Want More Energy? Start With What's on Your Plate

When you're stressed, busy and running from one thing to the next, food can be one of the first things to get pushed aside.

Maybe breakfast is coffee and toast. Lunch happens sometime around 2:00. Dinner is whatever you can pull together. And by the end of the day, you're tired, hungry and wondering why you feel like you've been hit by a truck.

Your body needs food to keep up with everything you're asking it to do.

Eating well isn't going to magically make a stressful week disappear, but getting enough food - and enough of the nutrients your body needs - can make a difference in how you feel.

Are you actually eating enough?

This comes up a lot.

Many women genuinely believe they're eating plenty. But when we actually look at what they're eating across a typical day, they're often coming up short - especially when they're active.

Breakfast might be a coffee and a piece of toast. Lunch is a salad with a little chicken. Maybe there's a snack in the afternoon, and then dinner is a reasonably balanced meal.

It looks like you're eating all day.

But when we actually add it up, there's sometimes just not enough food to support the demands being placed on your body.

Your needs aren't the same as someone else's. They depend on things like your size, activity level, muscle mass and what your day actually looks like.

And if you're exercising regularly, walking a lot, strength training, working a physical job or simply living a very active life, you need to eat accordingly.

Sometimes the answer isn't another supplement, another "energy boosting" food or cutting something out.

Sometimes you just need more food.

What your body needs when you're running on empty

There isn't one magic food for energy. It's more about how you put your meals together.

This is where my PFF is your BFF philosophy comes in:

Protein + Fat + Fibre = your Best Friends Forever.

When you bring those three together in a meal, you're giving yourself something much more substantial than a quick hit of carbohydrates on their own.

Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which your body uses for energy. When you eat them with protein, fat and fibre, digestion tends to happen more slowly, which can help you feel fuller for longer and avoid the quick up-and-down feeling that can happen when you're eating mostly carbs by themselves.

So instead of thinking about foods as "good" or "bad," I like to think about building a better meal.

Protein

Protein helps make meals more satisfying and provides important nutrients.

Try including some at each meal - eggs, fish, chicken, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, lentils, beans, nuts or seeds.

If you're having toast for breakfast and you're starving an hour later, it may simply be that breakfast needs a little more substance.

Eggs with toast. Greek yogurt with berries and seeds. Oatmeal with nuts and yogurt.

Or, one of my favourites - eat last night's leftovers for breakfast. There is absolutely no rule saying breakfast has to be breakfast food.

Vegetables and fruit

This one sounds obvious, but they are easy to miss when you're busy.

Keep some easy options around - berries, apples, baby carrots, peppers, frozen vegetables, salad greens, whatever you'll actually eat.

And frozen absolutely counts. You don't get extra nutrition points for washing and chopping vegetables when you're already exhausted.

Whole grains and other fibre-rich carbohydrates

Carbohydrates aren't the enemy, and you don't need to avoid them because you're tired.

Oats, quinoa, brown or wild rice, potatoes, whole grain bread and other fibre-rich foods can all be part of a satisfying meal.

Rather than eating a carbohydrate on its own, pair it with some protein and fat.

Think toast with eggs and avocado instead of toast by itself. An apple with nut butter. Potatoes with salmon and vegetables.

It's not about being afraid of carbohydrates. It's about building a meal that will actually carry you through to the next one.

Healthy fats

Fat is an important part of a healthy diet too.

Think olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds and fish such as salmon, sardines or trout.

A drizzle of olive oil over vegetables, some avocado with eggs or a handful of nuts with fruit can make a meal or snack more satisfying.

What about coffee and sugar?

Here's where I don't want to make this complicated.

You don't need to declare war on coffee because you're tired.

If you enjoy your morning coffee, enjoy it. But if you're using coffee all day to keep yourself going, it may be worth looking at what's happening underneath that.

Are you eating enough? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you going long stretches without food?

The same goes for sugar.

I'm not going to tell you that one cookie is going to ruin your day.

But if you're regularly skipping meals and then reaching for whatever is quickest because you're starving, that's probably a sign that your meals could use a little more substance.

Don't forget about water

Being dehydrated can leave you feeling pretty lousy, and staying hydrated is part of taking care of the basics.

How much you need will vary depending on things like your activity level, the weather and how much fluid you're getting from food.

You don't necessarily need to walk around with a giant water bottle trying to hit an arbitrary number every day.

Drink regularly. Have water with meals. Bring some with you when you're out.

If you're sweating a lot or exercising in hot conditions, you'll need more.

A few easy ways to make meals work harder for you

You don't need to completely overhaul your diet.

Try:

• Add protein to breakfast. Eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts or seeds can turn a pretty light breakfast into something more substantial.

• Don't wait until you're starving to eat. It's much harder to make a decent choice when you're already ravenous.

• Keep easy food around. Frozen vegetables, canned fish, eggs, yogurt, fruit, nuts and cooked grains can save you when cooking feels like the last thing you want to do.

• Build meals instead of picking at food. Think protein + vegetables or fruit + a fibre-rich carbohydrate + some healthy fat.

• Think ahead. You don't need to plan every meal for the entire week, but having a rough idea of what's coming and prepping a few ingredients can make a huge difference. Cook some extra chicken. Wash the vegetables. Make a pot of rice. Hard-boil a few eggs. And yes - make enough dinner for leftovers. Future you will be happy you did.

• Use convenience foods when you need them. Pre-cut vegetables, frozen produce, canned beans and prepared foods can all have a place in a healthy kitchen.

Start with your next meal

You don't need a perfect diet.

Take a look at your next meal and ask yourself:

Where's the protein? Where are the vegetables or fruit? Is there some fibre? Have I included a source of healthy fat?

And maybe the bigger question is:

Am I actually eating enough to support what I'm asking my body to do?

That's a pretty good place to start.

And if your current breakfast is coffee and half a piece of toast while you're running out the door, I'm not judging. We've all been there.

Maybe tomorrow, just add an egg. 🥚