Energy slump battle

[anne]

I find that I am filled with energy first thing in the morning after I have a coffee and a good breakfast, so that’s when I do my workout every day. I power through it and I usually feel great pretty much the whole time. In that, I feel pretty lucky because I know a lot of people find that doing that is a real struggle.

Even once I’m done the workout, I have energy. Then I shower and go to work and I feel like I am completely drained. I’ve tried having smoothies. I’ve tried protein shakes. I’ve tried a bit of coffee. Anyone have any suggestions to help me get my energy back up?

[suzie]

It's good that you're having something with protein after you exercise, because that will give you longer term energy. Have you tried having fruit after you exercise, too, so that you can get a jolt of energy from the natural sugars? Such as a protein shake and an apple. Or a smoothie made from lowfat milk and yogurt, with a good amount of berries in it (a cup is good).

This should help. Especially if you sip a coffee through the morning.

[jan]

I used to have that problem but I found an amazing solution that works SO well! I just mix about a cup of chocolate milk with about half a cup of strong coffee. It tastes amazing, it provides protein (but not too much) and it gives me a little bit of sugar, a little jolt of caffeine, and it’s surprisingly tasty. All that and the calories really aren’t bad. I get the chocolate milk that is made out of 1 percent milk so it is pretty great in every way. I have that right after my workout and I just sip away at it until it’s done and I don’t have to worry about those dips in energy that are really a killer when all you want to do is exercise first thing in the morning.

Just make sure that you have carbs before you exercise. Like a really good low sodium low sugar cereal with a banana on it and some milk. Sounds like you’re already eating fine before your workout. If you have the chocolate milk and coffee right afterward you will get an energy boost. Then eat something like an apple in the middle of the morning so that you don’t end up starving before lunch time and then eating something stupid that you know you shouldn’t have.

[anne]

Thank you Suzie and Jan. I'll give those ideas a try. At this point, I'm willing to try nearly anything. I have heard what you heard, that coffee can be helpful. I'm not sure if it would for me since I'm already a coffee drinker so adding on might just give me the shakes instead of actually helping, but you never know.

I'll try experimenting with your ideas and see what kind of success i come up with. There has to be some kind of a solution, after all. Other people seem to go out running in the morning and they can't all be completely drained by 10 or 11am like I am or nobody would do it!

Thanks again! I'll try to remember to post again here if I find osmething that works . I probably will because I'll be so excited LOL

[Gina]

Are you getting a good sleep at night? Even if you eat all the right stuff and you exercise the perfect amount, if you're not actually resting enough at night, you might not have the energy that you require and you might not be able to get it.

Your body needs to be able to recharge. You could do everything else right, but if you don't give it the chance to really put itself where it should be then there insn't any way for it to perform at its best.

Do you make sure to take 1-2 days off cardio every week? It's important for the same reason. You need to be able to heal and recover

[madscientist]

I used to have that problem but I found an amazing solution that works SO well! I just mix about a cup of chocolate milk with about half a cup of strong coffee.

That sounds really good, and a lot more affordable than the shakes I've been buying!

[Beth]

I used to have that problem but I found an amazing solution that works SO well! I just mix about a cup of chocolate milk with about half a cup of strong coffee. It tastes amazing, it provides protein (but not too much) and it gives me a little bit of sugar, a little jolt of caffeine, and it’s surprisingly tasty.

I just tried this today. YUM! I think the party on my taste buds gave me even more energy haha.

[tammybear]

The only problem that I have with having a shake or a beverage to try to boost up my energy after a workout or a really brisk long walk is that it doesn't beat my hunger. I might get a lot of energy from coffee or chocolate milk or whatever, but then I get the munchies and I really just want to have something to eat. So then I've had all of the calories from the drink or shake and i still want to eat even more which will mean more calories. It's a difficult balance to try to find.

I usually try to go for something like yogurt or something like that so that I feel like I'm eating something. A lot of times I'll have yogurt and then a piece of fruit. That makes me feel pretty good without ending up having 500 calories or more.