Master Your Energy (Part 3 – Physical Energy)

What does it mean to be physically healthy?

For your body to give you all the energy you need to perform your daily activities and show up at your best, it needs to be both healthy and fit. Health and fitness are not the same thing. You can be fit, but unhealthy and vise versa. “Physical fitness is the capacity of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and muscles to function at optimum efficiency.” In other words, it the capacity of your body to turn energy into work, be it physical, mental, or emotional. Whereas health “explains a person’s state of well-being, where physiological systems work in harmony.” Sometimes when we train hard to gain high level of fitness, we create imbalances in our system that make us less efficient and more vulnerable to illnesses and injuries. For optimal energy, you want to be balance being physically fit and healthy.

To optimize your energy, there is one key physiological system that needs your attention: your metabolism. Metabolism is defined as “the sum of the chemical reactions that take place within each cell of a living organism and that provide energy for vital processes and for synthesizing new organic material.” A metabolically healthy body is essential in regulating your energy and avoiding illnesses. “The way our bodies regulate and manage energy—our metabolism—and our body’s ability to defend itself against pathogens—the immune response—are closely linked because a strong immune response relies on energy.” (Harvard T.H Chan) In addition, “poor metabolic health increases your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.” (Healthline)

What does it mean to be metabolically healthy?

In a study published in the journal Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, metabolic health is defined as: “having optimal levels of waist circumference, blood pressure, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and not taking any related medication.” They found that only 12,2% of Americans and less than one-third of normal weight adults were metabolically healthy. “According to a 2014 study published in Chronic Diseases and Injuries in Canada, 19.1% of all Canadian adults — nearly 1 in 5 people” are not metabolically healthy.

Most people are unaware that they have metabolic issues. So, you may appear healthy because you are not overweight and have not apparent health issues, but appearances can be misleading. You can also be suffering from chronic inflammation that will negatively impact your metabolism and over time, contribute to diabetes, heart diseases, cancers, and a whole range of other diseases. When you are in chronic inflammation state, your body loses precious oxygen and nutrients in the fight against this internal fire. It is like having internal pollution and waste cumulation preventing your energy fuel (oxygen and nutrients) from flowing efficiently to your cells.

By preventing chronic inflammation and optimizing your metabolic health, you will improve your physical energy, i.e. have more energy overall and more stable levels. This will improve your immune health, which is key for avoiding diseases and recover quickly and completely when you get infected.

Meet your energy demands with metabolic flexibility

You also want to have the capacity to generate more energy on demand and have enough of it when you need it. Having metabolic flexibility can help you with this and is defined as “the capacity for the organism to adapt fuel oxidation (burning) to fuel availability,[…] the ability to switch from fat to carbohydrate oxidation.” In other words, metabolic flexibility “is the ability of the body to utilize available fuels at the appropriate times.”

Managing your fuels properly is essential to having enough energy when you need it. When you are in a fasting state, i.e. “when the food has been digested, absorbed, and stored” (within 2-4 hours of eating), you want your body to be able to tap into your fat storage as a main source of energy. When you work hard or face high demands, your body should also get fuel from your glycogen reserves (glucose stored in your body). Burning fat is more sustainable than burning glycogen, but it is also slower. Glycogen is good for quick bursts of energy but does not last. In calmer times, you want to rely on fat as your main source of energy.

When you eat, your body processes and uses the fats and sugars from the food to support immediate energy demands and stores the rest as energy reserves (glycogen and adipose tissue or fat) for later use. If you eat all the time, your body will rely mainly on the food supply and never tap into its energy reserves. It is not a good strategy to just rely on the fat and glucose provided by your food intake for source of energy. When you do, you have two major problems: one, you cannot go for more than a few hours without eating or you will notice your energy drop, lose focus, and feel irritable; second, your body does not learn to use its fat storage, leading you to gain weight and having challenges losing it.

To summarize, to optimize your physical energy pillar, you need to support your metabolic health, including your metabolic flexibility, and develop and maintain your physical fitness.

Internal, External and Behavioral Factors

Before we get into the different strategies you can use to optimize your metabolic health and fitness, it is important to understand that there are factors impacting your health that are not in your direct control.

First, there is your environment or all things external to you that provide input into your energy system. The air you breath, the light you are exposed to, the electromagnetic field from electronics, the clutter around you are all things influencing your energy. As mentioned in my previous post, everything is energy. Places, things, and people around you will influence your overall physical health and energy. The quality of the food you eat and the water you drink also influences your energy. What goes in producing your food and water, what they are exposed to, you are too. If you want nutrient-rich food, your food needs to grow in nutrient-rich soil (topic for another post!).

There are also things happening inside you that you don’t directly control. Your internal processes, including hormone production and liver function impact your physical health. One key process that directly and strongly influences your energy and health is your digestion and microbiome. Our metabolic and immune health depends on the biodiversity and health of our microbiome. Just like us, they follow a circadian rhythm and need to be fed nutrients to be healthy and support your health.

What you can directly control are your behaviors and your choices. What you do influences your energy and for the most part, this is under your control if you pay attention to the moment and your habits. In this post, I will focus on a few habits you can install to help you master your energy. Habits that will help you leverage the best from your environment and optimize your internal biological processes. Feelings and thoughts also influence your physical energy, but we will cover these aspects as part of the emotional and mental health pillars.

How to Boost Your Physical Energy

There are un number of different things you can do that will either fuel your tank or drain it, boost your metabolic health and fitness, or impair it. For each of the elements below, I provide tips on what to avoid and what to include in your habits. This is not an exhaustive list. I am sure you know that nutrition, exercise, sleep, and rest and recovery are essential for your health. I focus below on what I believe is fundamental. I also selected a few tips supported by recent studies that may be novel to you.

Tip#1 – Start with body awareness: Whatever you do and try, always check-in and pay attention to how your body is responding and how your energy is shifting. Although the advice below is applicable to all of us, the specifics will be unique to each one of us. Treat your body as a laboratory and experiment with it!

Sleep

As Tony Schwartz says in this book: “If physical energy is the foundation of all dimensions of energy, sleep is the foundation of physical energy.” Getting enough sleep has been demonstrated by so many studies to be key for learning, recovery, and overall health and performance. So, as a first rule for your physical health, you need to get enough sleep regularly (6-8 hours of sleep on average).

Timing is also essential. To align with your circadian rhythm and optimize your energy, you want to have quality sleep at least between 11 pm to 3 am. It has also been shown that having a regular sleep schedule is better for your health and performance. So, pick a sleep schedule and make it a habit. Avoid sleeping in too much on the weekend to catch up for lack of sleep during the week. One extra sleep cycle will not do harm but going to bed much later than during the week and sleeping in will disrupt your internal clock and along with it, negatively impact your energy level and cycle.

Tip # 2 – Get your morning dose of sunlight: Getting your eyes exposed to natural light early in the day for at least 15 min encourages the production of melatonin (sleep hormone) later in the day which helps you sleep at night (see Dr Huberman podcast).

Rest and recovery

The key for physical recovery is to find the balance between doing and resting. As suggested in my previous blog post, resting at regular intervals during the day, the week, and over the year in a way that aligns with your natural cycles will optimize your energy. I also cover different strategies to plan your mental and emotional recovery like an athlete in this post.

Tip #3 – Embrace the power of napping: Naps in the early part of the afternoon (when your energy naturally drops) are enormously powerful to regenerate your energy, especially if you had a very intense and productive morning. You can also have a nap on the weekend to recover from the lack of rest and sleep during the week. You can choose between a power nap that is shorter than 20 min or a longer one of 90 min. The first one reboot your nervous system without you getting into deep sleep. The later allows you to go through a complete sleep cycle. What you want to avoid is anything in between: waking up in the middle of sleep cycle will leave you feeling groggy and sleepy.

Food

The food you eat has a direct impact on your gut health and level of inflammation in your body. You want to avoid chronic inflammation and ensure your gut microbiome is doing their job in transforming food into energy and protecting you from infection. In general, for optimal health it is recommended to have a diet primarily based on whole, plant-based food rich in nutrients, fiber and antioxidants. This includes whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds; a variety of vegetables and fruits from all colors of the rainbow; healthy fats such Omega 3’s (found in wild salmon and flax seeds); herbs and spices like fresh coriander and turmeric. Finally, avoid pro-inflammatory food such as highly processed and fried food, sugar, refined grains, highly processed oils, and animal products raised with hormones and GMO grains.

Tip #4 – Mind when and how often you eat: Focus on eating less often and at regular hours to optimize your metabolic health and stabilize your energy levels. This includes giving your body at least 12 hours of digestive rest (i.e. overnight, between last meal and first meal the next day). Eat more calories in the morning than in the evening to align with your digestive enzyme production and gut bacteria activity. We also digest fat and proteins more easily in the am. Finally, avoid eating all the time or skipping meals. Aim for 3 meals a day at regular hours. Eating all the time does not allow and teach your body to use its energy reserves (fat). Skipping meal may lead you feeling too hungry and aiming for less healthy food choices at the end of the day. For more tips on how to eat for energy, get your free guide here.

Water

Water is essential for many processes in your body, from producing energy at the cellular level to eliminating toxins and maintaining mobility in the joints and fascia tissue.

Tip #5 - Drink it first thing: after a good night sleep, you are dehydrated. Drink a big glass of water as soon as you get up. Use warm water and add some lemon juice for added benefits. “Lemons contain vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, and are a source of plant compounds called flavonoids, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.”

Movement and Exercise

We humans are wired for movement. When you move, your body produces all sorts of good chemical reactions that make you feel good, energized, engaged, more focus and creative. Moving also makes you more courageous and social (more on the benefits of movement in The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal). We tend to sit too much, so start by moving more often. Walk, change posture, stretch, play, dance, do yoga or go for a bike ride. Every bit counts. Aim for at least 45 minutes of movement per day.

To improve your fitness, you also need to include some intensity. “Movement is sleep’s opposite partner […] Intense movement, balanced by deep recovery, dramatically increases our capacity, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. […] regular exercise makes it easier to get to sleep and leads to higher quality of rest.” (T. Schwartz) There are two categories of exercise to include in your weekly schedule to increase and maintain your muscular and cardiovascular capacity:

· Resistance training. Your body needs to be challenged to remain healthy and thrive. If you don’t challenge your muscles regularly, then your body becomes complacent, and you lose your capacity. As you get older, a key factor of vitality and injury prevention is the maintenance of your muscle mass. Plus, your muscle mass is an energy powerhouse that you can draw from even for mental energy!

· High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). There are different forms of HIIT, but the essence is that you want to push your cardiovascular system near its maximum capacity in short burst to keep it healthy. Intervals can be as short as 30 seconds of sprint on a bike in alternance with 4 minutes of slow to moderate speed. Like for your muscles, use it or lose it. A health body that has lots of energy is one that has a wide heart rate range, i.e. with a heart that can beat slowly and efficiently when at rest and beat strong and faster when facing high demands. To achieve this, you need to challenge your cardiovascular system regularly and allow for proper recovery.

Aim for two sessions each of resistance and high intensity intervals training. The two can be combined in the same session if you wish. You can do HIIT cardio followed by some weightlifting or do an intense bodyweight workout combining resistance training and cardio at same time.

Tip #6 – Stimulate your dopamine release: When we engage in sustained efforts, especially if these efforts are physically moving us forward (like walking, running, biking) our body releases dopamine. Dopamine is that magic “motivation” pill that helps us turn stress and discomfort into something enjoyable that we want to keep doing and repeat. In other words, dopamine helps you find the energy and motivation to pursue things that matter even if they are not easy. And this energy boost you get from exercising at moderate effort for at least 15-20 minutes is transferable. It will give you the energy, motivation, and courage to undertake your next big task.

Nature

You are part of nature, so your bodies need fresh air and sunlight to function optimally. You also need time in nature, connecting with trees, plants and animals. Forest bathing, “simply being in nature, connecting with it through our senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch”, provided many psychological and physiological benefits such as “reduced pulse rate and significantly increased the score for vigor and decreased the scores for depression, fatigue, anxiety, and confusion.” Make sure you get your daily dose of nature – sun, air, plants - for optimal energy.

Tip #7 – Find nature where you live: To connect with nature, you don’t have to go very far. Find the closest green space in your neighborhood. Grow a garden or maintain some plants in your home. Go outside everyday to get your dose of sunlight and fresh air. If for some reasons you are stuck inside all day, open your windows to let the fresh air in and take a few minutes throughout the day to look at the sky through your window. Just pay attention! Nature is everywhere.

Connection

We all need physical connection to feel good. When you give a hug, your body releases oxytocin, the love and bounding hormone, and serotonin, the hormone that makes you feel content and safe and stabilize your mood. You can also connect with animals and nature. Have you tried hugging a tree? What about removing your shoes and walking bare foot on the grass or in the sand? Or petting a cat?

Tip #8 - Use your senses: We connect to others and nature, including animals, not just with our eyes, but through our body. Pay attention to your sensations in different environments. Feel the cold breeze or the warm sunrays on your skin. Smell the flowers. Taste the juicy and fresh strawberries. Returning to your senses and your body allows us to reconnect to yourselves and embrace the full experience of being. This is energizing!

How to Increase Your Physical Capacity

In my previous post, I mentioned that one key difference between your body and a car is that your engine and your entire system can get stronger with proper training and recovery without having to replace parts. When you challenge the limits of your body in short burst of stress and allow for its full recovery, you stimulate the adaptive mechanisms that will make your body even more resilient the next time. Key stressors you can leverage are cold exposure, fasting and HIIT (as described above). As your body becomes more resilient, so is your mental and emotional capacity. This is the hormesis principle that I described further in this previous blog post along with other strategies to embrace discomfort and become ‘better at stress’.

Build one habit at the time

Your physical health is the foundation of your overall energy. There are many aspects to consider and balance to work towards and maintain optimal physical health and fitness. If you realize you have a lot to learn and do differently, just pick one thing to focus on at the time. Make it a habit than move on to the next thing. Start with sleep if you struggle with getting enough of it. Than modify your eating habits and start moving more. As Greg Wells says in The Ripple Effect, “Sleep better and you’ll eat better. Eat better and you’ll move more. And if you move more, you’ll sleep better and ultimately think and feel better.”