Energetic Narcoleptic

Narcoleptic Personal Trainer. Inspiring others that suffer from Narcolepsy and Cataplexy, giving them hope, motivation and someone to talk to. I writing about my day to day experience with over coming the challenges, that we Narcoleptic's have to face.

[energeticnarcoleptic]

Is your source of happiness sustainable? Not permanent, sustainable. It’s important to make sure you have a sustainable and healthy source of happiness. Whether that be making music, dancing, smashing a HIIT class or simply making the bed- these are all choices- we are in control of that element of happiness. However if you rely on others to make you happy or the approval of your boss, your partner or maybe your parents to make you happy this isn’t sustainable, yes it can go on and they can praise you everyday however looking for happiness outside of your control isn’t sustainable. You have to find happiness and joy on your own, that’s doesn’t means to say you have to do it on your own you have to be in control of that choice to do the thing you love rather than wait around for someone to tell you that you are doing well because that happiness doesn’t last forever then before you know it you are back searching for approval or reward and until someone else provides it for you, you won’t be happy. Remember that happiness doesn’t just mean smiling, happiness comes from the inside, you feel joy, laughter and a sense of fulfilment, you feel so happy that everything almost slots into place like a weight has been lifted of your shoulders. So if you think happiness is going to come knocking on your door or you are searching for it within someone else, don’t. Be brave, be daring and be courageous to go and try something new, try something different because you never know that might be the start of something new. I used to hate meeting new people and talking to strangers, I had an insecurity that they just won’t like me. I’m too shy, I’m too quiet, they might think I’m rude and I don’t want to come across like that so I just avoided those situations however as soon as I let go of those insecurities, not to say I went from being the quietest to the loudest, no I am still myself, I’m just not limiting my abilities to be successful and success for ME (we are all different) is how I perceive happiness- so I’ll go and get it! #energeticnarcoleptic #happiness #happy #motivation

[energeticnarcoleptic]

REALITY ⬆️ when it’s time of the month for me, Nadie hangs around quite a bit more! 😒 The last few days my level of fatigue has been extreme as well as the sleep attacks being much more consistent and extreme 😰 ———— I haven’t felt like this for a while, exhausted, anxious and frustrated. I’ve snacked galore 🍿🍫 Being like this throughout the day doesn’t lead me to make the best decisions as I don’t even know what I’m doing... I burned my hand on the frying pan, ate a spoon full of cocoa nibs 🤢 and put Chubba Chubba’s in the fridge. 🍭🍭 I have been reluctant to take my medication because I’ve been stubborn towards admitting that I actually NEED it. Maikel suggested I take a nap before we went for dinner the other night but you know, I’m not a baby, I don’t need a nap!! 😡 I have felt like the real me has turned into a stimulant addict who is constantly running on drugs to be any sort of company and I don’t want that to be the ‘real me’. 🔜 ————— However, I don’t have a choice, it’s either this ^ 15 times a day or I take my medication and stop being so silly! I DO need to nap before dinner, not because I’m a baby but because I have Narcolepsy and to not let Narcolepsy take away quality time with Maikel at dinner, yes I do need to shut my eyes quickly before we leave. 😴 The real me ISN’T a drug addict at all. I medicate my self to have a life, to feel alive and to HELP the REAL ME towards a better quality of life. I’m not Ritilin or Modafinil, I’m still Belle but in order for me now to feel happy, strong, determined and awake I do need a little help, it doesn’t mean I’m giving up or hiding behind medication. So I’m ready to get back on track, stop being so stubborn towards this condition, accepting it, dealing with it and realising that this is me, I have it but it doesn’t have me! 💪🏼 #energeticnarcoleptic #narcolepsy #inspiration #motivation #sleep #fitnessmotivation #inspire #reality

[energeticnarcoleptic]

What Narcolepsy looks like... 😥 I believe it’s important for me to not only show how I have learnt to live my best life with Narcolepsy but also the struggles people face with this life long condition. Every single day I have this battle with Nadie (my narcoleptic self) She is rude, selfish, controlling and not much company... 🙈 I was going to post the whole video however Nadie is rude about one specific person and even though I know this isn’t me, Belle, while I’m in this state I still felt a little bad. 😐 But I just want to open peoples eyes to the condition. It isn’t just falling asleep. It also isn’t like the movies portray or how you might imagine someone with Narcolepsy to act. First of all when we do drop to the floor that’s because of Cataplexy, not Narcolepsy, it’s a condition that causes severe muscle weakness through strong emotions, for me it is laughing or anger that causes my muscles to suddenly ‘fall’. Secondly, in this video, with my mum talking in the background, I wasn’t only struggling big time I was also hallucinating- we basically dream about our surroundings which cause audio hallucinations, visual and touch hallucinations (those ones are very scary!!) before we have our eyes closed so at one point she shows me something, I look the complete opposite way then make a remark (the rude one) that is nothing to do with the photo or the subject of conversation. Luckily I have a supportive family, friendship group and boyfriend who accept I’m in a state of ‘Nadie’ and I don’t mean what I say when I’m struggling, thank god because I wouldn’t have many friends left 🤭 I know this video isn’t the most attractive or even the most sightly thing you’ve scrolled past this evening but isn’t that what Instagram is all about these days- real stories, real life and real opportunities to create your very own profile, following and ambition to help others whatever your message might be. I hope this makes others with Narcolepsy not feel so alone and you are able to relate to this feeling of exhaustion and frustration 💜💜💜 #energeticnarcoleptic #narcolepsy #sleep #strongwomen #limitless #cataplexy #sleepingbeauty #reality

[energeticnarcoleptic]

🌞 HOW TO FEEL STRONG, FEEL FRESH AND FEEL AWAKE 😛 🤸🏼‍♀️Fat burning, muscle strengthening and soul awakening workout 💙 1. One minute Skipping 2. 10 High Plank Rotations 3. 20 High Plank Jacks 4. 10 Pulse & Jump Squats 5. 10 Down Dog Knee to Chest 6. 10 High Plank Double Tucks (BONUS) 💥🔥

[energeticnarcoleptic]

Some might say I’m obsessed with the gym, working out or getting sweaty but it’s my life, it gives me life, it makes me feel alive and it helps me think more positively and passionately about what I want to achieve in life. Although Narcolepsy will continue to shape many paths I take in life it will never stand in my way from taking every opportunity that comes my way- I have Narcolepsy but it doesn’t have me!

[energeticnarcoleptic]

I’m having the day from absolute narcoleptic hell! Three lots of breakfast, two lots of lunch and a plastic bowl of tomatoes on Frankees bed- it’s 4pm and I don’t remember much of the day already 😫 Is it the heat? I’ve had two clients and one class today already all of which went well but I can assure you as soon as I’ve hopped on my scooter to come home, Nadie is waiting at the front door with a very smug look on her face- bitch! She follows me very closely behind not giving me a chance to shut the door on her face 😡 I took a nap after my third breakfast (of which I don’t remember making I just know the cereal is finished and there was half a box left this morning!) during my nap of 8 minutes, I witnessed two Dutch boys in the hallway, my old cat who is still in England purring next to me and dreamt that I was taking a class but unable to open my eyes, so I had to show everyone everything with them closed 👀 As I’m setting my timer before I sleep, I’m already long gone as I sent a photo of my half asleep, super attractive self to Facebook Business- your welcome 😏 The first two experiences were hallucinations which I haven’t actually had for a while. During these my eyes are open, I’m staring at the kitchen table trying to make out if the boys are actually there or I’m having a crazy Nadie moment?!? It’s hard to differentiate the two when you are in a ‘general anaesthetic’ type of waking up... if you’ve had it you’ll know exactly how I’m feeling. 😴 (I CANNOT MOVE!!) But how am I writing this much of a post today with out having any difficulty? Well I’m not sat down as that isn’t an option today, I’m in my 2nd home- the gym- currently on 19minutes and 54 seconds of climbing stairs to a more energetic me- I will find Belle today because if I don’t Nadie will make me cry and I’m determined to never let her do that to me 💪🏼 P.S. Getting my self to the gym was harder than ever today but as I always say- I’m already starting to feel more Belle- energetic, smiley, positive, sweaty and weekend ready!!! #energeticnarcoleptic

[energeticnarcoleptic]

How often are you this tired?? After a ‘mad one’ with the ‘lads’ or maybe after endless sleepless nights with your new born baby? Or maybe you’ve never been this tired. You are so tired you physically can’t keep your eyes open, the struggle is unreal and your motivation to do anything, well that’s long gone!! Try and remember that feeling, for Narcoleptics this is every single day. For myself it varies throughout the month, depending on weather, diet, social life, time of the year and my personal mindset- but I can guarantee I will feel this exact feeling at least 5-6 times A DAY! Some days Nadie (my narcoleptic alter ego) is so present it’s like she’s moved in for good, bought her dressing gown en’ all. I’ve had days where I let her win, I snuggle down with her, she eats a whole pack of Oreos, a tub of peanut butter, I find the cheese in the dishwasher and before I know it shes snacking on dog biscuits and making cereal with frozen peas. But it’s only me who can kick Nadie out, I’m the only one who can take control of it, I’m the only one who can take Nadie/Narcolepsy by the hand (although sometimes I want to take it by the throat) and let her know I’m stronger than she will ever be! I have the power to exercise the living day lights out of Nadie, I’ll squat, skip or run because that is when I feel my most energetic, most alive and most ME! You can only imagine or try to imagine how hard it is from this state above where Nadie is practically seeing my eyes together and dragging me back to bed but for ME to take charge and do some exercise, not to lose weight, not to get fitter or to change my body shape just purely to have the feeling of awake fullness. Exercise is my drug and it’s curing me short term every single day- make it yours too!!

[energeticnarcoleptic]

Pretty much 8 times a day this is me, well not me this is Nadie. I have an alter ego for my narcoleptic self because I am totally not my self when I’m falling asleep or having an episode as some people call it. Nadie is snappy, rude 🙈, bossy and pretty selfish. And she makes ME feel pretty crappy, I feel useless, babyish and far away from my energetic self. It happens pretty much every time my heart rate has been at a resting pace for longer than an hour, eating, shopping, watching telly or driving (as a passenger) but one time it doesn’t happen and it has NEVER happened is when my heart rate is high, I’m teaching, I’m exercising, I’m running - I’m feeling alive! Nadie is far far away and BELLE is back!

[energeticnarcoleptic]

No other medication comes close to how I feel after a fab workout, an awesome class or a super run 🤩 it leaves me with this feeling of absolute smiley-ness 😁 Sometimes I feel so far away from that feeling that I want to give up, sleep for the rest of the day and eat 7 bowls of Jordan’s! But when I have a scheduled class at the gym, there isn’t much more I can do apart from get up and do it. I can assure you the minute I start exercising this feeling switches up side down and only continues to grow through out the class 🕺🏼 So if you, like me, suffer from Narcolepsy and Cataplexy basically DON’T LET IT TAKE OVER!! We HAVE to be strong, I honestly know how hard it can- the other day I was paralysed on the sofa at 2pm while Frankee is walking all over me desperate to go for a walk! Oh and this is after I woke up to eating cheese slices in overnight oats. 🤢 I dreamt that I had got up and walked out the door so many times but I kept waking up to find my self still laying on the sofa unable to move 😡 But when I was able to move I MADE IT COUNT! Nadie is a bitch and you CANNOT let her win! #energeticnarcoleptic 😴 Wearing #penation @p.e.nation (of course) .

[energeticnarcoleptic]

This is Nadie- she’s a bitch, excuse my language but she is a bloody pain in the a***! 😒Some days she lingers all day... no one likes you Nadie. She is such a control freak, she loves to take over, be centre of attention, show me up and be a total know it all. 😤 Blog writing, eating lunch, in a meeting or even shopping she can pop out of any corner, wave her arms in the air, cause a bit of a fuss and push the real me to the back of the room to be overshadowed by this class A bitch! 🤦🏼‍♀️ However there is something that keeps her away, the smell of exercise, the sight of a treadmill or even the thought of a squat makes her ‘run’ for miles! #seeya 🙋🏼‍♀️ That’s why I’m writing this post as I climb endless stairs in the gym because I know Nadie will be hiding somewhere feeling very sorry for herself because after this I’m going to do skipping... yeh SKIPPING Nadie, that’s what I thought get back in your corner!! 👉🏼 She hates it when I feel alive, energetic and motivated and the more I can piss her off the more stairs I will climb! 🤗#energeticnarcoleptic . . . . #sleep #love #happy #baby #cute#instagood #sleepy #life #beautiful #sunday#tired #art #sleeping #smile #narcolepsy#sleepingbeauty #fitspo #instagood#instadaily #strong #personaltrainer

[energeticnarcoleptic]

Nadie came to visit last night while we were having dinner @georgeamsterdam - just the two of us until she pulled up a chair just after starters and hung around ALL BLOODY EVENING! 😡 I had taken Maikel out for dinner as a little treat but when Nadie made me dip my little chocolate treat onto the napkin as if it were mayo 🤔 it didn’t feel like much of a treat anymore. 😢 I was so annoyed and although last night was extremely hard and very frustrating Nadie should remember one very important thing- she’ll never win, she might fight me and take over but those times I feel so energetic and alive over ride those difficult moments and Narcolepsy will never take that away from me. P.S. Never a dull moment when I’m taken for dinner.... 😏#energeticnarcoleptic #narcolepsy .

[energeticnarcoleptic]

Je suis si fatigué. Ik ben zo moe. Estoy tan castado.

Whether you are Spanish or Dutch, old or young, fit or fat… we have ALL said those words at some point in our life.

‘How are you?’

‘Good, so tired though.’

Sound familiar? Yeah I thought so.

It has been said all over the world, yesterday, today and I’m pretty sure it’ll be said tomorrow. But is it a state of mind or are you REALLY tired?

Pretty much all of us have fallen asleep watching telly, taken 40 winks in the car or slept 10 hours straight because of the all nighter we pulled the night before. Do you remember what that level of tiredness felt like? That isn’t a state of mind, that is physical exhaustion.

Recently Maikel and I were driving back from Austria to The Netherlands, we left at 9pm and arrived at 7am, it was tough… I think. I was feet up, chair back and eyes closed for pretty much the whole way. When we arrived in Amsterdam Maikel was tired and a little emotional I have to say (sorry Maikel) That isn’t a state of mind, that is physical exhaustion.

Let me ask you a question. Did you get at least 7 or 8 hours of sleep last night? If the answer is yes then why did you just say ‘I am so tired’ because your not. (excluding those who have been doing physical work all day) Sorry to be blunt but if you are fueling your body correctly, sleeping sufficiently and exercising regularly then you are not tired- That is a state of mind.

Now this is your decision to snap out of that, no you don’t need to go back to bed for another 4 hours nor do you need to eat some sugar to wake you up. What you need to do is be stronger than your tired self, take yourself to that exercise class and reply to ‘how are you?’ with a positive ‘Yeh im feeling great today.’ Once you start saying it, you’ll start to believe it then you will start to feel it!

Why take this advice from me… who am I to tell you to get up and get out?? Well what if I told you I feel physically exhausted after a few hours of no sleep, so much so that I have no option but to nap after 4 or 5 hours of being awake. Wherever I may be, shopping, walking my dog or out for dinner- I start to hallucinate my brain is so tired. Narcoleptics experience that ‘pulled an all nighter’ level of exhaustion every single day! The only thing that makes me feel alive, energetic and fresh is exercise and if I can pull my self from the bottom of the ‘Tiredness pit of meh’ well you defintely can snap out of your tired state of mind.

Now… how are you today?

(the picture above is me sleeping in half time during a lacrosse match)

[energeticnarcoleptic]

💥 BANG BANG 💥 Might not be able to see anything but pretty impressed with my hairdressing skills... yes I did this my self and yes one side might be a tiny bit shorter but I’m too scared to even it out so I’m going with the messy bang fringe look ☺️

[energeticnarcoleptic]

I believe my condition- Narcolepsy- inspires my clients, my followers and my friends on a whole new level. 🔝 . . . Having a condition which makes every single day feel like you haven't slept for 3 nights proves to others that if I can do it, they can to. Today I was trying to do a simple task of editing a video, in the space of 30 minutes I fell asleep 5 times- frustrated doesn’t even come close!! . . . I like to promote how much exercise makes me feel so far away from my Narcoleptic self, it makes me feel alive, energetic and fresh- it’s my drug, make it yours too! 😁 #energeticnarcoleptic . . . . . #strong #fitness #motivation #workout #gym #fit #healthy #abs #instafit #fitnessmotivation #love #inspiration #narcolepsy #girlgains

[energeticnarcoleptic]

For once Frankee is the one sleeping 🌹 Yesterday in Amsterdam

[energeticnarcoleptic]

This totally sums up today... I was feeling far from motivated to go to the gym. Post Ski holiday where I ate my body weight in lasagne, cheese and chocolate- I’m feeling a little ‘meh’ especially with holiday blues as well. 😞 8am, 9am, 10am - I’m still laying on the sofa exactly like Frankee in this picture, I’ve eaten two breakfasts, watched too many episodes of Friends to keep count and fallen asleep twice but the time has come! 💪🏼 Gym time, I don’t feel like it but it feels like me.... 🤨 (sounded cooler before I wrote it down) We now skip one hour down the time line, I’m leaving the gym after 30 minutes of stair climbing, 10 minutes on the treadmill and a 7 minute ab killer... I feel fabulous, sweaty but fabulous! 😅 It doesn’t take much, the hardest part is walking down the stairs and leaving the house, once you’ve done that you are well on your way to being a Saturday Star!! Go on, do your self proud, even if you do feel like Frankee right now... you are No🥇 and you can do it!! #energeticnarcoleptic .

[energeticnarcoleptic]

Not seeing results and you have been doing this ‘fitness thing’ since the 1st January...? Well first of all... throw your scales away!! Yep that’s it, get rid of those horrible things... scales are for the kitchen to make cakes, cookies and weigh my little puppy when he needed medicine 😋 Did you take photos at the start of your journey?? Great if you did, if you didn’t take a few now, just for yourself 💚 Grab a tape measure and measure your thigh, your upper arm and your waist line. These sorts of measurements are much more accurate than the scales. And when you don’t see the results, these measurements will show you the little changes along the way. You might of heard it before but MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT!! You are losing fat, losing wobbly bits but at the same time you are building lean muscle mass, this will mean your body fat % has dropped but not necessarily your weight- and this is NOT A PROBLEM!! Remember we are only in the 4th week of 2018 so results might not be so obvious but how do you feel?? Are you getting the bug... if not then I can assure you, you will next week when you start to see those initial results and when people start to comment in the 8th week... you will want to do more!! So stick at it, don’t give up, it takes time, if you are HONESTLY eating right and maybe treating yourself to a few glasses of wine at the weekend- the results WILL come! 💪🏼 It’s simple really... CALORIE INTAKE - CALORIES BURNT = CALORIE DEFICIT therefore you burn stored fat for energy. 🤓 P.S. Drink more water... we all don’t drink enough! 💧💧 #energeticnarcoleptic .