Eating to Improve Energy

Feeling Low on Energy?

How many times throughout the day do you find that you have low energy? Do you need that cup of coffee in the morning to function properly? Are you useless in your workout if you don’t have your pre-workout?

Many people find themselves in these situations, and it seems that low energy is something that hits everyone from time to time—if not all the time.

Now, there are many factors involved in energy production, and going over all of them is well beyond the scope of this blog post. So I want to focus on one of the main ones: nutrition.

Here is a list of my top five nutrition tips to help improve your energy:

1. Eat Whole Foods

Whole foods can be described as foods that have one ingredient and either were grown from the ground or had parents. Think of carrots and chicken as examples.

These are the foods that human beings evolved on and what our bodies were designed to eat. They contain not only your macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat), but also micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).

In order to produce energy, you need macronutrients—this is where your calories come from—but you also need micronutrients. Micronutrients help to run the chemical reactions that occur in your body to produce energy.

When you eat foods that are high in macronutrients but low in micronutrients (such as processed foods, which are found in packages and have long ingredient lists), it’s harder for the body to produce energy from those macronutrients.

In the end, you’ll have more energy eating whole foods than you will eating processed foods.

2. Eat a Variety of Colours

This point relates to the previous one in that it helps you get more micronutrients.

The compounds that give fruits and vegetables their various colours are often quite beneficial and can have many positive health effects. Some help with improving your immune function, others provide antioxidants, while others still help with energy production.

Aim to make your plate as colourful as you can at every meal.

3. Find Your Right Balance of Macronutrients

We all have different nutritional needs. Some of us need more protein, some more fat, and others more carbs.

When you get your ratios of protein, fat, and carbs just right for your personal needs, you’ll notice improvement not only in your energy, but also in your hunger, cravings, and mood throughout the day.

The best way to do this is through trial and error coupled with journaling.
Start with a certain ratio (for instance, 30% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 40% fat) and spend a few weeks there. A couple of hours after each meal, journal how your energy, mood, cravings, and hunger are.

You should have good energy and mood, along with no hunger or cravings. If not, you need to adjust your ratio. Be patient—give your body a few weeks to adapt to a new ratio.

💡 Tip: Calculate your ratios using total calories from each macronutrient, not grams.

4. Avoid Sugar/Starch Binges

Yes, we get energy from sugar and starches—but when we binge on either of these, that energy won’t last very long.

You’ll get a spike in blood sugar levels, which gives a quick burst of energy, but then your body secretes insulin, which drives your blood sugar down—making you feel lethargic.

When you do have sugar or starches, try to get them from sources coupled with fiber, fat, and/or protein. This allows the sugar to be absorbed into the bloodstream more slowly, avoiding the spike and crash.

5. Rotate Your Foods

When we constantly eat the same few foods all the time, we greatly increase the risk of becoming intolerant to those foods.

Once you develop a food intolerance, many symptoms can arise from continuing to eat that food—one being a drop in energy.

To avoid developing an intolerance, make sure that you don’t eat any food item every day. Ideally, avoid any particular food for two separate 24-hour periods per week.

A nice goal to strive for is to eat 35 different foods per week. That may sound like a lot, but if you give it a shot, you’ll find it’s very doable.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, you’re able to incorporate some—or all—of these changes into your diet and notice a boost in energy that allows you to get through your whole day with an extra spring in your step.

Coach Carlo

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