It’s spring, but your lacking that spring in your step, feeling exhausted before you’ve even got out of bed. We’ve put together a list of the top 6 common offenders for people who are feeling like their lack-lustre energy is affecting not only their workouts but their daily well-being as well.
1. Poor sleep
We’ve addressed this before in our ‘Sleep’ post but we want to re-emphasise that it’s the quality as much as the quantity.
If your partner snores, invest in some ear plugs, if your bedroom is too light then get an eye mask.
Turn down the lights and get a good bed routine in place to help clear your mind and get your body wound down for sleep.
With spring here and summer just around the corner, you might also need to focus on turning down some of your engagements and turn up some must needed time for rest and recovery!
2. Low blood sugar
Food is fuel and therefore energy.
If you’re skipping meals, then there is no-way your body can thrive for you.
There is no time like the present to address your diet and ensure you’re getting regular, balanced meals.
The May Challenge nutritional pack outlines how to balance each meal to ensure you’re blood glucose levels are balanced so you’re optimally fuelling your body, or for more information book in to see our nutritional health coach today.
3. Overtraining
What are your goals?
If you don’t know then you could easily be overtraining.
You need to ensure that you have a clear plan in place to achieve your goals, not just spend hours pounding away in the gym day after day. Rest and recovery and a nutritional plan are just as important as a training programme and without one your sluggishness could be a way your body is telling you to rest!
4. Are you drinking enough…water?
If you think about your blood being nearly 80% water, you can image what happens when your dehydrated. Your blood becomes thick and can’t move about your body as well meaning your not going to be getting oxygen to your muscles as effectively as you need. Remember that if you’re doing a lot of exercise, especially during the summer months, you will need to also replace your electrolytes which are essential for nerve and muscle function. Also, caffeine and alcohol place a stress on the body and cause dehydration, so make sure you’re balancing out cups of the hard stuff with some refreshing, hydrating H2O.
For any advice on how to support your training programme, book in with our nutritional health coach for a free 20-minute chat to see how we can help.
5. Low magnesium levels
Magnesium is a key mineral for cellular energy production and without magnesium present as a co-factor, the chemical reactions we need to produce energy cannot happen.
Therefore, low levels of magnesium may be one of the major contributing factors of fatigue, especially as magnesium levels are depleted by stress and who can honestly hold their hands up and say they aren’t stressed?
Magnesium can also help balance blood sugar levels, therefore assist with point number 2, as well as help reduce inflammation and maintain a healthy nervous system. The brilliant news is that some of the top food sources of magnesium cross over with iron rich food sources (looked at below), such as; spinach, beet greens, soybeans and sesame seeds. Other great sources for magnesium are; quinoa, cashew nuts, brown rice, pumpkin seeds and broccoli.
6. Low iron levels
Please note that iron is a heavy toxic metal and even though it is a key mineral for oxygen transportation around the body, we would never recommend supplementation without a blood test and guidance from your doctor!
To maximise the amount of iron you are getting from your food ensure that you are eating plant sources of iron with vitamin c. This helps convert iron from plants into its most absorbable form. Our top iron rich foods are:
- Spinach
- Swiss Chard
- Parsley
- Turmeric
- Beet Greens
- Asparagus
- Soybeans
- Lentils
- Sesame Seeds
Source: worlds healthiest foods
At Hub, we understand that no ‘one size fits all’ approach works when it comes to health and fitness. If you have any health or wellness concerns the please feel free to get in touch today and see how one of experts can help you get on your path to thrive!
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