Thankful, Grateful and Energized - how to keep life feeling fun as an adult
Thank you so much for reading my thoughts in these newsletters each week. I am thankful for the women I get to work with as a naturopathic doctor and a FASTer Way coach to help them thrive through perimenopause and beyond. I am also grateful for the life that I am creating for myself and my family. Each day feels different. Some days are harder than others, but I’ve never felt more content than I do right now.
It’s true that our responsibilities change as we get older, but that doesn’t mean that life needs to be boring! We give our kids lots of experiences so that they can try out new activities and meet new people, and there’s no reason we can’t continue to enjoy feeling that excitement during our adult years.
The statement to the right that Eddie Murphy made in “Soul Man” in 1998 really hits home for me. We only have so much time (I hope mine will be closer to 100 years ), so we need to make the most of it!
There are actually lots of opportunities to create fun when we start looking for them! Here are some of the things I’ve tried in the last year or so:
Starred as Charlotte in our local musical production of Charlotte’s Web (hugely out of my comfort zone, but so much fun!)
Sang Karaoke for the first time
Attended a trivia night (I wasn’t as bad as I thought I would be!)
Went to a sound therapy class
Took swimming and golf lessons
Joined a ladies’ curling league
The turning point for me to be able to start having more fun was when I started to feel more energetic. It’s hard to think about doing much beyond the essentials when you are tired all the time. That was definitely me for many years. It wasn’t just one thing that changed to create that difference - it was the result of a lot of health and lifestyle changes I made. These included:
Exercising more regularly with a focus on strength training
Eating more. This was a big surprise for me because I hadn’t been intentionally restricting anything. When I learned how much I optimally needed, and started tracking my food, I realized I needed a lot more healthy carbs and protein to fuel my body properly. Doing that really noticeably increased my energy.
Going to bed earlier. I talked about this change in last week’s newsletter (you can read it here if you missed it). For too long I didn’t prioritize getting 7-8 hours of sleep regularly, and that definitely didn’t help me fill my energy tank.
Fixing my low iron levels.
Drinking more water. I joke that I am like a camel and rarely crave water, but now I aim to get 2-3L of water a day, and have noticed my energy slumps when I don’t.
The funny thing? I didn’t even know just how tired I was until I wasn’t. I thought the way I felt was “normal”. Now life feels so much easier and I want to find opportunities for fun.
Maybe you are feeling tired and getting through your days is a struggle. Maybe you aren’t sleeping well. Maybe you are experiencing joint pain. Maybe you are frustrated because you are gaining weight and can’t seem to get it to budge. What if it’s possible for you to feel so much better so you can enjoy your life to the fullest?
The FASTer Way lifestyle was a big game changer for me to be able to successfully implement the steps I listed above. I decided to become a coach 6 years ago because the right nutrition, exercise and lifestyle is SO essential to create a foundation for good health, and I love that this approach is realistic and sustainable. So many symptoms get better as a result, and then makes it much easier to address any remaining symptoms with naturopathic treatments.
I have a FASTer Way 6 week program starting tomorrow (Monday!) and it’s not too late to join! No matter your age, now is the perfect time to start so you can feel leaner, stronger and more energetic heading into the new year!