What Do You Use for a Morning Pick-Me-Up (Besides Caffeine)

since Cuttino got traded, i have trouble waking up at all.

 

Hmmm, this intrigues me. I think I will try it.

 

Do you eat before or after working out? I have been wanting to do this but my schedule is always crap. Truthfully, its hard to get started. I also want to get my diet under control. Im finding myself eating one large meal a day and I know that is not helping me.

 

For me it starts with a solid good night's sleep. Make sure to get in some solid REM sleep. And then wake up and pump some iron for 1 to 1.5 hours. That gets the blood flowing and it also releases endorphins. On the way in to work I listen to some heavy metal music. Then I guzzle down some coffee when I get into work. That endorphin/caffine cocktail works well for me to start my day.

It's all about the energy!

 

I do not eat before I work out. I usually get up and take my vitamins and drink a big glass of water so that I have about 15-20 minutes before I workout. If I am starving I may have a banana but not always. Then I go workout, go home, take a shower and get ready for work. When I get to work I usually have a (1) breakfast taco from downstairs with egg beaters, turkey sausage, half a piece of cheese, and fresh pico de gallo. Around 11:00 I have lunch, around 3:00 I have a protien bar or shake, eat dinner around 6:00, and then have a healthy snack like a grapefruit or whatever about 8:00 or so.

I had been trying to start up again for two years and one night I saw myself in the mirror before I went to bed and was like, holy ****, I need to do something. I felt like crap everyday and was stressed like crazy. I had no energy and basically didn't ever want to do anything. I went to the gym the very next day and signed up. I go 6 days a week taking off Saturday. I don't workout and I eat anything I want on Saturday. Monday I lift back and bi's, Wednesday I lift legs, Friday I lift chest, shoulders, and tri's. Every day I lift I do abs as well. On Sunday's, Tuesdays, and Thursday's I do cardio for about an hour.

 

Breakfast of Champions works for me

 

#1. Sleep. Seriously. When you sleep well, you wake up well. It's simple but it works.

#2. Yerba Mate. Best good-morning-pick-me-up tea ever. I'm serious. It's so much better than coffee. Doesn't get you wired, doesn't raise your heartbeat, doesn't make you crash after a couple of hours. It just makes you feel good.

 

I'm convinced that coffee makes people less wakeful. You become dependent on the caffeine to regulate your body and can't wake up without it. At the same time, as your body becomes accustomed to it, you need more and more caffeine to get the same effect. Cutting caffeine out will make it easier for you to get going in the morning, I think (though no one believes me).

 

Juan Valdez can't be advocating not drinking coffee, can he?

 

sex does the job.

 

I use adderall. It works really well. The only crappy part is that you become dependent on it.

 

i heard the asian spas are a good pick me up in the mornings....in and out

 

Tyrosine and/or complete free-form aminos w/ water on empty stomach before coffee, both before breakfast.

 

Not really. Sex releases a lot of hormones associated with relaxation and sleep. http://scienceline.org/2006/09/25/ask-wenner-sex/

Or better yet:

Dave Zinczenko, the author of Men, Love and Sex: The Complete User Guide For Women, explained the phenomenon to Huffington Post writer Arianna Huffington this way: “Men go to sleep because women don’t turn into a pizza.”

 

I actually don't use caffeine as a morning pick-me-up anymore. The reason is exactly what you described. Once it wears off, I'm left worse than before.

The reason is dehydration, which is a probelm at work even without the caffeine. So for awhile I was drinking coffee, for the early morning pick-me-up then lots of water to keep hydrated. That worked, but caused ungodly amounts of trips to the toilet.

What works really well is just the hydration along with one of hte energy packs of vitamens sold at convenient stores. Dehydration is a main cause of afternoon tirednesss. So drink plenty of water, and eat a couple slices of watermelon, or an apple just at the start of the afternoon. That will help keep you awake, because of their vitamens, and water content.

Make sure that you are eating a good-sized lunch, but not one that is too heavy and will cause drowsiness. You may want to be sure and cut out turkey from your lunch if that causes drowsiness as well.

Nothing is 100% but those tips have helped.

 

lol. Drink pure Columbian decaffeinated coffee.

 

The coffee actually makes it worse for you.

The reason many people feel the need for coffee in the morning is because the body becomes addicted to caffeine. Then, when you sleep, you spend 7+ hours without caffeine. When you wake, you feel like crap because your body is in withdrawals from the addictive substance.

Master Baiter is on the right track.

Ditch caffeine (not just coffee - all caffeine) entirely. Improve your diet and get more exercise. Start this system and give it a few weeks. It's amazing what a difference it makes.

note: I'm a night-owl by nature, but I've gotten much better about waking up early in the morning with the above system.

 

I agree with the exercise notion. If I wake up early enough to jog I always have infinitely more energy for the rest of the day. No idea why, I'm not even all that crazy about jogging.

 

Blaze a doob.

Of course you'll be even more tired at first, but wake and bake's the best way to ease into any day. The smooth transition from dreamworld to daydreamworld to realworld is unparalleled. THEN drink your coffee.