Every morning should feel like a fresh start—a chance to conquer new goals. But, if you’re struggling with constant fatigue and tiredness, even getting out of bed can feel like the most challenging task you have to accomplish for the day.

At least, that’s how I felt back in graduate school when the long days and even longer nights left me feeling like “The Walking Dead.”

Between studying and working part-time, I struggled to have any energy to do all the other things I wanted to do, like:

• Exploring and getting to know Boston, the new city I'd made my home.
• Maintaining (somewhat of) a social life.
• Attending conferences and events where I could connect with recruiters or future employers.
• And, of course, starting an online business in a completely different field than my field of study in graduate school - nutrition.

It was primarily through, getting tired of doing THE MOST and discovering through my nutrition education how the food I was eating was...

In the last few years, I’ve come to realize why meditation is important for fighting fatigue and boosting energy.

As a full-time executive assistant and part-time nutrition coach, I started to notice that I was waking up every morning worrying about all the things that I felt I “needed” to do that day:

• I needed to schedule that meeting for my boss.
• I needed to write that blog post for my website.
• I needed to meal prep for the week.
• I needed to schedule a girls night out with my friends.

And, the list goes on and on with all the things I felt I needed to do. The sad part is that this was all BEFORE 8 am!

So, needless to say, I would end up feeling overwhelmed, overworked, and straight up “over it!”

If you've been in the same boat, you know all too well that all the things we feel that we need to do don't get done.

• The to-do lists just get longer.
• The number of balls we are juggling just get dropped.
• And, the promises we make just get broken....

What’s a good bedtime routine? If you’re a mom that might be a question, you think about for your children, but having a good bedtime routine as an adult is essential to wake-up feeling well rested and energized.

It might surprise you (unless you read my previous blog post on How to Have More Energy in the Morning?) that I had the best sleep of my LIFE when I was in Marine Corps Boot Camp.

It might surprise you (unless you read my previous blog post on How to Have More Energy in the Morning?) that I had the BEST sleep when I was in the Marine Corps.

I guarantee you it wasn’t for the lack of stress. I can promise you that I had PLENTY of that. What I also had was a pretty consistent bedtime routine:

• I showered, brushed my teeth, and got my hair “layed” for the next day (my Black and Brown ladies know what I mean).

• I sat quietly with my Boot Camp besties to chat, study, and mentally wind down for the day.

• And, every night about the same time...

What can help me have more energy is a question that I see asked quite often as a Body Positive Nutrition Coach? It makes sense as we spend so much time at work, at school, or engaging in other activities that we barely have time to rest.

This might even make you conjure times in your life when you felt most energized.

You might be surprised to hear that a time in my life where I felt MOST energize was during the three months spent in Marine Corps Boot Camp.

Now don’t get me wrong; those three months was no cakewalk:

• I worked harder than I have ever worked in my entire life (I was a city kid and nerd who spent most of her life indoors) …

• I experienced mental and physical fatigue like you wouldn’t believe (unless you’ve worked a labor-intensive job then you know ALL too well) …

• I exercised more during those three months than I had during the 21 years I’d been on this earth. Not even my years of track and cross country could have...

“I bet you’ve never struggled with your weight,” were eight simple words that became the catalyst that sparked my desire to learn why having a body positive body image is important.

Up until that point I had never been faced with the reality that other people looked at my body and made presumptions about what I’d struggled with and how I could never relate to where they are in their weight loss journey.

I'm going to be real; at first, those words cut me like a knife. But, now I can look back at that moment and be so grateful for the perspective I gained that day.

Because contrary to that person's belief I did struggle with my weight and more importantly I struggled with accepting my body as it was:

• I was (and still am) overweight according to my BMI (body mass index) standards.
• I’ve tried one fad diet after another trying to achieve the “ideal” body weight.
• I even went on a 300 calorie diet so that I could lose 20 lbs in one week to...