When You Need An Energy Boost

Life can be busy and draining, especially if you’ve been having a hard time lately or things haven’t been going your way. Even when things are good, it seems like we can all use more energy, especially as we get older. Whether it’s for work or play, family or friends, having that extra energy can make a big difference in how much we enjoy our lives.

You’re not stuck with that low energy though. There are easy things you can do to help boost your energy levels. Here’s a list of 12 proven ways to boost your energy:

1. Set exciting goals that will move you towards making your big dreams a reality. Be sure to include a timeframe and an exciting game plan to keep you motivated.
2. A daily to do list, one that you look at in the morning, gets you focused first thing. The feeling of accomplishment as you work through it adds extra energy to your day.
3. Eat more nutritious foods. Sugars, saturated fat, fried food and empty calorie foods can contribute to crashes in your energy level.
4. Drink green tea rather than coffee to overcome mid-day slumps. It’s still caffeinated but doesn’t have as much and that form of caffeine paired with the L-theanine in green tea improves mood and reduces stress and anxiety.
5. Get plenty of exposure to natural light. Just a short walk in the sunshine first thing in the day can improve energy and mood through the synthesis of vitamin D and the release of serotonin.
6. Ease your stress by simplifying your life and mainly, or exclusively, pursue your life’s priority items. Delegate the rest.
7. Heal yourself by being grateful and loving and letting go of all anger.
8. Drink plenty of water. Dehydration makes you feel fatigued.
9. Play hard and exercise to increase endorphins which boost energizing neurotransmitters like dopamine.
10. Get enough sleep.
11. A few minutes of yoga stretching will give you a morning boost and reduce aches and pains that can drain your energy.
12. Listening to your favorite music is good for your mood. It may be music with a heart pounding beat while others may find symphonic music inspiring and energizing.

There are probably other things that you do that you’ve found work to increase your energy levels. Pay attention to what gets you excited and energized and be sure to work that into your day when you are dragging. It helps to write up your own list and keep it close to remind you of your options when you need an energy boost.

Give Yourself a Boost

What do you do when you don’t seem to have the energy to do the things you need to do, much less the things you want to do?

Whether it’s for work or play, family or friends, there are times when we all could use a little more energy, especially as we age. So, here is a list of 12 proven ways to boost your energy:

1. Set exciting goals that will put your BIG dreams into action. Be sure to add a timeframe and an exciting game plan to those goals.

2. A daily “to do” list, looked over in the morning, adds extra energy to your day because you can jump from task to task, knowing what you need to do.

3. Eat more nutritious whole foods. Junk food that is high in sugar and fats can leave you feeling sluggish.

4. Drink green tea (rather than fully caffeinated coffee) to overcome a mid-morning slump. It’s a gentler energy boost, plus it has all those great antioxidants.

5. Get plenty of exposure to natural light.

6. Ease your stress by simplifying your life, putting your energy and focus into your life’s priorities. Delegate the rest as much as possible.

7. Heal yourself by being grateful and loving and letting go of anger.

8. Think positive thoughts to stimulate those good neurotransmitters called endorphins.

9. Play and exercise hard to release more endorphins and dopamine.

10. Get plenty of sleep.

11. A few minutes of yoga stretching is great for a morning or midday boost.

12. Listen to your favorite music. It might be music with a heart pounding beat or inspirational symphonic music. It doesn’t matter as long as it lifts your energy and mood.

Did you find any new ideas on that list? Try them out this week! Even if they’re all familiar, commit to trying one or two that you don’t do already and see how well it helps your energy.

Mindful Health

Most of us have some health-related goal or area of improvement that we are working on, or hope to work on, very soon. But how do you know you will be successful? One way is to keep yourself mentally and physically aware while exercising and eating by using a “living in the now” approach. You can get you through a strenuous workout as well as help you eat right, all while increasing your enjoyment of these activities by simply being present and more aware of what you are doing.

For most of us, getting through an exercise routine is a struggle, but if you are completely attentive to your movements instead of thinking about how you can’t keep up an exercise routine, or how much nicer it would feel to be lounging on the couch, you aren’t as likely to quit in the middle of it. Just keep focused on the feeling of your muscles moving and listen to your breath as you control your inhaling and exhaling. This is a primary concept behind yoga and its distressing effects. Soon enough, you will have completed your routine or finished that 30-minute run and are feeling great.

When it comes to food, it’s all about being mindful of what you eat, how much, and the way you eat. For instance, when you reach in the fridge for something, consciously decide what will contribute to a well-balanced intake for the day and choose your best options, not just what looks tasty. Also, stop eating directly out of the box or bag. Instead, set a small portion on a plate or a bowl that you can sit down with as you savor every bite.

Eat in a place with no TV or computer or anything else to distract you. Taste your food, becoming aware of every flavor and texture, and chew it completely. This will make eating even more enjoyable. Slowing down your intake of food will also allow your stomach time to tell the brain it’s getting full. This way, you’re more likely to eat less. Additionally, thorough chewing will help your digestion by having food well broken down before it hits your stomach.

“Living in the now” will help you by not only increasing your appreciation of the sensations of exercising and eating, but will also help you attain your goals for a better, healthier life. You’ll feel great because of your accomplishments, along with gaining the long lasting and compounding effects of the bliss that comes with being consistently happy in the moment.

Boosting Your Daily Energy

In these times of staying at home and there being a lack of social life we need ways to boost our energy. So, here’s 12 proven ways to boost your energy that have worked for me. Hope they help you a bit too!

1. Set exciting goals that will put your big dreams into action and be sure to add a timeframe and an exciting game plan to those goals.
2. A daily “to do” list, looked at or thought about in the morning adds extra energy to your day.
3. Eat more nutritious foods.
4. Drink green tea to overcome a mid-morning slump.
5. Get plenty of exposure to natural light.
6. Ease your stress by simplifying your life and mainly, or exclusively, pursue your life’s priority items. Delegate the rest.
7. Heal yourself by being grateful and loving and letting go of all anger.
8. Think positive thoughts to stimulate those good neurotransmitters called endorphins.
9. Play and exercise hard to release more endorphins and dopamine.
10. Get more sleep.
11. A few minutes of yoga stretching will give you a morning boost, along with your favorite cup of java or tea.
12. Listening to your favorite music. For some people it may be music with a heart pounding beat while for others it may be inspirational symphonic music.

Whether it’s for work or play, family or friends, we all need more energy, especially as we age. So, try a few of these above and add to the list with your own energy boosting actions.

The CRON Diet: The Fountain of Youth

 

Alright, last week I promised to write a bit about the diet that I truly believe will greatly extend your life as well as help you live better. Would you believe that you can get those huge benefits from just what you put in your mouth? It’s true. There is a diet that really improves your health and extends your life.

The diet I’m talking about is known as the CRON diet (Calorie Restriction, Optimum Nutrition). The idea is that you will keep your calorie intake down enough to keep lean while still giving your body all the supportive energizing nutrition to stay healthy.

Studies of this particular diet showed significant increases in longevity and health in laboratory mice. I certainly noticed it in myself when I changed my eating habits to follow a CRON diet. I’ve had more energy, lost weight, seen much better ease of movement, and I feel so much better. I really believe that this diet will extend my life by quite a few years. Who wouldn’t want all that?

This diet is not as difficult as it may sound at first. You don’t have to go hungry. You just need to make better food choices and watch your portions. Here are the basic guidelines.

1. Focus on eating low calorie, high nutrition foods, such as fruits and veggies.
2. Eat just a couple small servings of protein in the form of fish, lean meats, nuts, beans, soy, and egg white.
3. Greatly reduce eating processed foods and sugary drinks.
4. Cut back on high calorie, minimally nutritious fats except omega 3 fatty acids found in fish and flaxseed.
5. Cut back on starches although it is okay to eat small portions of whole grains.
6. Eat 4 or 5 small balanced meals throughout the day rather than 2 or 3 big meals.

Follow these guidelines and learn to eat well before you try to lose weight. Once you start eating more nutritious, lower calorie foods, you can start cutting back on total calories to reach your optimum weight. Lose weight slowly, at a rate of 1%-2% of your present weight per month. This gives your body time to adjust which is easier on you and makes it more likely that the weight will stay off.

Now, that’s not a very scary or difficult diet to follow, is it? There are no special foods or special preparations. There’s just your determination to be good to yourself. Go ahead and discuss this with your doctor and find out what a good target weight is for you and then go for it!

You might want to look over the calorie restriction website, www.crsociety.com to find a good book or two on this subject. I think if this gives you much better health and extends your life by quite a bit it’s certainly worth the effort!

Next week, I want to talk more about health and how critical it is to keep moving, especially as you get older. Keep running or jogging as long as you can and, if you really can’t run, at least walk. Walking can extend your life and raise your health to very high levels. Believe it or not, I walked approximately 3600 miles in the great year of 2019 and, wow, did it ever feel good. Now in 2020 I’ve set more walking goals along with those low-calorie goals. It’s going to be a good year!

Energizing Goals for 2018

Now that we’ve gotten through Thanksgiving, how about some helpful hints and ideas that will motivate you to have a super 2018?

Think about these 12 suggestions as you gear up to set goals and make resolutions for the coming year. It’s not too early to begin setting some great new goals for 2018. Whether it’s for work or play, family or friends, we all need more energy. I find that to be especially true for me as I am almost 74 years old. So here you are … 12 ideas to get you going each day.

12 Proven Ways to Boost Your Energy:

1. Set exciting goals that will put your big dreams into action. Be sure to add a time frame and an exciting game plan to those goals.

2. Create a daily “to do” list. Look at it or take time to think about it in the morning to add extra energy to your day. I find that if I make that list the night before and then look at it first thing in the morning that it works wonders for my enthusiasm for the day.

3. Eat more nutritious foods. Especially at this time of year, it’s critical to pay attention to what goes into the pie hole.

4. Drink green tea to overcome a mid-morning slump.

5. Get plenty of exposure to natural light. Taking a walk outside always seems to boost my energy and I do that virtually every day.

6. Ease your stress by simplifying your life and mainly, or exclusively, pursue your life’s priority items. Delegate the rest.

7. Heal yourself by being grateful and loving and by letting go of all anger.

8. Think positive thoughts to stimulate those good neurotransmitters called endorphin’s.

9. Play and exercise hard to release more endorphin’s and dopamine.

10. Get more sleep.

11. Do yoga. A few minutes of yoga stretching will give you a good morning boost.

12. Listen to your favorite music. For some people it may be something with a heart pounding beat and to others it may be inspirational symphonic music.

I sure hope you give all of these hints a good college try, plus here’s one more bonus thought … hang out with positive, upbeat people who are energetic and are making good things happen.  And along those lines, read good, upbeat, positive and energizing stuff like I aim to give you on this blog. Just check out my prior posts and sign up to get this by email at ignitemylifenow.com

 

Avoiding Those Holidays Traps

Next week is Thanksgiving. Soon after that there’s Christmas and then New Years. It’s that dreaded holiday time when we are faced with many temptations that make it hard to stick to our goals, especially healthy diets. It doesn’t take much to regain that hard-won weight loss or bring your health down and it can be infinitely harder to get back to where you want to be.

So, for the next few weeks I thought I’d focus on healthy eating in this time of endless traps. Staying healthy is important for you to keep up your energy and motivation which you need to accomplish all the great things you have planned.

Although you don’t want to let a bit too much pumpkin pie spoil things for you, staying healthy during the holidays doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself. In fact, you should go out there and celebrate with gusto. Just be discerning about what and how much you eat or drink. To do so, just follow a few simple rules:

• Go ahead and enjoy a small cupcake or one sugar cookie during festivities but stop at that. It’s not the sweets that are the problem as much as eating too many of them.
• Eat slowly and savor the occasional treat you do have. Eating slowly will delay having to fight the temptation to have seconds and, hopefully, when you are done with it, you will feel satisfied enough not to feel.
• Keep healthy snacks close at hand. Grab some apple slices or crunchy veggies when you have the overwhelming temptation to gobble up a whole plate of cookies.
• Don’t fall into the “I’ve already been bad so it won’t matter if I keep eating too much of the wrong stuff” mentality and overindulge. Likewise, don’t brush off unhealthy eating by telling yourself you’ll do better after the holidays. Let yourself have the occasional treat then get back to your healthy diet.
• At parties, stay active to keep your metabolism up and your mind off the food. Dance, participate in all the games, wander the room, and mingle.
• Keep away from the food tables at parties. Move conversations to foodless corners of the place.
• Keep your eye on the big picture. Review your goals and what you want out of your life daily so it’s at the forefront of your mind when the cookies get passed around the office.

You can also read more about the importance of health and great things you can do to improve it in Chapter Ten of my book, How To Ignite Your Passion for Living.

I’ll be talking about more helpful ideas for this time of year so to ensure you get my posts, sign up on this page here. If you find these posts really helpful, you might share this blog with your friends and family who can also sign up on the page I linked.