How to keep myself awake/focused?

I'm a bit overweight and extremely out of shape but am hoping for a way besides daily exercise to keep my energy levels up for long nights of learning things like coding and 3D modeling.

So far I tried 5 hour energy (extra strength) and while it does the trick it makes me feel very nauseous and sick to my stomach as well as having other negative side effects.

I've read somewhere that vitamin B12 is good for what I want (giving me energy and helping me focus), which 5 hour energy has a lot of, but maybe there is a good alternative (and hopefully a cheap one)?

Also, what are other options for helping myself not be tired all the time? I know exercise but I'm really not motivated to do that so much yet as I am to change my diet or other smaller habits.

Sugary caffeinated drinks are pointless - you'll just end up crashing eventually.

I had a bit of a 'thing' with stimulants back when I was working the bar scene - after I gave them up I used water instead. Supplement that with occasional black coffee with a dash of salt in it, and keep a set of dumbbells handy. Whenever you need to get up and stretch, bust out 50 bicep curls.

This was my preferred way of handling long shifts and study sessions (in the bar we used to do dips instead of curls).

Your mileage may vary, of course.

"

Sugary caffeinated drinks are pointless - you'll just end up crashing eventually.

I had a bit of a 'thing' with stimulants back when I was working the bar scene - after I gave them up I used water instead. Supplement that with occasional black coffee with a dash of salt in it, and keep a set of dumbbells handy. Whenever you need to get up and stretch, bust out 50 bicep curls.

This was my preferred way of handling long shifts and study sessions (in the bar we used to do dips instead of curls).

Your mileage may vary, of course.

I really hate coffee and can't do bicep curls otherwise I'd give it a shot, lol.

After doing a bit more research online I'm going to try taking some B12 vitamins when I want some energy the next time I get into a tutorial or something and see how that helps me.

Although I'm still looking for other suggestions as well as alternatives in case the B12 vitamins don't do the trick.

"

The very best way to help you with stamina will be exercise & a better diet. You can do it, soldier!

Are you speaking from experience?

Coffee works for me :)

I notice a real difference by drinking Red Bull, but would not recommend that often as I'm pretty sure its bad for your health.
Exercise coupled with a good diet is indeed the best, but it should be a slow gradual change, people get a lot of health complications by forcing themselves onto extremes.

You also gotta train your own brain. Do not rush your meals (but dont chew painfully slow either), and look at your food.
It might seem silly but this is important, people often eat more than they should because they have attention on something else.
Its important that you focus on your plate and realize just how much you are eating, if you are looking at the TV you wont be completely sure of the amount you've ingested, you'll be able to trick yourself into thinking you ate less than you should. This is far more common than people would think.
IF eating something that has bones or shells, leave the remains ON YOUR PLATE, so that your eyes can see them and process how much you've eaten correctly.
Leaving the remains on a side plate/bowl that your eyes wont focus on, will cause you to eat more.

One of the first steps is to learn to savour food, not devour it.
Its just as the difference between looking and seeing. Start there.

As you learn to savour food, I trust that you will also learn to eat a bit healthier, you'll be able to accurately understand the flavour of ingredients better, which should lead to more experimentation of recipes, and an overall reduction of salt in your diet. Learn to eat, and learn to listen to your body; Distinguish gluttony from need and the rest should come naturally.

Drink plenty of water and make sure your eating a healthy diet. The worse you eat the harder your body has to work to digest that food which makes you feel more tired.

Also fruit is a great way to spike your insulin levels for a little pick me up. Body builders use this trick after a workout by mixing dextrose in some form into the post working shakes. Really any sugary fruit will do like bananas apples dates or grapes.

Clean up your diet. When you eat healthier foods, you will feel better and have more energy.

If you want to use energy drinks, one of the best I've found is Zipfizz. It's caffeine + vitamins + flavoring.

"

I'm a bit overweight and extremely out of shape but am hoping for a way besides daily exercise to keep my energy levels up for long nights of learning things like coding and 3D modeling.

Keep in mind that you don't actually learn anything while you are awake. You experience all sorts of things, but whether they go into your brain's permanent database is determined by the new neural connections made, broken and cleared away while you are sleeping. Getting a good night's sleep really is important for students.

An awful lot of what we experience is important to get right while we are awake. Swallowing food after chewing rather than inhaling the food into our lungs, for instance. Chewing thoroughly is also important.

Did we chew all meals thoroughly today is probably not something our brains want to put into permanent memory, so that information - like much of the other "noise" in our daily lives is cleared out.

The coding and 3D modeling might be considered "noise" too, unless you find a way to make them important. If you can find a way to make things you are trying to learn memorable (ie important) than you will learn them faster.

Repetition is one of those ways that works for some people, but it can take a lot of time.

Mnemonics work, because they help tie the new information you are trying to learn to something your brain already considers somewhat important (recognized and learned).

Understanding the structure of what you are learning (Inductive)helps some people grasp and remember things.

"Long nights" of coding are probably the opposite of what will net you good results. Some quality sleep, productive learning methods, and lots of practice during the day will be far more productive.

Sometimes the real world doesn't allow that, and the night is the only time you can count on to do what you want (in this case learn coding). I would still recommend caution on burning too much of your sleep time on a regular basis, as your brain will be throwing away a good chunk of what you think you are learning.

The healthy diet and exercise will make all of this easier. You can find ways to study during cardio, and the endorphins the body releases during exercise will help make that learning stronger.

I 've heard good things about cocaine on that department lol :P. On a more serious note, foods with too many carbs, or too many fats will turn you into a zombie for a few hours. Avoid them. When i eat spaghetti or something like burgers for lunch, will usually make me fall short on a few reps on my afternoon work out.