Fuel your body for sustained energy
High Energy Fuelling - Fuel Your Body and Brain
Your nutritional habits can powerfully influence your mood, your energy levels and your performance. Its time to start thinking of food as your fuel and you’ll find that if you eat the right foods for you, they can keep you alert and you can learn to avoid most energy slumps. Here are some tips on what food and drink to consume and when in order to sustain your energy levels throughout the day.
1. Always eat breakfast – the body wants to be energised when it awakens so eating breakfast gives your body a jump-start and gets your metabolism going. Food is fuel for the body and the brain. The brain works on two things: oxygen and glucose; so with no glucose (breakfast) you will function cognitively way below your best.
2. Avoid high sugary foods – consuming sugary foods causes a rise in blood sugar level, which leads to an energy jolt, but it is not long lasting because your body metabolises it quickly. The energy rise will rapidly be followed by an energy slump. Eating refined foods is akin to throwing a piece of paper onto a fire and expecting it to provide a long-term source of energy, however you actually need a coal or log to burn slowly and steadily.
3. Choose low glycemic index foods – the glycemic index is a measure of the time it takes for the energy in a food to be released and made available in the body. Low GI choices will give you sustained and steady energy release and is likely to leave you feeling satiated for a number of hours. High GI foods are likely to give you a burst of energy and then leave you feeling hungry.
4. Combine carbohydrates and protein – planning meals and snacks that combine protein and carbohydrates such as peanut butter or cheese on wholemeal toast or natural yoghurt and fresh fruit, these will give you a good balance of low and high GI foods. The carbohydrates in the bread or the fruit will give the more immediate energy boost, while the protein (in the cheese, peanut butter or yoghurt) will have real staying power as your body uses its energy over time.
5. Eat regularly – 3 smaller meals a day plus strategic snacking – by eating little and often you will keep you blood sugar levels constant and hence your energy levels constant. Missing a meal means that you’ll be more likely to indulge in mindless snacking, in larger portions and overeating, all of which can zap your energy. Our brain’s functions better on small meals and snacks every 2 ½ to 3 hours.
6. Avoid high fatty foods – if you eat a high fat, large heavy meal you will feel bloated and sluggish afterwards. Food that is high in fat content will be harder to break down than a low fat option. Your digestion will also slow down considerably, placing another strain on your energy levels.
7. Stay hydrated – drink little and often. If you force your body to function without giving it enough water, it cannot perform to its highest level. Aim to drink around 2-2.5 litres of liquid a day or the equivalent of four 500ml bottles of water per day. Herbal and fruit teas and fruit juice all count towards this total. Our bodies are made of around 60% water and need it for both mental and physical functions. Don’t wait until you are thirsty, by then you’re already starting to dehydrate.
8. Drink alcohol in moderation – alcohol is a diuretic and therefore has no hydration affect at all. It acts as a sedative and slows the central nervous system. Just one drink after a night of poor sleep can cause your energy to plummet, especially during periods of low energy like late afternoon or late evening. Alcohol also destroys our delta (restorative) sleep, so be careful of using alcohol to help fall asleep.
9. Follow the 80/20 rule – don’t be so strict that you don’t give yourself a break sometimes. Eat really well 80% of the time and then you can stray from the ideal 20% of the time.
10. Limit your intake of high caffeine foods/drinks – drinks that contain caffeine (such as tea, coffee, cola) can act as diuretics, which means that they can make your body lose greater volumes of water than usual. A small amount (2-4 cups of coffee per day) can be hydrating because you are consuming liquid but with larger volumes the net effect is generally dehydrating. Caffeine also heightens the roller coaster effect of blood sugar swings, producing a quick high after a morning cup of coffee followed by a downturn later in the afternoon.
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