More Energy Please!
While there are lots of ways to boost energy, here are a few simple ones you can start working into your life right away. These methods provide long-term results, giving you increased energy for your life, not just one day or a couple of hours.
1. Watch What You're Drinking
Caffeine and coffee and sugar are instant gratification. But these short-term solutions leave you feeling worse after they’ve run their course. Depend on these for too long and you could end up overtaxing your adrenal glands, which—guess what—makes you feel even more exhausted, and imbalances your body. Get long-lasting energy first thing in the morning from a balanced breakfast. Examples include a green smoothie (a blend of fruits and vegetables). It provides the vitamins and minerals you need to kick start your day, plus fiber to keep you full until your next meal and prevent a blood sugar spike. Or choose an omelette...throw some spinach, and tomatoes in for a healthy dose of veggies.
Even if you still drink some coffee, by incorporating a healthy breakfast, you are adding something good and positive into your life, and naturally less favorable habits will start to be pushed away. If you’re an afternoon coffee drinker, have another smoothie or some fresh fruit followed up with handful of nuts if like. Or check out the energy bites recipe here on the blog. A great afternoon snack!
Coffee and caffeine are also dehydrating. When you’re dehydrated, your body can’t flush out the toxins that are hanging out in your cells and weighing you down, causing you to feel anything but perky. Even mild dehydration actually makes you tired. A few alcoholic beverages or skimping on the water-containing foods can dehydrate you just enough to make you feel more tired than usual and even cause inflammation in the body, even if you feel like you’ve been drinking the same amount of water as usual. Water is a miracle drink when it comes to how much energy you have. So drink up... fresh, clean water.
2. Just be still. Slowing down, even for a few minutes each day, to either sit still and meditate or practice yoga, can do so much to restore your mind. When your mind is running at a rapid pace all day, springing from thought to thought and never stopping so you can just collect yourself, you get not only mentally tired, but physically tired, too. If you’re holding stress in your body and tensing even a percentage of your muscles, it’s actually exhausting. Both meditation and yoga can make you feel more refreshed instantly, but the results are longer-lasting than that if you practice regularly. Yoga has been shown to increase efficiency, create feelings of well-being and relaxation. You’ll retrain your mind to deal with stress more efficiently and feel the mental and physical effects of stress much less often.
3. Pair Your Foods Properly
One of the major things you can do to boost your energy is stop pairing heavy foods together. This will give you better digestion and more energy. Keep your meals simple, and cut down on how many concentrated foods there are per meal. So for example, a big salad with grilled chicken and some healthy olive oil dressing will energize much better than if you were to combine that same meal with say some rice or another grain. Simple food combining principles can make the world of difference in your digestion and hence your energy.
4. Get More Magnesium in Your Diet
While you’re tweaking your meals, be sure you’re eating foods rich in magnesium, like leafy greens (especially Swiss chard, with 29 mg per cup, raw, and spinach, with 24 mg per cup, raw), pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, and Brazil nuts. If you’re deficient in magnesium, your likelihood of feeling fatigued even after a good night’s sleep is increased. Consider a supplement if needed.
So...keep your meals balanced and again, simple. Be conscious of your beverages- hydrate and work away from consuming too much caffeine; meditate or do yoga to manage stress; and eat your greens, nuts, and seeds.
