Are You Dealing With Chronic Fatigue? 😪
Ever since we got back from our ski trip to Utah, I have not been feeling myself. I’ve been feeling totally whipped out and run down, my sleep has been off, anxiety has crept back into my body, my mood has been in the toilet, and my eczema is back with a vengeance.
I’m getting super vulnerable here because despite what the influencers tell ya online, health, for most people, isn’t always a constant. Life takes hold of us with brute force, and sometimes, the best we can do is survive.
Before we headed out West, I was working out a TON, hitting the gym almost every day with high-intensity HIIT classes, hot yoga, and lifting. We also had some sort of family obligation or somewhere to go every stinking weekend (no time for rest!)
^^^^^ Tell me, does any of this sound familiar or ring a bell for you??
Then, we jumped immediately from that onto a plane and skied for eight days straight. Eight freaking days! In straight-up 3-ft powder (hey, I’m not complaining). For someone who's not used to it, that is a whole lot of leg work and a whole lot of chair pose.
I wasn’t paying attention to what I was eating. Well, scratch that. I’m always paying attention to what I’m eating. I’m a nutritionist, for heaven’s sake! But I wasn’t being mindful of my blood sugar. I was eating refined grains and sugar all day erry day (mainly oatmeal, Siete wraps with peanut butter and bananas, honey, and hot chocolate😅).
Granted, we were skiing our hearts out and burning thousands of calories every day, so it was being put to good use. Oh, one more thing, I was slugging large cups of coffee every morning on an empty stomach. Oops.
And, to top it off, I was in the middle of my luteal phase — the last phase of the four phases of your menstrual cycle. This is when estrogen and progesterone begin to drop in preparation for your cycle. With this decline in hormones, your energy drops too, which is why low-impact exercise and activities are typically recommended.
Note: I wish life activities could always be planned around the four phases of your cycle, but alas, that’s not the way life works all the time. Sometimes, certain activities and planning are out of your control.
Needless to say, I wore my body straight into the freaking ground. Just to hop back onto a plan for an entire day of travel (super taxing on the body) and return home and jump straight into work for the week, family dinners, and my fiance and I frantically trying to get our save-the-dates out.
Before I continue, I just want to say: I am SO thankful for my body and that it can be a flesh vehicle for all of the fun things I want to do in life. But this time, it came at the expense of not taking proper care of myself and not making myself a priority. Hey, it happens!
If I’m being honest, this has been going on for months. And it finally caught up to me.
What was my body’s way of telling me, “HEY TAYLOR! SLOW THE EFF DOWN!”? Well, I never did get my period this month (trust me, I’m not preggers). I’ve been dealing with the eczema flare-up of the century. I’m exhausted when I wake up and then wiiiide away before my head hits the pillow at night. My libido is in the toilet….
All of the signs point toward burnout or… adrenal fatigue.
What is adrenal fatigue?
Your adrenals are responsible for making your primary stress hormones, cortisol, and your flight or fight hormones, norepinephrine and epinephrine. Mental stress can tax the adrenals, but physical stress can, too. When your adrenals get tapped too much, they become exhausted and run down…. and so do you!
So many women deal with this (and men can, too!). I know it's not just me. That feeling of go go go. Needing to get more done on your to-do list, overexercising, undereating, not eating enough protein, blood sugar imbalances, too much caffeine, not enough sleep…the whole deal! I know you get it…
Common symptoms of adrenal fatigue:
Chronic fatigue
Mood imbalances
Insomnia
Anxiety
Depression
Irritability
Unexplained weight gain or weight loss
Menstrual cycle irregularities
If any of that applies to you, I’m here to offer relief.
Here’s the protocol I’ve been following to support my adrenal glands. And I have to say; I’m really excited because I can feel it working!
Warning: there are mucho supplements on this list, but don’t let that turn you away! Sometimes investing in high-quality supps is worth it, and when it comes to your sleep, trust me, IT IS 100% worth it!
Supplements/adaptogens for daytime ☀️
5-HTP
L-tyrosine
Acetyl-l-carnitine
Astragalus
Siberian ginseng
B vitamin complex
Vitamin C
Black seed oil
Probiotic: saccharomyces boulardii
Supplements for nighttime 🌙 😴
GABA
Magnesium citrate
5-HTP
L-theanine
Vitamin C
Black seed oil
Vitamin D & K2
Zinc
Myoinositol
Ashwagandha
Herbal teas 🍵
Tulsi tea
Holy basil
Rhodiola
Red rose tea
Foods to eat 👍 (spotlight on specific nutrients)
B vitamins (red meat, turkey, fish, leafy green vegetables)
Carnitine ⚡️for energy ⚡️(red meat)
Vitamin E (hazelnut milk, raw almonds, almond milk, sunflower seeds, eggs, olive oil)
Vitamin A (chicken liver, carrots, sweet potatoes)
Note: carrots and sweet potatoes contain carotenoids, which are the precursor to vitamin A. They’re not as bioavailable as animal-based sources.
Liver is (unfortunately) the best source of vitamin A on the planet. Fear not. I have a banging recipe you can check out here.
Vitamin C (oranges, clementines, red bell peppers, broccoli)
Choline (eggs, red meat)
Selenium (Brazil nuts, salmon)
Omega-3s (salmon, sardines, walnuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds)
Bone broth
Build meals around protein! Aim for at least 20 grams (approximately a hand-size portion of protein per meal)
Foods to avoid 👎
Dairy (for now, until the inflammation subsides)
Gluten
Soy
Coffee
Alcohol
Marijuana (or other recreational drugs)
Refined sugar
Ultra-processed foods
Flour
Wheat
Nut butter
Lifestyle things 🪴
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
Drink half of your weight in ounces of water per day + electrolytes! (think lemon or lime juice and a pinch of salt or a sugar-free electrolyte supplement like LMNT)
Sunlight first thing in the morning
Gentle movements like yoga and walking
Dialing back on strength training
Gratitude journaling in the morning and at night
Reduce artificial light exposure at night (light from phones, tv, laptop, overhead lights)
iPhone has a red light feature in its settings which is super helpful!
Prioritize self-care! Epsom salt baths, spending time in nature
An important reminder:
Don’t feel like you have to do EVERYTHING on this list! I’m trying to take away from your stress, not add to it! Pick and choose a few things that feel easy and seem like a natural fit.
Then, gradually add more until you feel it's making an impact. I’m going to be doing this protocol for an entire month and see how I feel.
If you got value out of this email or think you might try this adrenal fatigue protocol and have some questions DM me on Instagram (@foodhappywithtaylor) or shoot me an email at taylorfoodhappy@gmail.com.
And I have to give credit where credit is due. A big shout out to @izabellawentzpharmd for putting adrenal fatigue on the map. Her new book, the Adrenal Transformation Protocol (which I was lucky enough to get exclusive access to), is available for preorder on April 18, 2023.
Sending love and kindness,
Taylor 🫶🌱
