How to eat when you’re feeling burnt out
The problem is when you're feeling burned out, the last thing you want to hear is that you need to reduce your stress (that's like a red flag to a bull).
The good news is you can start by changing your diet to improve your energy.
Once you're feeling better, it will (hopefully) be more straightforward to make more significant lifestyle changes - you can find more about that in other related posts.
Below are the key things to focus on with your diet.
Stabilise your blood sugars - allowing them to go too low will trigger the release of more cortisol.
While you want to stabilise your blood sugars, it's not the time to go low-carb. Ensure you get some starchy carbs such as rice, potato, kumara or pumpkin - especially if you are female. If you thrive on a lower-carb diet, having some with your evening meal may improve your sleep.
Eat more frequently (to ensure your blood sugars are not too low).
Eat enough protein (it is highly satiating and contains essential amino acids for repair and hormone function).
Ensure you eat a diet high in protein for breakfast - this will contribute to more stable blood sugar (and likely fewer cravings) throughout the day.
Make sure you're eating enough. Dieting while in this state will make things much worse as dieting is a stressor.
Focus on eating good fats - these are the building blocks of hormones—like fatty fish, avocado, nuts, seeds, olive/coconut/
Reduce the crappy, highly processed foods. These contain many artificial substances the body doesn't recognise and will spend time and energy eliminating. If they are causing digestive issues, these will only make you feel worse.
If you are craving salt, make sure it's iodised - it will do double duty and support the thyroid (caution here for those who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure - you should consult your doctor)
Wean yourself off caffeine slowly (see this blog on how to do that)
Avoid or reduce alcohol intake (as it taxes the liver, which often functions sub-optimally with HPA-D)
Try supplementing with good Magnesium. Magnesium is an essential mineral for the Nervous System. There are many different types - make sure you choose the right one (or it could lead to a very upset stomach!)
Supplement with Vitamin C - it's an essential nutrient for the adrenals. During stress, the demand for Vitamin C increases dramatically.
Investigate other nutrient deficiencies - such as Iron and Vitamin B - these will only make issues with low energy worse.
If you are struggling with HPA-D or the beginning stages of burnout, I can help you with a nutrition strategy to support you back to high energy and health levels.
Using research-backed diet, lifestyle and change strategies, I teach my clients how to manage stress, energy and modify their lifestyles to support their goals.
If you want to know how I can help you, book a free consult.
