Get up, get dressed, get kids ready, rush everyone out the door, sit at your desk, sit through meetings, stare at computer screen, pick up kids, feed kids, rush kids off to activities, throw in laundry, fall into bed, start all over again tomorrow. Sound familiar?
It’s the February Blah’s complete with dull routines, lack of enthusiasm, dreary weather and declining motivation that leaves us all just trudging along. Where do we find the energy to turn the blah’s around?
Energy In Energy Out
What you eat affects how you feel. Nutrient poor processed and traditional fast foods will leave you feeling bloated, rundown and zapped of energy. Fresh fruits, vegetables and lean proteins full of vitamins give your body what it needs to handle stress, build a strong immune system and keep you going.
Vitamin A supports a healthy immune system by promoting normal production of red blood cells and helps prevent fatigue caused by anemia and helps your body fight off common illness. Vitamin A can be found in food high in beta carotene, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, mangoes, spinach and cantaloupe.
All the B vitamins work together to regulate the body’s level of energy and help your body metabolize fats and carbohydrates. When you are low on B vitamins, such as folic acid, B6 and B12, you are low on energy. Foods high in B vitamins include beans, whole grains, eggs, dark green vegetables such as kale, spinach, broccoli, nuts and bananas.
Vitamin C helps prevent fatigue caused by infections and is essential in helping the body absorb iron and produce white blood cells that keep you feeling alert. Vitamin C is easily found in many citrus fruits, including oranges, grapefruit, mangoes, tomatoes and in broccoli and red and yellow peppers.
Besides being a key factor in maintaining healthy bones, Vitamin D plays an important role in many areas of our metabolism necessary to maintaining good health and preventing disease. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased risk of numerous ailments such as osteoporosis, depression, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. Excellent sources of vitamin D are fatty fish and fortified dairy products.
Omega 3 essential fatty acids are required for the normal development and function of the brain, and eyes and can help relieve depressive states. Since your body cannot produce these essentials fatty acids, you need to supply them daily through foods high in Omega 3s, such as tuna, salmon and supplements.
Spring For A Fitness Goal
Set a goal for the Spring, such as walking a 5km, and spend the next 6 weeks working towards it. Incorporate outdoor activity as much as possible to fill up on fresh air and the suns natural uplifting rays. The outdoor air and extra level of activity will give you more energy by increasing blood flow, moving toxins out of your body, stimulating your cardiovascular system and boosting endorphins which all help improve your mood and motivation.
Ready for Business
Fueling your body with healthy vitamin rich food and energizing your mood with extra activity and fresh air will put a spring in your step and turn those February blah’s in a healthy boost for you and your business!
