Most people view the body as a fallible meatsuit. Prone to genetic error. Fixable by doctors. And increasingly, replaceable by technology. This viewpoint prompts people to workout for all the wrong reasons: To “cancel out” guilt from bad eating. To look like their airbrushed idols on Instagram. And to maintain optics at attempting transformation- while secretly supporting an existing narrative about how they’re truly a victim. In contrast, the StoryAthlete exercises as a means to knock down the lead domino that will cause a chain reaction of events culminating in Peak Energy. We know that optimizing four-dimensional living is impossible while operating on a half-battery life. So we move and Fuel the Body daily as a means towards achieving our highest calling.
For years I battled severe, debilitating exhaustion that would strike several times a day. It would be so intense I could barely hold my head up. My only solution would be to find a quiet place (even my car) and take a brief nap.
It wasn’t until 2019 when my husband was diagnosed with diabetes that I tested my blood sugar out of curiosity. On that particular day at that particular time, it was over 200.
After that, whenever the exhaustion would strike, I would test my blood sugar. And that’s when I discovered that when I felt that debilitating exhaustion, my blood sugar was usually in the high 200’s, sometimes as high as in the 300’s or even 400’s.
My husband and I already ate a pretty ‘clean’ diet of mostly organic food with mostly unprocessed ingredients.
But we cleaned it up even more – cut out all honey, maple syrup and sugar, white potatoes, white rice and most white flour products. It made little difference.
Our sugars levels remained high. Sometimes my fasting sugar level would be over 200 in the morning.
We tried different supplements – some helped for a little while, others not at all.
And then we discovered and implemented two changes to our diet and lifestyle that have us both at near normal levels of blood sugar most of the time.
One, we changed the ratio of our diet to 70% green vegetables – we eat a lot of homemade slaw, stir fries, steamed veggies, etc.
Two, started practicing intermittent fasting. Most days, I only eat between the hours of 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. My husband started out doing that and now only eats one meal a day.
Those two changes have dramatically changed our lives for the better. My energy level is improved dramatically, my thinking is much more clear, and I am much more productive and focused.
I’m able to work all day without needing a nap (which I have unashamedly taken every afternoon for most of my adult life!).
And I finally have energy to play with my 6 year old daughter.
Would it be nice to be able to eat ice cream and sweets whenever I want to? Absolutely.
Is it worth it to indulge, knowing that I will be comatose on the couch in a few hours, and will be brain-fogged the following day? Absolutely not.
If I want to achieve great things, I have to fuel my body and brain appropriately.