Avoid the 3pm Meltdown!

You know how it goes. You’ve had a stellar day at work. You arrived at the office early, got a jump start on the day and worked your tail off. Simon Lovell from www.thelunchboxdiet.com reports...

You probably didn’t even notice the time flying by until a familiar feeling set in: fatigue! The clock strikes 3 p.m. and you’re sluggish and starving. Oops! You sacrificed eating for the sake of productivity and now the only thing that will save you is that vending machine in the break room.

What are your choices? Unless you are lucky enough to have a refrigerated vending machine updated with fresh and healthy choices daily, your choices range from sugar to fat to more sugar and fat. So you choose the sugar and fat that has a few peanuts in it and hope for the best. When that doesn’t work, you suck down a cup of coffee, prop your eyes open with toothpicks and hope 5:00 comes quickly. Whereby, you head for home and eat the contents of your refrigerator.

Where did you go wrong? You were having such a productive day! It’s difficult to make time for everything and your body is usually the first sacrifice made. How then, can you avoid the 3:00 meltdown? Should you have a bigger breakfast? A huge lunch? Should you tell your boss to forget about the deadline because you need to go hunt down a healthy place to have lunch? No, no and no.

Breakfast is an important meal, but that doesn’t mean you should have a rib-sticking breakfast and hope it sustains you for the day. Quite often, a big breakfast will only weigh you down and though you may feel full for the morning, it won’t help you avoid afternoon fatigue.

Having a huge lunch is not a good solution either. It’s the same principle. You’ll feel bloated and full and all you’ll want to do is curl up and take a nap at your desk. Not such a good practice if you want that promotion!

A healthy lunch is better, but let’s face facts, how many places offer a healthy meal that isn’t too big or too small and doesn’t have some sort of hidden calories. The calories in most salad dressings are unreal!

Time is another factor. The days of the hour long lunch are over. Whatever you eat, you better be able to eat it in 15 minutes or expect your head to be on the chop block, or worse yet, stuck in that cubical the rest of your life.

So what are you supposed to do? Eating frequently (otherwise known as grazing) throughout the day will keep your body nourished and your metabolism high. You’ll be at peak performance. To do this, you need to plan ahead. When grazing, each bite should count, so avoiding empty calorie foods is very important.

Also, don’t forget to get plenty of fluids, especially if you’re a caffeine addict. Caffeine has a diuretic effect on the water and pushes a lot of fluid out. You need to maintain your hydration levels in order to feel your best. Water, decaf or herbal tea, and low-sugar sports drinks are best.

By using The Lunch Box Diet you’ll sustain your energy levels throughout the day, you’ll avoid the afternoon slump… that 3:00 meltdown. You’ll also leave work feeling pretty good allowing the energy you need to enjoy the rest of your life beyond the office.

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