Want more energy? Well, who doesn’t, really. Duh. If there is one thing that clients all have in common when they come to see me, it’s their desire to increase their energy.
While there are lots of ways to boost energy, here are a few simple ones you can start working into your life right away. These methods provide long-term results, giving you increased energy for your life, not just one day or a couple of hours.
1. Watch what you’re drinking.
Caffeine/coffee/sugar = instant gratification. But like all things working and fighting for in life, taking the (seemingly) easy and instant shortcut are only short-term solutions that leave you feeling worse after they’ve run their course. Instant gratification isn’t really satisfying or lasting for the long-term, is it?
Depend on these entities for too long and you could end up overtaxing your adrenal glands, which—guess what—makes you feel exhausted, and imbalances your body. An imbalanced body is even more energy-depleted.
Get your long-lasting energy first thing in the morning from the Glowing Green Smoothie® (GGS), a blend of fruits and vegetables and lemon juice. It provides the vitamins and minerals you need to kickstart your day, plus fiber to keep you full until your next meal and prevent a blood sugar spike.
Even if you still drink some coffee, by incorporating the GGS you are adding something good and positive into your life, and naturally less favorable habits will start to be pushed away.
If you’re an afternoon coffee drinker, have some more of your Glowing Green Smoothie (try the papaya version for summer!). You can also check out my Energy in a Spoon recipe, enjoy my Cauliflower Energy Soup, or give spirulina or chlorella a try.
There’s so much chlorophyll in the spirulina and chlorella, you’ll get tons of energy (and vitamins and minerals!). Who needs caffeine or a candy bar? Nobody! Not with these delicious alternatives.
Why is water a miracle drink when it comes to how much energy you have? When you’re dehydrated, your body can’t flush out the toxins that are hanging out in your cells and weighing you down, causing you to feel anything but perky.
Even mild dehydration actually makes you tired. A few alcoholic beverages or skimping on the water-containing foods can dehydrate you just enough to make you feel more tired than usual and even cause inflammation in the body, even if you feel like you’ve been drinking the same amount of water as usual.
So drink up, fresh, clean water. I tote around my stainless steel water bottle (minimize chemical and BPA-containing plastic water bottles, like the one the lovely lady in this picture is drinking from!).
2. Just be still.
Slowing down, even for a few minutes per day, to either sit still and meditate or practice yoga, can do so much to restore your mind. When your mind is running at a rapid pace all day, springing from thought to thought and never stopping so you can just collect yourself, you get not only mentally tired, but physically tired, too. If you’re holding stress in your body and tensing even a percentage of your muscles, it’s actually exhausting.
I can personally attest to the fact that if I did not practice yoga and meditate at least twice a day I would be a stressball. I don’t know how I would be able to function with all the stuff I’m juggling, and I know you juggle also. Let us juggle together with grace and serenity!
Both meditation and yoga can make you feel more refreshed instantly, but the results are longer-lasting than that if you practice regularly.
Yoga has been shown to increase efficiency, create feelings of well-being and relaxation, and more. You’ll retrain your mind to deal with stress more efficiently and feel the mental and physical effects of stress much less often.
A study (great isn’t it, that the Western researchers are nodding their approval to these ancient practices) even showed that mindfulness cut down on the amount of fatigue patients with muscular sclerosis experienced.
The Mayo Clinic says “yoga brings together physical and mental disciplines to achieve peacefulness of body and mind, helping you relax and manage stress and anxiety.”
Learning to manage your stress will boost your energy levels and the calmer you become day to day, the less the little things will stress you out and steal your energy. Some of the issues that seem so intimidating now will become easy to handle, so it’ll be like lightening your burden.
Your practice can be as simple as starting the day with a few deep breaths before you reach for your cell phone. Or taking a few minutes when you get home from work to throw your legs up the wall and let the stress drain out of you.
You deserve it, to put some of your energy into keeping your body and mind clear and unburdened.
3. Pair Your Foods Properly and Get More Magnesium in Your Diet
Okay. So you get more than one tip in this section, but they all tie together. Bonus! Try them one at a time or all at the same time to see what works for you.
One of the major things you can do to boost your energy is stop pairing heavy foods together; this will give you better digestion and more Beauty Energy. Keep your meals simple, and cut down on how many concentrated elements there are per meal.
Better digestion leads to better absorption of the nutrients you take in (like magnesium, which I’ll talk about in a second). I outline all of the Beauty Rules for food pairing in detail in The Beauty Detox Solution, but that’s a good place to start.
The Beauty Detox Solution teaches you how to properly combine your fruits, vegetable, starches, and proteins for optimal nutrition, energy, and yes, beauty, so you’ll feel light and vibrant all day without the need for any stimulants like caffeine or energy drinks.
While you’re tweaking your meals, be sure you’re eating foods rich in magnesium, like leafy greens (especially Swiss chard, with 29 mg per cup, raw, and spinach, with 24 mg per cup, raw), tempeh, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, Brazil nuts, millet, and quinoa. If you’re deficient in magnesium, your likelihood of feeling fatigued even after a good night’s sleep is increased.
The National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements says women and men between the ages of 19 and 31 need 310 and 400 mg of magnesium per day, respectively, and women and men ages 31 and up need 320 and 420 mg of magnesium every day .
A study in The Journal of Nutrition found that postmenopausal women with magnesium deficiencies needed to use more energy and oxygen to complete physical tasks.
For even better results, make sure you eat Light to Heavy all day long. Nothing’s going to rob you of your Beauty Energy and make you want to crash before the day is done like a super heavy midday meal (siesta anyone?). In addition, try eating bee pollen! It is full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and will give you a long lasting energy boost!
Keep your meals balanced and again, simple. So that’s it! Be conscious of your beverages- hydrate and work away from consuming too much caffeine; meditate or do yoga to manage stress; and eat your greens, nuts, grains, and seeds.
Here is also a list of 25 foods for energy that will get you through the day.
May you be blessed with abundant energy, always, in all parts of your life.
Love,
Kimberly
I add a tablespoon of Wild Blue-Green algae (from Klamath Lake, Oregon) to your glowing green smoothie. A worthwhile little read is Miracle Superfood: wild blue-green algae by Gillian McKeith.
Great article
I have read that certain raw greens such as spinach contain high levels of oxalic acid, which can prevent calcium absorption. What is your take on this?
Spinach is also very high in sulfites and can also be a problem for people with thyroid problems. I understand it is ok, if cooked. There are a number greens and vegetables high in sulfites. I can’t drink the green smoothie because of that and I would suggest you find out if you have a thyroid problem before drinking it. There needs to be more info posted about this drink and not just assume it is good for everyone.
I have heard this argument about acid content in vegetarian sources of calcium inhibiting calcium absorption. However, I almost always hear/read this in studies published by nasty big pharma and almost always as a defense of why we should continue to consume dairy. Do not be distracted. The fact is that the protein content of dairy decreases absorption of calcium in dairy, as well. I have not been able to find a comparison between the effects of protein versus acid content on calcium absorption. However, as dairy is also an acid-producing food, I am fairly confident I am absorbing at least as much from my greens as from milk products and other animal sources.
There is a problem with the link to the Kriya Yoga Practices and I would love to read more on this.
Thank you for the great post!
You forgot Chia!!
I have been on the Glowing Green Smoothie for one month now. The changes I have noticed are unbelievable.
The texture of my skin has vastly improved; the fine lines have minimized; my jowls have retreated!; my chin is more defined; any puffiness around my face has gone; I wake up bright as a button; the thrush on my tongue from prolonged use of inhalers has cleared up; any Candida has cleared; I am more ‘streamlined’!, pockets of spongey fat are disappearing; my digestion has improved, I suffered from IBS.
In a nutshell, I feel ten years younger.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful knowledge with the world. If more people followed your lead, there would be fewer people in hospital!
Ghislaine
The energy spoon with bee pollen really works
Thanks Kim for all your awesome blended tips
Z
Should you take Magnesium during the day? I know it’s suppose to relax you
Thanks for all the great tips Kimberly! I look forward to these and try to incorporate them into my daily routine. I still haven’t been able to give up the coffee but will try and substitute hot water and lemon. I am a nurse and everything you say is so beneficial!
I am so delighted with all t he wonderful information that you give us on proper nutrition, and
the fantastic smoothies and vegetable recipes Your ideas are brilliant. Thanks.
…
oh kim great info
Thank you so much for your tips!
Kimberley thank you for such a consciously gorgeous peacelove post. I especially love your blessing for abundant energy always. You’re a doll xx and most welcome in my kitchen for some nourishment anytime you visit Perth, Australia.
Love Lib
Not clear on light to heavy. Mid-day is not to be heavy. Could u give a sample meal plan for a day?
I love this recipe, particularly bee pollen. Sometimes I have several big spoonfuls (without oil). Can too much bee pollen be bad for you? Should I not indulge so much?
Hi Kimberly ! Id like to start off my saying how much I LOVE your outlook on nutrion & detoxing for health and beauty. It has helped me a great deal within the last 3 weeks having the GGS and I truly am thankful to have found you ! Question, Id like your suggestion to ‘summer’ up the GGS with papaya, etc but I cannot locate sunflower sprouts in the proper amounts suggested for the smoothy…. Can you suggest alternative sprouts, etc I can use ? Thanks again ! =)
You are right Kimberly. I do everything on that list. I drink lots of water, exercise such as yoga, weights and other exercises. And I watch what I eat.
And I also meditate and pray. When I meditate it gives me such a great feeling to be in touch with the holy spirit. I believe everyone should try it.
Now about reading the op’s info numerous will agree with it because it is accurate and it’s great to read from a person thats blogging it online to look at.
Hello there! Would you mind if I share your blog
with my facebook group? There’s a lot of folks that I think would
really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Thank you