How to have energy all day!
Here are 6 tips to have energy all day. If you like this, then you will love my podcast episode on nutrition and emotional intelligence.
Eat low glycemic foods
The glycemic index is a measure of how quickly a food raises your blood sugar. If you have never paid attention to your diet, chances are you eat high glycemic food most of the times. White bread, white rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals and sweetened yoghurts are all high glycemic foods. What’s the problem if it causes blood sugar to spike? Issue is the equally bad crash that follows. So you might start with high energy but end up in a slump.
Replace sugary and white foods with complex carbohydrates like quinoa (my favourite), beans, sweet potato, lentils, chickpea, most fruits, and vegetables. All of these will cause a steady and sustained rise in blood sugar and will keep you going for hours.
Eat fruits after every meal
We feel the most dull after meals. Especially after large fatty meals (think pizza or steak). This dullness even has a name — postprandial somnolence. There are many reasons why this occurs but one culprit is that the post meal state is an oxidative state. This is the state that precedes inflammation which precedes various illnesses.
Taking antioxidants fights oxidative stress, especially so after meals. The best way in my view is eating fruits. Almost all fruits provide antioxidants, they taste delicious, and also provide low glycemic sugars. Stock up on those bananas and kiwi-fruits!
Take your vitamins
While we should aim to get most nutrients through diet, it is hard to get them all every single day. Besides, some nutrients are not available in any foods, and others are depleting due to deteriorating quality of our soil.
I usually take a multivitamin for that extra energy boost during the day. At the very least, ensure you get some vitmain D and B12 regularly. Check out Michael Greger’s recommendations for more information.
Eat healthy fats
Fats are good and necessary parts of our diet. But unhealthy fats like cheese, butter, and oils can make you really sleepy. Besides they come with a whole bunch of health consequences. On the other hand, healthy fats like nuts, seeds, nut butter, avocado, can give you a sustained long release of energy. You get about twice as much energy from fats as from carbs and protein, so munch on those nuts all day!
Stop that self-hate
“I’m not good enough”, “I will fail that test”, “What if she does not like me” are all examples of self-hate. You’ll be surprised how much of our energy goes in the service of self hate. So stop it. Easier said than done of course. Thankfully, I have an entire podcast dedicated for our emotional health. Check out these episodes for stopping the self hate:
UE #23: Worth comes from birth
UE #21: Meet your inner critic
UE #22: How to soothe your inner critic
Avoid processed foods
Processed foods are curated for taste, and more often than not they have unhealthy amounts of salt, sugar, fat. They may feel good in the moment but can be a major energy suck!