Forget the Latte

If there is one thing I've noticed working in an office day after day it's that people come to work really tired, have their cup of coffee or soda or whatever to get woke up and then about an hour after lunch are exhausted.

If this sounds like you listen up!  It's all in your eating / drinking and sleep habits (sleep will be discussed in another blog)!

Drinking soda or caffeine will give you a short sugary "energy boost".  Unfortunately that energy boost never lasts long and you have to keep adding more sugar or caffeine to contain it. 

With sugar you become sleepy because it causes your insulin levels to surge and your body reacts to this surge by your blood sugar level to compensate.  In doing so your brain tells your body to slow down many important functions which is why you become sleepy.

With caffeine your body experiences a similar "energy boost" as your brain is stimulated and the body is warmed.  A little caffeine can do you a lot of good in the morning since it causes more alertness and clarity and it generally lasts a while.  However, if you load your coffee or latte up with sugars (or buy pre-sugared) you will likely run into the same problem as with other sugary drinks.

If you want to have a lot of energy in the morning you need to do the following: 
1.  Make sure you get at least 8 hours of sleep the night before and go to bed / rise at the same time each day.
2.  Exercise in the morning, you will feel energized after a good workout!
3.  Eat a healthy breakfast and drink water
4.  DO NOT DRINK SUGARY DRINKS IN THE MORNING (or preferrably at all)
5.  Switch from coffee to a more lightly caffenated herbal tea.  You will get way more antioxidants and other nutritients and will be far less likely to see severe crashes as your body goes through the digestion process.

If you are experiencing extreme drowsiness in the afternoon it is probably for a different reason altogether.

The main cause of lethargy for office people in the afternoon is caused by their favorite break of the day... Lunch!

At lunch most people either run to some fast food restaurant and buy a hefty $7.00 - 10.00, 1500 to 3000 calorie meal or they bring leftovers from last night's dinner.

The problem with this is that you are eating an incredibly heavy amount of food either way.  For most of you out there your daily calorie needs are below 2000 if you are inactive.  That means in this one meal you are probably getting most if not all of your calories needed in one day all in one meal!

Since you eat throughout the day this already puts you weigh over your calorie limit which means you are gaining weight!

But it also means something else...  When you eat this much food (and we haven't even gotten to the fact that it isn't healthy food) your body has to digest it.  It is very hard for your body to digest most of these unnatural foods and drinks and so your body has to do a lot of work to take care of this.

That means your body has to take energy from other vital functions and move it to your digestive system to help complete the process.  This slows down all of your other functions and guess what!  IT MAKES YOU VERY SLEEPY!

So what should you do if you want to have energy after lunch?  YOU NEED TO EAT A LIGHT MEAL MADE OF EASILY DIGESTIBLE FOODS SUCH AS FRUITS AND VEGGIES!!!

Fruits / Vegetables are easily digested by your body.  They are quickly absorbed and broken down which means your body not only uses less energy in the process but actually GAINS ENERGY as the vitamins and nutrients are absorbed.  You are now being fueled for productivity instead of being prepared for lethargy and gluttony!

Keep these ideas in mind as you make your daily food choices.  If you do, you will have a lot more energy throughout the day and will find yourself in a significantly better mood!  Your body will also feel a lot better and will thank you for taking care of it.

Your body is the machine that keeps you alive.  YOUR BODY IS LITERALLY YOUR LIFE SUPPORT!  TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY!