What and when you eat will actually determine how you feel in large part. Here are some tips for foods and habits that zap/ boost your energy.

We all have days when we feel full of vim and vigor and then there are days when we feel sluggish and slow. You may be wondering if you have not changed your daily routine of sleep and perhaps exercise, why you are feeling differently for no apparent reason.  The answer may lie in your diet.  What and when you eat will actually determine how you feel in large part.  Here are some tips for foods and habits that zap/ boost your energy.

Zappers:
1. Don’t skip breakfast (or any other meal)
 When you start your day chances are you have gone a good 8 to 10 hours without eating anything, your body is empty of the calories for energy it needs to get going. You need to eat for replenishing your energy right away. Skipping breakfast will not only affect your body but your brain as well. Most of the cells in your body can store energy up for lean times, but your brain cells need a constant supply of carbohydrates to function, and your reserves are certain to be low after an all-night fast. Lunch and dinner are just as important. Without food in your system, stress hormones will kick in to keep you going.  Unfortunately, this comes at a high cost to your energy and you will feel tired and sluggish as the day progresses and make poor choices such as foods high in sugar and carbohydrates.

2. Large meals leave you feeling sleepy and tired

When you eat a large meal you force your body to use its stored energy for the job of digesting, in this case, digesting a large meal means more work and more energy used. To digest, blood rushes to your stomach, depleting the rest of your body of oxygen and nutrients. Because you overate, you may not feel like eating again and miss another meal or eat too late.  If you wait too long for dinner, you're more likely to overeat again. This is a cycle you don’t want to fall into. Eating smaller, more frequent meals can keep your digestive system functioning properly and your energy level consistent.

3. Which snacks leave you feeling slow?
 
Refined carbohydrates like pretzels and crackers may be convenient and are low-fat snacks, but they won't be much help when you're feeling sluggish. These processed carbohydrates are broken down almost instantly, giving you the same brief blood sugar spike that candy does.

Stay away from coffee and candy neither one will give you sustained energy. Caffeine stimulates your nervous system, but it doesn't contain calories, which are your body's fuel. And sugar breaks down quickly in your system, giving you only a brief boost.
Boosters:

1. Start your day with a good breakfast

As you have already read, your body has been without food for many hours, so it needs to be replenished. Eating breakfast will help keep your energy reserves from dropping during the morning.

Good breakfast choices include:

A bowl of high fiber, low fat breakfast cereal with skim milk and a glass of fruit juice
A hard boiled egg, whole wheat toast and a banana
Oatmeal made with skim milk and topped with fresh or dried fruit
Banana smoothie

2. Eat regularly throughout the day

Try to make sure you eat three meals every day and top up with healthy snacks filled with fiber, protein, and fat because they take longer to digest, evening out your metabolism and protecting you from those energy highs and lows. Some good choices are:

Fruit - choose fresh, dried, frozen or canned
Low fat yogurt or milk
Cereal bar
Nuts
Also try adding a slice of cheese to a whole-wheat cracker or dipping a carrot stick in peanut butter.

3. Keep well hydrated

No matter what you are doing, whether shopping, exercising or working you are losing water through your pores. When you sweat you lose fluids so you could become dehydrated.  By the time you feel thirsty you are dehydrated. Often times we misread the signs the body is giving when it is dehydrated and eat when what we need is a glass of water. 

Our ability to function is diminished when we are just 2% dehydrated so be sure to drink the recommended 8 to 10 glasses a day.

Best choices for hydration are:
Water
Skim milk
Diluted fruit juice

By Christina Leon, Staff Writer