After teaching Running on Empty last week, there's one idea I don't want to leave behind with the webinar:
Low energy isn't always just an energy-production problem. It can also be an energy-demand problem.
That distinction matters. NOW, let's go one layer deeper.
From an energy standpoint, immune activation isn't cheap. When your body detects infection, tissue damage, or another perceived threat, immune cells activate, inflammatory signaling increases, proteins are produced, damaged tissue needs repair, and metabolic resources are redirected toward defense. That's brilliant when you have the flu for five days! But what happens when inflammatory signaling continues for months—or years?
Now you have a persistent withdrawal from your energy account. Uh oh.
Interestingly, your brain represents only a small percentage of your body weight but uses a substantial portion of your resting energy. Add chronic psychological stress, hypervigilance, poor sleep, constant decision-making, or a nervous system that rarely gets the message that the emergency is over, and you've added another layer of demand.
Then there's digestion.
Movement.
Detoxification.
Hormone production.
Cellular repair.
Normal life.
This is why I don't love reducing chronic fatigue to "mitochondrial dysfunction." Mitochondria absolutely matter. A lot. But we also have to zoom out and ask ourselves: What are we asking those mitochondria to keep up with?
This is one reason I talk so much about capacity before intensity.
More exercise isn't automatically better.
More detox isn't automatically better.
More supplements aren't automatically better.
More treatment isn't automatically better.
Sometimes the smartest next step is identifying which demands are necessary, which ones can be reduced, and which systems need better support. That isn't "doing less" because you've given up. It's working smarter. (Smarter, not harder, friends!)
And this is where personalization matters!
Two people can both say, "I'm exhausted," and have very different reasons why. One may be under-fueled. Another may have significant inflammatory demand. Another may be sleeping eight hours but getting terrible-quality sleep. Another may have blood sugar swings all day. Another may simply be trying to do far more than their current capacity can support. That's why I don't believe in one-size-fits-all healing plans. Fatigue is a symptom. The more useful question is what your unique physiology is asking for.
If Running on Empty made you realize that you need help looking at your own patterns instead of following another generic protocol, this is exactly the kind of work I do through bioenergetic testing and holistic nurse coaching.
We don't need to chase everything.
We need to figure out what matters most.
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