Top Ten Ways to Increase Your Energy
So this is my 5 and 5. Five things to do to increase your energy and Five foods to incorporate into your diet. If you want to learn more about how to increase your energy and vitality, attend one of my Eating for Energy workshops.
Top Five Things to Do to Increase your Energy:
1) Eat Breakfast.
It is the most important meal of the day and your body needs fuel! You wouldn’t try to drive your car without gas, would you? Try steel cut oats (make the night before, or make a week’s worth and keep in the fridge). Add a spoonful of peanut butter or sunflower butter for protein and add some banana or apple.
2) Eat more whole foods, including fresh fruit and dark leafy green vegetables.
Fruits and veggies are full of vitamins and nutrients and great for improving circulation, lifting the spirit, purifying the blood and strengthening the immune system.
3) Move Your Body! Don’t think of it as exercise. Walk, dance, do yoga, lift weights, play sports, stretch, have fun! Start with 10 minutes a day and increase
4) Give thanks! Be grateful for everything in your life, your health, family, friends and more! Create more positive internal thoughts - it will make a difference in your health and energy!
5) Rest! Make sure you get enough sleep each night (7 to 9 hours for most people). Also, find ways to relax and de-stress - by “unpluging” from electronics. Read a book, walk in nature, visit with friends, practice deep breathing.
Bonus Tips ***
* Drink more WATER! We are chronically dehydrated. (signs are fatigue, weakness, lack of energy, dizziness, etc.) This might be the most simple answer how to have more energy.
* Reduce or eliminate caffeine from your diet. (The ups and downs of caffeine include dehydration and blood sugar ups and downs, making mood swings more frequent.)
Top 5 Foods to Add Into Your Diet for Energy:
1) Berries - all berries are good, but Goji berries are GREAT! (add in oatmeal, cereal, salads, smoothies, homemade trail mix and more!)
2) Kale & other dark leafy greens (in salad, Kale is great cooked gently in soups, added into brown rice, pasta, stir fry and more - don’t over cook kale, just a few minutes until it’s bright green.)
3) Nuts & Seeds - my top 2: Pumpkin Seeds and Walnuts (eat as a snack, sprinkle in salads, on oatmeal, mix into brown rice, or make your own trail mix)
4) Sweet Potatoes - (sliced and baked into chips, mashed, cut & broiled like fries, or baked)
5) Whole Grains - try Quinoa, steel cut oats or brown rice. Quiona is one of the BEST (Quinoa is quick and easy to prepare, high in protein & delicious. Eat as a side dish or mix with beans and have a healthy vegetarian meal.)
*** Bonus Food!
Try raw cacao beans or nibs. Chocolate in its natural form is very high in antioxidants (oligomeric procynanidins, resveratrol and the polyphenols: catechin and epicatechin) as well vitamin C, phenethylamine (PEA, the feel good neurotransmitter responsible for the feeling of love), Omega 6 fatty acids, tryptophan (a commonly deficient amino acid that causes a relaxation response in the body) and serotonin.
Add cacao nibs (crushed dried cacao beans) mixed into plain chocolate ice cream, add into homemade trail mix, cookies, sprinkle on oatmeal, add into smoothies, and more!