Carolyn shares ten ways to increase your energy.
Are you ready to increase your energy levels? Today’s article is all about empowering you with primary and secondary foods. What do I mean by primary foods…spirituality, exercise, relationships, career. Secondary foods…are the foods we eat! Listen to your body and make time for you!
1. Reduce or eliminate caffeine. The ups and downs of caffeine include dehydration and blood sugar ups and downs, making mood swings more frequent.
2. Drink water. Most Americans are chronically dehydrated. Before you go to sugar or caffeine, have a glass of water and wait a few minutes to see what happens. Caution: Soft drinks are now America’s number one source of added sugar.
3. Eat dark leafy green vegetables. Green is associated with spring, the time of renewal and refreshing, vital energy. Greens are full of vitamins and nutrients and great for improving circulation, lifting the spirit, purifying the blood and strengthening the immune system. Broccoli, collards, bok choy, kale, mustard greens, broccoli rabe, arugula and dandelion greens are some of the many to choose from.
4. Use gentle sweets. Avoid sugar and chemicalized artificial sweeteners. Use gentle sweeteners like maple syrup, coconut palm sugar, coconut nectar and stevia. Also eat sweet vegetables such as yams, carrots and beets.
5. Get physical activity. Start with simple activities, like walking or yoga—start with 10 minutes a day and increase.
6. Get more sleep and rest and relaxation. When you are tired or stressed, your body will crave energy. These cravings are often a result of being sleep-deprived, going to bed late, waking up early, for months and years on end.
7. Evaluate the amount of animal food you eat. Eating too much meat, dairy, chicken and eggs can lead to low energy. So can eating too little! Experiment. Respect your body’s individuality. We are uniquely different. Everything does not work for all.
8. Take time for yourself. Find activities that restore your energy, such as a walk, a bath, a museum, a movie or whatever you enjoy, and schedule a weekly date with yourself to do these things!
9. Get in touch with your spirituality. We are spiritual beings in a physical world. Find ways to get in touch with your spiritual side, be it meditating, dancing, drawing, going to church or temple or being in nature.
10. Get rid of relationships that drain you. People can drain you of your energy. It doesn’t mean that they are bad, but it is good to notice who drains you and why. See if you can transform those relationships by communicating and setting boundaries, or end the relationship.
Carolyn Akens, Natural Foods Chef, Board Certified Holistic Health Coach, and Raw Food Educator, helps clients struggling with Weight loss, Digestive issues, or Cancer (in/out remission) learn to eat healing foods that can transform their bodies. My desire is to: Bring You Back to Health, One Bite at a Time!™
Image courtesy of Marin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Ms. Carolyn,
Thank you for these tips, very helpful. I need to really work on taking time for myself and get more sleep. 😉
Enjoy your day!
Evelyn, you are very welcome. Taking time for you is very important and I know you can do it. 🙂 I did #10 over the Thanksgiving holiday and it felt great!
Blessings to you, Evelyn! 🙂
I needed to read this today. I have been really tired lately…I need to pay attention to several of these items.
ElleX, glad to be of service. Listen to your body because it will always let you know what it needs, but often we don’t listen. Have a great day!
All good points! The water point stands out for me right now. Many of us are dehydrated to some point, whether it is mild or extreme. Every organ in the body needs to be properly hydrated or we suffer energy loss in some form.
Aqiyl, I agree. Our organs need to be hydrated. Most people are severely dehydrated and think they are hungry when it’s water they need.