Afternoon Crash

Increase your lunch calories and protein. I aim for about 500 calories for lunch with around 20-30g protein.

FoCoAlphaNerd wrote: »

Are you a coffee drinker? I used to have something sort of like this happen when I wasn't sleeping right and was using coffee to get me through.

I used to grab some kind of fruit juice. I loved those naked ones. Just be careful. Those things are loaded with calories.

*starting timer till someone says something ridiculous about fructose . . . now

Fructose comes from cows.

It's called Circadian Rhythm. We all go through a 3 o'clock crash - very normal in office type settings.

Increasing your calories a few hours before will help, but ultimately, it's just part of the normal fluctuation of our body's sleep cycle.

I usually have an afternoon coffee to deal with it, but some people just take a quick walk, or deal with it.

There's a reason so many people take a break around that time.

There's a lot of carbs in the foods you listed (honey, granola, bread, apple). Before people jump all over me, there is NOTHING WRONG with carbs, but they do tend to provide an energy spike and drop. Also, the other thing I noticed is that those are all pretty low volume foods (high calorie density). While they're nutritious, they won't be as filling as high volume foods (foods that have low calorie density). Try having your eggs and carrots over greens instead of with bread. You can have mountains of greens for the same calories as a slice of bread! Also, choose peanuts or hummus, rather than both and use the extra calories for something else with more volume (such as broth based soup). I also find that focusing on higher protein "whole" foods is much more filling for me, personally. On that note, I could eat a whole tub of honey roasted peanuts and still feel hungry, but plain ones fill me up faster, and raw almonds are even more filling. Just my 2 cents!

AmazonMayan wrote: »

I agree with the more protein suggestions. I would be starving if I only ate what you did.

Same!

More protein, more water, and a 20 minute lunchtime walk outside (rain or shine) really helps me stay alert every day. I used to get so tired before that. I think the water and the walk are the most important for me.

What do you mean by crash?

There could be a lot of things going on here. Maybe you have issues with your blood sugar -- have you been to a doctor for a check-up lately? Had your glucose levels checked?

You could simply have trained your brain to expect a 3pm snack, and be not used to waiting until dinnertime to eat. In that case, it's just about training yourself into new habits -- the "crash" is in your head and you should stick it out until things change. Or eat less at breakfast and lunch, and save some of those calories for a 3pm snack. They're your calories; you can space them out during the day however you choose.

You could be not getting enough sleep, and your morning cup of coffee runs out around 3pm and you have a post-caffeine crash. That's easily solved by taking up the habit of a cup of tea in the afternoons. Or by getting more sleep. Or both.

What sort of job do you have? Are you getting any natural sunlight or daylight during your day? Try going out for a short walk every day at lunchtime and getting some fresh air.

Withwings137 wrote: »

I have an 8 mo old and a 2.5 year old.

Aha, I think we may have identified the culprit. Or, in this case, culprits.

Seriously, congratulations, and also, the long term sleep deprivation could be just catching up to you now. I'm sure other parents will weigh in here with how long it took them to start feeling rested again. (18 years?)