5 tips to boost your energy and productivity through your diet
February 11, 2010 by Catherine Pritchard
by Catherine Pritchard, Radiance Healthcare Centre
How much is your fatigue costing your business?
Fatigue is a common complaint for busy women. Juggling a business, career, family, kids and a social life can take its toll. Coffee, chocolate, convenience foods such as pasta, 2-minute noodles, Cup-a-Soup and bread quickly become the staples you rely on to get you through your day. The 3pm slump, crashing on the couch as soon as you get home and poor energy first thing in the morning are common signs that your diet is impacting your energy.
What if there was a solution to your fatigue allowing you to be productive all day long including during the normal 3pm slump?
Research shows that simple changes to your diet can dramatically increase your energy throughout the day due to the stabilisation of your blood sugar. Going too long without eating, combined with excessive consumption of complex carbohydrates such as bread, pasta and rice have been found to create havoc with your blood sugar resulting in fatigue. The following five tips are easy to implement and have been designed to maximise your energy!
- Increase your protein (chicken, lamb, beef, lentils, chickpeas or eggs) especially at lunch. Protein helps to stabilise your blood sugar.
- Eat breakfast every day. (Coffee does not count as breakfast!)
- Limit your servings of bread, pasta and rice. Avoid white carbohydrates as much as possible. Eat wholegrain or brown instead.
- Increase your overall intake of veggies and salad veggies.
- Eat regularly. Don’t go longer than 3-4 hours without eating. This is a big key to having super fabulous energy.
Do an experiment on yourself! Record what your energy is out of 10 and identify whether you suffer from morning, afternoon or evening fatigue (or all three!). Follow the above 5 tips for two weeks then record the changes. You will be pleasantly surprised with your increased energy and productivity.
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Catherine Pritchard - Radiance Healthcare CentreCatherine is a scientific naturopath who is experienced in working with business women to increase their energy, motivation and productivity. Her innovative programs are based on the latest research and incorporate simple dietary changes so that you can get the most out of each and every day. Prior to commencing her career as a naturopath almost 10 years ago, Catherine was an industrial chemist in an oil refinery. Her scientific background caused her to seek out the latest technology to assess your health, energy and vitality. In conjunction with a thorough assessment, these state of the art tests allow her to personally prescribe you the most suitable nutrients that will make the greatest impact on your health and wellbeing.
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Catherine, This is great. Right now (during Feb) I’m following these exact rules and within 7 days of going off grains/starchy veges, sugar and eating regularly, I felt de-bloated and had more energy. Thanks so much for a simple to follow regime that makes a big difference.
I have reserved the right to keep my daily soy flat white and four glasses of wine a week.
Some great simple and easy to implement tips for business woman. It doesn’t have to be that had to make big changes. We have also found completing a daily diary of what we consume helps to regulate and better yet measure all of these things.
Fantastic that you are a step ahead! Great to see the practice of moderation!