Why Filling Your Glycogen Stores Matters More Than You Think
…and what it has to do with your cortisol, cravings, and calm
Have you ever found yourself doing everything right—eating clean, working out, staying disciplined—yet still feeling strangely off? Maybe you wake up in the middle of the night, your heart racing. Or you crash mid-afternoon despite your green smoothie. Or you carry a kind of low-grade tension that coffee can’t fix and meditation can’t melt. This article is for those moments when your body feels depleted, your cravings don’t make sense, and your nervous system feels stuck in survival mode. Today, we’ll explore why low glycogen stores—not lack of willpower—might be the missing piece, and how refueling your body can restore a sense of calm, clarity, and safety from the inside out.
Tomorrow, we’ll go deeper with a subscriber-only resource: a gentle, somatic worksheet designed to help you track your body’s signals, reintroduce supportive starches, and notice the quiet shifts that happen when you stop running on cortisol and start running on nourishment. You’ll receive a guide that blends practical tracking with body-based reflection—because healing isn’t just about what you eat, it’s about how you feel while eating it.
If you’d like access to the full worksheet and future embodied tools like this, I’d love to welcome you as a paid subscriber.
The Wake-Up Call at 3am
A few years ago, I thought I had it dialed in.
More vegetables, more fruits. I swapped sweet potatoes for cauliflower mash, enjoyed my cantaloupe with berries, and made sure every meal was “clean.” My workouts were strong. My discipline, unwavering.
And yet… I was exhausted.
Most nights, I’d bolt awake at 3am—alert and wired, as if I’d had a double espresso. I’d push through my days, but something didn’t feel right. I was irritable. On edge. Constantly craving sugar, even though I never gave in. My nervous system felt like it was perched on high alert, buzzing just beneath the surface.
Back then, I couldn’t name it. But now I know:
My body wasn’t running on balance.
It was running on cortisol.
Because I was running low on glycogen—for too long.
What Is Glycogen, Really?
Glycogen is your body’s stored form of glucose—like a battery pack your body draws from during moments of intensity, both physical and emotional.
Liver glycogen helps stabilize your blood sugar between meals and overnight.
Muscle glycogen powers movement, emotional surges, workouts, even stress responses.
When your glycogen stores are full, your body feels safe. Grounded. Resourced.
But when glycogen runs low—especially chronically—your body flips into backup mode.
That backup is cortisol.
The Cortisol–Glycogen Connection
Cortisol gets a bad rap, but it's not the enemy. It’s your body’s way of keeping you upright when fuel is scarce.
But when glycogen is consistently low, cortisol becomes the default power source—and that has a cost.
Here’s what that can look like:
Cortisol rises to keep blood sugar stable.
It pulls amino acids from muscle and converts them to glucose (via gluconeogenesis).You feel wired but tired.
Alert on the outside, depleted on the inside.You wake at 3am.
Liver glycogen runs out, cortisol spikes, and boom—you’re wide awake.You crave sugar or caffeine.
These are your body’s SOS signals for fast fuel.Your hormones take a hit.
Chronic cortisol suppresses thyroid and sex hormone production.
It’s not a willpower issue.
It’s a fuel shortage.
And your body is just trying to survive.
Why Fruit Isn’t Enough
When people start noticing signs of depletion, they often reach for fruit. That’s what I did. And to be clear—fruit is helpful. It nourishes the body and replenishes liver glycogen, which plays an important role in keeping blood sugar stable between meals and overnight.
But when it comes to restoring muscle glycogen—the kind your body leans on during stress, movement, or emotional intensity—fruit alone often isn’t enough.
Muscle tissue runs on glucose, not fructose. And the most direct, effective way to provide that is through starches like:
Sweet potatoes
Quinoa
Brown rice
Oats
Lentils
If you’re training hard, running on stress, or simply trying to feel calm in your body again, starch isn’t just supportive—it’s foundational. For many people, generous, consistent starch intake is exactly what helps their system exhale.
It tells the body:
You’re safe. You’re fueled. You don’t have to run on cortisol anymore.
What Replenished Glycogen Feels Like
When you begin to feed your glycogen stores again, things start to shift.
Not overnight. But gradually.
Sleep deepens
Energy stabilizes
Cravings quiet
Your body exhales
Instead of running on adrenaline, you start running on nourishment.
You stop surviving—and start restoring.
Signs You Might Be Running on Empty
Check in with your body. Do any of these feel familiar?
Waking between 2–4am
Feeling “tired but wired”
Anxiety or hunger between meals
Cravings despite “clean” eating
Difficulty building or maintaining muscle
Cold hands and feet, irregular cycles
Burnout after workouts instead of energy boosts
These are more than annoyances.
They’re signals—your body asking for fuel.
How to Refill Your Glycogen Stores (Gently)
You don’t need to carb-load or swing to extremes. Start where you are.
Begin with intention, not intensity.
Try this:
Add a starchy vegetable to your evening meal
Include slow-digesting carbs post-workout (like oats or lentils)
Try resistant starches (cool and reheat potatoes or rice—for gut health, too)
Track your sleep, energy, mood—not your macros
This is about restoration, not restriction.
Think of it as tending a fire, not dousing it in fuel.
Why This Matters: Fuel Is Safety
We talk a lot about nervous system regulation.
About emotional safety. About being grounded and resourced.
But what if glycogen is one of the most physical forms of safety you can offer your body?
What if the calm you’ve been chasing doesn’t come from deeper discipline—but from deeper nourishment?
Replenishing glycogen isn’t indulgent.
It’s not weak.
It’s biology.
And sometimes, it’s the piece that unlocks your next level of healing.
Try This: Gentle Body Check-In
Right now, take a breath.
Bring your attention to your belly, your limbs, your chest.
On a scale from 1–10, how resourced does your body feel?
Where are you drawing energy from—caffeine? Cortisol? Or something deeper?
If you feel under-resourced, that’s okay.
Let that awareness be the start of something softer.
Want to Go Deeper?
For paid subscribers: Tomorrow you will be able to access a worksheet to help you:
Track your body’s signals
Map your current intake
Experiment with gentle glycogen support
Parenting Note
If you’re a parent:
Watch your kids after intense emotional days. They’re using glycogen too.
A nourishing starchy meal can do more for bedtime than a lecture ever could.