Why You’re Always Tired – And How to Fix it for Good with Robyn Engelson

Feeling drained no matter how much rest you get? Burnout is a silent epidemic affecting countless professionals, leaving them exhausted and unmotivated. In a recent episode of Resume Assassin presents Recruiting Insider, we sat down with wellness expert Robyn Engelson to uncover the root causes of chronic fatigue and how to break free from it. Robyn shares her personal journey from battling autoimmune challenges to reclaiming her vitality, offering science-backed strategies that have helped many escape the exhaustion trap.

Burnout is more than just being tired—it’s a state of chronic depletion that can affect every aspect of life. Many turn to quick fixes like caffeine, energy drinks, or restrictive diets, but these solutions often do more harm than good. Robyn emphasizes that true recovery comes from addressing the core pillars of wellness: nutrition, fitness, and mindset. Hydration, mindful eating, and sustainable movement routines play a significant role in restoring energy levels. Instead of resorting to extreme solutions, she advocates for small, consistent changes that create long-term benefits.

Mindset is another game-changer in the battle against burnout. Stress, negative self-talk, and lack of boundaries contribute to exhaustion. By cultivating a positive mindset and practicing stress management techniques, individuals can shift from merely coping to truly thriving. Strategies such as journaling, meditation, and gratitude exercises can help rewire thought patterns and promote mental clarity. Robyn also underscores the importance of accountability—having a support system increases motivation and ensures consistency in implementing healthy habits.

For those who feel stuck in perpetual exhaustion, Robyn suggests starting small. Instead of overhauling an entire lifestyle overnight, making incremental changes—such as improving sleep hygiene, adding more whole foods to meals, or incorporating short bursts of movement throughout the day—can have a profound impact. By addressing underlying issues and taking intentional steps toward wellness, it is possible to regain vitality.

Burnout is not a life sentence. Whether you’re struggling with extreme fatigue or simply looking to optimize your health, Robyn’s insights provide a roadmap for reclaiming energy and joy. Tune into this episode of Resume Assassin presents Recruiting Insider to discover the tiny yet powerful shifts that can help you reset, recharge, and finally feel alive again.

 

Mary (00:01.06)
Robin Ingelson, welcome to Recruiting Insider.

Robyn Engelson (00:04.257)
Amazing, thank you so much. I’m super excited to be here.

Mary (00:09.422)
Ever feel like you’re running on fumes? Like your brain is stuck in molasses and your to-do list is actually mocking you? I know that I have. And so that’s why I’m so pumped to have Robin on the show today. You might know her as the Wellness Insider on LinkedIn, where she helps people like us reclaim their energy and health within 90 days.

Robyn Engelson (00:20.174)
You

Mary (00:36.814)
But before she was a coach, Robin totally gets the struggle. She’s been there hustling with the rest of them, but eventually she hit a wall. So today we’re going to chat about her journey and the strategies that she developed to overcome burnout and become our most focused, energized self. So grab a coffee, get comfy and get ready to learn how to level up your life.

Robin, you tell us just a little bit more about your background and can you also share just kind of your personal journey of overcoming burnout and really regaining your energy and focus?

Robyn Engelson (01:14.317)
Absolutely. I’m excited to share this because you know so many people struggle with burnout but most of us are silently suffering and the reality is when we’re silently suffering we really nothing changes if nothing changes and it’s really you’re not sharing your gifts with the world. So my background I come from the marketing and advertising world.

where I was and at agency, burnt out, working gazillion hours, knowing that my purpose was more, transitioning into entrepreneurship in my late 20s, which is early for most people, but it wasn’t early for me, it was exactly on time. And I started doing business consulting and advertising consulting for clients and quickly knew that my purpose was even more. I had a son who is now 15.

love of my life and was trying to get pregnant with our second child and we weren’t able to. So I went in for blood work for something else, which was why I couldn’t get pregnant and I came out with Hashimoto’s, which is a thyroid autoimmune disease, not life threatening, but life changing. And my life was turned upside down. If I thought I was burnt out before with exhaustion and pain,

I had you never realize you’d never know what happened because after being diagnosed I became sicker and sicker and sicker because of the medications that the doctors were prescribing me telling me that I needed this to live when in fact it was killing me and through two and a half years of going from doctor doctor doctor and then really just

not being able to sleep, sleeping, and then once I finally fell asleep, 10 to 12 hours a night, not being a present parent, my hair falling out, fatigue, bone aches, everything just hurt. I had to stop working. And I figured out that it was meant to be, it’s up to me. And what I did was I really looked at my nutrition, my fitness, my mindset, and my accountability. Because I realized if I put all those four things together, I’d be able to change. And I’d be able to change my life.

Mary (03:16.154)
Mm.

Mm.

Robyn Engelson (03:25.288)
and then perhaps I could help others who are also silently suffering with autoimmunity, with burnout, with pain, with trauma. Because you know, when you’re not feeling well, everything just stinks. it really, like everything’s an effort. Just getting out of bed, brushing your teeth, getting dressed. The daily things that are supposed to be pretty simple. Nevermind taking care of your toddler at the time, or going to work, or dealing with your spouse or colleagues or friends.

Mary (03:38.17)
Yeah.

Mary (03:48.857)
Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (03:53.529)
And so I’m an athlete, but I wasn’t serving my body or fueling my body with the proper nutrition for my autoimmune disease. So I really educated myself on nutrition, became a certified nutrition coach, and realized that certain things didn’t serve me. And was able to create simple nutrition plans that were sustainable over time that allowed me to feel good and be energized. And then I realized that my workouts weren’t serving me because although I’m an athlete,

Mary (04:17.337)
Mmm.

Robyn Engelson (04:22.343)
They weren’t serving me for my autoimmune disease, right? Or anyone who has something going on with chronic illness. I’m a cardio junkie, ex-cardio junkie. And I realized that, you know, what is that doing? It’s just increasing my cortisol, which is your stress factor, making me feel worse and just really not feeling good. So I started lifting weights, started feeling empowered and regaining my belief in myself. Did a bikini competition.

Mary (04:30.137)
Same, same.

Robyn Engelson (04:50.921)
and felt incredible and really was just proud of what I had accomplished and what I showed other women that anything is possible no matter what age or where you are in life. And then slowly by changing my nutrition, working out properly for my autoimmune disease, I realized that the next piece was the mindset. Because like I said, nothing changes if nothing changes and your childhood determines who you are and how you show up as an adult.

But that doesn’t mean you have to and that you get to be that way as an adult. So I realized that I could reprogram my channels and my wiring on my mindset and my brain to be the best version of myself and to regain my energy and to overcome my trauma that I’ve been through in my past, overcome parts of my childhood that didn’t serve me. And by doing that, it made me feel better.

You know, I didn’t have that weight on my shoulder. So many of us had this weight on our shoulder and we feel like the world is ending and why is this happening to me? Why me? But in reality, it’s like you haven’t dealt with what’s really holding you back. It’s not your job. It’s not your current state, right? Or your illness. It’s what happened to you in the past. And what you have currently just, it’s like a domino effect, right? It just makes it that much worse, right? It’s like you just keep putting band-aids on top of band-aids and the wound is not healing.

And then, so I figured out how to do that. And then I found accountability partners who had what I wanted so they could help me get there. So it’s the combination of nutrition, fitness, mindset and accountability that allowed me to be where I am today.

Mary (06:31.159)
Yeah, I mean, thank you for sharing that. And I think that a lot of us, a lot of our listeners and myself included can really relate to that. And it just seems like we live in a culture where that hustle and that grind is actually celebrated. And then we get to the point, you know, where you are, where it’s like, well, man, it feels like we’re doing everything right according to what

Robyn Engelson (06:50.281)
Eh-huh.

Mary (06:58.477)
we’re hearing according to all of this buzz, according to what the internet is saying, according to what other people are saying, but then you hit a wall and you’re burnt out and your physical health suffers and your mental health suffers. Like you said, I was kind of reading through your website and everything that I was reading, was like, well, man, I can relate to all of that. And I’m sure a lot of other people can where, you you’re like, I’m doing everything right, but I’m exhausted. I’m sleeping 10 hours a night.

Robyn Engelson (07:19.624)
Sure. Right.

Robyn Engelson (07:26.473)
Mm-hmm.

Mary (07:26.571)
I’m, you know, I have this brain fog, you know, I’m not a present parent. All of these things so far I can relate to on a whole nother level, you know, and it’s, you know, I was just intrigued by the fact that you’re like, I was able to figure out all of these shifts, whether it’s nutrition, whether it’s exercise mindset, accountability that really has enabled you to be energized all day.

Robyn Engelson (07:30.423)
it’s right. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (07:36.265)
Mm-hmm.

Mary (07:53.588)
every day and I think that that’s what a lot of us are really going for. So I guess, you know, what we could do is just kind of focus on breaking down those four areas that you mentioned with nutrition, fitness, mindset, and accountability. So I guess, you know, at first I’d love to learn just a little bit more about what you learned about nutrition and how that, you know, what shifts did you make in your own nutrition that really helped you re-energize yourself?

Robyn Engelson (07:53.719)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

Robyn Engelson (08:16.643)
Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (08:23.971)
Great question, Mary. I know, here’s the thing too, just to back check one point about what you said also before I answer that question, is that that’s the combo for me and most of my clients. But that doesn’t mean that nutrition may be the only thing for somebody or the physical activity, right? But that’s the initial thing. And then that’s what, when we put it all together, that’s what the solution is. That’s what the energy solution is.

So for me with the nutrition and what I found in most of my clients is that eating smaller meals more often really helps you feel good because your blood sugar doesn’t dip or spike and you keep your metabolism at a higher rate. And when you keep your metabolism at a higher rate, you’re just burning more calories evenly throughout the day. And without having blood sugar spikes, it really makes you just feel better, right?

Mary (09:15.105)
Yeah. Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (09:17.26)
So, and some of those things include eliminating caffeine, eliminating gluten, sometimes dairy. For me, it was all three of those. Not for all people, right? It’s just what works for you. But the key is to maintain a simple meal plan that is sustainable over time. That doesn’t mean when you go out and can’t have a slice of pizza with your salad. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a piece of cake at your friend’s birthday. But it’s just having the mindset

Mary (09:28.14)
Mm-hmm.

Mary (09:36.62)
Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (09:46.099)
around the nutrition that you’re not gonna eat five pieces of cake, right? With the soda, with the popcorn. You’re gonna have one piece of cake and you’re going to enjoy it and you’re not gonna feel guilty or tell everybody around you that you’re just gonna have to go to the gym longer tomorrow because that doesn’t work. That’s just ignoring the reality. So again, things with nutrition also would be understanding labels. Being able to go through the grocery store and know what’s healthy for you.

Mary (09:50.229)
Mm. Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (10:11.795)
Never go to the middle, always stick to the perimeter. That’s where the fresh stuff is, not the processed stuff. People may know that, but they don’t do it. And so why aren’t people doing it? It’s because they don’t have the resilience, they don’t have the mindset behind the nutrition. But I truly believe, and I help a lot of my clients too, Mary, with the education, nutrition education. Understanding what’s good for you, what serves your body, and are you training.

Mary (10:13.356)
Hey, yep, yep.

Robyn Engelson (10:41.608)
Are you going to work every day? Are you with your kids all day? Like what is your routine really? And how does the nutrition serve you? Right? Because food is fuel. are made in the kitchen. They are not made in the gym. And I can attest to that because I’ve done it. And so have my clients. But you know, people say they want to lose weight or they want to be energized. Well, you got to eat certain foods, high protein, low carbs, know, healthy vegetables and fruits and just be consistent with it throughout your day.

Mary (11:12.725)
Yeah, I love what you said about balance too. And you you mentioned that you were a previous recovering distance, a holic cardio a holic and you know, and I’m the same. I ran cross country in college and you know, I was in the mindset where it’s like, I need to run 10 miles a day and eat or not eat X, Y, Z to get, know, whatever body, I don’t know. I don’t even think I had any goals in mind.

Robyn Engelson (11:16.17)
Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (11:24.448)
You

Robyn Engelson (11:36.07)
Sure. Yeah, right.

Mary (11:42.366)
And it wasn’t really until I was introduced to really weightlifting until, you know, once I started weightlifting, that’s when my mindset was like, well, you know, I don’t want to, I’m not just focused on calories. I’m focused on how do I build muscle? And when you shift that focus from how can I burn calories and do cardio to what can I do to build muscle? You’ll probably actually start re, you know, your body will

Robyn Engelson (12:00.635)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Robyn Engelson (12:05.502)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

Mary (12:10.856)
have a complete recomposition, you’ll put on muscle and maybe you’ll weigh a little bit more, but you’ll look a hundred times better and you’ll probably live a longer and healthier life too because you have more muscle mass. And I think, know, from a new, yeah. And, you know, I think from a nutrition standpoint too, and I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this because we hear so many different things when it comes to nutrition, like you shouldn’t.

Robyn Engelson (12:13.373)
Absolutely.

Robyn Engelson (12:22.461)
100%. Absolutely.

Robyn Engelson (12:31.836)
Sure.

Mary (12:38.89)
do this, you you have all of these influencers that are like, you know, it’s the the carnivore diet or it’s the keto diet or it’s, whatever the diet is, it’s, you know, the fad of the day. Yeah. And it’s like, you can’t eat vegetables now and you can’t drink the water now. So what do you do? You know, yeah. So how do we how can we navigate that and really, you know, discern what is real and

Robyn Engelson (12:43.261)
Thanks

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

There’s always something, right? Always. That’s crazy. Yeah. Right. Yeah, right. What are you gonna do?

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Yes, such a good question. I also want to comment that yes, muscle weighs more than fat. So if when you’re gaining muscle, you may weigh more, but your body physique will look different. And I think that’s the key there, right? And as we age, we need to be lifting. It’s shown and proven there’s a stat for women that lose certain amount of bone density each year after they’re 40. And if we’re not lifting, you are sustainable to

Mary (13:07.914)
What’s just rhetoric?

Robyn Engelson (13:35.761)
you know, all these different types of bone diseases and frailness and whatnot. So it’s super important. And that one thing I love and I share this with my mom, she does it every day now, just grab some five pound weights or two and half pound weights in either hand and just walk. Like literally like you’re holding grocery bags in your hands and just walk every day. And it doesn’t have to be far, it can be inside your house or around your block, right? So back to your question in regards to, repeat that question for me one more time. I got sidetracked, Mary.

Mary (14:05.204)
Yeah, no, it’s just, you know, we hear all of this different rhetoric about all of these different diets and the shoulds and the shouldn’ts. Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (14:09.997)
right, yes, yes. Exactly, the different diets, right? So my thought process on that is, like I said, there’s always gonna be something, the new fad. But when you look at people as a whole, people who do the fads are the ones that are start and stoppers, start and stoppers, and nothing is sustainable over time for their lifetime, and they’re not getting any results. They’re just excited about this new thing, right? Because they’re probably not happy in their life, so they need something new and exciting.

So my theory on that is to find something that works for you long term. When you have the understanding of the nutrition and you’ve shifted your mindset and your perspective and you have an accountability partner and you’re on the right workout resume, your nutrition will be natural for you, right? And then meal prepping each week, I like to meal prep on Sunday for the week. It takes like two hours max for the whole week, you know, and it really is just grab and go so when you don’t have to.

think about it and you know exactly what you’re eating and I’m not saying count your macros I’m not saying you know measure anything because I think that’s awful eyeballing is great but just understand your proteins your veggies your healthy carbs your healthy fats your fruits and really work with someone like a certified nutrition coach like myself that really can help and customize that for you because then you’re gonna be sustainable long-term and feel good and energized over

Mary (15:35.39)
Yeah, I’m a huge advocate for meal prepping over the weekend too, because I think that it truly will set you up for success for that entire week. you know, when it comes to nutrition, when it comes to fitness, you know, I’m reading a book right now, I’m sure many of you have read it, but it’s The Power of Habit. And, you know, if you can find ways to create a habit loop to help you, you know, completely shift your

Robyn Engelson (15:39.227)
Thank

Robyn Engelson (15:46.544)
Absolutely.

Robyn Engelson (15:57.693)
Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (16:02.333)
Yep. So true.

Mary (16:04.758)
current way of life and create something that, you know, really ingrains this into your day to day and makes it a habit. It becomes like second nature. It’s like, it’s really, really easy. You don’t even have to think about, you know, grabbing for that protein and that vegetables or in those vegetables. And especially if you meal prep, you know, over the weekend, it’s like, and you create this habit of eating healthy. It’s like, it’s not even a question. That’s what you’re going to grab. You’re not going to go.

Robyn Engelson (16:06.397)
Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (16:13.479)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yes.

Right.

true.

Robyn Engelson (16:29.999)
Mm-hmm. It’s so true. No, you’re actually, no, yes, it’s so true. And you know, to that point also, Mary, when you start to create the habit, you’re gonna actually start craving healthier options. And you’re not going to want to go through a drive-through because you know that you honestly aren’t gonna feel good when you eat that, right? And your body’s not gonna be able to process it. So you’re actually gonna start creating these new habits for good cravings.

Mary (16:33.404)
McDonald’s and eat a cheeseburger, you know, you’ve got everything ready, yeah.

Mary (16:59.584)
Yeah. Yeah. And I’m thinking about, you the fact that you said that you competed in a bodybuilding competition and that was something that I had thought about doing like, and it was like in 2012 when bodybuilding competitions were like the thing to do. And so I learned all about, you know, like counting macros and doing all those things. But I think, you know, my biggest takeaway from that is, you know, just really making sure that you’re number one, especially as women, getting enough protein.

Robyn Engelson (17:12.216)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (17:18.077)
Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (17:28.797)
Absolutely.

Mary (17:28.862)
And then number two, feels like once you make sure you’re getting enough protein, you can kind of just intuitively eat healthier foods and your body will tell you exactly what you need, right? If you’re craving something, you know, maybe that means that you need some iron. So maybe you need to have some beef that day. You know, if you really get in touch and in tune with your body, you can really start to figure that stuff out just kind of on your own.

Robyn Engelson (17:38.048)
Yep. Yes.

Robyn Engelson (17:45.103)
Mm-hmm, exactly. Right.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (17:54.011)
Absolutely, and I call that mindful eating. So when you’ve reprogrammed your mind and you understand and have the nutrition education, you are completely in tune with your body every single day. And you’ll know what your body’s looking for and what it needs. And maybe what you say was low on iron or maybe more protein or your blood sugar’s dropping, so quickly grab some fruit, right? So you’ll really start to understand that and be able to sustain that over time, which is the key for energizing yourself. Yare, over time.

Mary (18:18.602)
Yeah, 100%. And it’s all about sustainability, because I’ve seen those people too that just, they do these crash diets, or they see some kind of a fad, and then they’re all gung-ho, and they’ll do it for a couple of months, and they’ll lose all this weight, and then I’ll see them a month later, and they look the exact same, and then, yeah.

Robyn Engelson (18:23.974)
Yes.

Robyn Engelson (18:28.849)
Mm-hmm. You’re right. Right? Uh-huh. Right. It’s all back. Six months later, right? It’s all back. Like, what happened? No. Yeah. Totally.

Mary (18:42.03)
Right, right, and really, I mean, what they’re doing is they’re absolutely crashing their metabolism. So then once they’re like, this isn’t, shit, this isn’t sustainable, and they start eating again, then you’re gonna gain it all back, you know, plus more. So it’s worth the investment in your time to figure out how you can find that balance and find the foods that you love so that it can be sustainable.

Robyn Engelson (18:51.11)
Mm-hmm. Right? Yes. Uh-huh. Yeah.

100%. Yep. Absolutely. And with that too, Mary, that’s all the mindset piece too, because if you start and stop and you crash and you gain it all back because you haven’t changed your mindset, nothing changes if nothing changes.

You didn’t change anything about your habits or your lifestyle or your mindset or your accountability. And unfortunately, that happens to many people if you don’t have the discipline to be able to create a new habit and change your mindset.

Mary (19:31.424)
Yeah. Yeah. And so people are probably thinking now, okay, I get it. So how do I change my mindset? How do I get there? Yeah. Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (19:36.596)
Right, right, which is right, and that is such a big question. You know, it’s a huge answer for that, right? But I think the simple thing is, you know, that you can do it because you have to have belief in yourself. And you know, you can do it. You are worthy. You are worth it. You know, you have to love yourself, right? You are loved, you are loved, you are loving. And when you look in and you really search inward,

then you’re able to start changing your mindset. It’s the small daily habits that get us to the bigger goal. So pick one thing that you want to change right now and do that successfully for seven days in a row. Then choose another thing and do both the first thing and the second thing the second seven days in a row. And then you pick a third thing and you do the three of them. And by the time you get to the third or fourth one, the first or second one, it’s already become a

It’s already part of your daily routine. And then think about the end result. Think about where you wanna be and what you wanna do. You may not know that in this moment, but you may know you don’t wanna be where you are in a month from now, in a year from now, whatever the timeframe is. So then you work backwards. What can you do today? What’s one thing you can do today? Do it successfully for seven days, then pick another thing. And then you keep doing that. And over time, you’ll realize in a month,

six months, a year, you’ll be able to look back and say, wow, like, who is that person back there? I don’t recognize them. I don’t know who she is because I’m so different in a good way because I’ve changed and I helped myself and I chose me, I chose my wellness, I chose my health, and I feel energized and excited every single day.

Mary (21:06.934)
Mm-hmm.

Mary (21:19.91)
Yeah. Yeah, I think something that really helped me, you know, when I was starting out on, you know, a journey of really just, you know, fitness and nutrition, it’s, you know, it’s really sitting down and figuring out, okay, what are the things that are the most important in my life? And then, you know, prioritizing those things. And, you know, in my opinion, I think that health and nutrition should be top.

Robyn Engelson (21:39.475)
Absolutely. Yes.

Mary (21:48.97)
know, top priorities for most people if they want to live longer, more healthier lives. Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (21:55.707)
100%. Yes. Because you know it’s always like you either pay for it now or you pay for it later. It’s your choice. Every day you get to choose whether you choose yourself or you choose someone else. And that’s always on you. But you can do it. Like that’s the thing. You can do it. Like the people who are listening right now to this podcast, like you can do it. There’s nothing different about me or you or anybody. It’s just a choice. It’s a decision to choose yourself.

Mary (22:00.401)
Yeah.

Mary (22:04.207)
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.

Yeah, possible.

Mary (22:15.814)
Yeah.

Mary (22:24.091)
Yeah. Yeah. mean, seriously, read the power of habits, you know, to anybody listening to this. You know, if you’re trying to pick up new habits like, you know, fitness and nutrition, because it really, you know, again, I’m reading it right now. So it’s just, you know, puts things into perspective and, know, and it can relate to both, you know, your business world, your personal world, fitness, nutrition, building a business, you know, growing in a company, whatever it might be. But there are

Robyn Engelson (22:24.125)
and make that change.

Robyn Engelson (22:47.875)
Sure.

Yeah

Mary (22:53.589)
ways that you can actually create new habits or even change old habits to make them better and more positive in your life. you know, and one thing I really loved that you said, Robin, and I think is like key to unlocking success and all of this, you know, with the mindset, mind set shift is doing one thing at a time because that’s, that’s it. You know? Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (22:59.513)
Absolutely.

Robyn Engelson (23:17.986)
Yeah, that’s all I need to do. That’s it, that’s it. It’s simple. It really is simple.

Mary (23:22.969)
And it’s like, it’s so simple. I think about it like, you know, in, in my own life. So when I’m, you know, I’m an entrepreneur, so I’m a solopreneur. So anybody that, you know, hears that word and can relate to me. Probably knows how overwhelming that can be sometimes and how many little tasks you have to do or want to do every single day. But if you think about all of those little tasks and you try to do them all at once, you’re not going to get anything done. And I feel like the same.

goes with your nutrition and with your health. If you try to change everything, you try to do everything all at once, it’s going to be a disaster. You’re not going to move the needle at all. You’re not going to get anything accomplished.

Robyn Engelson (24:04.895)
And also if you try to change everything at once, you’re not going to know what works and what doesn’t work. And it won’t be sustainable. And you’re going to feel overwhelmed and burnt out yet again. Right. And then you’re just in this hamster wheel cycle where nothing changes, nothing changes. So just choosing one thing. And there’s another book called the, the one thing is actually that’s what it’s called the one thing. So I keep referencing to you and it’s like, choose that one thing that’s non-negotiable every single day and just start changing.

Mary (24:14.257)
Mm-hmm.

Mary (24:27.803)
Yeah. Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (24:31.38)
because that’s what it is, that’s all it is. It’s actually really simple.

Mary (24:37.045)
Are there any clients that really stand out to you, you know, in your mind? Somebody that really was able to change their mindset and step into better healthy habits? Can you tell us about that person? Yeah. Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (24:45.548)
Okay.

All of them. All of them. Literally, there’s so many. But there’s one in particular. I’m not mentioning her name for privacy reasons, but I will just share that I had known her for a while. We worked together prior. And then she came to me because she saw what I was posting on social media. And she was like, I want your energy. I want what you have. What are you doing?

And so I told her a little bit about my program and what I was doing and how I was able to shift my mindset as a model of positive change and overcome my trauma and overcome my pain and really just be the light and live in positivity every single day while having accountability and changing my nutrition and my fitness. And she was like, I’m in.

I want to do this because she’s like, I’m the girl, like right here, I’m the girl that starts and stops every six to eight weeks and none of that got no results. I got nothing to show for it. I’m throwing away money, literally flushing it down the toilet. And I just literally, I need something to change and shift in my life because I have too many other things going on that are stressing me out. So when we started working together, the first thing we did was we created a simple seven day nutrition plan.

And the way I do this is that I just, asked her, what are you currently eating? From the minute you wake up to the minute you go to bed, including drinks. There’s no judgment. I need to know in order to help you, right? And so, you know, it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t ideal. So then we customized the simple nutrition plan based on food protocols. So what that is is your protein, your vegans, your healthy carbs, your healthy fats, you your fruits. And then I customized it with her based on what she liked, right? And that’s the key, what she liked.

Robyn Engelson (26:33.45)
making some small suggestions of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, snacks in between AM and PM, and water all day long. And slowly but surely, we started seeing some results. And then she started having some issues, so we got rid of dairy. We thought that might be something that was going on in her stomach and her gut. We eliminated dairy, and literally within three days, she felt better. There was no more bloating, there was no more gas, there was no more constipation. It was really honestly a game changer.

And so she started to feel good every day. She stuck to it. And each week we’d go through her grocery shopping list and what to do, where I’ll stay out of, this work, we change this up this week. And then she’d meal prep, send me pictures of everything. And that’s the key because I got to see exactly what she was doing. And that was her accountability. And I was educating her on the nutrition, right?

Mary (27:17.616)
Mm-hmm.

Mary (27:23.939)
Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (27:26.556)
So that, and then I was changing her mindset at the same time that she can do it and empowering her at the same time as process and this journey, we were overcoming her past and getting rid of her disbelief in herself and honoring herself in order to love herself. So what happened at four weeks, four to six weeks is that she felt so good. She started going back to working out in the gym.

enjoying this bootcamp that she loved, but she stopped because she wasn’t getting results, thought it was a waste of money. And she would text me the workouts, she felt really good and empowered, and you know, it was just this unbelievable transformation. And I have a video testing manual from her that’s absolutely amazing. It’s on my website, if anyone wants to see it, ravenengelson.com, but she really just talks about how I was able to help transform her life.

Mary (27:52.987)
Mm-hmm.

Mary (28:09.74)
Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (28:18.487)
and allow her to reprogram her mindset as a model of positive change and stop starting and stopping these fad diets and really get sustainable results over time. And most importantly, feel good and be happy every single day with the joy every single day that her family brought, that she brought to people. And it’s just life transformational.

Mary (28:28.61)
Mm-hmm.

Mary (28:44.568)
Yeah, yeah, I think it’s eye-opening when you actually take an inventory of all of the things that you’re putting in your mouth throughout the entire day, you know, because it feels like, yeah, you don’t, you know, and I’ve seen it go both ways when I talk to people about nutrition, whether it’s either they’re eating way more than they thought or they’re not eating nearly enough. Do you see both of those extremes?

Robyn Engelson (28:50.736)
Mm-hmm.

Absolutely, right? So true. Yes, you might not even realize,

Robyn Engelson (29:08.829)
Yeah, most people are not eating enough. Yeah, I do. Yeah, I do. Most, yes, that’s a great point because most people have no idea how much protein they should be consuming and how much water they should be consuming, right? And so just a tip for the listeners out there, you wanna drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. So, you know, I just like to carry a water bottle around with me.

Mary (29:13.159)
Yeah, can you talk to us about that? Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (29:34.029)
I have it right here, of course it’s my favorite color, and red, and, excuse me, and really all you do is I’m gonna do right now because my snack is stuck in my throat.

Mary (29:35.467)
Nope.

Mary (29:44.609)
Yup.

Robyn Engelson (29:49.263)
is just take a couple sips, right? You don’t want to more than 10 sips at a time because you’ll get bloated and your stomach will hurt, but you just sip it all day long. And that’s the easiest way to get hydration in because, you know, most people are dehydrated and you don’t realize it until it’s too late, especially athletes or people, and anyone’s an athlete if you’re working out. I’m not talking about pro athletes. Anyone’s an athlete that actually works out. So yes, I see it all the time. Mary, you know, some people just, they’re not eating enough.

Or they’re overeating on certain meals because they’re under eating in other times of the day, right? Because there’s 24 hours in the day. And so I see it all the time and people have no idea, no awareness about it. Absolutely.

Mary (30:22.797)
Mm-hmm.

Mary (30:27.799)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So is there somewhere that you would direct people that are like, okay, am I eating too much? Am I not eating enough? What’s a good reference point?

Robyn Engelson (30:41.923)
So that’s, I’m just thinking about that question because I don’t think people really know. And in my experience over the years is that they may think they’re not eating enough or they may think they’re not, they’re eating too much. And more nine times out of 10, maybe 10, people think they’re eating too much. I’ve never met anyone that doesn’t think they’re eating enough. And so I think it comes down to, it’s not, I don’t know they have a reference, it’s more of you have to have the awareness first before you can direct someone. Like you can’t.

Mary (30:52.919)
Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (31:11.139)
give someone help if they don’t want it, right? So it’s more of, you know, the way I would just answer that question is you have to have the awareness. So if you feel that you’re exhausted, if you feel like you’re not getting benefits from your workout, if you feel like something’s not working in your regimen, if you’re not sleeping well, right? That’s another indicator also of dehydration and not having enough nutrition, protein, and healthy carbs.

veggies in your diet, I would just speak to a certified nutrition coach like myself, right? I highly recommend not going to your doctor because doctors are not nutritionists and doctors have their own specialty and that’s what they are known for, but they have no idea what to do about nutrition. So I really urge people not to go to their doctors. And also searching online, don’t…

Mary (31:47.692)
Mm.

Robyn Engelson (32:01.938)
agree with that either because it’s like you can find whatever you’re looking for, honestly. So I would say a certified nutrition coach like myself, a nutritionist, someone that’s special, a trainer, someone that, a personal trainer that specializes in what you’re looking for, right? Like we go to people for specialties. So we just think about, again, goes back to the awareness of what you’re looking for and then go to the person or people or group that has that specialty.

Mary (32:05.384)
Yeah. Yeah. You can.

Robyn Engelson (32:31.426)
Because that’s what they do, that’s what they’re trained on.

Mary (32:34.08)
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, doctors, they’re there to kind of put a bandaid on an issue. They’re not necessarily there to find the root cause of, at least from a nutrition perspective, on, know, okay, what’s actually going on and how do we heal ourselves through food? They definitely don’t have the training, like somebody like yourself that has a nutrition background would have. So what about that last piece of

Robyn Engelson (32:40.926)
Mm-hmm, absolutely. Exactly. 100%.

Right, right.

Robyn Engelson (32:53.759)
Not at all.

Mary (32:59.816)
accountability, you know, for somebody that, you know, maybe they can’t afford to work with a coach one-on-one, but they’re like, how, you know, once I get these building blocks of nutrition, fitness, you know, I’ve got my mindset cleared, how do I stay consistent? Who should I search, seek out?

Robyn Engelson (33:01.024)
Mm-hmm. Yup.

Robyn Engelson (33:06.217)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (33:15.764)
Yep. That’s a great question. And you know, you don’t necessarily need a coach if that’s not who you’re looking for. And I’m very honest about that. You can use yourself, and I’m going to show you how to do that. You can use yourself by using your phone. You can set reminders on your phone with alarms and literally do not turn them off or snooze them until you take action.

If that is to drink more water, if that is to have your afternoon snack, if that is to get your workout in, these are non-negotiables for you. You put them on their calendar, you put the time in, they’re non-negotiables. So that’s a really good way to do that and just do not, literally, do not turn off the alarm until it happens. You can also ask your kid, if you’re a mom,

or your spouse or your partner or a friend. Maybe they wanna go for a walk with you. Maybe they wanna go for a run with you. Maybe they just wanna, you can just text them and say, I’m getting my workout in, right? It doesn’t have to be someone that’s telling you or sharing you or coaching you on what to do. It could just be like, check in. Like, Mary, I just got my workout in and then Mary gives me a thumbs up, right? So there’s multiple ways to gain and get accountability without investing.

in others if you want to try it on your own.

Mary (34:37.803)
Love that. So what are one or two just really actionable steps that our listeners could take today to start regaining their energy?

Robyn Engelson (34:45.022)
Mm-hmm.

Robyn Engelson (34:49.02)
Absolutely, I love that question. my gosh, there’s so many, Mary. Let me narrow this down for the listeners. Okay, okay, first, proper nutrition. Like proper nutrition, you gotta get your nutrition game on, you gotta educate yourself. So one actionable tip would be to figure out how much protein you need. It’s based on weight, age, there’s a formula you can look up. That one you can look up in your BMI and whatnot. And with that, an easier way would just be

Mary (34:51.079)
Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (35:18.407)
Get your water in, drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily, carry your water bottle around with you and take 10 sips, maybe it’s every hour, every other hour. So get your water in, number one. And number two, and this is, you might think this is kind of like something I wouldn’t recommend, but I’m going to, you gotta rest, right? So rest, recovery and rejuvenation.

three Rs for self care because self care is not selfish. It’s necessary when we’re going, going, going all day long and our minds going our bodies going and we don’t relax and all of a sudden we crashed. Right. But if we take one day a week for me, it’s Sundays. I don’t work. I don’t do anything. I don’t work out. Right. I just I literally do something for my soul, whether that’s

sunbathe, it’s get a massage, whether it’s in my pool, whether it’s know watch a movie with my son, whatever it is but it’s like you know Oprah’s has Soulful Sundays literally that’s what it is and you get to just be with yourself and it’s really important to do this because the mind has to rest in order to be regenerated and what you’ll find with this tip is that when you do rest

Mary (36:24.03)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Robyn Engelson (36:41.306)
you will be more productive the next day and you will be more energized the next day. And this can last you the entire week. So first tip, drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. Second tip, get your rest. And that doesn’t mean sleeping 12 hours. That means doing something for your soul that brings you joy all day long.

Mary (36:59.87)
Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. I love it. Where can we find you on social media?

Robyn Engelson (37:08.087)
Absolutely. So I’m on most of the socials. I’m on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram. My name is Robin, R-O-B-Y-N. And my last name is Engelson, E-N-G-E-L-S-O-N. And also on my website, robinengelson.com.

Mary (37:24.681)
Awesome, Robin. Thanks so much for coming on today.

Robyn Engelson (37:27.483)
Absolutely, and I just want to plug one more thing too. I just wrote a book. I just wrote a book. It’s called exhausted to energized 90 days to your best self and it’s available November 12th on Amazon. So you’ll be able to purchase the Kindle and also the paperback and literally everything that Mary and I discussed. There’s a simple energy solution in my book that’s waiting for you.

Mary (37:30.277)
Yeah, do it. Yes.

Mary (37:52.817)
Love it. Thanks Robin.

Robyn Engelson (37:54.563)
You’re welcome. Thanks so much, Mary.