You’re Not Lazy, You’re Malnourished!
Almost daily I hear prospective clients, friends, family members, say they just don’t have the energy to workout, that they are too busy and by the end of the day, feel lazy, lethargic, unmotivated. However looking at their other accomplishments in life: working long hours, running a business, taking care of their family, having a budding social life, traveling and other hobbies, they are definitely not lazy, unmotivated people. If you feel the same way, keep reading because I have a different theory.
Instead of just assuming laziness is the cause, let’s look at the symptoms first: lazy, lethargic, unmotivated. Basically a lack of energy.
Where does energy come from? It comes from food! What if you’re under eating or not eating enough of the proper nutrients? What if you’re not eating enough protein to for your muscle contraction, or enough proper carbs to supply energy to workout, or enough proper fat for endurance? Maybe you just don’t have the energy for anything more than you already do in your day.
That’s exactly the case as I find out once I ask people to log their calories and see how much quality food they’re eating. Other than energy levels, you may also notice symptoms such as inability to focus, always feeling cold, getting sick more often, depression, hair loss, brittle nails, dry skin, decreased appetite, under or overweight, slowed metabolism, decreased organ function and an extended abdomen, among others, if you are not getting all your calories and nutrients in.
So essentially you must eat more.
I am all for IIYM or If It Fits Your Macros, the diet that lets you eat anything as long as you’re within your caloric and macronutrient range. However there is definitely a major difference in my daily energy levels if I’m getting my calories from non-nutritious food (chips, cookies, fast food) vs nutritious food (good quality, less processed food).
My recommendation is:
Eat a bit more than you currently do, don’t starve yourself
Instead of looking at marketing labels such as “low fat”, look at the nutrition label
Choose foods with more nutrients: minerals, vitamins, fibre
Choose foods that are less processed: ingredient list shouldn’t have too many chemicals
Choose foods that have few ingredients in the ingredient list
Choose foods with ingredients you can pronounce
Choose foods that have more protein
Try to get more greens in your day- try a greens powder if you don’t like vegetables
Have a coffee before training
Some tips:
Proper training for your level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) won’t leave you exhausted or in pain
You don’t have to workout for hours- some people only need 30 mins a day of proper training (workout with a structure, not randomly)
Consistently working out and eating more nutritious food will actually help you have more energy in your day and that will make you want to work out more. It becomes a cycle
It also gives you more energy to tackle tasks that you feel unmotivated to do
Hope this post helps! As always, get in touch with me for a proper training and nutrition program and online coaching!
