Energy Thieves: Food
This week I’m focusing on potential energy thieves, and I’ve identified three areas that can hinder performance; one of those is the foods we eat. The two primary food thieves that affect me and many others are refined carbohydrates and deep-fat fried food, but the reasons are polar opposites:
- Refined carbohydrates and some starchy foods raise blood sugar quickly, but then you suffer a rebound drop. Eating too many refined carbs can put you in a carb coma.
- High-fat foods, especially deep-fat fried foods, can take hours to digest, redirecting blood from the rest of the body to the digestive system to digest and absorb the fatty foods. Less blood to the brain means your mental acuity drops.
All this week, I’m using the techniques I developed for Energy on Demand in the Optimal Performance Program to have all the energy I need to focus and work 14-hour days through the end of the next webinar. My goal is to eat to perform at a high level, and part of that is knowing what not to eat. If you participate, either live or by listening within the following week, you’ll get the complete story.
Spend some time thinking about how the foods you eat affect your energy levels. There may other foods and dietary factors that affect you in addition to the two I’ve listed; for example, maybe it’s not so much which foods as when you eat them. How food affects energy for the times you really need to be at your best will be one of the topics this Sunday in the Super Bowl Webinar. I hope you’ll join me.
What are you prepared to do today?
Dr. Chet
