Feeling tired and skipping meals go together. According to a study by NPD, the average person skips approximately one breakfast meal a week and the thirty-five to forty-nine age group is leading the pack. Another survey commissioned by Smoothie King reported that 43% of Americans view lunch as the least important meal to overall health and that 58% skip it if they feel too busy to break.
Feeling Tired Today?
No wonder feeling tired is the #1 health complaint among Americans! Missed meals and poor eating habits top the list of reasons why fatigues from borderline anemia to adrenal fatigue are on the rise. Not to mention their tag along buddies: obesity, headaches, anxiety …
According to Sport and Lifestyle Nutritionist Molly Kimball, LDN, RD “Short-term effects like mood swings, headaches, mental and physical fatigue, and loss of concentration should be enough to convince anyone from skipping meals. There are also serious long-term effects that can stem from lack of proper nutrition, including obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease.”
What do Americans grab for on-the-go meals? It tends to be sweet and starchy. The “Top Ten Carried Breakfast Foods” are: Fruit, Breakfast/Snack Bars, Cookies/Brownies, Yogurt, Bagels, RTE Cereal, Sandwiches, Toaster Pastries, Donuts and Muffins.
Tired people crave sweets like alcoholics crave alcohol. The high sugar food fix is followed by a low energy dip which drives the next fix and dip and fix and … You get the picture. Is this roller coaster your “normal” day?
Dr. James Wilson, a leader in adrenal fatigue research, has a plan to lead us off of this exhausting roller-coaster ride. It includes small, frequent meals and snacks comprised of a fat, a protein and a starchy unrefined carbohydrates. He also calls for a ban on caffeine and sugar oriented foods, including fruit and fruit juices, especially for breakfast. The above food combining technique yields body and mind fuel for hours.
When and how often you eat is almost as important as what you eat. Our bodies wake up in a fasting condition and should be refueled as soon as possible and decidedly before ten a.m. One symptom of people suffering from adrenal fatigue is a lack, even a distaste for a morning meal. If this is your case, “fake it till you make it.”
It only takes twenty-some days to form a new habit. The healthy breakfast habit will keep you energized, looking young and feeling great for a lifetime. Isn’t this a small price to pay for getting up a little bit earlier to sit down and enjoy a cup of the Fatigue Be Gone Oatmeal Adrenal Gland Boost with a cup of adrenal rejuvenating Licorice Tea? Try it before you answer that question!
To keep your feel-good momentum going, follow breakfast, every two to three hours, with another whole food meal or snack, right up to bedtime. Because fatigue often triggers insomnia (not fair!) it is a good idea to eat a small bowl of a whole grain with a few almonds or walnuts and milk, whole, almond or rice, about a half an hour before going to bed.
Fatigue can be a friend or a foe. Befriend it. Use it to remind yourself not to skip meals, reach for a sugar fix or push through another sixty-hour work week without smelling a dozen roses. Our body talk to us all the time and fatigue is its built in alarm system. If your alarm is going off, take the time NOW to review, renew and revitalize. You, and it, will be happy you did.
(c) Viveca Stone-Berry, author, The Fatigue Be Gone Jumpstart e-Guide. http://www.FatigueBeGone.com
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