High Energy Diet
If you feel you need an injection of energy around 4 o’clock in the afternoon don’t reach for chocolates or biscuits. Although chocolate tastes good and it contains a substance called phenylethylamine that puts many people in a good mood, it won’t give you instant energy. In fact chocolate contains so much fat (28g of fat per 100g of chocolate) that it takes hours to digest. Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton says that there are much better ways of boosting your energy levels.
Eat breakfast so that your metabolism revs into gear and you start burning up kilojoules to power the body. You might feel that you can’t face food first thing in the morning, but the sooner you eat something, the better your body will operate. Rosemary suggests:
a smoothie made with low-fat milk, a banana or some rockmelon, a dollop of yoghurt, honey, and a spoonful of wheatgerm for extra nutrition toast with sliced tomato a fresh bread roll (perhaps bought at a hot bread shop on the way to work) eaten with a banana, a carton of yoghurt, or rye or wholegrain crackers with light cream cheese and honey
Eat fruit or bread between meals and try to have it about half an hour before your energy levels usually drop.
Have lunch but make it light, or you’ll want to sleep all afternoon. You could have pita bread with chicken and salad, a sandwich or roll with plenty of salad and some salmon, or a salad and some good bread.
Drink plenty of water. We need a minimum of 6 to 8 glasses a day but much more in hot weather. Loss of energy is often caused by partial dehydration.
Exercise will stimulate your hunger mechanism and get your metabolism going. Swim, walk or even bounce on a trampoline for 15 minutes. You might think you’re too busy to exercise, but you’ll more than make up for lost time by greater productivity.
Get enough, but not too much sleep. Most people need 7 or 8 hours a night, but more than that doesn’t help.