CrazyBusy Mama! (Dot Calm)

By Mellisa McJunkin

It’s no secret we all need energy and I think it would be safe to say, we could all use more of it. Many things can leave us seriously energy deficient; lack of sleep, lack of proper nutrients, sickness, disease, not to mention the treatments for many diseases. That aside, here are five secrets to having an abundance of energy all day long.

I like to use acronyms to learn and remember things, so for learning these secrets let’s use the acronym S.H.A.P.E.

Secret #1 – Sleep – Deep, Deep Sleep
We all know we need about 7 or 8 hours of good, quality sleep. But there is an element to sleep this is often overlooked. It is not necessarily the number of hours we sleep but the time frame in which we sleep. Our bodies secrete a natural sleep hormone called melatonin which causes you to sleep in such a way that not only let’s your mind rest, but also helps your body heal, repair and rejuvenate. This hormone begins to kick in at about 10:00pm and tapers off at 2:00am. Which means the secret you get your best sleep from 10:00pm to 6:00am.

Secret #2 – Hydration
No, I am not taking about hydrating with a pot of coffee. The first thing you should do when you wake up in the morning is drink a tall (12-16 oz.) glass of water. I often add a spoonful of stevia and lemon juice as well. Since you have been a sleep for several hours, your body wakes up in a state of dehydration. Water will not only refresh your mind and body, it will also help expel viruses and toxins. So it’s important to drink plenty of water through out the day as well.

Secret #3 – Air
Breathing is good, I do it all the time you say. But most of us don’t take in enough deep, cleansing breaths. Deep breaths through the nose and out through the mouth not only infuses you with life giving oxygen, you are also expelling build ups of harmful carbon dioxide. Also, many diseases proliferate in an oxygen deficient environment, so an abundance of oxygen will not only give you more energy, but it will also keep disease from running rampant.

Secret #4 – Protein
Sugar and caffeine may give you a high for awhile. But you now what they say, “What goes up, must come down.” Protein on the other hand gives your body what it needs for sustainable energy. It burns slow and steady giving you an even boost in energy. The fastest and most convenient form of protein I have found is in protein powder. You can add it to water, milk, or even oatmeal or plain yogurt. Eating almonds or cottage cheese are also fast and easy too. Ideally you should consume a small amount of protein at every meal and snack time for your energy to last.

Secret #5 – Exercise
Most people resist the exercise routine for a number of reasons. Some say it’s too hard or they don’t enough time. But you don’t have make it complicated to make it work for the objective at hand; More energy. Walking or even bouncing on a rebounder for 15 – 20 minutes in the morning and again in the afternoon can increase your blood flood and oxygen levels enough to boost your energy all the way until bed time. Sweating a bit is also beneficial too because it helps release toxins as well.

Most of us know all this stuff, so I guess you could say these really aren’t secrets. The real secret is in consistency. Follow these steps and it won’t be long before you will find yourself waking up before your alarm, with an abundance of energy and mental clarity that will last all day.

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Mellisa McJunkin has been a health and fitness lifestyle coach for more than a decade. She has a passion for researching and writing about many different health and wellness issues. Visit with her at her blog for more tips and free gifts at http://extremehealth.digi-info-broker.com/blog.

My first run-in with exercise was quite unfortunate. I was in the fifth grade and participating in my school’s “Jump Rope for Heart” campaign (a great program that continues to this day). I’d gotten a few pledges from my parents and people at my church, which meant the longer I jumped, the more they’d pay. Easy enough.

I never was the strongest kid in my class. Okay, scratch that: I was the class wimp. (Classmates loved breaking through my spot in a Red Rover line because I was such an easy target.)  I didn’t have a “strong constitution,” as my English ancestors would’ve said, and couldn’t keep up with the others. After 10-20 minutes of jumping over that flipping piece of overgrown twine, I began to get lightheaded. In fact, I had tunnel vision and almost passed out. (Looking back, it’s obvious that I was dehydrated…besides being a weakling.)

I want to talk today about preparing to exercise…beginning with that necessity of life: water.

You’ve probably heard that if you want to build muscle, you need to eat more protein. Protein, after all, is the building block of muscle. But did you know that your muscles are also 73% water? I never knew that until recently. If you want to build muscle by working out, drink water. Cindy Whitmarsh of ExerciseTV recommends drinking 90 ounces of water per day. That’s around five 16.3 ouncers. That may seem like a lot of water, but trust me: If you’re working out like you should, drinking that much will come easily.

Also, if you want to give your body the right fuel for your workouts, you need to stay away from junk food. I’m not a nutritionist, so I’m not going to tell you exactly what you should eat — you can find that information yourself just by doing a Google search. But I will tell you that when I eat too much sugar, I feel weak and even sick to my stomach. Also, and maybe this is because I have fibromyalgia, my body will start to ache shortly after eating sugar-laden “food.” (A side note on my fibromyalgia, which I’ll cover in more depth in a future post: Since I’ve begun working out, my flare-ups have pretty much been non-existent.)

When I eat right, which includes whole wheat or whole grains, dark green veggies, protein, small amounts of fruit (fruit is good for you, but is still full of fructose, or “fruit sugar”), etc., I feel stronger and have more endurance for my workouts. Try eating better — you’ll find you have more energy for your daily tasks, as well.

Also, if you’re serious about working out, stay away from alcohol, especially if you’re training for a race. Because it’s a depressant, it affects your brain’s and body’s ability to do normal tasks. One little glass of wine can slow you down and inhibit your endurance for four days.

The last one should be obvious: Get the sleep you need. My mother has told me for years (she’s always reading the latest research) that the sleep you get before midnight counts twice as much as the sleep you get after. I don’t know why that is, but I know my body sure feels it if I make it a habit of not hitting the hay until 1 or 2 in the morning.

Sometimes I work out late at night after my three year-old is asleep. That’s really not the best time to exercise. For one, if I do several ExerciseTV workouts in a row (10-20 minutes each on average), I can pretty much plan on being awake for at least another hour or two afterward. Because exercise gets your heart rate up and your adrenaline flowing, it’s a great way to begin your day, but not such a great way to end it like that.  If late at night really is your best time for working out, then do what works for you. Otherwise, try switching it to sometime earlier in the day. You might find you’ll sleep better, too.

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