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What Happened To Your Energy?

Guest post by: Michael Hume

Article Overview: An entire market has sprung up around that "two-thirty tired" feeling you have when your personal energy is low. Some of the all-natural supplement drinks, particularly liquid nutraceuticals that include real-food extracts (and not much caffeine), are helpful. But the high-sugar, high-caffeine "buzz" drinks can hurt you. You'd be better off with an overall healthy lifestyle....

What Happened To Your Energy?

Drop The Energy Drink And Pick Up The NEWSS An entire market has sprung up around that "two-thirty tired" feeling you have when your personal energy is low. Some of the all-natural supplement drinks, particularly liquid nutraceuticals that include real-food extracts (and not much caffeine), are helpful. But the high-sugar, high-caffeine "buzz" drinks can hurt you. You'd be better off with an overall healthy lifestyle.

The best starting place is to take personal responsibility for the five key daily health habits I call "The NEWSS:" Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sleep, and Supplements. Sticking to your discipline on these five habits will naturally improve your energy, and in most cases, fairly quickly.

Nutrition - start by cutting the "food" out of your diet that really isn't food at all, but processed garbage. A steady diet of that stuff will definitely sap your strength, and your energy. You also want to avoid putting your body through too much of the chemical yo-yo created by caffeine and alcohol. But energy-boosting nutrition is often more about adding than subtracting - I've often said it's not so much what you eat that's making you fat and sluggish, but what you don't eat. Make sure you get fresh, real food into your daily diet. Broccoli doesn't really cancel out ice cream, but its nutrients do help your body deal with the other abuses you perpetrate upon it.

Exercise - one of the fastest ways to boost your energy is to boost your metabolism through exercise. You MUST work out at least three times a week, getting your heart rate up to an aerobic zone (your pulse should be 60-80 percent of your "theoretical max," which is 220 minus your age), and keeping it there for at least 15-20 minutes. But six weekly workouts is better, and the best approach for someone who isn't trying to buff up for a body-building championship is to alternate three aerobic workouts (on, say, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) with three strength-building workouts (on Tuesday, Thursday, and the weekend). Drop by the gym and ask a personal trainer to lay out a program like this that will suit you.

Water - you know, you feel tired, but maybe your body is just thirsty. In America, we tend to drink way too much coffee and pop every day, and not nearly enough water. Get two liters every single day, and watch your energy climb.

Sleep - we all think we're super-human, and I've even heard people say crazy things like "I do better on about five hours of sleep... any more, and I just have no energy." These people are usually the ones you see drinking coffee all day long, washing snacks down with pop, and sucking down sugary "energy drinks" to get through the afternoon. Get your body used to eight hours of sleep every night - especially in synergy with the other NEWSS habits - and the change in your vitality may amaze you.

Supplements - even if you are doing a good job of managing your nutrition, you can't get enough of the good stuff these days. Between the replacement of farming with engineered "food manufacturing" and the many stressors of modern society, your body just can't get and hold onto enough vitamins and nutrients. You have to take at least one good supplement a day (and that two-thirty energy drink doesn't count), and it would be a good idea to take more. Beyond the multi-nutrient, I'd next look at antioxidants such as lycopene, food carotenes, and vitamin C. Next, add oils like fish, flax, and borage, along with a vitamin E supplement. Finally, take a look at digestive aids, such as fiber supplements and certain citrus extracts. Supplements help your body manage your food and beverage intake, and to keep your system sufficiently cleaned out. A clean, well-running digestive system is essential to energy!

Start today. Whether you run your own business, or you exercise your entrepreneurial initiative in the service of a company you don't own, you need your personal energy to face the tough times that are coming. And the darker the news gets, the brighter you'll be if you stick to The NEWSS.

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Article Tags: health habits, health wealth and happiness, personal responsibility, successful entrepreneurs



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