Amy Shah - Im So Effing Tired

Copyright 2021 by Amy Shah, MD

All rights reserved

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

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Cover design by Brian Moore

Author photograph Jennifer Bowen Photography

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Shah, Amy, author.

Title: I'm so effing tired : a proven plan to beat burnout, boost your energy, and reclaim your life / Amy Shah, MD.

Description: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020034222 (print) | LCCN 2020034223 (ebook) | ISBN 9780358446422 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780358449317 | ISBN 9780358449454 | ISBN 9780358446408 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Chronic fatigue syndrome. | Stress (Physiology)Nutritional aspects.

Classification: LCC RB150.F37 S53 2021 (print) | LCC RB150.F37 (ebook) | DDC 616/.0478dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020034222

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020034223

v2.0221

This book presents, among other things, the research and ideas of its author. It is not intended to be a substitute for consultation with a professional health care practitioner. Consult with your health care practitioner before starting any diet or other medical regimen. The publisher and the author disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects resulting directly or indirectly from information contained in this book.

Infographics for by Chrissy Kurpeski, adapted from Ginalyn McNamara.

M Y HEAD WAS SPINNING . Feeling guilty for leaving my impromptu 5 p.m. meeting early and equally guilt-ridden for being late to pick up my kids, I felt my heart pounding as I raced down Sixty-Seventh Avenue in Glendale, Arizona. My thoughts toggled back and forth, thinking about my hasty departure from the office, the imagined annoyance of my coworkers, and envisioning my kids waiting for me at the karate studio. I imagined the cranky front desk attendant at the studio chastising me for my tardiness and judging me for my poor mothering skills.

I was so preoccupied with my self-doubt, I didnt see the other car at the intersection until it was too late. Time stopped as the sound of metal hitting metal filled the air. My car spun out of control, three times to be exact, before colliding with the concrete divider. Another overwhelming sound of crushing metal. Every airbag in the car released at once. As soon as I came to, I could see that my arms were bloody from the shattered glass of the windshield. I was okay, but I knew the accident was my fault. And it was the perfect metaphor for my life at the time. I felt like I was out of control. Scratch that, I knew I was.

At the time of my accidentten years ago nowI had been practically running on empty, raising two kids and studying for my medical boards while trying to build a thriving practice as an immunologist. I was overtired, overworked, and overextended. (Sound familiar?) It wasnt just about time management. It was deeper than that: my body was telling me that something was wrong with me. I was gaining weight inexplicably. I was cranky all the time. My energy was nonexistent. I couldnt figure out what was wrong and felt too tired to find out. And it didnt help that everyone around me told me what I was feeling was just the fact of being a busy working mom. (Ugh, can you relate?) Perhaps by divine intervention, the car accident was the wake-up call I needed to make big changes in my life.

Before the accident, I felt alone in my inability to manage all of my personal and professional demands. I assumed my fatigue was just a normal and inevitable part of life. But I now know that I was wrong. And, unfortunately, I know I was not the only one who felt this wayfar too many women suffer from an energy crisis, just as I did. I have had patients who worried about burning the candle at both ends and felt frazzled, overstressed, and exhausted because of ittoo many to count. Maybe its why you picked up this book. Its far too common for us to feel overstretched and overwhelmedhow can we not in this day and age? We have busy lives, juggling work with family life, all the while sidestepping nonstop distractions every day. But we arent superhuman, and there are points in which we put too much stress on our bodies that can cause it to buckle; the body cant seem to juggle any more, and it stops working as it should.

Take my 34-year-old patient Katie, who had a busy copywriting business and two young children. Even though she worked from home, she was more stressed than ever and came to me because she was having major sleep issues that were interfering with both her work and her home life. She was so tired that she was losing focus on work, and it was worrying her since her family was dependent on her paycheck. She also was experiencing similar symptoms that I had:

• Fatigue

• Sleep disruption

• Cravings for both sweet and salty foods

• Excessive need for stimulants such as caffeine

• Vague but persistent digestive problems

Katies story is sadly common these days. My story is, too.

Maybe you see yourself in our stories. And maybe, like us, youve been told by friends, family, and possibly even doctors that theres nothing to be done about it (except, perhaps, quitting your job or going on an extended vacation from your lifenot exactly a feasible solution!). If so, youre not aloneand this book is designed with just you in mind. I am offering you a solution that can help you regain your lost energy and reclaim your life. Ive developed this plan to transform my own life, and its helped thousands of my patients. I know it can do the same for you. (In fact, youll read more of my patients stories here in this book.)

Im a double-board-certified doctor of medicine who studied at Cornell, Albert Einstein, Harvard, and Columbia. But, perhaps more important, Im a mom of two who also faced a dark place where I felt all kinds of tired. Following my accident, I worked tirelessly in creating a program that works with the womans body to tamp down stress and boost energy. And once I created a plan that workedand experienced a massive change in my own healthI knew I needed to share it with my patients. A part of my practice is now dedicated to helping women overcome exhaustion, and Ive seen this plan work for thousands of patients. It changed my life. I believe it can change yours, too.

I never expected for this to be my lifes mission. Before my energy crisislong before I became a doctor, or a mother, or a womens health advocateI had always been energetic. In fact, I was a ball of energy growing up in the sleepy town of Nashik, in Western India, about three hours east of Mumbai. We didnt have a car or a TV, but we lived in a town that took care of its own, and everyone in my apartment building knew and treated each other like one big, loud, hands-in-the-air dramatic but happy family.

When I was five, my parents got the opportunity to come to America, eventually settling in a sleepy, leafy suburb in Westchester, New York. The move was hard for me. Not only was there culture shock and a big learning curve as I tried to pick up the English language, but I didnt feel like I belonged. Whether it was my hand-me-down wardrobe that didnt win over my fashion-forward classmates or the fact that I walked to school instead of getting a ride like every other kid, I felt alone. Suddenly, I was the only brown person in my entire class, and to say I did not fit in was an understatement. I was teased about my clothes and my heritage. It didnt help that I was a vegetarian, eitherback in the 80s, that was like having two heads. I will never forget the day when my veggie lunch was mysteriously replaced with a hamburger. (A cruel prank.)