What should I be taking or eating for more energy?
February 4, 2021
Written By: Nutrition Coach Mairead Ever feel like you're dragging a bit and wondering if there's something specific you should be eating to have more energy? What about whether you should take a certain supplement to boost your energy? This is such a common question I get from clients and for good reason - we're all tired!
Between being busy, looking after others, and trying to stay active ourselves, most of us have a lot on our plate and want to have the energy to take it all on.
There are certain nutrients that can cause fatigue if we're low in them. To find out if you have a deficiency, the best option is to get blood work done and go over the results with your doctor. They'll let you know if there's something you're missing that needs a supplement!
If you don't have a specific deficiency and are wondering what else you can do, here's some questions to ask yourself:
Am I getting enough sleep consistently?
Am I eating enough overall?
Am I eating consistently throughout the day?
Am I taking in a balance of carbs, protein and fat?
Am I ever choosing caffeine when I might actually need to eat?
Did you say "no" to any of those questions? That's where to start!
If we're not sleeping enough, there's no food or supplement that will fully make up for that. While there are lots of times when quality sleep might not be possible, aim to do the best you can, when you can. If we're not eating enough overall, our energy levels will be low. We literally get energy from food! If you're always trying to eat as little as possible for weight loss, you run the risk of not getting in enough energy.
Not sure if you're eating enough? That's the time to touch base with a dietitian!
Do you often go more than 3 or 4 hours without eating? That can lead our energy to be inconsistent throughout the day. Try eating more consistently and see if your energy improves. If you tend to limit or boost one macronutrient over another, our energy can drop. Aim to include a combination of all three - carbs, protein and fat - at your meals and snacks to help your energy last longer and avoid crashing within an hour or two.
If you frequently find yourself grabbing a coffee at meals instead of taking in a real meal, there's no way you're getting enough energy from food - caffeine is great but it only lasts so long before we need more.
Look at your day and see if you usually lean on caffeine when your energy drops.
Having a balanced snack and some water might help you feel more clear-headed and keep your energy consistent.
Try some of these strategies and see if your energy gets better! If you make any of these changes, share it on social media and tag Degree Fitness Seaforth!
Still looking for more nutrition answers? Talk to a dietitian for evidence-based advice personalized for you! Virtual Nutrition Consultations are still going, and we are looking for 2 people to join On-Going Nutrition Coaching! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com
for more info!
Struggling with cravings? Check out our new "Conquer Your Cravings" e-book for real advice to help you eat better and take control of your health. Click here to download yours!
Written By: Mairead, Registered Dietitian Nutrition labels can be confusing! But they're on packaging to help you know more about your food so you can make choices that align with your health and fitness goals. Grab your nearest food label. On the black and white Nutrition Facts table, you'll see a list of nutrients with values beside them. For most of them, there will be an amount in grams or milligrams listed on the left and a percentage over on the right hand side. That percentage can help give us context! As you'll see listed in teeny writing at the bottom of the table, 5% is a little, 15% is a lot. This means that if there's a nutrient we want more of, like fibre, we want that percentage to be higher, ideally towards 15% or more. If there's a nutrient we want less of, we want it to be closer to 5%. For most normal healthy people, we want to have less sodium (salt), sugar, and saturated fat, while including more fibre. There may also be times when you want to focus on a specific vitamin or mineral, like iron or calcium. These are also listed with a percentage and can be used the same way. A key part of label reading is knowing what is most important for you. For many food categories, you can't prioritize everything. There may not be one product that is the lowest in saturated fat AND the lowest in sodium AND the highest in fibre AND has the most protein AND has the most iron ... the list could go on. But if you can narrow it down to a couple things that matter most for your health and fitness goals, you can start making choices based on food labels, without all the overwhelm. Check out your food labels, use the percentages, and make choices that fit with your goals! Looking for more personalized nutrition advice? Let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com for more information about our Nutrition Programs, or click HERE to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!
Written By: Mairead, Registered Dietitian Snacking causes a lot of worry for many people! Is snacking bad? When should we be snacking? What's the best snack? Snacking itself isn't a bad habit, unless it's not aligned with your health and fitness goals. Snacks can actually do a lot of good to keep our energy levels up throughout the day and help meet our nutrition needs. Let's check out four ways you can improve your snacking habits! 1. Think about why! If you're concerned about whether your snacks are a problem, it's worth thinking about why you're snacking. Are you hungry between meals? Do you need some fuel before or after a workout? Are you bored at work in the afternoon or need a pick-me-up? Do you need something to do with your hands while watching tv? Are you starving at the end of the day when you get home before you have a chance to make dinner? Snacks serve lots of purposes, from keeping our energy stable during the day, to meeting emotional needs. If you don't feel good about why you're snacking, it might be time to find some other way to meet that need. 2. Plan for your snacks! Often, we may know we need a snack, but not be able to make a healthy choice about it because we're too busy or just too hungry. A little planning goes a long way! Planning ahead for these times can help us make choices that align with our goals, and have something at the ready before we're too hungry to make that healthy choice. Pack a snack or have one at the ready during the times of day or situations when you know you'll need it. 3. Make them satisfying! If a snack isn't satisfying, we'll be reaching for something else soon. For longer lasting energy, choose snacks that have a combination of protein and carbs. This might include yogurt with berries, a higher protein granola bar, crackers and veggies with hummus, or even a couple handfuls of trail mix. If you find yourself finishing your snack without even noticing what you've eaten, try taking a minute to eat more mindfully and focus on your food. This will help you feel more satisfied with it! 4. Fill your nutrition gaps! Snacks are another opportunity to add nutrition to your day. Are there specific foods you're trying to add more of to your diet? Are there nutrients you feel you may be lacking? Use snacks as a way to add these in. If you're concerned about protein, try adding canned tuna, hardboiled eggs, or Greek yogurt to your snacks. If you feel you're lacking vegetables or fruit, include at least one in your snack. If you're trying to include more plant-based proteins, lean on bean-based dips or try roasted chickpeas. The options are endless! Remember, snacking isn't good or bad, and can serve a lot of different purposes. Try using these tips to help your snacking align better with your health and fitness goals! Looking for more personalized nutrition advice? Let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com for more information about our Nutrition Programs, or click HERE to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!
Written By: Mairead, Registered Dietitian As a Dietitian, I work with a lot of different people. One common thread is that we talk about excuses. So many people come in to a nutrition consultation and tell me about their challenges with nutrition and fitness, and then follow it up by saying something along the lines of "I know these are just excuses, I can do better". The things we often consider excuses can include having a busy job and a busy family life. Working weird hours. Struggling with the cost of groceries. Caring for loved ones. Managing health concerns, chronic diseases, or injuries. The list goes on. For my nutrition clients, I rarely consider any of these things to be excuses. It's not an excuse that you can't eat well because you work long hours and then take your kids to their sports practices - these are very real reasons why you're struggling to make healthy choices. It's not an excuse if you work nights and need to get some sleep so you didn't make it to the gym - it's as aspect of your life that makes getting enough exercise challenging. Think about the things you might consider to be your excuses for not "doing better" with your health and fitness. Are they really just parts of your life or the season you're currently in? None of these things should be making you feel bad or like you're making excuses. But on the flip side, these reasons also don't mean we need to throw in the towel on our goals entirely. They mean we might need to get a bit creative, decide what's really important to us right now, and ask for help when we need it! Instead of feeling bad about your "excuses" that aren't really excuses, it might be time to find some new ideas. Working with a Dietitian can be a great way to figure out what's actually important in your health and fitness goals, and come up with some new ideas to get you there. There are always steps we can take in the right direction to move past those "excuses" and work together for a happier and healthier you! Looking for more personalized nutrition advice? Let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com for more information about our Nutrition Programs, or click HERE to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!