The Elusive Quest for Energy

"They" always say that the best way to raise your energy levels is through exercise. So they say. I'd like to know when I am going to see that day because it has yet to happen to me. Sure, if I go for a walk I might get a little burst of energy afterward but the effects usually last a short time. I haven't yet started to feel as if I have more energy throughout the entire day.

Other people say that eating and sleeping well will give you more energy. Well, so far it's not working for me. Maybe I am not eating the so-called energy foods and I am definitely not sleeping as much as I should. So maybe that's my problem.

At the risk of sounding like a drug addict, I'll admit that I have a major caffeine addiction. So major that it is actually quite unhealthy. There are times when I drink coffee or tea multiple times throughout the day just to keep myself going. There have even been times that I have popped a caffeine filled excedrin (i.e., a pain reliever) just to give myself a little burst of energy. I just did that five minutes ago, to be perfectly honest. I told you that I would sound like a drug addict, right?

I actually tend to pop excedrin quite often. It just seems so much more easier than drinking a whole cup of coffee and it gives me an instant pick-me-up. I know it's unhealthy. I know that I shouldn't do it. I feel guilty every time that I do it and I promise that it is just this one last time, and yet I end up doing it again. And then when I end up having an actual migraine I have to take triple the amount of it because my body has already probably built up a tolerance to it.

Please don't lecture me, because I know that it is wrong. My secretary and clerk have already caught onto my little act and once hid the bottle that I used to keep on my desk. Now I'm only "allowed" to bring it to work once a month if I have cramps-and just for one day, or I listen to their incessant lecturing. I finally admitted this to my boyfriend last week after he commented that he thought I might take too much excedrin, and now I am admitting it to YOU.

It's time for me to move beyond this and find alternative ways to increase my energy levels. I know that I can drink a red bull or take some sort of energy drink, but I don't want to. I want to raise my energy level the right way, the natural way, the ...healthy way. So how the hell can it be done?

I've been doing my walking and yet-no more energy. In fact, there are times that the walk actually tires me out to the extent that I am literally knocked out and have to take a nap. I suppose that I can eat a little better and sleep a bit more, and maybe that will help solve the problem. So, in the meantime, I am going to try to keep up my walking, commit to sleeping a minimum of seven hours (yes, I know I might need more but I've got to start slowly) for an entire week, and I am going to increase the "energy foods" (whatever they happen to be).

Wish me luck. I will keep you posted.