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Energize Yourself Without The Cup o’ Joe

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Jessica Kline
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Hillary Coombs
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bryant chapter.

Coffee just isn’t my thing.  Maybe an iced coffee on a summer day but other than that, I’d rather have some green tea to fulfill my caffeine needs.  I’m more of the green tea kind of girl-I don’t know if that is from my father’s side or just the side of me who doesn’t want to feel weighed down when I drink something that is supposed to make me feel good.   So what is caffeine anyway?  To be precise, it is a natural chemical found in tea leaves, coffee beans, caocao, and cola nuts.  It’s been around for hundreds of years and even today can be found in a lot of the things that humans intake each day—foods, drinks, medicines, etc.  When caffeine is digested into our stomachs, it acts as a stimulant.  Stimulants make us more awake and alert.  But you have to be careful-if you intake it every single day, you may become dependent on it and not be able to form your own bodily stimulants that truly get you through the long day of exams, meetings, and homework.   How do you energize yourself?  Is it the coffee from your Keurig, your venti mocha from Starbucks, or the green tea from the café down the street?  There are, believe it or not, a lot of people who don’t like coffee OR tea…really???  It’s a strange world out there.  Anyhow, for those of you reading this who aren’t a big fan of either drink, here are a few facts and tips I have compiled to really get your energy flowing and even make you second think the things you are already drinking!  So below are a list of great, delicious foods which have some natural energy boosts in it.  This list will help you stay away from coffee, tea, and other caffeine loaded products.

  • Oatmeal
    • Make a great breakfast or afternoon snack
    • Holds a slower digesting source of carbohydrates which will not spark your blood sugar levels but still provides great energy
  • Egg Whites
    • Not only increases your energy but also helps to repair muscles!  It’s great for before and after a workout because of all the protein squeezed into just around 15 calories.
  • Almonds
    • Nuts are great!  Almonds include monounsaturated fats that provide essential fatty acids which produce an alert mental state! 
    • A handful of about twelve nuts can wake you up with just enough energy to get you through that 8am!
  • Salmon
    • High source of protein in this catch of the day, and even a lot of healthy fats.  Healthy fats result in a long lasting energy—salmon and eggs may be just the fix to help you survive that Marketing Conference in Boston next weekend!
  • Yogurt
    • Besides yogurt being great in decreasing overactive yeast in women, it also is rich in magnesium—aka a great energy boost!
  • Fruit
    • Fruit is an awesome source of carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.  How can that not be good for you? 
    • Don’t forget, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but if the doctor is cute?  Well screw the fruit!  Nah, keep the fruit it’ll be a nice ending to any meal!
  • Popcorn
    • No, not the movie-butter kind.  Popcorn, well the low-fat kind, has a lot of fiber. 
    • Fiber is a great fuel for your body to get you going and help you listen thoroughly through your meeting or lecture.

 Information/pictures referenced from:
http://workawesome.com/productivity/natural-energy-foods/
http://slimming-tips.net/foods-nutrition/healthy-foods
http://weheartit.com/entry/27013381
http://weheartit.com/entry/25815719

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Jessica is a senior at Bryant University where she is majoring in management and double minoring in marketing and communication.  She holds the position as Editor-In-Chief of Her Campus Bryant and was actually one of the first founding members!  Beyond Her Campus Bryant, she is the Vice President of the Bryant Marketing Association and a MyPath Mentor.  She loves working at the Amica Center for Career Education where she manages their marketing and social media efforts but also enjoys her time at the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership and the school's bookstore. When at home in Connecticut, she loves to watch movies with her family, play with her dog, have bonfires with friends, sleepovers with her sister, and scrapbook! Jessica aspires to one day manage her own department of a fortune 500 company, or even run her own company with a little bit of writing on the side!  Upon graduating this coming May, she will jump-start her career at EMC as a Marketing Development Associate in the Marketing Development Program.
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Hillary Coombs is a junior at Bryant University studying International Business and Marketing minoring in Chinese and Spanish. She works during the summers at Westminster Tool blogging and updating all social media accounts as well as interning in the International Affairs office. During the fall of 2012, Hillary studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain where she held a marketing internship and perfected her Spanish language. At Bryant, she works in the Office of Planning and Institutional Research gathering crucial university data and presenting it through documents to the President, Deans, and other faculty members of Bryant University. Aside from working and studying Hillary is a member of the Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority and Omicorn Delta Kappa. Hillary finds peace of mind staying active and running in local 5K races.