How to avoid doing things that suck the energy out of you?

A recent [answer on this site](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/11673/254) was as follows. > To make a strong commitment, you want to cultivate right effort by making a continuous effort, by hanging out with wise spiritual friends, by balancing energy with concentration and by **not doing things that suck the energy out of you like reacting to your arising defilements**, eating too much and getting lost in mental proliferation. I would love an explanation, specifically, about the part in it which I **highlighted in bold** (i.e. about "sucking energy" and "reacting to defilements"). My questions include: - What are all the things that "suck our energy" ? - Why does reacting to defilements suck our energy ? Everything else people want to add about this subject will be welcomed.