The groggy, lethargic sensation you get 1-2 hours after a meal is often ascribed to “eating too much,” when in fact most of the time it’s just a blood sugar spike. A meal that’s mostly made up of processed carbs is digested rapidly, dumping glucose into the blood before your body can adequately adjust for it. A crash follows, and you’re left feeling lethargic, cranky, and hungry despite having eaten sufficient calories. It’s one of the most useful early pieces of nutritional knowledge to grasp, since fluctuating energy is so influential on your ability to concentrate, work, and remain in a good mood throughout the day.
Begin by watching yourself for a few days without trying to control the crashes. Take note of what you ate and how long it held you over. A big bowl of cereal or a pastry might fill you up, but they are very low in protein and fiber—two components that help slow digestion. If you add eggs or nuts to the cereal or yogurt to the pastry, you’ll find that the same breakfast holds you over much longer. At lunchtime, if you cut down the size of the sandwich made with a huge slice of white bread and add some veggies or switch to whole-grain bread, you won’t crash so hard. I’m not saying to cut out all the carbs, just try to match them with something that will slow them down.
A common pitfall is the overcorrection of completely slashing the carbs, which can then result in energy crashes with lethargy and an inability to focus. Our bodies need carbs for optimal functioning, particularly the brain, so rather than elimination, aim for redistribution. For every meal with carbs, add a portion of protein, a small amount of good fat, and some fiber. A sneaky little mistake is having a soda, juice, or sweet tea with meals, which sneaks in a pure glucose load even if you’re eating a healthy meal. If you switch to water or an unsweetened tea, you’ll probably feel better.
Even a basic practice program can be done in just a couple of minutes a day. Take a minute or two prior to a meal to look over the food on your plate and see if you have the main elements all covered. Then, immediately after the meal, take a moment to gauge your energy level at the one-hour and three-hour marks. If you get drowsy too early, try adding more protein or fiber at the next meal. If you get hungry too fast, ask yourself if the meal was low in fat or volume. Writing it down in a little notebook or phone note is good for detecting trends you won’t be able to recall.
Doing so, you teach your body awareness by feedback. You do not eat a meal anymore, but you fuel your body. You do not seek energy from snacks or coffee, but you learn to get your energy from food and you learn to fuel yourself in a way that keeps you concentrated and physically well all day long.