When people first think about energy, what do you think about? By definition it is the ability to do work. Energy is required for pretty much everything, but obviously I am sticking to us; people. To be more specific, I wanted to talk about the body’s energy system. I figure that it is the best way to start off. At the beginning.
Our body requires nutrients that we get from food to convert to energy, simply put. This means that you want to eat as many nutrients as possible per meal to maximize the amount of energy your body can extract. Our body not only relies on nutrients from food, but a whole lot of other factors can be included. I have listed a few below:
Eat foods with Magnesium
Did you know that magnesium helps your body to break down glucose to energy? Our body requires 300-350 milligrams of magnesium per day, so if you are eating a balanced diet and still find yourself tired all the time, try increasing your intake and pay attention to the results.
Skip the processed sugar in the afternoon
If you find yourself getting sleepy around 2-3pm, reach instead for something with a little more fiber. I prefer nuts personally, or if you are going to reach for the fruit, pair it with some fiber to avoid that insulin spike which inevitably leads to the crash.
Try to avoid starchy carbs at lunch
This means bread mainly, but white potatoes are included too. Ever notice that when you eat fast food for lunch, you get that tired feeling afterwards that makes you feel like you need a nap? This is because it is so nutrient deficient that our body isn’t able to convert anything to energy. The bread gets converted to sugar which spikes our energy level, but then leads to the crash.
Drink More Water
In simplest terms, divide your body weight in half. Let’s say you weigh 150lbs. Your body would need 75 ounces of water per day. Convert that to cups and you have 9.4 cups of water per day. Now, if you are exercising, then you would need more but for simple terms, let’s just start here.
Move your body
Sometimes a good stretch may be just what your body needs. My favourite stretches are trying to touch my toes, or in my case, putting the base of my palms on the floor, and reach for the ceiling, grab one wrist with the other and pull slightly and repeat on the other side. Breathe deeply and relax. There are so many amazing stretches online if you search desk stretches too. They don’t take long, you don’t look silly and they feel great. Google it.
Get more Vitamin D
During these dark winter months, us northern folk struggle to get our daily Vitamin D dose. Vitamin D is a nutrient that helps your body absorb calcium. These 2 work together to help you maintain healthy bones and teeth. Obviously important right? So, Vitamin D can be obtained from a very select few foods, but the best way to get Vitamin D in the summer months, is to spend about 10 minutes a day outside. Easy to say in the summer months, but in the winter, I recommend taking a supplement. I rarely support supplements and would rather get my nutrients from food, but Vitamin D is one of my only exceptions.
I have been eating clean for almost a year now, barely eat gluten, processed foods, refined sugars or dairy and I can honestly say that I don’t get that 3pm crash anymore. Even if I have been staring at my screen or sitting at my desk all day. Mind you, I rarely have days where I am sitting for prolonged periods, so that may have something to do with it.
But, I also will tell you that I eat clean yes, but I have cheat days and cheat meals and will absolutely grab a donut at the office if they are staring at me next to the coffee machine. But, I don’t regret it. I don’t even feel guilty about it if I grab more than 1. Why? Because everything in moderation. Having a donut or a sugary snack around the office, doesn’t really mess up my eating habits. Because they are exactly that. Habits. I have ingrained them into my lifestyle so that we don’t have any processed stuff lying around the house and we make sure to cook regularly. When we meal prep, I ensure to include multiple food groups, healthy fats and like I mentioned at the beginning, maximize the amount of nutrients you are putting into your body on any given day. There are quite a lot of foods that are so nutrient dense, that I eat them daily. And, they taste good. But, I will save all that for next month. That’s Nutrition month.
