When you first get up, exercise.

I realize that not everyone is a morning person, and that is too bad, because the BEST way to wake yourself up in the morning is an invigorating cardio work out.  A short, fast paced workout will accelerate your heart-rate and get your blood pumping, making you feel alert and energized.  It stretches your muscles, preparing them for a day’s work, and jump-starts your metabolism.  A work out first thing in the morning allows you to burn more calories throughout the day.  In addition, a great work out will put you in a healthy mindset, and when you FEEL healthy, you tend to make healthy choices.  If you start your morning off feeling healthy, you will be more likely to make healthy food decisions for the rest of the day. Even if you are not a morning person, giving yourself just 10 minutes in the morning for some jumping jacks, squats, jogging in place, and some stretching will do wonders for your health, as well as your energy levels throughout the day.

Beat the mid-morning slump with an Apple!

Every day I go to work, I pack an apple, lunch, and some dried fruit.  Around mid-morning, when I start getting lunch related cravings, I delve into my pack for my apple.  Not only are apples sweet and delicious, thereby satisfying my sweet-tooth, they are a high volume food.  High volume foods have a high water and fiber content, thus they can fill you up while delivering a very low calorie count.  Because apples are a negative calorie food( they burn more calories in digestion than they contain) they won’t even count towards your end-of-day calorie count!  In addition to being a healthy snack, apples also contain fructose: a simple sugar that travels slowly through your bloodstream, without causing a crash, to keep you feeling alert and focused for a longer period of time than caffeine (More on Apples vs. Caffeine).

In the Evening, work those Muscles!

After you have come home from work, I am sure you are pretty worn out, and all you want to do is sit in front of the TV and veg.  Hopefully, you have been following the above tips and are not snacking on potatoes chips right now   Go ahead, relax, watch a movie or read a book.  It is good to get off of your feet and wind down after a long day of work.  Just don’t relax too long.  After you have eaten a healthy dinner full of fruits, vegetables and protein, and have given your body a rest and time to digest and regenerate, you should feel pretty refreshed.  Sitting at that TV for one hour longer might make you temped to grab a bowl of Ice cream from the freezer, but in order to avoid that temptation, it is time for your second work out.  If you want to work out at home, or go to the gym, it is up to you.   A good idea would be to lift some weights, or use machines, to do some muscle toning exercises.  Building muscle is not only a great way to burn calories, it also helps keeps you fit and looking great.  Did you know that muscle burns more calories during the day that fat does?   So even when you are sitting at a desk, your new muscles are burning more calories than your body was before.  If you are not into lifting, there is always running, yoga, or Pilates, all ways of building lean muscle.  A good work out in the evening will keep you from snacking, make you feel great about yourself, and help you to have a better night’s sleep.

If you can add any or all of these practices to your daily routine, or  just start off with 2-3  times a week, then you will  find yourself less fatigued and become a much healthier, and happier, person!