What's Zapping Your Energy?

Sure, we all get draggy from time to time. A sleepless night here and there, a stressful day at the office or one too many doughnuts can take their toll. But when you're constantly feeling drained, it might be time to look at what's bringing you down. Check out these energy zappers and see how many apply to you.

Sugar provides quick energy, but after picking you up, it drops you hard and leaves you looking for more.

One key to cutting back on sugar is having the right food with you so you don't head to the nearest vending machine. "The best intentions go out the window when you're not prepared," says Florida nutritionist Pamela Smith, RD, author of The Energy Edge. Smith tries to make sure she always has healthy snacks on hand, and she advises making sure they contain at least 1 to 2 ounces of protein to keep your blood sugar stable for several hours, combined with a complex carbohydrate to give you a quick boost of energy. Here are a few of her favorites:

• Whole grain crackers and low-fat cheese
• Fresh fruit or a small box of raisins and low-fat cheese
• Half a lean turkey or chicken sandwich
• Plain, nonfat yogurt blended with fruit or all-fruit jam
• Small pop-top can of water-packed tuna or chicken with whole grain crackers

2. Caffeine

Caffeine can also leave us "tired and wired," Silber says. "If we need sleep and we choose caffeine instead, we continue to throw off our natural sleep cycle. If you find that too much caffeine -- whether it comes in the form of coffee, tea, cola, or even chocolate -- is keeping you from getting a good night's sleep, switch to decaffeinated varieties of your favorite beverage.

I wanted to write about "lack of energy" because it happens to me occasionally. I chalk it off to overdoing it when I was working out or maybe I should have ate more calories this morning. Whatever happened to me seem to happen to most of us. But some of us who are overweight experience this lack of energy every day. It's not funny to them. I shrug it off and drink an extra protein shake or eat an extra energy bar, but I'm not worried about losing weight. 

Most of us feel this way in the afternoon. My go-to drink is coffee. I drink about 4 cups a day and now medical experts say if you have no health problems extra cups of tea or coffee won't hurt you and might even be good for you. This is something to take up with your doctor. People taking medications have to consult a physician about changing their diet.

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