Some types of foods like coffee or eggs will wake you up and make you feel energized, which is why they are popular foods during breakfast. However, other types of foods will not have the energizing effects that you might expect. While they may seem as though they are healthy foods, they actually have the potential to make you feel sluggish.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is generally thought to be very healthy for you. After all, it is considered a good breakfast meal because it supposed to energize you. However, it can actually make you tired if you do not eat it right. If you add ingredients to your oatmeal including maple syrup or if you choose packets of instant oatmeal, then all the added sugar will only give you a super short burst of energy. After the brief spike in blood sugar energizes you for a small amount of time, you will start to crash quickly.

You may not like the taste of oatmeal without all the added sweeteners, but these refined sweeteners and processed sugars do not make for a particularly healthy breakfast. You might want to eat it before bed instead if you are having difficulty sleeping. If you really like your morning bowl of oatmeal, then use healthier toppings like peanut butters, nuts, or chia seeds. You can also add some fresh fruits to your oatmeal to make it a little bit sweeter. Even though fruits can have plenty of sugar, the sugar in fruits is not processed, so it will not tire you out the way that maple syrup will.

Nuts

There is no denying that nuts are extremely healthy for you. One tiny nut is usually packed with healthy nutrients including proteins, fibers, and the healthy types of fats. They are a great replacement for all the crunchy snacks that you have to give up on a diet like potato chips. Additionally, nuts are pretty versatile. You can eat them plain, mix them into a salad, or use as a topping for a meal. However, nuts do come with a few setbacks.

Nuts are really easy to overeat. It may not seem impossible to eat too much of something that is so healthy, but the fat in nuts can tax your digestive system. Even though it is the healthy type of fat that your body actually needs, your body can still respond poorly to too much of this fat. It can tire out your digestive system and it can also tire out the rest of your body because, enough nuts, can cause you to release sleep inducing hormones. These sleep hormones can obviously be helpful at night, but you do not want them coursing through your body in the middle of the day. Therefore, you should try to control your portion sizes. You can also eat nuts with some other type of healthy food that will fill you up quickly.

Yogurt

Some types of yogurts are undoubtedly healthy for you because they contain many proteins and beneficial probiotics, but plenty of other types of yogurts are actually a lot like ice cream. If you think your yogurt is a little too similar to ice cream, then you might want to stick to eating cottage cheese for breakfast instead, which has many of the benefits of yogurt without all the processed ingredients. Too many types of yogurts contain about as much sugar as your average chocolate bar.

Additionally, you should not fall for labels including “fat free” or “organic”. These labels do not make your yogurt any less sugary. In fact, fat free yogurt has a good chance of containing even more sugar than a normal container of yogurt. All this extra processed sugar can weigh you down and make you feel super sluggish. The best type of yogurt will be plain yogurt that has no added flavoring. If you feel as though need flavor in your yogurt, then you should add a couple of fresh fruits or nuts. It may be no surprise that plain Greek yogurt is the type of yogurt you should stick to. It contains proteins that can prevent the blood sugar spikes that can make you crash.

Red Wine

You may have heard that a drinking glass of red wine daily as some sort of health benefit. The science behind how healthy red wine can be is rather compelling because red wine does contain important antioxidants. However, red wine is definitely best to avoid it if you want to stay adequately energized. Red wine can throw off your circadian rhythm. It will probably take a little bit of time before you feel the effects. However, the day after drinking a glass of red wine will probably be a very tiring day. It is not just a hangover that is causing you to feel fatigue. Even if you do not drink enough alcohol in order to feel hungover, your body may still feel pretty drained.

Additionally, while red wine can help you fall asleep faster, it will not give you the restorative sleep cycle that you need in order to feel invigorated the next day. You will probably wake up throughout the night and have more difficulty falling asleep again. It also does not help that alcohol can dehydrate you. If anything, the dehydration can cause you to feel even more tired. Therefore, if you are drinking red wine for its health benefits, then you should keep in mind that it can also cause exhaustion.

If you need a burst of energy for your day, then you want to make sure that you do not rely on sugar highs. Even the healthiest foods have a lot more sugar than you think, so you definitely want to try to eat these healthy foods with less sugar than average. Instead of sugar, you will likely need proteins, fibers, and maybe even a little bit of caffeine in the morning. You also want to avoid foods that can induce sleep or throw off your sleep cycle.