How Eating Better Can Transform Your Daily Energy Levels

It’s 3 pm and you’re feeling sluggish. You thought the energy drink you downed with your lunch would get you through the afternoon, maybe even the evening rush hour. But now you’re yawning every two minutes and feel like a nap is in order. Before you blame the energy drink for failing to do its job, consider what was on your plate.

No, not all the tasks you juggled in the morning. The actual food you ate during your meal. What you ate for breakfast may be partially to blame, too. The fuel you give your body can crash, maintain, or transform your daily energy levels, depending on the way you eat. Making a few tweaks to your diet can make a difference in how you feel throughout the day, and here’s how.

Complex Carbs Slow Things Down

Combining sugar with caffeine gives you a quick energy boost. Eating a candy bar packed with peanuts or drinking a mocha latte seems like a way to power through. You feel on top of the world for a while, like you can accomplish anything.

Nonetheless, it’s not long before you start to feel the crash. It’s because most of what you ate (or drank) was sugar, also known as simple carbohydrates. Your body processes simple carbs quickly, which is why you feel the sudden burst of energy followed by a not-so-fun letdown afterward. Your blood sugar rises rapidly, then plummets.

Complex carbs, such as fruits, veggies, and whole grains, move a lot slower. By planning healthy meals or using healthy meal delivery services, you’re more likely to consume complex versus simple carbs. Swap out the buttermilk pancakes for steel-cut oatmeal with a banana. Try lemon pepper chicken with broccoli and whole grain rice for lunch. And for dinner, give tempeh tacos a whirl.

Your body will digest balanced meals with complex carbs slowly, keeping your energy levels even keel. You’ll benefit from a steady release of energy instead of rollercoaster-like ups and downs. Look for foods with lower sugar levels, high fiber, and as close to their whole or unprocessed state as possible.

Ditching the Three-Meal Rule Sustains Energy

You’ve been eating three meals for most of your life—breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes you might throw a morning or afternoon snack in there. But when you eat those three meals, how much are you putting on your plate?

Larger meals might feel satisfying at the time. However, they can lead to dips in your energy levels, especially in the afternoon. After you eat a big lunch, your body needs to work harder to digest it all. So, it’s not uncommon to start to feel like you’re about to doze off once 2 pm rolls around.

Eating smaller, more frequent meals can prevent your energy levels from tapering off. While research studies are mixed, some people can benefit from more frequent, smaller meals. Individuals with polycystic ovary syndrome can improve insulin sensitivity by eating this way. Those who feel full quickly and experience unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms can also benefit.

So, if you find yourself in an energy slump after a larger meal, you might want to ditch the three-meal rule. Try eating smaller meals every three to four hours and see how your energy levels respond. For some individuals, eating less more frequently is like visiting the gas station every 100 miles on a cross-country trip. It gives the mind and body enough fuel to make it to the next part of the day.

Drinking Enough Water Prevents Fatigue From Dehydration

Sometimes it’s not what you’re eating, but what you’re drinking that causes daytime fatigue. While there’s nothing wrong with the occasional caffeine boost, substituting it for water can take its toll. When you don’t drink enough water, you can develop symptoms of dehydration.

One of those symptoms is fatigue or tiredness. Other signs that could impact your ability to tackle your day include confusion and dizziness. Conventional wisdom says you need to drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Each of those glasses should be eight ounces.

Depending on the work you do and your environment, you may need more. For example, living in high altitudes and dry climates necessitates drinking an additional glass or two. If you work outdoors in humid weather, your body is going to lose additional water to sweat. And the more caffeine and sugary drinks you consume, the higher your risk of dehydration becomes.

Exercise, age, and illness (even minor colds) can also have an impact on how much water you need. While you can let your natural thirst instinct guide you, it’s not always a good indicator of whether you’re dehydrated. Switching to pure water from other types of beverages might be challenging at first. Because plain water doesn’t seem exciting or flavorful, the switch may be psychologically painful. But you can dress it up with lemon and lime juice or infuse it with fruit.

Change Your Diet, Change Your Energy

Eating better is a goal you probably equate with weight. The healthier you eat, the easier it is to manage the number you see on the scale. Yet, changing your diet will influence more than the way you look. A healthier diet can also stabilize your daily energy levels.

When you avoid the sugar highs, followed by the inevitable crashes, you can do more than tackle your to-do list. You’ll concentrate better, think clearly, and feel less like heading straight to bed before the sun goes down. By eating better, your body and mind will be able to perform the way they should.