Boost Your Energy – the Natural Way!

Applesauce isn't just for kids. A 4-oz. serving of unsweetened applesauce or pineapple contains just 15g of carbohydrate, a few calories, no fat or cholesterol, and very little sodium. This snack will satisfy your hunger between meals. (60 calories)
— Registered dietitian Linda Delahanty, co-author of Beating Diabetes.

-Drink a cup of ginseng tea. -Eat some guarana herb. -If you're sleepy, pop a mint. The odor activates the trigeminal nerve, which sends wake-up signals to the brain. You can become alert in just two minutes.

A ½ cup of of baked sweet potato chips is loaded with the fiber that will help you feel full and balance blood sugar and your mood. (98 calories)
— New York City-based clinical nutritionist Robert Pastore, Ph.D.

For a quick getaway from stress, meditate. People who follow this practice, which involves quietly observing your thoughts, are happier, calmer and more focused than people who don't. They're also less likely to suffer from draining conditions like headaches, anxiety attacks and PMS. See our meditation for beginners guide to breathe your way to bliss, or our yoga guide to stretch away stress.

Experts stress the bed Is for sleep and sex only. The TV, computer, and phone should be in other parts of the house to make sure your room is a calm place for sleeping. Caffeine, smoking, and alcohol are sleep killers. To get into sleep mode, lower the thermostat by 2 or 3 degrees to mimic the ways our bodies cool off during sleep so you can drift off quickly.

Know someone who always expects the best to happen? You may want to follow her lead: Glass-half-full people not only bubble over with energy and enthusiasm, but they also have healthier hearts and tend to live longer than the rest of us, according to a new Dutch study. Click over to the next 4 slides to see the rest of our tips on optimism.

If you dread giving a big presentation or going to a party, try a trick used by athletes: Visualize the whole event going fantastically from start to finish. Use all five senses to get a really in-depth picture. You'll be amazed at how much more confident you'll feel.

Take your three most self-defeating thoughts and write the opposite on small pieces of paper. If you think, I'll never have a great career, write, "I will be unbelievably successful." Post the notes everywhere, and repeat them as mantras whenever you see them.

When something goes wrong, look at the whole situation and ask yourself, What went wrong here? What can I learn from this and improve on next time? Don't think, The universe hates me. The universe has better things to do.

Are you really as unlucky/unloved/unattractive as you think you are? Get a friend to provide you with an "alternate reality," listing everything that's right with you. You may be surprised at how wrong your thoughts were.