1. Don’t go hungry – keep your blood sugar from getting too low and sustain your energy. If you don’t eat between meals now this might be causing your blood sugar to drop. Eat three moderate meals and two small snacks.
Foods: Banana (medium 95 calories, 3g fibre), two satsumas (medium 50 calories, 2g fibre), handful of raisins (75 calories, 3.5g fibre), handful of mixed nuts and fruit (130 calories, 1.2g fibre). Moderate GI and filling because of fibre content. | | |
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2. Don’t go thirsty – dehydration is a real downer. You can feel tired, headachy and light headed and unable to focus. It also increases your heart rate and breathing rate.
Drink : 1.5 to 2 litres of water, add cubed limes, oranges and lemons to water. (these are great frozen) |
3. Don’t forget your protein at lunch – having some high quality protein at lunch is important. Chicken, smoked fish, bean salad or lower fat cheese will help you avoid the slump in the afternoon. Too many carbs can cause you to get sleepy because they increase serotonin levels and doziness.
You need to focus on low Gi carbs – pasta salad or rice and bean salads.
(When nutrient-deficient processed carbohydrates such as sugar, sweets or white-flour products are eaten, blood sugar rises quickly. The pancreas responds to high blood sugar by oversecreting a hormone called insulin, which causes blood sugar to drop too low. The adrenals perceive low blood sugar as a major stress -- the body is, after all, running out of fuel for energy -- so the adrenals respond to this situation by releasing the stress hormones adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol into the bloodstream to raise blood sugar.)
Foods : bean salad or a greek salad with feta or goats cheese. |
4. Don’t forget vital nutrients for energy
Iron – It’s a good idea to include red meat 3 times a week. This will ensure you are getting enough iron to prevent iron deficient anaemia. Dried fruit snacks are another good source of iron, eggs, green veg, liver, seeds and wheat bran.
Foods : liver is an excellent source of iron and vitamins.
B vitamins
Needed for converting food into energy, essential for making red blood cells which carry oxygen around the body to the cells where energy is made – marmite, liver, brown rice, green leafy veg and eggs.
Pantothenic acid
Water soluble vitamin B5. Needed to break down proteins, carbs and fats. – liver, kidney, eggs, mushrooms, dried nuts and seeds.
Foods : green leafy veg, eggs, mushrooms. |
| 5 Use Supplements intelligently. A balanced, nutrient-dense diet can go a long way toward improving energy but you can use nutrient supplements to provide additional support and prevent deficiencies. |
6. Avoid alcohol, caffeine containing drinks like coffee and colas.
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