I’ve Gone from Skinny, Sick and Nearly Dead to Vibrant and Energetic
By: Nahid Hasan
Tags: Productivity, Self, Improvement, Health, Food

Image supplied by author

In my mid-20s I was stuck in bed for six months straight. The doctors had no idea what was wrong with me.

When I finally recovered from whatever it was, I went back to eating junk food and consuming large amounts of alcohol. I had to have a nap before going out on Saturday night. Even with a nap I’d start falling asleep at the nightclub while my friends danced the night away. Nothing made sense.

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In 2015 I had a near-miss with cancer. Again, the doctors had no idea what was going on. The tumor the size of a golf ball lodged in my guts, scared the shit out of me. I decided to choose health and energy.

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Now, this wasn’t some desire to eat healthy food and brag about it on Instagram by taking glorious filtered photos of every bowl of food I ate, inspired by Buddha, to make people feel terrible about their own lives.

What I wanted above all else was to have energy again. The kind of energy you have as a kid that allows you to run around the playground for hours as if it’s nothing.

Here’s what I did to go from anorexic, sick, and nearly dead to full of life and energy again.

Take a Walk like You’re Living in Japan

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In 2011, I became incredibly frustrated with life. I’d tried everything to get my energy back and stop the destructive thoughts floating around my head.

The only thing I intuitively did was went for daily walks.

They didn’t help… at first. One night, before I left the startup behind that I loved very much (forever), I grabbed my old school iPod and went for a walk. I started listening to what became the first dose of self-help I’d ever consume.

The walk was supposed to last 30 minutes. I ended up walking late into the night, past midnight. I walked down the main road. I walked down the side of the highway. I was yelling loudly and chanting like the audiobook told me to. People came out of their homes half asleep and told me to shut up. I couldn’t hear them. I kept walking.

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These late night walks became a thing. I used them to walk and listen to self-help stories. It wasn’t a success habit. It was a survival mechanism. Walking led me to new insights. Walks became a way to escape my reality and reflect. Walking became an activity to listen to someone else’s wisdom. Walking led me to the insights that saved my life.

Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard said: “Every day, I walk myself into a state of well-being & walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, & the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Thus if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right.”

Writer, Kaki Okumura, says Japanese people don’t go to the gym and exercise or do super cool CrossFit. They just walk. Walking created a different kind of life-changing magic for me.

Use walks to think.

The three keys to this diet are:

Natural sugar (honey/dates) instead of refined sugar

Less salt

No oil (including Olive Oil)

I originally tried a vegan diet and realized most of my friends that were doing the same were kidding themselves. They’d think they were healthy, and they’d then go and eat a bucket of fried chips with high-fructose tomato sauce from Lord of the Fries and lie to themselves some more. They still felt sick, and many of them remained overweight.

I learned that the food you put into your body creates your energy levels. A whole food plant-based diet allows you to recreate your childlike energy levels.

Your taste buds change

Many people try and switch their diet and find it hard to do. Things don’t taste the same. I had the same problem. I learned that you have to allow your taste buds time to adapt. When your tastebuds are jazzed up on years of sugary drinks and fried food, a sudden change to healthy food tastes bland.

Now I’ve been off processed food for so long, a mango tastes better than any type of ice cream ever could. Even carrots taste sweet.

Restaurants are accommodating

I was a serial under-sleeper. Getting enough rest will change your energy levels. I tried adding 30 minutes more to however much sleep I was getting.

I prioritized rest rather than let whatever time I had left over determine the length of time spent sleeping.

You need more sleep than you think.

You may be awake for 16 hours, but how energetic are you during those hours? It’s better to have hours where you feel alive, than lots of hours awake where you feel tired and like a zombie.

Give up Alcohol at All Costs

Alcohol dehydrates you. If there’s one thing you don’t want to do it’s be dehydrated. Alcohol is a great way to screw up your body. It silently ruins your insides and messes with your mental state. I was a tired, depressed little boy on alcohol. Marketing has lied to us and told us to drink alcohol to relax.

The truth is alcohol is poison. There are much better ways to relax and seek pleasure than alcohol which destroys your energy levels.

Drinking Water Stops You Being Dehydrated (Which Takes Away Your Energy)

75% of Americans are dehydrated. I, too, didn’t drink enough water.

When you’re dehydrated you lack energy and get headaches. All I did was replace canned drinks and alcohol with water.

Water is the liquid of life. Drink more of it.

Plug Everyday Energy Leaks

In 2011, I was full of energy leaks. I was like a walking, talking Titanic with a hole in my head, leaking energy all over the place.

Anger, frustration, shame, revenge, and things you can’t control in life will rob you of your precious energy.

I started focusing on what I could control. I chose to forgive those who wronged me even though they didn’t deserve it, so I could gain back my mental clarity and peace of mind again.

It’s not worth giving up your energy for petty things.