The 3:30 Feeling at work

Looking forward to seeing suggestions--my default solution is a 20 oz. bottle of diet mt. dew at 2:30. Low-calorie, but definitely not healthy...

I have the exact same problem. I have started drinking Costco's Matcha green tea, healthy & has some caffeine. Although it's always the last thing I want to do, a quick walk around the office helps a bit.

I hate how my body gets so sleepy in the late afternoon because I lose all motivation to hit the gym after work.

I saved a portion of my lunch every day for a while and just ate it then. Finally, I decided that I'm a grazer. So my bag lunch that I bring in every day is split into portions. I have a complex-carb-and-protein breakfast (refrigerator oatmeal, oatmeal and an egg, something like that), then around 11:00 the lunch bag opens and the snacking begins.

I remember the 2:30PM doldrums, and the only thing I can say definitively is that an empty sugar snack is the wrong answer for me - it just blows a couple hundred calories at at 2:45 I'm hungies again! But that second half of my turkey wrap can get me to 3:30, then the apple and handful of almonds, and I'm good to go until supper.

Hey guys, im not sure if it is just me, but after lunch around 2-3:30 I feel just worn out, almost as if the day is creeping by and I could fall asleep at the computer any minute. I know that we get tired after we eat, but I did not think it should make me this tired. Are there any foods for lunch that can boost my energy while counting the clock waiting to go home?

I would like to know about this as well. Sometimes at 2:30ish I get so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.

I find it all depends on what I had for lunch. Big, high-carb lunch or small, low-protein lunch, I definitely crash. Do you notice that you're more or less tired when you've had a filling, but clean lunch? Fruits, veggies, lean protein?

Keep carbs low so if you're sensitive to them, you don't have a blood sugar crash (even if I have them w/protein, I still get that crash). Not talking about carbs from veggies, but rice or bread. If I have too much of that, night night.

My suggestion is to start working out first thing in the AM. I switched my workouts to 4:30 AM some time back, the very first thing every morning, and I have not had the 3PM crash since that time. I do my run or cardio on the elliptical first thing every weekday morning, and it revs me up for the entire day!

I find that on days I take a walk during lunch (generally 30+ minutes, but shorter would probably work too) I don't get the sleepy feeling and cravings mid-afternoon.

This is a sign of carb addiction and insulin resistance.

Or not getting enough water, or not getting enough sleep, or not eating enough calories at lunch, or several other things including boredom with work.

I agree that it's related to carb intake. If I have toast or cereal for breakfast and then a sandwich for lunch, I'm beat by 2:30 or 3, not to mention HUNGRY. My suggestion is to try to limit bread and eat protein and veggies. If you are shot at 3:00, don't load up on caffiene, try something with both protein and carbs like trail mix or even peanut M&Ms.

I always save the more active jobs for that time in the afternoon. Anything that requires me to get up from my desk and do something. I appreciate that this isn't possible for some people with demanding jobs. Or even going on a trip to the toilet (the furthest from my desk) or to the kitchen to get some drinks. Anything that stops me staring mindlessly at the computer screen which is guaranteed to make me feel like I'm falling asleep!

I keep a tub of low cal/low sugar protein shake (it's a soy based one from Holland & Barrett) in my locker at work, and have one about 3:30-4 on days that I work out.

It's chocolate flavoured (so I can try to avoid eating some of the biscuits that someone in my team inevitably buys at that time of day) and I feel like it's given me a whole lot more energy at the gym - and stops me being so wrecked/grumpy/exhausted when I get home. I do not function well on an empty stomach!

I think that it may be designed to have post-work out, but this has been working for me!

Your post sounded like s setup for an advertisement for 5-hour energy "for when you have that 2:30 feeling". :laugh:

I have some cottage cheese and an apple around that time. It perks me right up.

Oooh man, me too afternoons I always feel really drowsy around 4pm. I don't like to snack between meals and I generally aim to keep caffeine to the morning but a walk around the block helps or maybe just nap if I'm at home.

I have also tried barocca and other supplements which (even though I'm a total cynic) seem to help. I also just accept that it's perfectly natural to have slumps in energy during the day especially when I don't get my 8 hours mid week (oddly weekends when I lay in - I tend to feel fine in the afternoons). It could also be a boredom thing ...