Lack of Energy Always Tired? 4 Ways To Thrive

Lack of Energy Always Tired? 4 Ways To Thrive

Lack of Energy Always Tired? 4 Ways To Move From Feeling Crappy To Thriving

It’s Monday morning the alarm goes off……………… how do you feel?

A)  Do you reach for snooze, pull up the covers and wish for the weekend           OR

B)  Do you jump out of bed refreshed and excited for the adventures of the day?

If it’s A……I know you’re feeling crappy?

Fatigue may not always be down to burning the candle at both ends or overfilling our days. The Royal College of Psychiatrists suggests that, at any given time, one in five people feel unusually tired and one in 10 have prolonged fatigue. Women tend to feel tired more than men. – WebMD

There is hope from crappy. I see huge turnarounds every day.

Here’s one.

Sonia, a working mother of three kids recently arrived at my office dragging her depleted, aching frame. Her hope of feeling ‘normal’ or good again had almost extinguished. She had a Lack of Energy Always Tired.

I fanned the sparks of hope as I uncovered she had good reason to feel the way she did –

 

1.  Her cell membranes were falling apart, as my test results showed.

It’s like trying to carry something in millions of leaky buckets, no matter how you fill your energy making cells, it just doesn’t work. Frustrating!

What contributes to leaky membranes?

Poor fat digestion, gallbladder problems, not eating enough good fats or being a vegetarian that’s not protein combining well or poorly digesting and absorbing your proteins (eggs, nuts, chicken, fish, beef, lamb, legumes).

Once you know what the problem is you can fix, encourage or compensate for it by nurturing that organ or process.

 

2.  Sonia was suffering from adrenal exhaustion. She’d been running on empty for a long time now, about 7 years now.

Very common, in working mums with the mantra ‘I’m OK’.

You’re so not OK….it’s time to swap giving for receiving for just a moment and ask for help!

When you don’t have flowing energy, you dig into willpower every day. You often live on caffeine, carbs (cakes, biscuit, bread) and sugar, which depletes you further by stripping nutrients from your body to break these down. The downward spiral continues.

How do you break the cycle?

Lack of Energy Always Tired – Knowing how to maximise your energy in a nourishing way and identifying energy zappers like missing essential nutrients, thyroid, gut or autoimmune problems.

 

3.  Sonia had self-sabotaging patterns that had enabled her to live into adrenal fatigue, now she had to learn how to live out of it. It was time to practice valuing, honoring and loving herself.

How do you break out of self-sabotaging patterns?

Replace them with nurturing and replenishing alternatives.

Aim for progress in the right direction. It will take time.

Elements may include –

  • Eating cleanly and hydration
  • Moving
  • Laughing and having fun
  • Scheduling in thinking or reflection time – listening to how you feel and adjusting accordingly
  • Making time for the sunshine on her face, dancing in the rain, bathing in the sea
  • Holidays that recharge the soul
  • Knowing you deserve to be treated well and placing boundaries

 

4. Sonia had developed gut issues over the years.

Doctors had labeled it as IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), where she had bouts of constipation them diarrhea.

Through testing, we uncovered she had food intolerances to eggs, dairy, and almonds and an overgrowth of bad gut flora and a lack of good bacteria (Microbiome testing). Once she completed a 6-week gut repair program all the IBS cleared.

She couldn’t believe the difference in how she felt.

No more sugar cravings, energy drops, brain fog and urgent visits to the toilet.

 

Within weeks Sonia felt a massive difference in her energy. Her moods were more even, calmer, balanced. She was becoming more of her true self again. Empowered, energised – the spark was coming back.

I love my job. I get to see beautiful women come alive again each and every day.

Is it time you moved from feeling crappy to thriving and dropped the ‘I’m OK’ mantra and got real with yourself?

If so, BOOK NOW to get started today

Loads of health and happiness, Julie XXX

 

Bring Back Your Spark – Naturopathic Medicine Case Study

Bring Back Your Spark – Naturopathic Medicine Case Study

Are you sick of feeling flat, exhausted and overwhelmed? Want to bring back your spark?

As a naturopath, I treat people from all walks of life – young, old, all shapes and sizes. Lack of energy, zip, mojo (whatever you want to call it) is the most common problem by far. They’ve lost their spark – their ‘get up’n go’. If that sound like you or someone you know read on. I’ll show you how a combo of naturopathic medicine and life coaching can bring back your spark ASAP.

Most come to see me for the tip of the iceberg, exhaustion, overwhelmed by life, often living on carbs, sugar or caffeine to give them energy for life. As a naturopath, pharmacist and life coach I delve below the surface to find what’s driving the show.

To find out where the problem lies I assess a few things. Number one is your base layer – your patterns of eating, thinking, moving, drinking, sleeping, recharging, these reveal a lot about how you’re showing up every day and have a huge impact on your health. Small things done often tend to do that, which is an “ah-ah” moment in itself.

As we grow older it’s only natural to get a bit comfortable with where we are in life, but with that often comes a sense that we have to be responsible now so we can live a little later. Life is happening right now and while it might be smart to have a nest egg for the future, that doesn’t mean you can’t live a little (or a lot) right now. Stop making excuses about why you can’t go on that big trip, volunteer in another country, or do that seemingly crazy thing you’ve always wanted to try. Life is a journey to be enjoyed, embraced, and explored and what good is it to wait to do all of those amazing things if you are too old to enjoy it? Don’t wait, do it now. – Huffpost

“Change your patterns, change your life” – Julie Smethurst

Once you’ve addressed your foundations you look for imbalances in your body. Signs, symptoms, testing, intuition and experience help me to dig these up. This where my 28 years of experience in health industry kicks in (yes I started when I was 5yo!). Here you may find a variety of problems ranging from digestive issues, gut infections, nutrient deficiencies, food intolerances, autoimmune diseases, thyroid problems, hormonal imbalances, adrenal fatigue and the list goes on.

Now, it’s time to step back and construct a masterplan to suit you. This means knowing how different systems affect each other and seeing the big picture of what needs to be done and in what order. The art is in assessing where you are now and knowing the path to get to where you want to go. I guide you along step by step coaching and teaching you what needs to be done.

Ultimately my job is to empower you by teaching and guiding you along a path tailored to your needs, so you arrive at your desired destination. From here, amazing things will happen. I’ve seen people finally take that job, go out on that date, declutter what’s not working in their life and bring in what does.

It makes me smile all over every time I see a transformation from hopelessness to hope, with a spring their step and a sparkle in their eye. All I know is the world needs more people who’ve come alive.

They live longer happier lives. Having their spark back allows them to love bigger, live brighter and contribute more to making the world a better place. Who could ask for more than that!

Bring Back Your Spark Case Study – Treating Symptoms of Low Energy and Weight Loss Through Naturopathic Medicine

Here’s Lisa’s case study:

  • 44 year old female
  • Presented with low energy 3/10 and couldn’t lose weight even on a restrictive 1200 cal/day.
  • Poor stamina, weak muscles, could only manage walking once a week for exercise.
  • Bad PMS symptoms, heavy, clotted, cramping periods
  • Bloating after every meal and prone to constipation
  • Had an itchy rash that comes and goes on her forearms
  • History of glandular fever as a child that took 12 months to recover from
  • Diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis 10 years ago and was on thyroid medication prescribed by her doctor.
  • Family history of autoimmune disease Lupus
  • Presents as exhausted, dark circles under eyes, dragging herself along…lost her spark
  • Goals – lose 13kg, increase energy

 

Initial treatment:

  • Ran a new set of blood tests at GP
  • Tested for food intolerances
  • Salivary hormone testing
  • Increased water intake to 2.5L/day
  • Reduced caffeine drinks to ideally 1 per day
  • Green smoothie 1/day
  • Reduced alcohol to maximum 2 drinks on weekend
  • Daily deep abdominal breathing 2 minutes
  • Gave nutrients to maximise energy production

 

Second visit:

  • Blood tests from GP revealed low iron, B12, MTHFR (needing activated B’s)
  • Food intolerance results revealed problem digesting dairy, eggs, some grains
  • Started detox & gut/ liver reset programme
  • Salivary hormone results revealed extremely high cortisol on waking & extremely low after midday, explaining the energy crash after lunch and treated with nutrients, herbs and lifestyle recommendations
  • Low progesterone, high oestrogen detected via salivary testing and treated with nutrients & herbs. Addressing liver/gut and adrenals makes huge positive impact here.

 

Third visit:

  • Continued with anti-inflammatory diet
  • Swapped to sublingual bioidentical thyroid medication and titrated to most effective dose, now Lisa’s able to exercise daily without muscle soreness and has loads of stamina.
  • Spark is totally back in her eyes, dark circles have gone.
  • Periods are lighter, no PMS and sugar cravings, feeling emotionally more balanced
  • Fluid retention has gone, feeling energised and alert
  • Lost 5kg to date

 

Now Lisa’s body has been rebalanced by addressing her gut and hormonal imbalances (adrenals, thyroid, sex hormones, blood sugar) she is all set to repeat the new skills I’ve taught her often. Super easy now her energy’s back and she has great patterns of eating, drinking, moving, thinking, recharging and being.

Bring Back Your Spark – Mission accomplished! And I’m still around if she needs a reset or tune-up.

Is it time to bring back your spark? You only get one go in this body so you may as well make the most of it. CLICK HERE to book online to get started today. Appointments available in person or Teams/Whatsapp

Julie xx (Naturopath, Life Coach, Pharmacist) Feeling Great Health Solutions  Ph: 0438 593523

What Does Your Thyroid Do?

What Does Your Thyroid Do?

What Does Your Thyroid Do?

Your thyroid is an important endocrine gland that makes and releases certain hormones. Your thyroid’s main job is to control your metabolism — how your body uses energy. Sometimes, your thyroid doesn’t work properly. These conditions are common and treatable. Cleveland Clinic

The Thyroid gland manages your weight, mood, energy, temperature and your memory. It also works closely with the adrenal glands and the blood sugar system to regulate your energy.

Overall, the thyroid gland is responsible for the speed of your cellular function or metabolic rate. This includes the speed of your reflexes, heart, brain and so on, by affecting all the cells, tissues, organs and systems in your body. The thyroid gland is essential for life, growth and development. It works with all your hormones to coordinate them.

Hormones excreted by the thyroid include T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin. The thyroid manufactures 80% of all your T4, 20% of all your T3 (quantities and function of T1 and T2 are largely unknown). T3 is five to seven times stronger than T4.

WHAT DOES YOUR THYROID DO – How does Thyroid work?

The thyroid is stimulated by a hormonal messenger from the brain called Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) to secrete thyroid hormone T4. When the thyroid is functioning properly it produces thyroid hormones T3 (Tri-iodothyronine), and T4 (Tetra-iodothyronine) from tyrosine (a protein) and iodine. The hormone calcitonin is also produced by the thyroid and is involved in the regulation of calcium in the body and therefore affects neurotransmitter, muscle and bone health.

WHAT DOES THE THYROID DO - thyroid hormones. Human endocrine system. Human anatomy

The thyroid hormones are chemical messengers that deliver instructions to various target tissues and organs via the bloodstream. The cells within the target organs then use the thyroid hormones and respond by speeding up or slowing down their activities in all parts of the body.

The 3 Key Facts

1. Hyperthyroidism – your thyroid produces excess T3 or T4, which speeds up the rate you burn calories.

2. Hypothyroidism – your thyroid is underproducing T3 or T4, which slows the rate your body burns fuel. You can be born with this or it can develop later in life.

3. Important to note that in older people hypothyroidism is also mixed up with the natural signs of ageing.

 

The Thyroid Gland and its functions can be likened to driving in a car in the wrong gear. If you’re in first gear and driving at 50kms an hour, you’re revving too high or overworking, this can be likened to Hyperthyroidism. However, driving in fourth gear at 15kms an hour, causes you to slow down, and eventually stall the car, this can be likened to Hypothyroidism. Neither is ideal so you need it to be balanced and functioning properly!

Need help with your thyroid BOOK HERE.

Adrenal Fatigue Treatment Australia

Adrenal Fatigue Treatment Australia

Adrenal Fatigue Treatment Australia – Adrenally Fatigued Or Just Tired? Where Are You?

Adrenal fatigue is becoming more common in today’s fast-paced world. Heard the term a few times and wondering what it is and if you might have it?

Constantly exhausted and dragging yourself through the day, relying on jolts of caffeine, sugar and energy drinks to get you through – morning, mid-morning and mid-afternoon? This is a sign your cortisol is too low early in the day, when it should be at it’s highest. It’s meant to wake you up full of life.

 Needing a stiff drink after work to quell the overwhelm, help you relax and get you through the family dinner-bedtime routine? This is a sign your cortisol levels are too high for this time of day and don’t allow for a restful night’s sleep.

Been to the doctor’s saying “why am I so tired?” They run a few labs and do a quick physical. No obvious results come back and you’re told everything’s fine. Perhaps come back in a few months if it doesn’t improve.

Not working for you? You’re not alone.

I have a different approach to Adrenal Fatigue Treatment Australia. I detect the early signs of your body struggling, before you get deep into adrenal fatigue. Why wait until you hit rock bottom? Uncovering the root causes is vital to great long term results.

Your tiny adrenal glands sit on top of your kidneys, to each side of your lower back. They’re responsible for regulating the stress response through the making of cortisol and adrenaline. In our busy, chronically stressed-out lives, our bodies are pumping out cortisol on a continual basis. We simply aren’t meant to function that way, and it can wear us down and burn us out. To add fuel to the fire, we tend to live on a diet of sugary, processed foods and caffeine. The stress, sugar and caffeine overload can wear down the adrenals as well.

So how do you know if your adrenals are fatigued?

Here is a summary of the stages of stress to help you identify if this is you:

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7 Steps To Healing Adrenal Fatigue

7 Steps To Healing Adrenal Fatigue

Healing Adrenal Fatigue – Ever caught yourself thinking, Wow, I feel burnt out! I think most of us have been there. What does it mean and how did it happen?

What is adrenal fatigue?

Adrenal fatigue is a phenomenon characterized by a disruption of your adrenal glands’ ability to make cortisol in the right amounts at the right times in response to stress. – mindbodygreen

Recently, I treated a young working mum that was the poster child of true burnout. She was early 30’s, just had her first child, worked in the emergency services and held herself to high standards with no excuses.

She came to me for weight she couldn’t shift and zero sex drive. She had started letting certain things go over the past year because she just couldn’t keep all the balls in the air, one of them had been intimacy with her partner.

Despite her usual rigorous weights and exercise program her muscle mass was dropping and she was stacking on weight around the middle. Even after restricting her carbs things weren’t getting any better.

She was up for promotion and her brain was foggy, her blood sugar dropped dramatically if she didn’t eat regularly and her strength waned. She felt knocked out when she went to bed, but still woke up with limited reserves.

She regularly needed a caffeine hit to keep her energy on, felt a big slump mid afternoon. At night she got by with hubby cooking and taking care of the kids. There was no thought of any more kids she was at her limit.

This a one presentation of classic adrenal fatigue. They can be varied in their severity.

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