The Energy Edge

PART ONE

The energy crisis

CHAPTER ONE

So tired of being tired

Her day starts early—very early—and she wakes up tired. The alarm goes off at 4:45 AM, and the morning routine gets started: kids out of bed and out the door, lunches packed, and the schedule packed fuller still. By 8 in the morning, I’m already exhausted and feeling like I’ve already put in a full day; then I realize I have a full day ahead of me! forty-two-year-old Sara laments. "By 5 PM, the time I want to be at my best for the people I love, I’m exhausted, cranky, and craving sweets. By 8:30 in the evening, I’m on the couch in a coma. I do sleep at night, but wake up in the morning just as tired. I don’t just want energy, I need energy. I just don’t think I can go on this way!"

Sara, a working mother of two teenagers, is not alone. Her plea for energy may sound like your own.

Or maybe this sounds like you: You’re waiting for an elevator to get to that meeting that began ten minutes ago. You wait, and wait—the car seems to be forever stopped on the seventh floor. You glance at your watch and make a sudden decision to go for the stairs. After all, you’re only going to climb five flights—no big deal. And it is no big deal—till you find yourself out of breath by the third landing. By the time you get to the meeting room, you have to stand outside for several more minutes just to get back to normal breathing and the ability for conversation. Yet, you’re dripping with perspiration and aware that your face is quite red. Whatever happened to that robust health and boundless energy you took for granted not so long ago? Never mind where it went—how can you get it back?

Is Fatigue In Control?

You may be like millions of Americans who unknowingly allow fatigue to control their lives. Sure, you know you’re tired and could use more energy, but you don’t realize how much the power drain is negatively affecting the quality of your life. Consider the warning signs by asking yourself these questions:

Am I always tired, even after a full night’s rest?

Am I irritable at certain times of the day?

Do I have trouble thinking clearly and remembering things?

Have I gained weight, or had trouble losing it?

Does my mind fog when I’m forced to make quick decisions?

Do I feel as though I’ve lost my sense of humor?

Am I picking up colds and flus more often?

Do I wake up in the middle of the night, unable to get back to restful sleep?

Do I have difficulty staying consistent with an exercise routine?

Do I crave sweets much of the time?

Do I struggle with depression?

Although we may associate the desire to be a couch potato with a lack of energy, we aren’t so used to linking mental confusion, short-term memory loss, irritability, lowered immunity, insomnia, mood swings, sweets cravings, even a difficulty with losing weight and staying with an exercise plan, with a lack of energy. Yet this void affects every part of our life—physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual. We have just become accustomed to feeling bad.

In my work as a nutritionist and wellness coach, I see clients from all walks of life—top executives, professional athletes, homemakers, ministers, college students, teachers, retirees—and they all have a similar heartfelt cry: I am out of energy and out of control of this thing called life! Living life today is tough, and living an energy-filled life is tougher still. We have innumerable demands, stresses, and obligations placed upon us, yet little supply to meet those demands. Most of us have families, friends, careers, community and church commitments, pets, houses, yards, and hobbies—all demanding time and attention. But that’s time—and energy—we just don’t have. Polls show again and again that most Americans feel as though they don’t have time to do everything that needs to be done, much less fun time to recharge their batteries. Little wonder that the desperate message I hear every day sounds like a tape recording: "I’m just so tired."

Energy has become a most precious and rare commodity.

How about you? Do you feel as if you rarely have enough time or energy to take a bike ride in the country, read a novel, practice that golf swing, try out some new recipes, or cultivate a new relationship? Do you feel as though you barely have the energy to rise up to the demands and needs of life—let alone your wants? The needs most easy to ignore are your own.

The Right Stuff

We all need energy that lasts as long as our days last. And most of us desire the side benefits of vibrant living as well: sharpened concentration, enduring memory, high productivity, a bright attitude, a hopeful perspective, stress resiliency. This is the right stuff we need for effective, fulfilled lives. Yet I’d have to say most of us just don’t have it.

Statistics show it as well. Studies have shown that one out of five people suffers from extreme fatigue. Many more feel like falling asleep on their feet. More still (six out of ten) are chronically tired—forlorn, grouchy, and unable to think creatively. And nine out of ten say they feel very stressed most days and extremely stressed one or two times a week. It is estimated that Americans make 500 million office visits to doctors each year to complain about generalized fatigue.

What is the cause? Sometimes, fatigue stems from elusive factors such as sleep problems, any number of medical conditions, the side effects of medication, or something as simple (yet little known) as not drinking enough water. But more often the likely cause is something predictable: simply a chronic lack of self-care. We are underfed and underfueled and unable to step up to all the tasks and opportunities at hand. We push our bodies through the day without the right food as though we were cars that could run without gasoline. We aren’t getting enough rest and are being overcome by the stresses of living life. Yet we are too busy or too tired to do anything about it. And these lifestyle blocks allow our natural energy stores to leak away unused.

Sure, you know you need more rest and that getting in better shape would do you a world of good. But when? How? With what? I hear it everyday: "Take care of myself? Eat well? Exercise? Relax? Sleep eight hours? Right… I already have too much to do and never enough time to do it all. I surely don’t have anything left over for those things!" And there’s some truth in that.

But I don’t believe it’s the whole truth. What we’re lacking isn’t the time, it’s the energy. Sure, most of us are busier than we’ve ever been. But the problem is that when free time does arise, we’re just too exhausted to do anything we’d like to do, or feel called to do. Instead, we fall asleep on the couch, zone out in front of the TV, or take part in activities or conversations that profit us little. Why? Because the things we like to do or dream of doing require a supply of energy that we can’t seem to muster up when we need it.

Energy has become a most precious and rare commodity. But it’s not impossible to recover. An energy level that starts early and ends when your day ends may sound like an elusive butterfly, but I’ve written this book to give you hope and vision for exactly that—and to equip you with practical strategies to see that energy becomes a reality in your life. The main theme of The Energy Edge is very simple: You have all the energy you need. You do because you were created with an amazing and efficient energy system already installed!

You see, the human body contains a power plant capable of producing more than enough energy to do just about anything that a person wants to do, and then some. Energy is scripted into every cell in our bodies. We only need to learn how to release—and not hinder—the incredible power within.

Energy is scripted into every cell in our bodies. We only need to learn how to release—and not hinder—the incredible power within.

Releasing Your Natural Resources

Many factors come into play to determine the release and effectiveness of our energy. A number of chemical factors, hormones, and neurotransmitters, along with lifestyle choices and conditions, all influence how strong and alert we feel at any given moment—and how successfully our energy system is operating. If you are experiencing good levels of energy now, it is because this system is functioning well to keep you energized. With fine tuning, you can further enhance your performance to its peak. However, if you or the people you love are in desperate need of energy, getting this inborn energy system operative and running smoothly is your best bet for achieving a sense of well-being and vitality.

There is a way to release a virtual river of energy and stamina from within and use that energy to live a life that is dramatically different. It doesn’t take more time to adopt these effective strategies, it just takes a small amount of planning—and the rewards are enormous! And that’s what the Energy Edge is all about. In this book you will find a plan for energized living that allows you to tap into the power you need to live life well. We now have years of scientific research to guide us, and I’ve assembled the latest on how to live better and live longer—and not live with fatigue. We will take a look at the foods and beverages you consume and those you don’t, your breathing and exercise patterns, the power of your mind and moods, your relationships, and your beliefs. We’ll explore specific upgrades you can make in your ways of living that can transform your I’m so tired into I’m bursting with energy!

The Energy Edge is not meant to be an exhaustive diagnostic guide for illnesses and maladies. Although fatigue is not generally rooted in serious illness, it can be a caution flag, an early warning sign, even a last stage symptom. It is often the symptom that propels a person to seek a thorough physical exam. If you have been experiencing persistent fatigue (for a month or more) the first action step you should take is to see your physician. Get an all points check before following the Energy Edge guidelines and principles. Having your doctor’s okay will make your efforts much more safe and effective.

I truly believe that you can add years to your life, and life to your years. Decades of research and experience back up this belief. But the real art of living well will remain what it has always been: learning how to bring meaning and vitality to whatever time you have by embracing the life-giving principles of living and loving. As you focus on your energy supply—and win over the forces that neutralize and vandalize it—you can add productive years to your life, empower your thinking processes, maintain a joyful sense of well-being, and energize your life!

I have been living a life committed to wellness for over twenty-five years—eating well, living fit, attempting to meet my needs on all levels—in short, to thrive rather than just survive. Yet, while immersed in the vast body of research and personal stories I gathered for this book, I became aware of how even I had begun to settle for less energy. I’ve let family crises, professional transitions, mid-life issues, a miscarriage, and the resulting hormonal hurricane become huge obstacles to my living well—really well. I had let them vandalize the energy I was committed to having. True, I have had little control over many of these factors and events. But I do have the ability to take charge of what I can: my eating, exercise, breathing, sleep, choice of relationships, and many other factors. I can guard against being invaded by the energy vandals.

Through the writing of this book, I have had reaffirmed to myself this truth: I am capable of being more than I had become. The challenges I have experienced are real and difficult, but not insurmountable—and not worth giving up my valuable energy. I am now more committed than ever to a lifestyle that supports vibrant living. May you, too, commit yourself to a lifetime of living with the Energy Edge.

CHAPTER TWO

Spinning plates, spinning wheels

"I feel like a pinball—ringing some bells and buzzers, making some points, but mostly bouncing around and being batted back and forth!" Dale is a successful thirty-six-year-old company president who is intently focused on living a quality life with his family and friends—and having that be a life of significance. But that focus is easily lost in the midst of his very demanding schedule.

I juggle ten things at once, phone call to phone call, plane trip to taxi ride. I’m constantly in the middle of a crisis in one area while working on a critical acquisition in another. Every day Dale faces a rigorous test of his stamina and ability to respond on his feet. And while he thrives on challenge and opportunity, he says, My personal demands have never been greater. The pressure just doesn’t stop.

Like Dale, you may long for the good old days, when life was simple and the world moved much more slowly—when e-mail didn’t pile up at the office, dinner baked in the oven instead of in the microwave, phones connected you to real people instead of machines, and days at the office ran nine to six instead of six to nine.

The good old days weren’t the 1920s or even the 1950s, they were just a few short years ago—1975 or so. Life was less frenzied somehow. But now you’re spinning dozens of plates at one time: Gotta do that report, gotta make that meeting, gotta get the kids, gotta get dinner, gotta buy that gift, gotta phone those people, gotta exercise, gotta pay bills. You may not have set a foot outside your door in the morning before you’ve exhausted yourself. Your churning, spinning thoughts are wearing you out—you and just about everyone else to one degree or another. Again, feeling exhausted has taken on a life of its own.

Or maybe you feel a sense of spinning your wheels—racing madly through life, but going nowhere. It’s a statement on life in these times, but seems to be an age-old problem. And like an overloaded computer, we begin to work more slowly, break down more frequently, and constantly operate on the verge of crashing. Because we don’t have time for any of it, even the time to notice how badly we really feel, we tend to drown out the I’m so tired message with aspirin for aches, caffeine for weariness, and sugar for mid-afternoon slumps.

Dale’s daily grind forced him to take a close look at his lifestyle. He had been eating too much and at the wrong times, exercising too little, and not taking any time to relax his body or mind. Although he had a meaningful life of faith, he was having a hard time making the time to connect spiritually. His marriage was suffering from neglect. He had stopped having fun.

It wasn’t the culmination of all of these things going wrong that led Dale to seek out my help—it was a middle-of-the-night visit to the emergency room with crushing chest pains. The diagnosis: classic stress giving a wake-up call. He had no blockages, his heart was clear and seemingly functioned fine; but the stress chemicals running amuck in his body triggered an electrical surge that resulted in muscle spasms. The discharge prescription given by the ER physician was to slow down, relax, and cut out the stress. His stress levels soared just hearing it. Dale wasn’t able to just cut out the stress.

During his first consultation with me, I could clearly see that although the demands on him were great, he did have more ability to take charge of his life than he realized. Yes, there was much in Dale’s life that he could not control, and these things were major stressors to him because he felt responsible—and was expected to be. But there was also a great deal that he could take charge of: his eating, his exercise, his schedule—and this in turn would bring a new order to his life and enable him to better withstand the challenges.

Health now had Dale’s attention, and he attacked the project of upgrading his lifestyle habits like he would a corporate acquisition. He’s now eating often and well and has embraced exercise with an iron grip for its stress-reduction powers. He’s finding that he is now more productive in less time, and has begun to schedule more time to invest in his family and friends as well as to get away and reflect. Dale is no longer waking up in the middle of the night with anxiety attacks; he’s sleeping well most nights and waking up feeling refreshed. He’s so positive—and in awe—about the benefits of his new way of life that he’s invested in a wellness initiative for his employees. I want everyone in my company to have the energy I now have, he explains. I began a wellness program to save my life, but what I’ve gotten is my life back—better than ever!

Stress: A Fact Of Life

If I can just get through this week, it’ll get better…. If I can just make it through the holidays, things won’t be so crazy…. This is a particularly difficult time, but the schedule will calm down soon…. It’s just been a really tough month, it’s not always this frenzied.

These are the statements of a stressed person who is dreaming that the stress in his or her life will go away—or get better. It doesn’t. At least, it hasn’t for my clients and it hasn’t for me. There’s always something new waiting to stress and challenge me. The good news is that the stress doesn’t really get worse either—it just gets different. Every day, every week—it’s a little different, but it’s always there, just as intense.

Stress researchers explain this by naming stress the unavoidable price of modern life. Nearly nine out of ten Americans say they experience stress every day, and high levels several times a week, and one in four complains of high levels every day. This statistic, and our experience, tells us that no one of any age is immune to stress, and that we could certainly use some new perspective in how to overcome its effects.

The problem in treating this human condition is identifying and understanding it. Stress is one of those words that everyone knows the meaning of, but no one can define. What’s stressful to one person may not be to another. Our reactions to life events vary from person to person; what frazzles me may challenge and inspire you.

Any change that requires you to adjust your way of doing things can be a cause of stress. It can be good or bad, as major as retirement or the death of a loved one; or as minor as a traffic jam, a missing set of keys, or a surprise visit from a friend. Research shows time and time again that it’s not the amount of stresses in life that affects health and well-being, but one’s response to the situations that causes the negative results.

Many of us refer to upsetting life events as stress, when in fact those are stressors. Like a coffee cup, we all have a certain capacity. Just as whether the coffee spills over the top when poured depends on the cup’s size, people who have a seemingly large capacity to deal with challenge may not overflow under stress.

I don’t know what causes overflow in your life, but my stressors always have something in common. The situations and life events that are most stressful for me are always about control; my unhealthy stress response always arises when I try to control what is beyond my control: people, events, situations, choices of others. The stress levels run particularly high when I’m in a position of responsibility—with others depending on me—but I can’t control all of the factors. And my personal tension rises higher still when my demands rise higher than my resources. For example, when the demand to complete a project by Friday outweighs my perception of my level of energy and creativity, or if giving a presentation to a professional group requires a level of knowledge I don’t believe I possess, the result is a crushing feeling of stress.

Our physical bodies were designed to survive the stresses we encounter in life. We were created with a stress tracking system that is intricately programmed to seek and find stress signals. This stress sensor (the pituitary gland in our brain) is much like radar equipment, and is constantly on the lookout for what appears to be danger to our survival. When this master gland picks up stress signals, it sends a hormone messenger to our body’s adrenal system (located near the kidneys) to prepare us to fight the present danger, or flee to escape. These chemical messages set in motion the symptoms of stress. They cause a shifting of the chemical balance deep within our system, triggering chemical reactions that slow down the metabolism and other bodily functions (such as digestion), as well as causing blood to pool in our muscles and fluid to gather in the extremities, and priming the body for action with spurts of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol.

The body’s functions radically modify to meet the stress demands. The heart beats faster, blood pressure rises, the rate of breathing increases, and muscles tense up. Proteins are converted into sugar, which causes insulin levels to surge and the blood sugar to fluctuate wildly. The roller coaster ride your blood sugar takes in response to stress affects your mood, concentration, appetite, and of course, energy level.

The fight-or-flight response was intended to kick in as a response to a threat. This surge of chemical reactions may have ensured our early ancestors’ survival when facing grizzly bears, but it can wear us down when it results from ever-present dangers we try to grin and bear. Our bodies read traffic jams, deadlines, financial pressures, or relationship struggles all as our modern-day grizzlies. Adjusting to new situations, new rules, new roles, and new expectations—all trigger the stress response.

Sometimes, we may react to stress in a different way than the classic fight-or-flight response. Instead, we may play possum and withdraw. Just as a possum rolls over and plays dead when threatened, a person may roll over into hopelessness, depression, and feelings of being out of control. Physiological reactions include a decreased heart rate and muscle tone. When chronic, this kind of play dead reaction may actually invite life-threatening illness by deadening the immune system’s response, dulling the mind, and causing the organ systems to function less efficiently.

The key word with any kind of negative stress is chronic. All of the adaptive mechanisms for the stress response were intended as a short-term alert/alarm to prepare us for fight or flight and to help us recover once we escape the danger. But today’s bodies—exposed to chronic, unresolved stress—never have a chance to recover and break out of the fight-or-flight mode. Instead, they stay stuck in the stress response mode.

When the body is exposed to the same stress again and again, and there is no stress release, the body stores are depleted and the body systems are put to extraordinary demand. The body begins to show signs of damage—with fatigue being a cardinal symptom. Being stuck in stress causes chemical surges which can also result in headaches, backaches, sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression, arthritic pain, asthma, gastrointestinal upsets, skin disorders, and weight and eating problems. In fact, the American Institute of Stress reports that 75 to 90 percent of