Nov 18, 2013
Tired Midday? What To Eat At Nap O'Clock.
By Adam Galuszka
COO at The Feed
It's 3pm, and you're famished and tired. What gives? What should you do? What's the right thing to eat? Should you eat? Or should you ignore those hunger pangs? Do you need to adjust your diet? There are two reason you might be falling into a midday slump: 1.The Up and Go Morning Person: You drank your coffee and flew out the door without breakfast. If this is you, you probably experience a drop in energy sooner in the day. This compounded with having a carbed up lunch will leave you lacking motivation and super hungry by mid-day. Try having a smaller light breakfast and a more well rounded lunch. Sub out some carbs for proteins and fats. 2. The Healthy Breakfaster: You had a good breakfast (300-400 calories), a healthy lunch, and now you want to curl up in a ball with a bar of chocolate. Even if you have a lunch that is high in proteins and fats, and is the perfect balance of what everyone says will keep you fuller longer, you may still feel like you n that mid-day slump. Why? When you eat your metabolism kicks in and your body temperature rises. Then, as it cools, your brain releases melatonin, telling your body it's nap time. Workout more and regularly. If you can sneak out for a 15-minute jaunt around the blog at the time you start to crave that nap, it will help. Try hard (and you can read our tips here), to get in an early morning workout. If that's impossible, shoot for getting movement during lunch. Snack more. When you load a big meal into your body your blood sugar rises and crashes. It's similar to the way children go crazy 5-minutes after ingesting sugar, and then are barely able to pick their bodies off the floor 20-minutes later. A good snack has between 100-300 calories. It should also be as nutrient dense as possible. Proteins and fats help slow down that sugar spike associated with carb heavy foods. For this reason we like to add Justin's Nut Butter on top of smaller sized bars or a handful of AllGood Provisions Almonds or Pistachios. Winning Snack Combos:
- An apple with a handful of AllGood Provisions Almonds.
- Honey Bunchies with Justin's Maple Almond Butter.
- Rip Van Wafel with Justin's Nut Butter.
- Breeze Bar with a handful of AllGood Provisions Train Mix.
- Epic Bar with handful of AllGood Provisions Dried Cherries.
- Kind Healthy Grains Granola in Non or Low-Fat Greek Yogurt.