How Human Design Digestion Helped Me Escape Burnout (And How It Can Help You Too)

Introduction

Burnout doesn’t always show up as collapse—it can look like discipline, performance, and being "the one who has it all together."

For years, I thought I was managing life just fine: good salary, steady job, daily workouts, a social life.

But underneath? I was completely drained.

Living in Dubai, I spent two hours a day commuting through chaotic traffic, navigating a demanding job as a teacher, training intensely at the gym, and fulfilling social obligations. It looked like discipline. It felt like pressure.

Even with all the rest I could get, I kept pushing. I told myself I had it better than most—why was I still exhausted?

It wasn’t until Human Design showed me how my digestion affected my nervous system and mental clarity that I realized the core issue wasn’t mindset. It was fuel.

What is Determination in Human Design?

In Human Design, Determination refers to your unique digestive style—the way your body is designed to process food and information.

It’s not just about nutrition. It’s about how your system best takes in the world around you. It governs clarity, decision-making, and energy output.

When your Determination is out of alignment, your body doesn’t absorb what it needs. Your brain lacks clean fuel. The result? Fog, fatigue, frustration, and burnout.

When you align your digestion, the body calms, the mind clears, and energy starts to return—organically.

My Determination: Alternating Appetite

My design taught me I thrive on alternating foods—back and forth, real food, no processed junk. This reflects our ancestral way of eating: opportunistically, clean, unprocessed.

And it’s not just physical. My mind processes information the same way—I need to switch between subjects. I thrive when I consume real material. Fast food and fast content both leave me feeling off.

Why I Start With Digestion in My Coaching

Digestion is the foundation of transformation. If your gut is inflamed, your brain is foggy. You can’t strategize your way out of misalignment if your body is in chaos.

That’s why I start with the physical. Change your food, and you change your clarity. When your brain has clean fuel, your entire life begins to reset.

What Changed When I Aligned With My Digestion

As soon as I started experimenting with my Determination, I began making new food choices.

I stopped ordering out. I started cooking. I built a stronger connection to my meals. This led to more energy, more discipline, and strangely enough—more joy.

My workouts became lighter and more intuitive. I exercised for energy, not punishment. I felt present instead of pushing. And I saved money too.

Mentally, the fog began to lift. I started thinking clearly for the first time in years. I had new goals—goals I actuallybelieved in.

And then came the big shift:

I realized I didn’t have to live a life I didn’t believe in.

Human Design helped me reclaim authority over my life. I had been people-pleasing and outsourcing my truth for 30 years. Through Determination, I found the clarity to quit my job, start a business, and reimagine what success could look like.

I was no longer trying to survive life. I was creating it.

Why Most People Ignore Digestion (And Why That’s a Mistake)

Most people never think to look at digestion for burnout. We’re taught it’s a mindset problem. Or that we just need better routines. Or therapy. Or to be more grateful.

But you can’t mindset your way out of a dysregulated nervous system.

If your gut isn’t absorbing real nourishment, your brain is starved.

We live in a world that glamorizes performance and productivity, but ignores the biology underneath it. Energy isn’t a hustle—it’s an alignment.

Digestion and nervous system health are the missing foundation.

Align them, and everything else stacks naturally: better mood, better thoughts, better choices, better results.

Want to Try It For Yourself?

Here’s how to start:

1. Get your Human Design chart at humandesignfitness.com

2. Scroll to your Determination (under Digestion)

3. Download the Free Digestion Guide to find your digestion type

4. Download my Free 7-Day Tracker to start your experiment

What’s inside the tracker?

• A daily “yes/no” alignment check-in

• Space to reflect on mood, energy, and clarity

• Journaling prompts to help you connect to your body

Start with just one meal a day—something whole, unprocessed, and aligned with your Determination type.

By Day 3, you’ll feel it: presence in your gut, signals from your body, more clarity in your mind.

Final Thought

Alignment isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about remembering how your body was built to function—before the noise, the stress, the processed food, and the burnout.

Digestion isn’t just about food.

It’s your first step to clarity, energy, and the life you actually want to live.