It’s been 10 days since my precious little boy was born. Still can’t get over the fact that 9 months flew by so quick, and that my life is completely changing, for the better of course!

My body and mind are finally starting to adjust to his roller coaster ride feeding schedule, but there’s obviously that “new parent” learning curve. A learning curve that threw me off my game and forced me to compromise on the three basic components of staying in great shape: eating well, fitting regular exercise into your lifestyle, and getting adequate rest.

Here are a few tips for new parents like myself, or for those of you who are working ungodly shifts in the wee hours that will help keep you sane and prevent you from dragging your feet.

More Energy Now…Please!

Have more protein rich snacks readily available – instead of reaching for the “Sanka” (who drinks that anyway, lol! – oops, lost focus for a second), have your favorite low-fat cheese,  all-natural beef jerky (my favorite is from Trader Joe’s), or your favorite mixed nuts or trail mix.  If you reach for the trail-mix just make sure to get one with the least amount of dried fruit.  You want protein to be the dominant nutrient because it stabilizes your blood sugar levels to help your body stave off fatigue.  A good jolt of protein also helps to release dopamine, a feel good neurotransmiter that keeps you alert.  To receive the fatigue fighting abilities of protein-rich foods you’ll also need to cut back on combining them with refined carbs such as juices, crackers, or white bread.

Let the H2o flow! – Yeah, Yeah, this is one of those tips that’s been tooted over and over, but if you’re seriously low on energy you’ll need to put your hydration levels in check.  Poor hydration basically slows everything down from a cellular level.  Your inner “pink energizer bunny who wears his sunglasses at night” will get his $100 Ray Bans smashed in by the headache hammer.  So drink more water, or you better go buy some Ray Ban knockoffs to keep up!

Try this one-minute ab circuit - sometimes you just need a good adrenaline rush, get the blood flowing, especially with an exercise complex that makes you think about how to do it.  I don’t exactly have a name for this exercise since it’s a combination of two exercises.  Start from a plank position, transition into a pushup position, then perform either a spiderman pushup or a modified mountain climber.  Watch the video below for the sequence.  If you need to modify from the pushup into the mountain climber simply eliminate the pushup portion and simply pull same side knee towards same side elbow.  Keep your abs braced at all times during this circuit.  Do as many as you can with good form for one minute.

“HA” breathing – this is a meditative breathing exercise that I learned a few years ago.  I like it because it’s straight to the point.  None of that complicated yoga-esque meditative breathing that requires incense burning in the background and has you attempt to part your nose hairs all to the left in order to get it right – end sarcasm.  Ok, seriously though, “HA” breathing is an ancient Hawaiian Huna meditative tradition.  You breath deeply through your nose focusing on expanding your diaphragm, pause for a second, and then exhale slowly through the mouth, making the sound “HA” as you exhale.  Keep the “HA” soft and drawn out.  That’s it, simple!  Some studies suggest that proper meditative breathing and meditation for 10-20 minutes can be equivalent to one hour of sleep.  Maybe so, but I simply like to use it to re-energize and to further oxygenate my body, and to de-stress.

The Comedy Trick – Often times a good energy boost can come from watching a funny flick to get those feel-good endorphins to kick in. Just the past two days my wife and I watched the latest Ice Age movie and The Proposal. It helped take the stress off big time.

These tips aren’t the latest and greatest energy boosters, but different avenues to reduce the stress on your body and your mind. Doing that will help decrease the stress hormone cortisol, and re-ignite the feel good energy producing hormones that will help you get more done when you’re running low on sleep.

Figure out what foods and activities help you de-stress. Your body and your mind will thank you for it.

- Rommel

PS…I’d love to hear about the strategies that have worked for you in boosting your energy levels. Please share in the comments section below.