Kevin Otto - Nutrition Coach

GOOD, BETTER, BEST: Get More Energy

If you’re running on empty every damn day, here’s the good, better, best way to start getting your energy back.

GOOD:
Get outside and walk for 10 minutes.

Movement increases blood flow, gets you out of the chair, and can give you an immediate lift without reaching for another coffee.

BETTER:
Take that walk outside in the morning.

Now you’re stacking movement with bright outdoor light, which helps set your body clock and supports better alertness during the day and better sleep at night.

BEST:
Fix the three things driving your energy every damn day:

Sleep. Food. Movement.

Get enough sleep on a consistent schedule.

Eat enough protein, fibre-rich whole foods, and calories to actually fuel your day.

And move your body regularly instead of spending 12 hours glued to a chair.

You don’t need another energy drink.

You need to stop asking a depleted body to somehow produce more energy.

Good: Move.
Better: Move outside in the morning.
Best: Fix the s**t that’s draining your battery in the first place.

Stress isn't one big thing. It's a bank account, and most of us have been making withdrawals for months with nothing going back in.

That's why the small stuff sets you off. That's why you're dragging by 3pm. Same account, different symptom.

Recovery has to be daily, not a once-a-year trip.

If you're hitting a wall every afternoon, more coffee isn't the fix.

That crash is your blood sugar spiking after lunch and dropping off a cliff a couple hours later.

Here's the fix: half your plate is fibre, 25% is protein (size and thickness of your palm), and the last 25% is a starchy carb, potato, rice, even fries. Not 50% fries.

50% fibre, 25% protein, 25% carb. Simple as that.

Give it a try for a week. You may feel a lot better in the afternoons.

Save this so you've got the ratios next time you're building a plate.

Stop trusting your second wind.

If you've ever been ready for bed...

Then suddenly felt wide awake again...

It can feel like you got your energy back.

Most of the time, you didn't.

That second wind isn't a green light to keep working, scrolling, or squeezing one more thing into your day.

It can be a sign you've pushed past your body's first signal that it was ready for sleep.

The result?

You make falling asleep harder than it needed to be.

The next time you catch yourself saying...

"I'll just..."

..pause for a second.

That might be your cue to call it a night instead of talking yourself into one more thing.

What's your go-to "I'll just..." before bed?

Stop doing this every time you’re hungry.

Waiting until you’re starving to decide what you’re going to eat usually doesn’t end well.

It’s three o’clock.

You’re tired.

You’ve got work to finish.

You grab whatever’s quickest and power through.

Sound familiar?

The problem isn’t that you’re hungry.

The problem is that hunger is making the decision for you.

When you’re that hungry, convenience usually wins.

That’s why your best food decisions happen before you’re hungry.

It doesn’t have to be meal prep.

It doesn’t have to be perfect.

It could be leftovers from last night, a balanced lunch packed the night before, or simply having better options within reach.

The goal isn’t to eat perfectly.

The goal is to stop letting hunger make your food decisions.

What’s one thing you could have ready before you’re hungry?