Energy

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by Sean O, Apr 23, 2003.

  1. Sean O

    Sean O New Member

    I think that I could do with more energy in my lifestyle. Right now I mainly keep active with class and weight training at home, but I think that if I just had more energy, I could do better at both of them. Somewhere on these forums someone said that eating multiple small meals throughout the day rather than 3 large meals would help, but I'd like to get as many suggestions as possible.
     
  2. Sean O

    Sean O New Member

    Also, if it helps, I always feel most energized at around 11am to 1pm. Unfortunately, thats when I'm in school :(.
     
  3. r4bid

    r4bid New Member

    are you drinking any caffeine? If so STOP! it screws your sleeping cycle and energy levels up.

    Eat small frequent meals, make sure you are not starving yourself of carbs and make sure you are getting enough sleep (at least seven hours).
     
  4. Sean O

    Sean O New Member

    I know that I usually don't get a good nights sleep, but I don't really take in much caffine (I have some chocolate every now and then, but thats it). I drink alot of gatorade, though. Would that be the problem?
     
  5. Jack

    Jack Valued Member

    If you drink gatorade just at random times, not limited to post-workout, then yes, stop. Drinking that randomly could mess up insulin levels throughout the day.

    6 smaller, freqeutn meals (2-3 hours apart)
    A portion of carbs, a portion of protein, a porition of healthy fats. Have some good green vegetables in whenever you can. Make sure you drink 3 litres of water per day.
     
  6. KickChick

    KickChick Valued Member

    You may have a sluggish metabolism that needs to be kick started (excuse the pun!) The metabolism dictates the rate your body holds onto and/or releases fat to be used as energy. I suffer from this condition so I have totally changed my lifestyle to combat it.

    By spreading your meals more evenly throughout the day, in five or six smaller meals, rather than two or three large meals (or an overindulgence in snacks whenever you're hungry), you can maximize the absorption of nutrients (so your body can use more of the food you eat) and supply your body with more stable (non-spiking) levels of insulin--levels your body can adequately manage and steadily increase your metabolism through out the day.

    Activate your metabolism and your body burns more fat for energy, continually throughout the day.

    Your metabolism is regulated by:
    1. the foods you eat (carbohydrates, then, should be consumed in the range of no more than 40% to 45% of your daily intake, avoiding simple carbs (like jams, jellies, fruit juices, most breads, etc.), and completely limiting refined (sugary) types of carbs (like donuts, cakes, sodas, candies, ice creams, cereals, most alcoholic beverages, etc.), and incorporating plenty of fibrous types of carbs (like broccoli, corn, brown rice, various fruits, etc.). You see, scientific evidence has shown that if we consume too many carbs (especially simple-sugar carbs at one sitting) our bodies release a surge of insulin and then we "crash"
    To keep your metabolism in "high gear," drink at least 8 to 10 tall glasses (8 oz) of water per day. (Juices, sodas, teas, etc., don't count toward your water intake...and as Jack posted refrain from the Gatorade)

    2. Exercise!! ....increase your body's muscle tissue, even slightly, significantly increases your metabolic rate (burning more calories all day long) -To increase your metabolism, conduct intense weight-training exercises, utilizing basic exercises, such as the bench press, shoulder press, leg press, barbell curl, etc., for 30 minutes 3 to 4 times per week and perform 30 to 40 minutes of high-intensity aerobic (cardiovascular) exercise 3 to 4
    times per week, either first thing in the morning or in the afternoon, on an empty stomach!

    Hope this helps!
     
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2003
  7. r4bid

    r4bid New Member

    brava Deb!
     
  8. Sean O

    Sean O New Member

    Alright, all of this has been helpful so far, although I know that it's not my metabolism thats messing me up. All my life I could , and still can, eat ridiculous amounts of food (even junk) and not really gain any weight.

    I've already started with the 6 smaller meals, and I'll try not to drink so much gatorade. And as far as exercise goes, I weight train, so I don't think that that is a huge problem, unless you're talking about cardio, which I'm going to do a better job of once I get a punching bag for my room.
     
  9. elbowblast

    elbowblast New Member

    The first two things that made a huge difference for me were drinking two to three large glasses of WARM water very first thing in the morning, even before going to the bathroom. Try it for two weeks before you start listing the interesting side effects. Start with two glasses, work up to three after a week or so and four glasses is like black belt level after a couple months. The other is Cayenne powder. Get any cheap medium heat cayenne capsules at a health food store and start with one capsule with breakfast and one with lunch. After a week move to two with breakfast and two with lunch and just one with supper. It increases circulation in your whole body, helps digestion and promotes a strong immune system. Its also only about 6 bucks a month. You will notice a real boost in energy. Dont take them on an empty stomach though. It feels pretty hot. For more info you can look up chinese water therapy and the role of water in chinese medicine and chi kung, as well as the benefits of cayenne, or capsicum as it is also called. Let me know in two weeks.
     
  10. Sean O

    Sean O New Member

    I'll give it a try. Thanks.
     

Share This Page