Tackling the Afternoon Slump

Tackling the Afternoon Slump

By Zoe Harcombe

The afternoon slump is virtually guaranteed to be a reaction to the carbs and/or caffeine (including diet coke!) that you had for lunch. If you had any 'bad' carbs for lunch (confectionery, crisps, white pasta, white bread or any bread with sugar in it) or caffeine - this will stimulate the over production of insulin in the body, which will lower your blood sugar creating the afternoon slump feeling.

Here are my top tips for battling the afternoon slump:

1. Have as few carbs as possible for lunch and only good carbs if you do have them. Your lunch should be based on meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, salads and vegetables. A perfect lunch box for work would be a huge portion of salad (lettuce, cucumber, celery, peppers, spring onions, tomatoes etc) with a tin of tuna, or tub of cottage cheese, to add on top. A good carb lunch would be brown rice salad - a decent portion of brown rice with lots of chopped salads mixed in.

2. Avoid caffeine at lunchtime. You can have a really healthy lunch and a double espresso afterwards and you will achieve only a short energy burst from the caffeine, before the inevitable energy slump a couple of hours later. Go for a decaf latte instead, as milk also has quite a stabilising effect on blood sugar.

3. Get your blood sugar back to normal with a healthy snack. If you do have a white bread sandwich, with a bag of crisps and a strong coffee for lunch, just know what is going to happen within a couple of hours and be ready for it. When you hit the slump, physiologically remember that your blood sugar is on the floor, so have a healthy snack to hand to return it to normal - a banana is ideal, as is that milky decaf that you should have had in the first place!

Whenever you are in meetings and see someone struggling to keep their eyes open, you can pretty much guarantee that they've had a bad carb lunch!

If all else fails and you are that person trying to stay awake in the meeting: Tip 1 is lick the roof of your mouth - it will tickle and wake you up immediately! Tip 2 is to do some exercises that people can't see - try and lift your legs off the floor and hold them up for as long as you can. Try clenching your thighs for as long as you can. There are many ways of staying awake when falling asleep could be career limiting!

Zoe Harcombe is a nutritionist and author of The Harcombe Diet - Stop Counting Calories and Start Losing Weight.

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Tips For Summer Weight Loss

With summer weight loss on everyone's mind and summer being a few weeks away its time to drop a few pounds or more so you can fit into your favorite suit! It is actually easier to lose weight in the summer because there are so many activities you naturally lose weight without even trying. So here are 5 tips to kick your summer weight loss program into high gear!

5 Summer Weight Loss Tips:

1. Stock Up On Healthy Snacks - You tend to eat more in the summer because it is hot and generally people go out to eat more often. Make sure you load up on nutrient-dense snacks such as fruits and veggies, trail mix or dry cereal, whole wheat crackers and energy bars. Bring these with you when you participate in outside activities.

2. Don't Let The Heat Stop You - This takes the number one spot for our rapid weight loss ideas! Many people become lazy and don't take their summer weight loss seriously because it's hot. Save computer and TV time for the winter! Take up a new sport or participate in new outside activities you've never done. Swimming, Surfing, Golfing, or hiking. Just think of the thing you've always "wanted" to go do but never have? Go do it!

3. WATER WATER WATER! Hydration is imperative to staying healthy during the summer and most people don't realize how much fluid they are losing when being active. Many people when designing a summer weight loss program neglect to include extra water consumption as part of their diet. Its easily overlooked but probably one of the most important during the summer. Hydrate before during and after your activities. Choose water over sports drinks almost every time.

4. Its Ok To Take A Nap - There has been studies that prove taking a nap can lower risk of heart disease and lower stress. A more prominent study was done in Greece and showed 3 naps a week reduced heart disease by a third!!! So pull out that hammock and make nap taking a part of your summer weight loss repertoire!

5. Morning Exercise - Since it's easier to wake up earlier use that to exercise. In the beginning if you are just starting a program wake up just as the sun is coming up and go for a walk. The cool air will get you started on the right foot. Winter gave us a good excuse to sleep in but now that its summer we can get up with the birds and take a brisk walk. After 3 or 4 walks I GUARANTEE you will notice a difference.

Bonus Tip: Although rigorous or moderate activity will help you lose weight there is NOTHING that will kick your summer weight loss program into high gear better than a good diet. Using the proper diet you can actually lose weight without even exercising. So as always we suggest you do these activities and 5 rapid weight loss tips in conjunction with a proper diet.

About the Author

To see how to combine your diet with activites and lose almost 30lbs in 30 days visit summer weight loss

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