Hi.
I have noticed that each day, that if I eat a meal at noon or at 3 PM or at 6 PM, then I become incredibly sleepy for 1-2 hours afterward, which makes it difficult to be productive. My understanding is that this is a natural human process. But I've also heard that this is due to some poor quality sleep, exercise, food, etc., and that a proper healthy lifestyle can be implemented to avoid sleepiness after eating. Does anyone know how to avoid this issue?
Ilya
Hi Ilya! There's a lot that can effect this, including beyond what your lunch is. Focusing on what you're eating, the size of the meal and the amount and type of carbs can definitely cause sleepiness. A large meal and/or lots of "simple" or "processed" carbs both tend to make one sleepy. You can work on 5 things, incorporating one at a time (I like the order I put it in, but they aren't rules!):
1. Eat when hungry, until 80% full. (You don't need to count calories, but you are trying to avoid being "stuffed.")
2. Focus on having 3-6 oz of lean protein. (You don't need to measure; eat about 1-2 palm sized portions of meat. 2 Palm sized portions are about the size of a fist.)
3. Focus on having 1-2 fist-sized portions of veggies. My go-tos are usually broccoli, green beans, or a salad.
4. Start decreasing the amount of processed carbohydrates you eat at lunch. Instead of having a heaping portion of carbs, try having 1-2 cupped handfuls (1/2 - 1 cup - again, no need to measure!). This could look like instead of having a big bowl of spaghetti with marinara sauce, having a smaller portion of spaghetti with marinara.
5. Start switching out "more processed" carbs for "less processed" carbs. Instead of spaghetti, what about a sweet potato, or an apple?
None of these are rules, and none of these are about making lists of foods you
can't have.
Someone else mentioned keeping a food journal, and that is an excellent idea, especially as you start incorporating these changes! Tracking like this can help you look back and see what you ate and how it made you feel, and whether the changes made improved things.
An example:
March 3
Today I ate two large bowls of spaghetti and a slice of garlic bread. I was stuffed. I felt really sleepy afterwards, and needed to get a coffee by 3. I wasn't really hungry when I started eating, but it was hard to stop eating that pasta!
April 3
Today I ate a portion of chicken breast, some broccoli, and an apple. I stopped eating when I wasn't hungry. I got a little sleepy around 2, but I felt good! I wasn't a little hungry when I started eating, and I only finished half the apple before I was full.
Hope it helps. Love your name, my best friend shares the name with you, as does my son (although he has the Anglicized version).