Beyond Caffeine: Natural Ways to Improve Your Energy Levels

Do you hit a 3pm slump every day, or need a coffee just to get you going in the morning? Did you know there are other ways to feel energized that aren’t just sugar and caffeine? This episode is all about energy and how to boost it naturally. In this episode, Jenn is talking about natural ways to improve your energy levels. There are many things you can do to give your energy a boost aside from reaching for sugar or caffeine. Jenn discusses how to know if you are experiencing low energy and what is happening within your body when you feel exhausted. She discusses energy givers and energy zappers and how to put up boundaries to protect your energy. Jenn emphasizes the importance of morning light, sleep, and movement as well as the building blocks (nutrients) necessary for energy. Tune in to uncover practical strategies to naturally boost your energy and feel revitalized!The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store. IN THIS EPISODE: [8:43] How do you know that you are experiencing low energy?[11:49] How do your genes affect your energy? [13:14] What is happening in our body when we feel exhausted? [18:34] What are energy givers and energy zappers? [25:56] What can you do to create sustained, healthy energy? [36:50] How does sleep and lighting impact our energy?  [39:14] How does caffeine impact our energy? [42:44] What are the important building blocks necessary for energy? KEY TAKEAWAYS: How you start your day has a big impact on your energy. Starting your day with intention and including hydration, movement, and managing stress are great for managing energy. Energy is as much a biological function as breathing and blood sugar. Eating to keep your blood sugar balanced also keeps our energy balanced.You don’t have to try and do everything at once, pick the easiest thing for you to work on, and then add in the next thing. One step at a time. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. QUOTES: "By thinking of it as a sprint, rather than a marathon, we choose the sources of energy that are fastest which also create a crash later on." – Jenn Trepeck[17:52] “One of my mentors says the presence of oxygen is the absence of disease. So it makes the argument for the importance of making sure that our heart is pumping, that we’re breathing, and that we’re doing these things, we’re eating foods that support oxygen in the body.” - Jenn Trepeck"Muscle mass supports energy. Muscle helps us use fuel for energy today instead of storing it for later...exercise puts oxygen back into the mix and supports the body's own production of NAD which fuels the mitochondria along with the oxygen." - Jenn Trepeck[33:16] “Most of us are so magnesium deficient that what we’ll get in our food isn’t enough to replete everything we need. Proper use of magnesium, like so many vitamins and minerals, requires cofactors. So if we’re not eating a range of fruits and vegetables, and also supplementing with a high quality multivitamin, we may not have the other things we need for our body to use and absorb the magnesium that we do get from some of these foods.” - Jenn Trepeck  [45:46] “If somebody were to ask me, what’s the one thing, I start on the food piece: low glycemic impact nutrition, sufficient protein, fiber, quality fat. If you’re already doing that and feeling challenged by energy, then the next thing I would go to is your sleep and getting first morning light or your caffeine.” - Jenn TrepeckRESOURCES:Supplements for Improved EnergyBecome A Member of Salad with a Side of FriesJenn’s Free Menu PlanA Salad With a Side of FriesA Salad With A Side Of Fries MerchA Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram