Are you suffering from Brain fog … afternoon slumps … hitting the snooze button … just feeling tired and worn out? Any of these sound familiar?
Lacking the energy, they need to live this fast-paced life is one of the biggest complaints I hear from my clients.
Before I dive into how to increase your energy, let’s talk it about what’s draining it.
Did you know that Digestion takes more energy than anything else?
The average meal takes 3 hours and 30 minutes to digest if combined properly. Incorrectly combined food can sometimes take up to 14 hours to digest.
Think about the last time you had a huge meal…a huge meal when you felt so full you could hardly move. That doesn’t make you feel like going out and running a marathon, does it? How often do you feel like going out and running a marathon (much less take a nice walk!) after eating a huge steak and baked potato?
Proper food combining can make a significant difference in how you feel after a meal. Here’s why … starches and proteins require different mediums to digest in the stomach. One requires acid to digest and the other alkaline. Now anyone with even a basic knowledge of chemistry knows that acids and alkalines cancel each other out. Not good, right?
If you want to have more energy, properly combining your foods is an easy place to start. This is a very powerful way to conserve energy.
For optimal digestion, only eat Proteins with vegetables, or Starches with vegetables. Avoid eating proteins and starches at the same time. Try this for a week … you will be amazed at the difference in your energy levels just making this one tweak!
What else can you do to increase your energy naturally, without stimulants like coffee?
Increase your vegetable and fruit intake.
Consider this… what you eat literally becomes your brain, your liver, your kidneys, your skin and your eyes. Your food is the foundation, the building block for your body and its systems. You’ve heard the adage “you are what you eat”, right? Well it’s true!
Vegetables and fruits are the most nutrient dense foods you can consume. So, getting in those 7 servings (5 veggies, 2 fruit) a day is KEY to having energy.
If 70-80% of your body is water, what does it make sense to eat? Foods that have a 70-80% water content! Fruits and veggies fit the bill. So, if you want more energy, brighter skin, sparkling eyes and even an increase in your libido, eat your veggies.
My challenge to you … eat a salad with every meal for the next 7 days. Try it and let me know how you feel!
Next, ease off the caffeine crutch. It’s actually making you more tired! Caffeine gives us perceived energy because it opens up the capillaries in the brain. The same effect can be had by deep breathing.
The challenge comes when the effect of caffeine wears off. The capillaries in the brain restrict causing us to feel lethargic. Caffeine works because the body has to “speed up” to cope with the dose of poison it’s been given.
If you’re a big coffee or tea drinker, ease off slowly. Otherwise, you’ll likely suffer from withdrawal, which is no fun.
Drink 4 cups of coffee a day? Cut back by one cup every few days. Nothing drastic. Replace that cup with water and have an additional glass of water for every dehydrating cup of coffee you’re still drinking. You’ll be surprised how easy this can be when you take it one cup at a time and replace it with energy giving water!
Simply put, if you want more energy …
- Eating natural whole foods.
- Combining your foods properly.
- Drink more water.
- Ditch the caffeine.
Of course, there’s lots more you can do, but these basics will have a dramatic impact on your energy levels. It’s all about progress, not perfection, right?
If you would love to learn more about health and how you can start making small changes to improve your energy, boost your confidence & love the skin you live in… LIKE Leap Into Health’s FB Page here!
Look forward to seeing you there!
Much Love,
Nat xx
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