If you\u2019re hoping to start off the day strong\u2014and avoid the 11 a.m. slump right before lunch\u2014have a balanced breakfast. Whereas the typical American breakfast can be very high in refined carbohydrates, you should have a mix of macronutrients at your meal. An easy way to think of macronutrients is that they\u2019re the most fundamental building blocks of energy and nutrition in our body: fats + carbs + protein.\n

Instead of a bowl of cold cereal that is high in refined carbs and low in protein, try a macro-friendly breakfast like a\u00a0hearty egg-based breakfast, protein-packed pancakes with fruit, or yogurt with granola.\n

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\u201cThat protein is going to help delay the glucose response to your meal and slow it down,\u201d Palmer says. \u201cPlus, choose whole grains instead of refined grains. Things like oatmeal porridge instead of refined breakfast cereals. Have whole grain toast instead of white toast.\u201d\n

Not Drinking Enough Liquid\n
Dehydration can be the cause for midday fatigue or lightheadedness. Mayo Clinic recommends about 11.5 cups of fluid per day for women and 15.5 cups a day for men, but it can vary person to person. It doesn\u2019t all have to come in the form of water, although water is a healthy choice. Count all of your beverages combined, plus consider the water you get from your food (think juicy fruits). Make sure to sip on water throughout the day to ensure you\u2019re functioning at your best.\n
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Going Too Long Without Eating\n
If you\u2019re drowsy or sleepy before lunch (hours after eating breakfast) or during the long commute back home before dinner, you may be in need of a small snack to maintain your blood sugar. Stick to\u00a0healthy snacks\u00a0with a mix of healthy carbs, protein and fat.\n
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\u201cIt can be a 150-calorie snack like a handful of nuts, which has fats, protein and carbohydrates. Just a small snack will provide a little glucose boost until the next meal,\u201d Palmer says.\n
Eating a Huge Lunch\n
Some days just call for an extra-stuffed burrito or a big bowl of pad Thai. (Hey, you worked out this morning!) But that huge meal can lead to your afternoon downfall. Afternoon sluggishness can hit after a large meal, Palmer says.\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re struggling with this issue, it would better to have small meals with some snacks in between. When you\u2019re overeating and you feel like your digestive system is working overtime to deal with the large load, that can make you feel sleepy and not perform at your best.\u201d\n
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To help figure out if you\u2019ve had enough, Palmer points to a Japanese tradition called\u00a0hara hachi bu, which essentially translates to eating until you\u2019re 80 percent full and stopping there. \u201cYou eat until you feel about two-thirds full. It takes a while for the brain to recognize that sense of fullness. So many of us eat until we just can\u2019t take another bite. And at that point, we have overeaten. You still feel like you can fit more in your tummy. That\u2019s a nice point to feel at your best.\u201d\n
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What we eat and drink can play a huge role in how much energy we feel throughout the day. It\u2019s, of course, important to get enough sleep and exercise, and reduce stress, but don\u2019t forget the importance of a balanced diet. Like the saying goes, you are what you eat, so focus on healthy, high-energy foods to keep you going all day long.\n
source: tasteofhome\n
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Missing out on Healthy Carbs If you\u2019re cutting all carbs on Monday to make up for a weekend full of pancake brunches and burgers, you might be lacking what you need to feel energized and focused. According to Palmer, if you aren\u2019t getting the necessary fill of carbohydrates, it could leave you feeling sluggish. But\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[62,126,51,110,115,31,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-8995","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tie-life-style","8":"tag-cooking-tips","9":"tag-food","10":"tag-healthy","11":"tag-healthy-life","12":"tag-healthy-lifestyle","13":"tag-tips","14":"tag-tricks"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Greyscale-Bordered-Jazz-Music-YouTube-Thumbnail-3.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}