Help with energy boost in afternoon

Why is Diet Coke "not the best choice"? Is it not working for you?

I usually drink Amino Energy in the afternoon. It's got a mix of amino acids and caffeine from a variety of sources.

The only way to see how coffee will affect you is to drink it. Second, have you tried any thing physical at that hour? You mentioned stretching and such in the AM but what about in the PM? Try some deep breathing, yoga or a walk. By 6 pm you have been up for 12 1/2 hours. That's not too far from your bed time I assume? How late do you stay up? Perhaps try an earlier bedtime in addition to some evening energy boost. Perhaps you should just ride the sleepy train to bed time. You have been going all day at that hour and likely could use a break. I find simple carbs make me feel VERY sluggish and sleepy. I save those for dinner for that reason. Maybe tweaking your lunch and afternoon snacks could help? How well hydrated are you? I found myself chronically tired and it turned out I really was not hydrating well enough. Just ideas that have helped me. Maybe something I said will help you. Good luck!

cmriverside wrote: »

Why would coffee or tea keep you up, but Diet Coke wouldn't? They all have caffeine.

Green Tea has less caffeine than black tea or coffee, have you tried that?

This makes me think. Green tea is great stuff. I have heard about Matcha specifically giving people a "calm alert" type of effect. Maybe try some and see how it works for you. Here is a single site that sells it. Perhaps they have it in your local store? Just sharing a link for the purpose of showing the exact thing I am talking about. I don't usually order from this site or anything. http://republicoftea.com/matcha-tea/c/matcha/

I usually have a green smoothie as an afternoon pick me up. I blend it in the morning and stick it in the office fridge until 3 pm in a travel cup. No caffeine, but plenty of nutrition (spinach, cucumber, almond milk, wheatgrass, pear and kiwi today)

Juliao1188 wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

Why would coffee or tea keep you up, but Diet Coke wouldn't? They all have caffeine.

Green Tea has less caffeine than black tea or coffee, have you tried that?

soda has half the caffeine of tea but I think I just stick to water from now on.

Actually, Diet Coke and Green tea are nearly identical in the amount of caffeine, and Green tea has lots of antioxidants...plus no additives or sodium.

Diet Coke: http://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-content/diet-coke
Green Tea: http://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-content/green-tea

The serving sizes are different in the above comparison. DC = 12 oz. and GT = 8 oz.

Our local stores have little flavor packs made for 16.9oz water bottles, several of them formulated to provide energy boosts. This is what I tend to use as a pick-me-up [I often use Kroger's store brand energy blend, which has the same stuff as a typical pre-workout minus the creatine and l-arganine]. If I need a super boost, I use one of the energy packs from 4C [these are like the Kroger ones, but include taurine for an extra boost].

I agree with the poster above with the B12. I was having the same issue until I started taking B12 along with a multi vitamin and it's helping so much.