What's for Lunch? 5 Foods That Won't Put You to Sleep
You know the feeling: after a hearty "business lunch," you return to the office only to realize that you're staring out the window, having trouble concentrating, and slumping a little in your chair. I'll just rest my eyes for a few quick ...
And then you're out. The post-lunch blahs are awful -- until they're remedied by the post-blah Starbucks. What is one to do?
Try eating these five things for lunch instead.
1. Salad.
A no-brainer. Salad, because it doesn't contain a lot of carbohydrates (lettuce is mostly water) or beefy beefiness, won't put you to sleep. You can even add a little chicken or something in there if you want. But be warned -- that taco "salad" the size of your head from Chevy's is a salad only in the academic sense. Shovel that in your boca and it will be siesta time muy pronto.
2. Breakfast.
Technically, "breakfast" isn't something you should have for lunch, but it's something you should have in the morning. If you skipped breakfast, then a sudden influx of food at lunch will send you down faster than Sonny Liston in a Muhammad Ali factory. It doesn't even have to be much: some fruit, a granola bar, a bowl of cereal.
3. Soup.
It's not too heavy (which causes sleepiness), but it doesn't have to be too light, either. A nice soup will satisfy you for lunch, but isn't so much that you'll be fighting to stay awake later. Skip soups with lots of rice or pasta in them. Why? Because simple carbohydrates get immediately broken down into sugar, and as any three-year-old can tell you, naptime is the inevitable consequence of a sugar rush.
4. Early Lunch.
OK, again, this is technically not a food, but it's a thing you can do. A friend of mine always waited until 1 p.m. to have lunch because that meant there would be fewer hours left in the day than if he ate lunch at noon. But that also means another hour of not eating, increasing the chance of an Ali/Liston fight like we talked about earlier. If you must wait, have some small snacks throughout the morning to tide yourself over.
5. Fresh Food.
Steer clear of fast food or frozen food; that stuff is riddled with fat and sugar, which are the two biggest contributors to sleepy-time. How about some fruits and vegetables? Or, if you must have a sandwich, make it one that's not so bread-heavy, like a pita.
Honorable Mention: Turkey.
Despite what that one episode of "Seinfeld" suggested, no, turkey doesn't contain an overabundance of tryptophan. Why are you so sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner, then? Gee, maybe it's because you just polished off two helpings of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pie, all washed down with two adult beverages? Turkey's a lean meat, so it's actually a pretty good choice. Don't listen to what the shills at Big Beef are telling you.
Related Resources:
- Drowsy after lunch? Don't worry - it's natural (The New York Times)
- Four Reasons Why You Should Bring Lunch to Work (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
- Best Apps to Help Lawyers Eat Right on the Go (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Spend more time developing practice skills and less time advertising. (FindLaw Lawyer Marketing)