It’s nearly midnight and you’re still in the kitchen getting ready for tomorrow; in the back of your mind is the urge to log back on to the computer to deal with e-mails marked high-priority (!), a few RSVPs you’ve been avoiding (!!), and late bills (!!!). The house is finally quiet but you know that the morning alarm will ring soon enough. Too soon, in fact. If a genie were to emerge and grant you three wishes, they’d all be the same: more energy, more energy, more energy. (Okay, so maybe losing 15 pounds and your crow’s-feet are also on that list, but we’ll get to that.)

Never before has balancing the competing demands of workplace, home, and health been more grueling—or more essential. And, let’s face it, we don’t know any mother who isn’t taking on more than she ever intended to when she said “I do” to having children. Every mom we know has more to do in a day than the time in which to do it.

From the very second you got pregnant, your fetus took energy from you, and you’ve had to share that energy ever since. Now you’re the CEO of a family that needs and relies on you, that expects you to be superhuman and somehow conjure the energy to do anything and everything. Your own expectations of yourself are even more rigorous and demanding because you really do want to be the EveryMom—the woman who conquers all with aplomb.

But a big part of you yearns for the magic potion that will infuse you with an eternal source of high, natural, and radiant energy.

Vis viva is Latin for “living force”—it’s that internal part of us that makes us feel alive and energetic. And it may be the ultimate marker of optimal health. Poor energy levels don’t just mean that you won’t get everything done; they are also warning signs that your health has declined, that your body’s systems aren’t operating at their best. The body is an energetic force—it’s dynamic and can be viewed as a collection of intricate energy equations (don’t worry, there won’t be any math). If one of those equations isn’t balanced, the whole system starts to falter. Like a crack in a window that changes the climate of the entire house.

When you focus on balancing your energy equations and accelerating your energy levels naturally everything else begins to fall into place. You’ll lose unwanted weight. You’ll boost your immune system and have fewer colds each year. You’ll sleep like a baby at night. Your skin will glow and your wrinkles will go. You’ll ignite your relationships (and sex life!). You’ll enhance your productivity and ability to get things done. You’ll know how to have that cake and eat it, too, without it sabotaging anything. You’ll be able to manage stress better and cope with whatever life throws you (or takes away from you). You’ll experience greater happiness and well-being. And you’ll automatically find the motivation to keep moving forward with optimism and fortitude. We can’t guarantee that we’ll cure disease or make special health challenges go away, but we’re pretty certain that if you can follow at least some of the guidelines and suggestions in our book, Mom Energy, you’ll start to notice a better you. You’ll sense that sustained, good energy levels make previously difficult health issues weaker and less bothersome.

We all fall into the trap of believing that there’s a one-stop solution to the mom energy problem. If we didn’t believe in magic or “secrets” to looking and feeling great, then we wouldn’t consume so much content from the magazines that shout out something new to try every month or, in some cases, every day. Admit it: you’ve heeded countless pieces of advice dispensed from a magazine, blog, or article to give yourself a boost. You manage to stick to a new regimen for a while, but then life—and that probably includes your kids—gets in the way of your efforts.

Over and over again we watch women cycle through one lifestyle trend to another, always ending back where they started and more energy-depleted.

So there must be (and there is) an alternative. You can learn how to stop cycling for good, to live a life that naturally infuses you with energy for the long term. It’s about being the best that you can be. It’s also about choosing where to put your efforts in the hopes of gaining some benefit in your health and well-being. By educating you to find your individual vis viva, we empower you to succeed via your own choices, not another’s dogma.

Health is dynamic; energy is dynamic; the body is dynamic. Neither energy nor health is something you get to achieve and cross off your list like purchased groceries or an accomplished task. Just as becoming a mom means you’re a mom forever, you’ll also never be done with seeking optimal health. The intensity of it will ebb and flow throughout your life, but that’s just life! So let’s make the most of it.

Women today are redefining the workforce and changing all the rules. Now that 51 percent of the workforce is comprised of women—and the majority of those women are moms—it’s time that they got their own personal guide.

We all can agree that moms shoulder a whole different set of challenges than our male counterparts. We don’t know any mothers who aren’t up at the crack of dawn and still awake long after they should have gone to bed. The time has come for them to get some serious attention and life-saving tips attuned to their sense and sensibilities.