Most people make the same mistake with nutrition: eating too little for too long, living in a permanent calorie deficit, avoiding carbohydrates. The bill arrives at the end – a damaged metabolism. Your brain runs on glucose and needs 120 to 150 grams of carbohydrates a day, depending on your size and how hard you work it. If it does not get them, your body releases cortisol around the clock: hormone levels lose their balance, sleep suffers, and the nights bring racing thoughts and waking up in a sweat. What many people put down to everyday stress or menopause is often simply the biochemistry of the body being ignored.

Click through both scenarios: the crash diet and the whole-body way out turn the same circle in opposite directions.

Road to Power clears out the nutrition myths. There is no starving here and no diet to keep – this is about eating properly, eating regularly and keeping the supply of nutrients steady. Think of your metabolism as a campfire: regular meals are the logs you add in good time, the flame burns evenly, and you have energy for your head and your muscles all day. You are more likely to feel that you are eating too much. No counting calories, no going without: eat, train, build power.

There is more background on the "energy first" principle on our topic page "How to lose weight healthily".