5 ways to avoid tiredness at work after eating

avoid tiredness at work after eating

Getting tired after a meal is quite common and normal due to various reasons such as release of a chemical in the brain called Adenosine. This chemical is mostly at its peak before bedtime and it also increases in the afternoon after lunch. Tiredness after a meal can also be due to the kind of food you take among all other reasons.

If you feel tired after eating at work, it can be controlled by following the eating guide below.

1. Eat food that is rich in protein

To avoid tiredness at work after eating you should include food that is rich in protein because protein slows down your digestion and prevents you from getting tired after eating at work. This is possible as food rich in protein prevent the rise and flow of blood sugar.

2. Do not skip breakfast

We all know how important breakfast is to the entire body. Studies have also shown that taking breakfast helps to reduce your level of appetite during the day; thus, preventing you from eating unhealthy lunch which can get you tired at work.

Also, taking breakfast can increase your energy level at work which prevents you from feeling tired. On a final note, do visit your doctor if you get tired after a meal more often than normal.

3. Eat healthy mid-afternoon snack

Snacks that contain lots of sugar breaks down into glucose in your body increasing your blood sugar level. The increase in blood sugar leads to an increase in insulin which makes your brain produce sleep-inducing melatonin and the neurotransmitter serotonin, which can make you feel drowsy and tired. Avoid the temptation to eat chocolate, instead, choose a piece of fruit. Also, pick some crackers with low-fat or a handful of almonds instead.

4. Reduce your caffeine intake

Caffeine is known for promoting alertness and also prevents people from getting tired. However, coffee, tea and cola are short-term solutions for sleepiness because too much intake of caffeine can reduce effectiveness over time. Increasing your caffeine intake is unhealthy because you can easily end up having too much caffeine, crashing quickly after it wears off each time. Instead, you should take to non-caffeinated drinks to get you through at work. Water is an excellent substitute for caffeinated drinks as it is also important to keep well hydrated throughout the day.

5. Eat in small portions

A large meal weighs you down, making your digestive system over work. If you feel bloated after eating a big meal, you should re-arrange your meal plan and go for a small portion because it will enable your digestive system work more effectively and prevent tiredness at work place.

Do you have any food related question? Use the contact form to ask me or start a chat with me now, the chat box is available below this page at the right corner. I look forward to chatting with you.

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Why you still need carbs in your diet

you should include carbohydrates in your diet

There is so much debate about how harmful carbohydrates can be to the health. As such, some experts have advised zero carbohydrate diet to ensure weightloss. However, there is a need to include carbohydrate in your diet because of its many benefits to your health.

Below are reasons why you should include carbohydrates in your diet

1. It gives energy

Carbohydrates are known as energy giving food and you know how important it is to stay energized when trying to lose weight.

Imagine trying to ride a car without fuel inside, you will agree with me that it is impossible for the car to move. This is how important carbohydrate is to your body. It serves as fuel because it provides glucose. Without carbohydrates, you will burnout from exercise and feel lazy to carry on and this will affect weightloss.

2. It helps to prevent heart disease

“Research shows that whole-grain carbs, like bread, pasta, and rice, help reduce your chance of heart disease and lower your cholesterol levels”. This alone proves the need to include carbs in your diet because a healthy body leads to better life and longer life span.

3. It helps to retain good memory

According to a research on overweight women after a “low-carbohydrate” diet for a week where participants were instructed to remove carbohydrates from their diet to enable weightloss, it was discovered that they did worse on tests of working memory (i.e., why did I walk into this room?) and visuospatial memory (remembering locations on a map).

The low carb diet was based on American Dietetic Association guidelines, in a study from Tufts University.

This research has shown how carbohydrates can help one to retain good memory.

4. It helps to boost your mood

Research has also shown that carbohydrates promote the production of serotonin, a feel-good brain chemical. Most importantly, an absence of enough tryptophan and serotonin can easily lead to depression and difficulty to sleep. It is important to note that lack of sleep can hinder weightloss, so you need sufficient sleep for an effective weightloss journey

5. Carbs fill you up

Most times, we eat when we feel hungry. Carbohydrates act as a powerful appetite suppressant. They can be more filling than protein or fat. Carbs fill you up because they digest slowly than other types of foods, which triggers a feeling of fullness in both your brain and belly.

On a final note, moderation is key when it comes to diet, so, always go for healthier options of carbs.

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10 workable ways to stick to your meal plan everyday

stick to your meal plan everyday

You may find it quite difficult to stick to a meal plan due to your love for variety or the difficulty to change old habits of eating just anything you feel like eating.

Here are some tips to help you stick to that meal plan you took so much time to prepare. I know you do not want to see your efforts go to waste, so here I am providing you with workable strategies to eat healthy.

1. Identify the why

Why did you prepare a meal plan? Is it to eat healthy? To improve your cooking abilities, to lose weight or to reduce expense on food shopping? The reason will serve as a reminder and motivate you.

2. Get creative in your meal preparations

For you to stick to your meal plan, you have to be creative in meal preparation. Prepare your meal in an attractive way that will make you stick and not cheat. These are several healthy meals recipes to inspire you. Just ask Google.

3. Include food that you love in your meal plan

For any reason, you first have to have love what you eat. Adherence to your plan can be achieved when you include food that you enjoy eating. However, if you are trying to lose weight and the food you love is unhealthy, then you have to look for the healthy options that will help you achieve your goal.

4. Try to be accountable

Try as much as possible to be accountable to someone on how you stick to your meal schedule. So you need to make it a family affair. Involve your partner and kids in the type of food you eat. In addition, try to get a partner that share the same goal of conscious eating.

5. Plan ahead for cheat days

Festivities such as birthdays, anniversaries and private dinner with friends are good examples of cheat days. So, you need to plan ahead not to be caught unawares in terms of what to eat.

6. Don’t starve yourself

Try not to starve yourself in the name of sticking to a meal plan. If you notice that you get hungry a lot lately then you have to work on your portion and look into your meal components. Improve on the plan to prevent yourself from cheating or looking malnourished.

7. Don’t remove calories from your meal

Do not forget that calories produce energy and prevent you from starving. Removing calories from your meals will make you hungrier and weak, thus tempting you to eat unhealthy foods. To avoid this misery, consider eating sufficient calories of healthy and nourishing foods.

8. Carry a healthy snack

Sometimes sticking to your healthy meal plan can be quite difficult especially once you are outside your home. Therefore, you will need something to snack on to prevent you from going for unhealthy options. You can snack on healthy high-protein snacks or fruits. This will help keep your appetite in check until you’re able to have a full meal.

9. It takes time before you totally change your habit

Researchers have found that it takes about 66 days on average to make a new behavior a habit. Therefore don’t feel terrible if it feels difficult to drop your old habit and stick to your new healthier way of eating.

10. Make sure you figure out what works for you

Figure out what works for you and include it in your food options, just make sure it is healthy and not full of junks. This will prevent you from cheating.

So you are now aware of the above tips and you don’t even have a meal plan? No worries, download one from here for absolutely free of charge.

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Ramadan, you and your health

Ramadan, you and your health

Alhamdulillah the glorious month is here again. The month to reap multiple rewards and gain nearness to Allah.  Although it’s a month of losing sins, we can still make it a month of losing weight and getting used to healthy eating habits.

Ramadan is when you can potentially lose a lot of muscle tone and hinder your fitness goal. You don’t have to spoil all the hard works you have been doing all this while. You should understand your goal and be realistic.

With Ramadan, you can learn how to manage your eating habits, improve self-control and discipline.

Ramadan, you and your health

Normally, the body enters into a fasting mode 8 hours after the last  meal, when the gut finishes absorption of nutrients from the food.

In the normal state, body glucose which is stored in the liver and muscles is the body’s main source of energy.

However, during a fast, the stored glucose is used up first to provide energy. Later in the fast, once the stored glucose runs out, fat becomes the next stored source of energy for the body. As Ramadan fast only extends from dawn till dusk, there is ample opportunity to replenish energy stores at pre-dawn and dusk meals.

This provides a progressive gentle transition from using glucose to fat as the main source of energy and prevents the breakdown of muscle for protein. The use of fat for energy aids weightloss, preserving the muscles and in the long run reduces your cholesterol levels.

After a few days of the fast, higher levels of a certain hormone called endorphins are released resulting in a better level of alertness and an overall feeling of general mental well-being.

To benefit maximally from this month and improve your health, here is my advice:

  • Your meals must contain adequate level of energy food such carbohydrates and healthy fats to prevent muscle breakdown.
  • Meals should be simple and not different from your everyday diet.
  • Your diet should contain complex carbohydrates that will help release energy slowly during the long hours of fasting. Consider eating foods such as oats,  wheat, millet,  beans and  lentils for this purpose.
  • Also consider fibre rich foods such as grain, wheat, potatoes, vegetables, because they are digested slowly.
  • Avoid heavily processed fast burning foods that contain refined carbohydrates. These foods come in form of sugar, white flour, cakes, chocolate etc.
  • Avoid too much fatty foods.
  • Stay away from caffeine as it stimulates faster water loss through urination.

What you should eat

For the pre-dawn meals, chose slow digesting foods that are filling and provide energy for many hours. Examples of such foods are:

  • Sweet Potato
  • Brown rice
  • Ofada rice
  • Whole wheat bread
  • Oat
  • Banana

Bananas are high in potassium. A banana at this  time can control your thirst level throughout the day.

Other sources of potassium  are

  • Milk
  • Dates
  • Avocados
  • Dried peaches
  • Pistachios
  • Pumpkin
  • Peas
  • Dark chocolate

Balance your food and water fluid intake. This is very vital. You should take lots of water between Iftar and Suhoor. Drinking enough water at Suhoor is important, but not as much as drinking it throughout your non-fasting hours.

Now to break your fast, (Iftar), consider the following foods:

  • Dates, because they are refreshing and provide the energy you need.
  • Fruits in form of juices and smoothies should also be included.
  • Meals at Iftar should also be light. This will help you to remain alert for the Tarawih prayers.
  • You may have desserts after Tarawih prayers.
  • You may also decide to have cups of tea but avoid meals very close to bedtime.

May Allah accept our fasts.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions concerning your diet and fitness routines. Also, go here to download a free meal plan I designed to ease your eating options this month.

RAMADAN MUBARAK FROM ALL OF US AT SLIM FIT U SOLUTIONS.

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Five everyday weightloss products you must own

Imagine going to the farm without a cutlass or hoe. What are you going to dig with? Your bare hands or teeth? Don’t mind me, I am just starting today’s post on a sarcastic note. Who goes to the farm with a cutlass and hoe nowadays anyway? We have tractors and other cool equipment to work with.

On a more serious note, if you want to achieve good results efficiently and effectively, you have to work with tools that will help you maximise productivity, even if they are just basic items. Same applies to weightloss. To burn fat and remain fit, you need to make use of products that are specifically designed for fitness purpose. These products range from very basic items to technical tools. In this post, I will discuss five everyday weightloss products you must own in no particular order.

Five everyday weightloss products you must own1. Weightloss journal

Just like any other goal you work to achieve, weightloss is also deserving of a journal. You should write down every detail about your journey from day 1 till the day you achieve your goal (after you shed the desired kg, comes the fitness routine — this would help you keep the fat off — so weightloss is not a destination, it is a lifestyle that you should adopt through fitness routine).

You may write your fitness mission thus — I weigh 120kg as at 10th April, 2017 and I want to lose 5kg by 30th April, 2017 — in your weightloss journal. You can also use this basic item to keep track of what you eat, daily activities and body measurement. A weightloss journal is like your personal buddy to which you could tell everything about your weightloss journey.

This article discusses further about how and why you should keep a weightloss journal. Do check it out.

2. Meal planner

Yes, you can think up what healthy foods to eat briefly before you are ready to eat. But also yes, you may get busy to grab all the ingredients you need, eventually going for an unhealthy snack because you could not make it to cook your own food. This is where a meal planner comes in. Remember you are on a mission to lose weight, so every action you take concerning food and fitness routine must be deliberate. You must avoid mindless eating or starving before you eat. This can make you eat unhealthy food and thwart your weightloss efforts.

A meal planner helps you to organise your food consumption for different times of the day. With a meal planner, you would not have to eat the same type of food all the time or even eat junks as you already know what is next on the menu and you can start preparing for it on time, instead of wasting time first, thinking about what to eat. So this weightloss item is a time saver and it helps you eat healthy. See other benefits of using a meal planner here. You may also contact me for your next meal planner.

3. Running shoes

You read that correctly. Running shoes is on the list, so what? Go into your closet and bring out your “running ballerina” 🙂 Examine it very well, is it really a running shoe or is it that flats in odd colour that you couldn’t find any other wearable use for except as a running shoe? If you have cool trainers, congrats! But if you own a running ballerina, please stop! Click here for specifications of the right running shoes and go get one now.

You may be wondering why I am placing so much harsh emphasis on this item. It is simply because you need it everyday for your fitness routine. And all you want is lose weight and get fit, not to develop foot injury right? Go figure.

Five everyday weightloss products you must own4. Water bottle

This one is for you soda lovers. The common excuse for indulging in this drink is “I am thirsty and I need something sweet and chilled to quench my thirst”. Say no more. Water can get boring at times especially if it is in room temperature, but really, aren’t we trying to lose weightloss here? Soda must go! Water bottles are here to the healthy rescue. This basic item can help you stay healthy and also save money. You need it everyday because you take liquid every day, and with water bottles, you will be more inclined to take healthy drinks such as water, flavoured or in its pure form. Here are 8 health drinks you can make at home and fill up your water bottle with.

5. Tracker

I previously wrote an article on run trackers and other tech tools for weightloss, read it here.

Before you go, what about losing 5kg in 15 days? Yes, it’s possible. See testimonies from participants of the last SlimFitU’s weightloss challenge and how to join us here.

 

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