Are you a busy working mom who feels like you barely have enough time to keep up with your kids let alone have enough time to take care of you? If so, you’re not alone. I see countless overtired and stressed out women in my practice, and all of them are looking for the same thing. More energy! Being overtired and stressed out certainly doesn’t help a high-performance mom reach their full potential. With many years of working with busy moms just like you, I have compiled a list of tips to help you overcome that burnt out and stressed out feeling you carry with you every single day so that you can conquer your day with the supermom powers you know you have.
1. Eat Energy Foods To Keep Blood Sugars Stable
Keeping your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day is one of the key steps in keeping your mood elevated and your energy levels high. You will want to focus on foods that are rich in protein, healthy fat, and fiber. These foods will help to keep you feeling full longer and will give you more energy as opposed to skyrocketing your blood sugar and then leading to a blood sugar crash. That is not what high-performance moms need! For the busy moms out there, try packing easy snacks to have on hand throughout the day. Things like hard boiled eggs, olives, sprouted nuts, and seeds and unsweetened coconut milk yogurt are all great options.
2. Ditch The Caffeine
I know this sounds counterproductive as you may be more likely to reach for a cup of coffee when you are feeling drained of all your energy, but caffeine can actually make your stress levels worse. Caffeine can put your body into a fight or flight mode which can cause stress hormone imbalances and make your feel wired and anxious. This may temporarily make you feel like you have more energy but it does not get to the bottom of why you are so overtired in the first place. Instead of reaching for the cup of coffee in the morning or during your afternoon energy plummet, try having a high energy snack such as the foods listed above, or blend up an energy boosting smoothie with some berries, flax seeds, and coconut oil. Citrus scented essential oils are also great for boosting energy levels. Try diffusing some in your office or home to give you an energy boost without burning yourself out with caffeine.
3. Exercise According To What’s Right For You
We all know that exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle but did you know that too much exercise can put strain on your adrenal glands if you are suffering from adrenal burnout? This is why it’s so important to exercise according to what’s right for you. In my practice, I always work with moms to determine what is going to be best for them based off of the lab tests that I run. Depending on how their stress hormone levels look and if there are any types of deficiencies going on we come up with a plan that works best. For many women, getting some mild to moderate exercise into their daily routine works well. For others, they may have to start out slower with some brisk walking and yoga and work their way up. No matter what type of exercise is best for you, moving your body is an essential part of conquering that overtired and stressed out feeling you are tired of dealing with.
Try to get at least 30 minutes of activity into your day. Now, I know this sounds like a large task when you have so many things to balance between work and home life, but it is possible. Try to split the time up if you have to. You can try to get 15 minutes of activity in before you leave for work in the morning and then 15 minutes of activity in when you get home from work. Whatever works best for you, at the end of the day what matters is that you are moving your body. You may be surprised at how much more energy you have once you start moving and how much better you sleep with a little physical activity added into your day.
4. Practice Daily Self-Care
Now I know what you are thinking. How am I possibly going to have time for self-care when I am already too busy to keep up with what I have on my plate? I hear you, and I totally get it but making time for daily self-care is only going to make you more efficient at everything you have to juggle each day! When I talk about self-care I’m not talking about a whole hour each day just to take care of yourself (although if you have an hour by all means go for it!) I’m talking about just small steps to take care of you even if it just means getting up 10 minutes earlier to do a quick guided meditation or some journaling before the day gets started.
It’s important to find that time for yourself so that you can continue to take care of others and perform better at work. Set aside just 10 minutes each day at whatever time works best for you to do what makes you feel happy. It will make a world of difference for your stress levels and will even help to boost your energy. If you’re a high-performance mom who is desperate for more energy, I encourage you to implement these four tips into your daily routine. With just a few adjustments you may be surprised at how much better you are able to tackle your day with even some energy left to spare.
