If you are a busy working woman struggling with erratic moods and exhaustion and want to learn how to think clearly and reclaim your energy in just 2 weeks by balancing your blood sugar without a complete overhaul of your diet- pay very close attention to this post. I’ll outline the exact steps you need to implement and prioritize to see drastic changes in your energy and mood swings on on a day to day basis.
Here’s What I Already Know About Your Energy and Mood Swings:
- You’re running on fumes, barely making it through the day.
- No matter how much coffee you drink, you still feel drained.
- You’re constantly having a $1 reaction to a 50c problem.
- You know one more thing is going to break you.
- You’ve probably tried eating healthier or cutting out sugar, but nothing seems to stick.
- And the idea of a complete diet overhaul? Absolutely overwhelming.
- You don’t have time for that. I know you don’t.
Related: How to find rest in the chaos
But… you don’t need a massive lifestyle change to start feeling better. After working in nutritional therapy for the past several years, I see many of the same patterns again and again in exhausted women. They go something like this:
- You wake up exhausted, because you can’t shut off your brain at night or you wake up constantly because you’re so restless.
- You need coffee for basic function- and a lot of it (even if it makes you jittery)
- You crash mid-afternoon and rely on quick sugars or another caffeine hit to keep going.
- You feel irritable and short-tempered, snapping at your kids or coworkers over the tiniest little things.
- Your brain feels foggy, and you struggle to focus or remember things, you’re worried you’re going to be making mistakes at work.
- You have no idea what to eat. You’re grabbing whatever is easiest (even if it’s only your kid’s leftovers)
- You start the day with good intentions but end up ordering takeout because you’re too tired to cook and your brain is too tired for more decisions.
- You’re terribly uncomfortable with stillness or silence.
- You’re worried your family is only seeing the worst versions of you– and not who you really are.
- You’re surviving each day instead of living and being present in your life.
Sound familiar?
I’ve heard this all before.
Related: Is adrenal fatigue real? The underworld of the wired and tired
How Is Your Energy and Mood Swings Affected by Your Diet?
Here’s the thing—your body isn’t broken, and this isn’t just the way you are. Your energy, mood, and mental clarity are directly connected to your blood sugar. When it’s out of balance, everything feels harder. But, like I said before- You don’t need some extreme diet or impossible routine to fix this.
I’ve put together a simple framework—five small but powerful shifts—that can help you feel dramatically better in just two weeks. And trust me, these aren’t complicated. You can start today without overhauling your whole life.
Picture this with me:
You wake up feeling rested—no more dragging yourself out of bed after hitting snooze three times. Then you enjoy your morning without that jittery, anxious feeling.
Mid-morning, you realize something’s different… you’re not crashing. Your brain feels clear, focused. You get through your to-do list without feeling like you’re wading through fog.
Lunch rolls around, and instead of reaching for something sugary or carb-heavy, you eat a balanced meal that actually satisfies you. You follow it with a quick walk.And guess what? That mid-afternoon slump you used to have? -Gone.
No more fighting off the urge to nap at your desk or raiding the pantry for another caffeine fix. By the time dinner comes, you feel in control of your cravings, not ruled by them. No more emotional eating. No more bingeing on sugar just to cope. You eat, enjoy your food, and still have energy to actually be present with your family—without snapping at anyone out of pure exhaustion.
Then, at night? You crawl into bed, feeling calm instead of wired. No racing thoughts. No lying there for hours, staring at the ceiling. You fall asleep easily, sleep deeply, and wake up ready to take on the day again.
That’s what happens when your blood sugar is balanced. This is exactly what you can experience by focusing on the right priorities and implementing the steps below to see changes in your energy and mood swings.
If we’ve not met before, read more of my story here to understand my passion behind this blog in helping women have better mental health using food and lifestyle changes as a tool for recovery.
Related: About me
The 5 Simple Steps to Make Drastic Changes to Your Energy and Mood Swings
After years of trial, error, and clinical training and practice, I can confidently say: these small nutrition shifts make huge changes. This is where we fix the energy crashes, the brain fog, and the wacky moods—without you needing to follow a crazy diet.
1. Eat Before Coffee
Why: Drinking coffee temporarily gives you an energy boost, but because there’s no food to buffer it, your blood sugar spikes—followed by an energy crash and mood swings. Besides, caffeine provides energy debt. Think like a credit card.
How to Apply: Before your first sip, eat something—even just a handful of nuts or a boiled egg.
Pro tip: You’ll get more benefit from your caffeine by drinking it 90 minutes after waking anyways!
Related: Debunking decaf coffee myths
Is adrenal fatigue real? The underworld of the wired and tired
2. Eat 30g of Protein at Breakfast
**Bonus points: Do this at each meal!**
Why: Protein stabilizes blood sugar, keeping your energy and mood steady all day.
How to Apply: Swap the bagel or cereal for eggs, Greek yogurt, or a protein smoothie. My favorite is to just pair a few small things together. I promise you can figure out the math. But you’ve got to start paying attention.
Because, after a balanced meal, the body breaks apart the nutrients and releases the sugar into the bloodstream- blood sugar rises.
The brain senses this shift and tells the pancreas to create insulin to bring the blood sugar back down. Insulin takes this sugar and shuttles it around to different areas of need in the body. This is when we feel best- fed and happy. The whole process of shuttling, digesting, and fueling takes a few hours.
When the blood sugar starts to naturally fall -the brain tells the liver to start finding stored forms of sugar or fat to last until the next meal.
This is la la land
Related: How to build a balanced meal
Healthy balanced breakfast ideas can be found here
3. No naked carbs!
Why: Eating carbs alone spikes blood sugar and leads to crashes.
How to Apply: Pair carbs with protein, fat, or fiber—think an apple with almond butter or if eating a granola bar, have a beef stick with it.
Don’t eliminate carbs completely, but listen up!
If your meal/snack is heavy in carbohydrates– the body will burn this very quickly. The carbs are very easy to digest and very rewarding. This meal would spike the blood sugar high. The brain reacts and sends out lots of insulin and pushes the blood sugar too far and too low.
Because the blood sugar has dropped the body sees this as an emergency. It needs fuel- it needs glucose – it needs energy.
This is where you could see that need for snacks, agitation, and headaches coming in. It wants food and it wants it now!
Naturally we would reach for something sweet and carb loaded to bring blood sugar back up quickly, because feeling depleted is an awful state to exist in. However- there it goes- blood sugar back up, body reacts in panic and pushes it too low and this continues again and again. It is exhausting- and that’s exactly how you feel- exhausted.
Related: How to know if you’re a stressed out sugar burner
How to stay lean without counting calories
4. Walk After Eating
Why: A simple 10-minute walk after meals helps your body use glucose more effectively, reducing energy crashes.
How to Apply: Take a quick walk around the block after lunch instead of jumping back into work immediately. Finding a buddy here can be helpful- your dog counts too
Related: Self care for depression: 10 Things you need try
5. Balance Your Plate
Why: Meals with protein, fat, fiber, and carbs keep blood sugar stable and prevent cravings.
How to Apply: Follow this plate building framework for how to build your plate.
There are 3 different nutrients found in food known as protein, fat and carbohydrate. For plate balancing, we’re also going to include fiber.
*Hint* Fibers are complex carbs:
If you’re choosing a fiber, you automatically have a carb- but not the other way around.
Example: If you’re choosing kale as your fiber- you also have your carbohydrate.
If you’re choosing a burger bun as a carb- you still need a fiber!
Start with protein, then choose your fat, and your carb + fiber.
Top 10 high fiber snacks on the go
Examples of a Healthy Balanced Meal:
Breakfast: Eggs + toast
Eggs: Protein/ Fat
White bread: Carb
What’s missing? Fiber
Add in some seedy multigrain bread and some spinach to your eggs for your fiber. You could even have a cup of berries on the side! Fiber not only keep you feeling full and energized, but they also provide food for good gut bacteria and can help regulate blood sugar levels.
Related: Look here for balanced breakfast ideas
Lunch: BLT- but make it better
Bread: Carb
Mayonnaise: Fat
Bacon: Fat/Protein
Tomato + lettuce (complex carb/ fiber)
Protein: Add turkey, and skip the side of chips
Related: Is your body begging for more healthy fats?
Dinner: Steak dinner
Steak: Protein/Fat
Broccoli: Complex carb/fiber
Butter: Fat
Optional* Garlic breadstick
Dinner Option 2: Pizza night, but you’re a pro now.
Pizza crust: Carb
Cheese: Fat
Add fiber and protein!
Have a side salad to start, add some chicken.
Or, add some meats + veggies onto your pizza
Remember, I said you wouldn’t have to overhaul your entire diet!
Related: How to romanticize cooking dinner
These five steps alone can completely change how you feel in just two weeks.
Now, if you’re thinking, “This makes sense, but I have no idea where to start for my body,” I’ve got you.
Every month, I offer 5 free introductory calls where I help women like you identify exactly what’s missing from their burnout recovery plan. We’ll pinpoint the root cause of your symptoms and map out a simple, sustainable plan to get you feeling like yourself again.
These spots go fast, so if you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start feeling better, grab one now before they’re gone. Just click the link to book your free call. You don’t have to do this alone—I’ve already done the trial and error for you. Let’s get you back to feeling like yourself for good.
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