Today I am welcoming Sam Cannell, nutrition and lifestyle coach to the website to share with us her tips for preventing burn out. As a mum with two kids, Sam has experienced this first hand and now helps women regain their wellness and zest for life.

5 Ways to Prevent Burn Out

Are you feeling flat and fatigued? Need a coffee first thing in the morning to get started? Can’t keep up with the kids like you used to? You could be on the brink of pushing yourself too far.

♥ Sort out your sleep

A healthy sleep routine balances the fat burning hormones, assists how we manage stress and also reduces the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body. Another hormone impacted by sleep is leptin. This clever hormone tells our brain when our tummy is full and helps to regulate our appetite and metabolism. When we don’t sleep properly we disrupt this hormone and find ourselves eating more.

When we are sleep deprived we are more likely to make poor health choices, we exercise less and rely on caffeine and sugar for energy… it’s a vicious cycle! Most mums love to stay up late because the house is nice and quiet but breaking this habit is really important for preventing burn out.

A healthy sleep habit isn’t just about getting 8 hours of shut eye a night, the quality of our sleep is so important and our modern day lifestyle isn’t helping. We should be aiming for a 10pm bedtime but from 9pm we need to get off the tech gadgets and have zero screen time. Winding down for bed is one of the simplest ways you can improve your quality of sleep. You’ll go to bed with a calm mind and find that drifting off to sleep is much easier.

♥ Cut out caffeine

When our adrenal glands are under so much pressure caffeine can make it even worse and the road to recovery becomes slower. When you’re under extra stress it’s easy to reach for caffeine to help get you through but that morning latte could actually be pushing you closer to burn out. Cutting out caffeine (for a few months at least) is vital for healing the adrenal glands and for preventing full blown burn out.

If you’re worried about withdrawal headaches then ease out of your coffee addiction over a week, cutting back each day until you go completely without. You’ll be amazed that within a few days you don’t need that caffeine pick me up anymore!

♥ Avoid sugar and processed foods

If you’re body is already feeling fatigued then one of your highest priorities should be nourishing yourself with fresh, real whole foods. When your energy levels are low then it’s unlikely your going to be feeling like cooking up lavish meals so keep your cooking really simple and ensure you are getting quality protein at every meal. I

f you’re skipping meals then that also needs to stop so keep ingredients on hand for delicious smoothies for those times you can’t be bothered preparing breakfast or lunch.

♥ Ease up on the cardio exercise

If you’re a gym junkie struggling with low energy levels then the type of exercise you are doing could be contributing to your burn out. Excessive cardio will do more damage than good to an already stressed body.. sad but true! Stick to low impact and gentle exercise while your body is healing, now isn’t the time to run a marathon.

♥ Start saying ‘no’

Most mums on the brink of burnout have a lot of trouble saying ‘no’ to others… they are the ‘go to’ person for everything because they always say yes! As a result their own health suffers and they never have any time free for themselves. If you have all the warning signs of burn out then it’s so important you learn to say ‘no’ to the things you don’t want to be doing.

Healing from extreme fatigue takes time and your body needs a much slower pace to heal properly. That means you need time for naps, time to go slow and space to just be.

If you’ve been battling fatigue, I want you to know that it really is possible to prevent burnout but you need to take action now rather than waiting until it’s too late. It’s taken years for your body to get to this point so be gentle with yourself and let the healing begin.

About Sam:

Sam Cannell is a Holistic Health and Wellness Coach specialising in women’s health and is the creator of The Fabulous Woman Project.