the levels of cortisol in the body, a chemical that is released in response to the ‘fight-or-flight’ mode we’ve come to associate with anxiety issues.
Avoiding Stimulants - Go Natural. The irony surrounding the fact that stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol, and ‘energy-boosting’ drinks are that they are more damaging to our health than helpful.
Some useful natural stimulants have similar energy-boosting effects to the likes of caffeine but with none of the guilt. These include: Ginseng, Guarana, B Vitamins, Chlorophyll, Coconut Oil
By increasing blood-oxygen levels, reducing blood sugars, cognitive function, and encouraging metabolism, these natural stimulants provide a wide variety of benefits that results in an overall increase in energy levels.
You can find a full list of the individual benefits of these foods and several more less-common foods at this link:
Drink More Water - It’s a relatively simple recommendation, and yet so many of us neglect to fuel our bodies correctly to optimize the oxygen production in cells which is where energy is created.
We can become drained and fatigued if our bodies haven’t consumed enough water. Besides providing an energy boost and fighting off fatigue, drinking water also produces many other benefits such as warding off headaches, increasing metabolism, helping with weight loss and aiding in clearer skin. In this way, many physical symptoms of low energy levels are all intertwined, and so increasing water intake can often be the most basic first step towards increasing energy.
Dehydration is a massive issue that causes low levels of energy and general fatigue. With less water in your system, your blood volume decreases (meaning your heart has to work harder to pump it around!). Your blood vessels also constrict, so don’t be surprised when dehydration headaches strike. All of this extra energy loss can be avoided by merely increasing the amount of water we drink!
In case you needed more convincing, this articles explains more about the importance of drinking enough water: https://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-drink/5-reasons-never-neglect-water
Do What You Love - Passion is Energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you’ - Oprah Winfrey
Regarding getting energy from non-food related sources, drink or exercise, there has been a recent surge in an understanding of how activities and engagement with our environment can also affect energy levels.
Regularly doing activities, we love and feel strongly about not only increases levels of happiness and contentment but also helps to produce more energy physically. I like to think of it more as increasing our ‘vitality’ - the passion for engaging with people and activities that help us to shine and become the most positive version of ourselves in a given moment.
By being honest with ourselves and open to exploring passions, talents, and hobbies and making time for them in the bustle of everyday life, we are automatically injecting a little bit more happiness into our day! What is it that you love to do? Notice how much more energized you feel next time you engage with this activity, and then the next step is simple - DO MORE OF IT!
More tips to increase energy through enthusiasm and passion:
Set Your Alarm - Getting up earlier has been proven to get us that extra boost of energy and positivity we need to get the most out of the day.
By getting our bodies moving and engaging in light to moderate exercise in the early hours, we are kickstarting your metabolism, productivity, and energy levels to ensure a more sustained release of the energy gained during the night.
Waking up earlier means:
- More time to exercise - A Better Diet - Increased productivity -Reduced levels of stress
The time spent on these activities in the morning is a crucial time for self-reflection and giving ourselves the opportunity to tune in with how we’re feeling before starting into the day’s work.
Even Forbes has studied the benefits of being an early riser:
Reducing Screen Time - A notable change comes over us when we reduce the amount of time we spend ‘plugged in’ to our devices. Not only do we become more ‘present,’ but we become more alert which can also contribute to improved fitness levels.
Although it may initially seem that removing ourselves from technology gives us more energy when you break it down it just means that all the energy that would previously have gone on mental analytics and online scrolling is now free to be used elsewhere.
Understanding your energy usage can be likened to understanding exactly where your electrical energy is going - there are many outlets, most of which we have minimal awareness of. Screen time is one of these.
Too much screen time has also been proven to lower the levels of cortisol in the brain which helps the body to balance out stressful situations. When we lack cortisol, we lack the ability to process experiences and problems as well as we normally could.
More about the effects of screen-time on your health:http://www.netivei-reshet.org/en/node/76
Reducing Caffeine Intake - This one can be controversial... isn’t coffee GOOD for your energy?
According to the National Coffee Association, approximately 55 million Americans drink coffee every day. The truth is that there are so many conflicting ideologies about the advantages/disadvantages of coffee for the body that’s it’s next to impossible to know what to believe.
Our brain activity is controlled by chemicals called neurotransmitters, which either stimulate brain cells or quieten them. Adenosine is a quieting neurotransmitter. Caffeine attaches to adenosine receptors on your brain cells, blocking the quieting effect of this neurotransmitter. The net effect of caffeine, therefore, is stimulation.
The increased activity of brain cells under the influence of caffeine leads to a subsequent rise in the amount of epinephrine in our bodies. Epinephrine is the "fight or flight" hormone, which has stimulating effects on your brain and body.
While this hormone does technically increase energy levels, caffeine is not a cell-powering substance. In other words, your cells cannot generate energy-based activity from caffeine. Instead, it stimulates the brain to be more focused and alert. This is where the confusion arises and how many people think that caffeine energizes us.
Here’s a great article about the process of caffeine on the brain: http://www.sarahramsden.com/why-coffee-might-be-stressing-you-out/
Spending Time in the Sun - Did you know that the sun has a direct effect on our energy levels? It’s easy to feel lighter, brighter, and more energized when the sun is out, and as Vitamin D is quite a rare nutrient to find in foods, the sun is the most important source of vitamin D that we can get naturally.
Vitamin D has a direct relationship with our energy levels. When we are lacking in vitamin D, we are more likely to experience fatigue and low levels of energy. As the sun is the most important and potent source of this vitamin, it’s easy to see how spending time in the sun is a more effective way of boosting our energy than trying to increase supplements or intake of it.
This article explains how melatonin and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) directly happen as a result of how much/how little vitamin D we have in our bodies.
Natural Supplements - It’s common for the supplements available for boosting energy levels to be unknown combinations of ingredients and unnatural products that we don’t question purely because it helps us to achieve our goal - they expand our energy. But most products marketed as ‘energy boosters’ actually contain more harmful substances than beneficial ones, and so the best advice for those seeking to boost their energy levels naturally would be to steer clear of them altogether.
Despite being labeled 'natural,' over 90 percent of vitamin supplements are synthetic and new evidence is emerging that these unnatural forms of vitamins could do more harm than good. According to the Organic Consumers Association in the USA, man-made vitamins cannot be used by the body in the same way as their natural versions.
Herbal energy supplements (such as the ones listed below) are much more efficient at relieving symptoms of fatigue and don’t present any risks or dangers of negative side-effects while they do so. They’re also 100% natural!
-Ginseng -Eleuthero -Suma Root -Guarana -Green Tea
B Vitamins & B12 - Only food provides “energy” in the form of calories, carbs, fat, and protein. B vitamins help convert dietary energy into ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate, the form of energy that your body uses) in a series of complex chemical reactions carried out by the mitochondria in cells.
B12 is just one of the members of the B-vitamin family, but it’s one of the most important to your body. You can get a good amount of this vitamin if you eat lean animal meat or take a daily multivitamin. (However, you do it, be sure you’re getting the daily recommended value!) B12 is vital for healthy red blood cell formation, neurological function, proper energy creation, and so much more.
More on B Vitamins here:
How to Incorporate This into a Busy Lifestyle? - If all of this information is seeming like a lot to take in, it can sometimes help to break it down into small, manageable daily tasks. You can take these tips one by one to incorporate them into your life. The natural supplements can all be taken merely with hot water, tea, or any meals, making them an easy way to encourage your energy levels.
Physical Activity: By increasing levels of physical activity in small ways (such as walking to work or somewhere you would typically drive), you will experience an elevated level of energy and motivation.
BE AWARE
Just becoming more aware of our energy levels at various points during the day can help us implement strategies to combat times of low energy. For instance, some people notice energy lags in the morning, while others experience it more in the evening.
When do you find your energy lacks the most?
Goal Setting - Maximizing your energy levels is a great way to start helping you achieve your goals. By increasing the amount of energy we have to spend, it stands to reason that there is more surplus energy to be spent in areas you wish to either improve or enhance your life.
What goals do you think you could achieve if you could increase your energy levels? (Not just physical energy levels, but mental, too!)
By regulating and understanding our energy levels, we can ensure that goals are not only met but built upon.
This is a fantastic article on the relationship between goal setting and energy levels, and I’d encourage you to read it:
Balance - In the end, it all comes down to balance. Finding the right balance between work, diet, physical, creative, and enjoyable activities is the key to enabling you to unlock your potential and helping you manifest more energy into your life.
It can be a slow experience to start with, but experimenting with these things and finding out exactly what works for your body, mind, and lifestyle is the best way to find what works for YOU to optimize your energy.
Activities which can help with finding things balance are things like meditation, yoga, taking some time for yourself, journaling, or anything else you feel helps you to connect with YOU!
What do you do to reset?
How Do You Feel Right Now? How has all of this made you feel? Overwhelmed? Excited to increase your energy levels?
Finding something to be excited about is a great way to increase energy and overall enthusiasm to improve your lifestyle.
Using the force of this excitement to drive you forwards and continue increasing the level and strength of your energy will help you achieve goals and become accustomed to functioning in this higher energetic state.
You Are Just Getting Started I love sharing this topic with people who are eager to transform their lifestyle by increasing their energy levels.
If you have any further questions, please post them below and email me at [email].
I am always here to support you!!!
Takeaway
Also, if you feel like you need support on this journey, I am more than happy to help…
Go to my website at www.susanlopresti.com for more great information about my programs, my podcast and how we can work together for you to achieve all your health goals
And finally - remember this quote!
“The higher your energy levels, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel, and the better you feel, the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results” - Tony Robbins

 

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