How to End the Battle of Chronic Fatigue and Get Back Your Energy
- Editorial Team
- Apr 5
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 12
The latest energy crisis in Europe has left households and industries scrambling to conserve power, navigate supply shortages, and manage skyrocketing costs. This crisis underscores the vital role energy plays in sustaining not only economies but also daily life.
Interestingly, a similar energy crisis is unfolding on a personal level for many high-performing leaders—both men and women—across the globe. Just as countries need reliable energy to thrive, individuals require consistent energy reserves to lead, perform and prosper.
For leaders, energy isn’t just about physical stamina; it’s also about mental clarity, emotional resilience, and hormonal balance. Yet, many leaders find themselves running on empty, facing their own "energy shortages" due to unsustainable habits, high stress, and poor nutrition.
One of the most significant contributors to this personal energy crisis is diet—and, more specifically, the pervasive presence of sugar.
High Performers at Risk
High performers, whether in boardrooms, creative fields, or athletics, often push themselves to their limits. However, sustained overwork, stress, and inadequate self-care can lead to physical and mental exhaustion. Symptoms like brain fog, mood swings, fatigue, and even burnout are the human equivalent of rolling blackouts—your system is simply unable to sustain peak performance.
One of the most overlooked culprits in this energy depletion is diet.
While caffeine and quick carbs may offer a short-term boost, they frequently lead to an energy crash, leaving leaders in a vicious cycle of highs and lows. Among these, sugar plays an outsized role in depleting energy reserves and interfering with the delicate hormonal balance required for optimal performance.
Food is fuel, but not all fuels are created equal. The right nutrients can help leaders build sustainable energy reserves, while the wrong ones can drain them further.
Sugar: A Hidden Energy Thief
While sugar may seem like a quick fix for fatigue, it’s actually one of the most detrimental substances for long-term energy. When consumed, sugar causes a rapid spike in blood glucose levels, followed by a sharp crash. This rollercoaster effect can leave you feeling even more tired than before.
Over time, excessive sugar intake leads to:
Brain Fog: Sugar impairs focus and mental clarity by promoting inflammation in the brain.
Hormonal Imbalances: Sugar interferes with critical hormones like insulin, cortisol, and ghrelin, leading to issues such as weight gain, mood swings, and disrupted sleep.
Chronic Conditions: High sugar consumption has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, often referred to as "type 3 diabetes" due to its connection with insulin resistance.
Emotional Instability: Sugar impacts serotonin levels, contributing to anxiety, depression, and irritability.
Hormonal Interference from Poor Nutrition
Hormones act as the body’s messengers, ensuring that various systems function in harmony. Sugar, along with other unhealthy dietary habits, disrupts this balance:
Insulin Resistance: Over time, frequent sugar spikes can cause the body to stop responding effectively to insulin, leading to fatigue, brain fog, and, eventually, diabetes.
Cortisol Dysregulation: Excessive sugar consumption amplifies stress hormones like cortisol, increasing feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion.
Thyroid Dysfunction: A poor diet, including high sugar intake, affects thyroid hormones, leading to sluggish metabolism and chronic fatigue.
Oestrogen Dominance: In women, sugar contributes to hormonal imbalances that can exacerbate PMS, menopause symptoms, and mood disorders.
Testosterone Decline: In men, a high-sugar diet has been linked to reduced testosterone levels, affecting energy, motivation, and focus.
By reducing sugar and replacing it with nutrient-dense foods like healthy fats, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates, leaders can stabilise their energy levels, improve focus, and optimise their overall well-being.
My Journey to Energy Freedom
I wasn’t always free from sugar’s grip. Around ten years ago, I was caught in a relentless cycle of fatigue and energy crashes. Like many leaders, I relied on sugary snacks and quick carbs to keep me going. I would grab a slice of pizza here or a piece of cake there, thinking these would give me the boost I needed to power through my demanding schedule. But instead of feeling energised, I felt drained, foggy, and irritable.
Then, I decided to take a bold step: I committed to a sugar-free lifestyle. At first, the change was challenging—sugar cravings can feel overwhelming.
But as I started to replace sugary foods with nutrient-dense alternatives like nuts, seeds, and cheese, I began to notice profound changes. My energy stabilised, brain fog lifted, and I felt more focused and vibrant than ever before.
But the real breakthrough came when I applied hypnosis and hypno-systemic coaching. Through this inner work, I was able to reprogram my relationship with food and sugar at a subconscious level. Hypnosis allowed me to uncover and resolve the emotional triggers that led me to crave sugar, while hypno-systemic coaching helped me align my dietary habits with my deeper values and goals.
Over time, my cravings disappeared entirely. Today, I don’t just avoid sugar—I genuinely don’t like it. I’ve retrained my mind and body to prefer foods that nourish and energise me.
From Physical Energy to Inner Leadership
Just as Europe’s energy crisis calls for a shift to more sustainable practices, leaders facing personal energy crises must make intentional changes to restore balance and vitality. Food, particularly sugar, plays a pivotal role in either boosting or depleting energy reserves. By eliminating sugar and adopting healthier habits, leaders can achieve greater mental clarity, hormonal harmony, and long-lasting energy.
However, energy transformation requires more than dietary changes—it demands a deep dive into the inner workings of self-leadership. This is how our Self-Leadership Inside-Out Coaching, rooted in hypno-systemic coaching, offers a game-changing solution
True energy management goes beyond what you eat or how you move; it requires addressing the internal conflicts and limiting beliefs that drain your emotional and mental reserves.
For example, many high-performing leaders unconsciously hold onto perfectionism, self-doubt, or fear of failure—inner patterns that sap energy and leave them feeling stuck, regardless of how healthy their external habits might be.
Self-Leadership Inside-Out Coaching works at this deeper level. Combining the power of hypnosis with systemic coaching, this approach helps leaders:
Identify and release inner blocks that create stress and fatigue.
Rewire subconscious patterns that drive unproductive behaviours, such as over-reliance on quick fixes like sugar or caffeine.
Align their values and actions, creating a more energised and purposeful life.
Cultivate Calmfidence, the unique blend of calm and confidence that allows leaders to navigate challenges with clarity and resilience.
At the heart of this coaching model is the understanding that sustainable energy and high performance come from within. By reconnecting with your inner self, resolving conflicts, and building a mindset of calm strength, you can take charge of your energy reserves in a way that feels empowering and effortless.
This was the key to my own transformation. Through hypno-systemic coaching, I was able to rewrite my story with sugar and food, but the benefits went far beyond diet. I learned how to lead myself from the inside out, tapping into an unshakeable inner calm that fuels me to this day.
Self-leadership is the foundation of every great leader's journey. By combining lifestyle changes with the Self-Leadership Inside-Out Coaching approach from the Calmfidence Academy, you can unlock a new level of energy, clarity, and resilience.
This is more than just overcoming fatigue or brain fog—it’s about stepping into your full potential as a leader, living and leading with a balance of purpose, vitality, and unwavering confidence. With the right tools and mindset, you can not only prevent your own energy crisis but also inspire those around you to do the same.
Calmfidence isn’t just a state of mind; it’s a way of life. Let it guide you toward a future of limitless energy and holistic success.
How can one method, help with all these multiple issues? When you recognise and begin to lead yourself through these inner parts, you may find that the path to your CORE is simpler than it seems.
For those interested in exploring this journey of self-leadership, CALMFIDENCE IS THE KEY by Nell Puetter offers insights and tools for working with these inner parts. With this guidance, you can reconnect with your CORE, moving through imposter syndrome with calm, confidence, and a renewed sense of purpose.
This book delves into the core principles of Calmfidence, showing how self-belief and inner calm form the foundation of true success. By recognising and reshaping the Inner Critic, you’re opening yourself to a life of balance, resilience, and empowered decision-making.
Through the Core Calmfidence® System, leaders and entrepreneurs can transform self-criticism into self-compassion, empowering themselves to reach new heights with inner calm and confidence Calmfidence is the Key.
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