Playing sports nearly year round growing up led me to become fascinated by nutrition and the profound impact it can have on one’s body and performance.

But it also taught me to “push through” — not just workouts but also push through crazy schedules, sleep deprivation, marathon meal prep Sundays, and low-calorie diets I thought I needed.

Until, that is, I was faced with actual lab results showing I had adrenal fatigue. (i.e. HPA axis dysfunction… i.e. I was exhausted.)

I suddenly realized that there’s a whole lot more to health than just food & fitness. And if I wanted to recover — and not be a hypocritic health coach — I was going to have to start living that way.

In this case, that meant I needed to stop exercising for awhile, eat more, and actually do those things I preached but hadn’t been practicing like meditate, manage stress, and sleep.

While I still have to keep my “push through” tendency in check, I now understand the true meaning of taking a holistic approach to health that includes a lot more balance and a lot less pressure.

Above all, I’ve learned to listen to my body, whether that means sleeping in and skipping a workout or having that Sidecar donut.