How to Boost Your Energy Cycle

How to Boost Your Energy Cycle

Having trouble with your daily energy level can cause a number of negative effects from your productivity at work, to your personal and social relationships, to your workout effectiveness. How to boost your energy cycle is one issue I get asked about quite often especially through my Facebook page for Weight Loss and Training.

There are generally two or three times during the day when we experience the biggest drop in our energy levels and this is the cycle which I am referring to. For most of us on the 8-5 work schedule this is usually around 10am, 2pm and 5pm.

Do you see the pattern here?

It’s actually quite simple, this is directly related to our eating cycle. Of course, sleep also has to do with it, but the trick is to be very aware of your dips in energy levels and take note of what you ate an hour before if anything.

The largest reason we have a drop in energy is because we consumed to much carbohydrates, especially the high glycemic kind. Carbohydrates with a high glycemic index includes refined sugars such as those found in cereal, pastry, muffins, doughnuts, potatoes, rice, pasta, beans and some fruit such as dates.

What occurs with high glycemic foods is that the sugars they provide is quickly absorbed and creates a spike in our blood sugar levels causing a temporary energy boost. And with all things that go up, they must come down. When our blood sugar dips this also drops our energy level and we notice a crash or a feeling of sleepiness.

Now although this does occur which a high intake of carbohydrates the same thing can be said with a high intake of fats. The only difference is that we may notice the drop in our energy a little later than carbs because fats simply take longer to digest.

So what is our solution? Be aware of the foods you are eating and how they affect your energy level. High glycemic foods are ok to consume but if you can, try and have them closer to 30 minutes before your workout so that you can use that energy to push you through your training (I wrote about this in a little more detail in the article – Pre Workout Energy Foods).

But what about other times during the day?

Just reduce the portion size of that particular food so that it doesn’t create as much as a rise and fall of your blood sugar levels.

On the flip-side of this argument is that your brain may also be signaling your body that you need to consume some more food. In other words, if you are eating at 8am and you are noticing a serious drop in energy around 10 or 11am, then bring back your energy level by having a healthy snack like an apple, protein smoothie (check out my fruit smoothie recipes) or even a handful of plain almonds.

Supplements to Boost Your Energy Levels

You may be wondering about different supplements to help you maintain your energy cycle throughout the day. From experience I was quite surprised to find that supplementing with Vitamin B12’s drastically helped me maintain healthy energy levels throughout the day. Optimum has a great B12 supplement under $10 which is really good because it also contains Vitamin C (keeps our body fighting effects of stress) – Optimum Stress B Complex

What about other energy boosting supplements? Like I mentioned in my list of top 10 supplements for men and women one that is getting the most praise right now is USPlabs OxyElite Pro which also contains an impressive blend of fat burners – OxyElite Pro. Just be aware that this supplement is best taken in the morning.

Conclusion: How to Boost Your Energy Cycle

Sleep, exercise and diet are all extremely important factors to your daily energy cycle, but one thing that can be easily enhanced is your diet. Being aware of how what you eat affects your energy levels will help you overcome the dips in your energy level and having healthy snacks on hand is definitely a great weapon in this battle.

Have any other feedback or questions about how to boost your energy cycle? Please leave a comment below…