By Joan Epler ~
We all want to live our lives energized, ready to enjoy each day to the fullest. All too often, though, we find ourselves falling off the energy cliff. It’s easy to yawn and reach for caffeine, but there are better ways to stay energized, to give yourself the energy boost you deserve every day, and be that person you want to be. Learn three easy steps to have energy for life.
First, energy spark your day with enough sleep – eight hours, no more and no less – it’s the key to success. Go to sleep every night at the same time, add eight hours, and wake up every day at the same time. This can be the most difficult step, but it can change your life. If you’re a night owl, you can decide to modify your sleep habits. Try getting up early, do some work, go for a jog along the river or a walk along a mountain trail, or go to a workout club. Your brain needs eight hours of sleep to recharge adenosine, the brain-energy chemical. It’s possible to do anything you want to do with enough sleep.
For the next secret energy step, exercise one hour to the best of your ability and time every day. It will give you unlimited energy. Any age can find a way to exercise – by walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming, you name it. The social way is to take classes at a local fitness club, dance center, or senior center. It’s great and so much fun to meet people and share common interests. Besides, exercise in a group produces oxytocin, the bonding hormone, so you really enjoy being with people and look forward to seeing your workout friends every day. Commuting and working full time, raising a family, and taking care of parents can make finding time to exercise challenging, but if you make it a priority, you’ll find a way. Try exercising before everyone wakes up or during your lunch hour at work or right after work. You’ll feel so much healthier, be thinner, and look great.
Maintaining a healthy weight takes you to the third and last step, finding the right foods and eating them in the right amounts. It’s tricky to figure out the right foods, you can scroll down the computer and find confusing information, so here they are, in living color. Eat lean protein without any fat or fried batter, like boiled chicken, steamed salmon, or quinoa. Believe it or not, we need healthy fats, like those that come from olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon and walnuts to build cells and healthy hormones. The hardest thing to do is to remember to eat more slow-burn carbs, which means carbs that don’t increase your blood sugar. Examples are spinach, broccoli, rapini, and high-fiber foods. When trying to figure out how much to eat, start with these secrets to portion-size mastery – use small plates and split entrées in restaurants. You’ll notice an immediate difference and feel great. Allow yourself to cheat one day a week and look forward to your day of cravings. Enjoy every bite without stress. And, if you bake cookies, instead of eating the batter, eat one cookie, and give the rest away with love.
Getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating the right foods will have you on the high-energy path to a happy and healthy life. See you there.
About the Author:
Joan Epler is an energy fitness expert in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Her husband, Dr. Gary Epler, is a Harvard Medical School professor, has written four health books, and is the creator of Level-10 Energy®. Another exercise secret? You can meet your spouse. Joan and Gary met jogging the opposite way along the Charles River in Boston, and it was love at first sight. They ran together every morning, and he proposed beneath the Eiffel Tower before the Paris Marathon. For their first anniversary, they ran the Greek Marathon together. Sign up for energy at Epler Health.