We’ve all experienced the urge to take a nap after eating lunch. This is caused by high-carb meals, increased blood sugar levels, and spikes in insulin. The good news is, you can avoid this entirely without having to use caffeine or eating more carbs. Check out the 4 tips below to find out how.
1. Be Mindful of What You Eat For Breakfast
The typical American breakfast has a TON of carbs! Cereal, pop tarts, bagels, etc… Sound familiar?
If your breakfast includes those foods, then you can bank on having unbalanced energy levels and crashing at some point in the day.
If you want to avoid energy crashes, you’ll need to replace those high-carb options with foods made of high-quality protein, healthy fats, and colorful vegetables.
By doing this, you can fuel your body with foods that are packed full of energy. At the same time, you’ll be burning stored fat, which can improve your waistline too!
2. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!
Every morning, you should wake up and drink water before consuming anything else. Most people start their day with a cup of coffee, but try water first and you may be surprised with the results.
When you hydrate first, you’re basically lubricating all of the cells in your body and allowing them to operate at full capacity. Think of it like oil in a car. When the car doesn’t have enough oil it’s parts start rubbing together and causes the engine to run poorly. The same thing happens to your body when it doesn’t have enough hydration.
Try drinking at least 32 ounces of water in the morning as soon as you wake up to help increase your energy levels.
3. Exercise!
Exercise helps to level out blood sugar levels. Your muscles use more glucose (sugar) for 24 hours after exercising. This can help reduce insulin, which results in less hunger and more energy!
4. Get Plenty of Sleep!
Sleep helps your body in so many ways! If you don’t get enough of it, you’re left feeling lethargic no matter what you do. When you get adequate sleep, your body does a better job of regulating blood sugar. There are two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, that are stronger influenced by sleep. Leptin and ghrelin play a huge role in appetite regulation.
This means that the better you sleep, the better your energy levels will be and the fewer cravings you’ll have.
These tips come straight from our 21 Day Paleo Mini-Course, which you can find here.