Ingredient 2 - Fueling my body well.
In addition to having something to focus on, I also feel strongly that I need to eat properly in order to have as much energy as possible. I believe that much of what we eat actually works against our bodies rather than with it. In other words our bodies find it very hard to digest certain foods and at the same time don’t offer much nutrition.
Since reviewing my eating habits almost 2 years ago, I have dramatically increased my energy levels, minimised the number of headaches I am getting and feel now that the vast majority of the food I eat, serves to give me energy and not work against my body to take energy from me.
I am not on a diet. I have not restricted anything from eating routines however I do now make more informed conscious decisions about what I eat. Some of the key things I do now that I find have really helped are.
1. Drink a glass of water before I get out of bed in the morning to help counteract any toxicity that would have built up in my body when I was sleeping.
2. Eat a very substantial breakfast which is normally a large bowl of weetabix with rice dream (not milk) or porridge with banana or apple & cinnemon plus homemade brown bread with jam and peanut butter or poached egg.
3. I now have 2 smaller mid day meals rather than 1 big lunch. 1 meal will be a large bowl of salad - lettuce, smoked salmon / tuna, black olives, feta cheese, spring onion, tomato, cucumber, cous-cous. The second meal will be soup and brown bread or soya yogurt.
4. I have pretty much cut out dairy completely which I believe has resulted in my sinuses unblocking and being able to breath a lot easier. Milk is the mothers milk of a cow. No other animal / mammal drinks the mothers milk of another animal so it makes sense that humans shouldn’t be drinking it.
5. 99% of the time, I no longer drink normal tea or coffee. The caffeine in these are very acidic. Our bodies are naturally alkaline so by drinking acidic drinks logically works against me and my enregy levels.
6. I eat very little meat. It is dead flesh so why would I put dead flesh into a living organism? I must admit though that I am struggling a bit to find an alternative source of protein. I do eat a lot of fish but apparently there is more protein in meat.
7. I don’t eat chicken unless it is free range - check out youtube videos to see how normal chickens are breed and processed and you won’t eat chicken anymore either.
8. I try to ensure 70% of what I eat comes from water rich food - veg, fruit, legumes based on the logic that 70% of our bodies is water. 80% of our brains are water.
9. I limit the amount of “acidic” foods and drinks I consume - processed food, fast food, alcohol knowing that these will do more harm than good.
10. I try to avoid eating late in the evening however if I am hungry I do eat something that is easily digestible such as a bowl of cheerios or weetabix or toast. If I eat a big meal late, it means my body is “working” trying to digest this food when I am asleep, a time when I should be resting not working. By following this simple regime, I wake up alert and energised in the morning.
11. Finally, I tell myself and everyone who wants to listen that I am not on a diet. I just now make better food choices. I do occasionally drink coffee (3 cups in the past 12 months), eat meat and dairy (once a month) and I do it consciously so it is a choice not a chore.
I hope this information gives you some ideas on how to increase your energy. I am not a nutritionist nor do I have any qualification in nutrition or dietetics. This blog is just my own experiences which have worked for me.