Any Benefit of 5 Hour Energy?

I get a lot of questions from clients about the effectiveness and safety of many energy drinks out there. Now I am not a dietitian but my strong opinion on them is that they definitely are not needed and some can even be adding to your weight loss struggle. Many are filled with a ton of sugar and the ones that are not may have harmful substitutes for sugar in them, along with gross amounts of caffeine.

So what to do? For a drink I always offer green tea as an alternative, it's the only thing I personally drink for a little pick me up but more importantly I ask what has you so tired that you "get that 2pm feeling" everyday?

Let me tell you it's not healthy to always be tired and feel like you could go to sleep at any point during the day. Like you have heard from myself and many other trainers, exercise is a great way to boost your daily energy. If you are not exercising, that would be my first advice, but many people that are exercising still feel tired. Exercise is a great way to boost energy but there are other factors that can help as well. Here are a few other things that can greatly effect your energy levels:

1. Are you getting enough sleep? I feel silly for even mentioning this because it seems like common sense to me. But when I ask the same tired people, "How much sleep are you getting?"... the answer is usually, "Not enough."

We need sleep to function properly. Your body and mind do an amazing amount of work every day and they need this time to recover and recharge. Most adults need, on average, 8 hours of shut-eye to wake up feeling refreshed. Note that everyone is different and some may need a little more and some may need less. Find what works for you. If you are not getting enough sleep it is a sure way to feel tired, not to mention it has been shown ...    Continue

to affect your weight as well.

2. Are you getting enough water? Lately there has been a lot of talk about how much water your body needs to function properly. I have been hearing lately "8 glasses of water a day is a myth." Let me tell you from both personal experience and working with hundreds of clients over the years. If you don't have enough water in your system, you will be tired! Get the 8 glasses in a day. Sure your body can get water from foods and other things that you drink but 8 glasses a day will ensure it and it has no negative side effects... Well, maybe a few more bathroom runs :-). Personally in the morning I always drink two full warm glasses right when I get up. It's my coffee, and you will be surprised how much this can help to wake you up!

3. Take a 5-10 minute "mental relax" break or two throughout the day. When you are feeling tired or stressed, close your eyes and go through all the muscles in your body, mentally relaxing them one at a time. Then fill your mind with positive thoughts and tell yourself, "I am energized!" It sounds silly but give it a try and then get back to me.

4. Are you eating Carbohydrates? Like I said earlier I am not a dietitian but I do know that the body's main source of physical energy comes from carbohydrates. Sure a lot of the fad diets out there that cut out carbohydrates can have you lose weight, but what happens when you start to eat them again? Plus the lack of carbohydrates will leave you tired and cranky! You are better off taking the time to learn how to eat right for the long term, with all major food groups. Natural, unrefined carbohydrates are a healthy way to give you the energy you need for your workouts and to get you through your day.

So there you have it - try these small changes and let me know how it affects your energy.