Energy Please.

[Nadtorious]

I agree with avoiding energy bars and the like. I race mountain bikes comptetively and train between 25-30 hours per week. I don't eat anything processed as well. I rely on lots of fruits, veggies, eggs, fish, nuts, grass fed meat, and whole grains for my energy, and I've never felt better-no need to struggle with weight or energy levels). I second (or third) everything posted above.

Peace-

Nadia

[tarnalberry]

I would note, for those times when you're away from your kitchen, and can't rely on food from a restaurant, you can get 'energy bars' that are nothing but dried fruits and nuts - no added chemicals or other wacky ingredients. For those of us with hypoglycemic issues, they're a good thing to have around just in case.

[Guest moorkitty]

I have taken the following with a resulting great increase in energy. I began with one thing at a time and every two weeks would add the next item. That way, you know exactly what it's doing (or not doing) for you and if you get an allergic reaction you will know where it's coming from.

Greens drink, mixed with cranberry juice on arising.

Basic Multivitamin.

Extra B50 complex tablet one per day.

Extra Vitamin C 500 mg one per day (timed release).

Acidophilus two tablets per day. Good bacteria.

Whey protein with extra glutamine, wow, this stuff is great for rebuilding the intestinal lining. Noticed a difference within 2 days. One scoop in the morning, shaken with milk.

Calcium magnesium balance tablet 2-3 per day.

Kwai garlic one tab before bed.

Powdered alfalfa (mix with juice) early afternoon (this stuff works!) Contains iron, B12 and chlorophyl as well as enzymes.

Powdered matcha green tea, 1/4 tsp. mixed in my morning 'greens drink'. Improves my focus and mental clarity.

Aloe vera 1/2 oz, mixed into my morning 'greens'. Helped with digestion and gives a bit of energy.

Golden flax seed (I grind in coffee grinder so it's fresh) and hemp seed, add to my morning yogurt and berries. Lots of EFA's.

Fish oil, one capsule daily. I alternate with evening primrose and flax oil capsules, but find if I take too many my skin gets very oily and I break out.

I emphasize, begin with one item and give it at least a week to see how it works for you before adding onto it. Giving up caffeine, cutting back on sugar and processed foods helped me a lot with energy.

Next I plan to try chlorella and spirulina powders. I find I get the biggest energy boost from the green superfoods.

It seems an overwhelming list but take it slow, one thing at a time and soon taking them at the right times of the day will become second nature. My daughter is also celiac and uses a lot of these products with good effect, particularly the protein drink and the greens. My 86 y/o mother is celiac with m.s. and the green drink has given her great energy and helped her immune system.

[M-3 Gal]

My husband and I own a company called the Flagship Group and we have a contract with a company called XS energy. They make everything evergy related including energy drinks....they are sugar and carb free, they come in 9 different flavors, they have a ton of vitamins including B12, they come in caffeine free also. I get them on-line, you can't buy them at the store. Also they are gluten, wheat and soy free.

[queenofhearts]

Hello there, (warning - very long post)

I have been teaching fitness for 16 years, and have regular column in the industry magazine here in Canada, as well as being a master instructor and certifier for the national association. I teach daily, I teach a morning class, a mid-day class and an evening class, on top of taking martial arts on my own time. I teach about 400 students per week, am a workshop presenter, had a daily tv show on our sports channel here, and cousel professional athletes on nutrition.

I say all this just so that you know that I am a reliable source of information.

First thing, if your energy is low, you have to start at the matabolic level:

How is your hormonal balance? (especially for women, given our hormonal fluctuations and terrible fad diet habits, many women have chronically low growth and sex hormone levels). You may not know your hormonal profile, but here are a few ways to ensure your hormonal levels are adequate to maintain your basal metabolic rate high enough:

1. Avoid soy (the phyto-estrogens in soy wildly interfere with growth hormones, which in turn inhibits us from recuperating adequately from physical stressors like exercise or resistance training)

2. Ensure you are getting magnesium

3. Ensure that you are getting omega-3s (hate to say it, but cod-liver oil is the best)

4. Ensure you're hemaglobin profile is balanced (check your B-serums, and Iron)

5. Ensure you are well hydrated (about 2 litres per day, plus 1 litre for every hour of strenuous exercise - the first sign of dehydration is exhaustion, not thirst)

6. Ensure you are getting enough calories, here is how to calculate:

Basic caloric needs (depends on your gender, weight, height and muscle mass)

Add the calories for exercise expenditure (this will vary per training day)

Here is how I calculate mine:

basic calories: 2,500 (based on my stats)

Cardio: 800 calories

Resistance training: 450

Total calories needed per day: 3,750

Sounds like a lot? If I eat less than this I lose muscle mass and experience tremendous fatigue and interestingly, put on fat (crashes my basal metabolism).

7. Ensure you are getting the proper nutrients, and in a steady supply:

I recommend my athletes (if you train every day, I consider you an athlete) eat 6 to 8 small meals per day

We calculate their protein requirements in grams per meal (every meal is protein and fat based)

Carbs come from vegetables and fruits to avoid energy burn-out on processed starches and sugars

Not enough fatty protein in your diet will inhibit the production of growth hormones (again a key metabolic process for athletes) fatty protein: seeds, nuts (sunflower, pumpkin, almonds, hemp, flax are ok), salmon, beef, tuna, raw oysters are ideal. Eat organic if possible, and as raw as possible. Organic eggs are one of natures most perfect sources of protein - eat the whole egg and if possible poached with a runny yellow (avoid frying, avoid fully cooking the middle.).

8. Energy zappers to avoid:

Artificial sugars and sweeteners (they interfere with your endocrinology)

Processed and refined sugars and starches (they cause massive insulin deregulation)

Energy drinks of all kinds (if you must, one or two organic coffees per day - avoid anything that glows in the dark, ir bright orange, green or purple. LOL! Sorry gatorade, we know you are sugar water, and red bull is downright dangerous for your health).

Energy bars, protein shakes...I know this is controversial, but have a handfull of seeds, nuts and dried fruits instead. Just try to read one of the labels on those things - they are basically an amalgamation of 40 to 60 chemical products. Again, chemicals have all sorts of effects on your hormone levels. My rule of thumb is if you don't know what it is, can't pronounce it, don't eat it. Unless you are a professional bodybuilder getting ready for a competition, avoid crap like this. They take controlled risks by injecting and ingesting stimulants and additives in order to have artificially developed bodies.

Avoid packaged foods. The longer the shelf life of a food, the less it will be nutritious.

9. Sleep.

Most people are sleep deprived, and athletes need even more sleep than the average person as this is when their body repairs itself and when (ta-da) growth hormones, cortisol, is released. Not enough sleep, not enough growth hormones: your body will make you tired in order to encourage the rest it needs to produce it.

10. Still tired? Revise your work-out plan. It might be poorly constructed.

Cardio - ok to do every day as long as you are not working out to the point of muscle exhaustion.

Resistance training, ensure that you give every muscle group trained (even abdominals, its a myth that you can do those every day) a 24 hour rest.

Stretching - flexibility exercices should only be performed on resistance trained muscles on their rest day. Light stretching is ok on day of - but not deep stretches which deepen the micro tears.

Something like Yoga, Pilates can be done daily, as long as you do not experience muscle exhaustion. If you do, your muscle group requires rest. (really depends on how these are performed).

11. If you are female - it is absolutely normal to feel extreme fatigue the day of your ovulation, and the days preceeding your period - why? Higher estrogen and progesterone, lower testosterone. If you listen to your body, it will tell you to work just as hard on those days, but that your point of fatigue will come earlier and require lower weight resistance on those days. Its important to respect your body when it tells you to back off - or your metabolism will force you to take a break by conserving energy and slowing down.

Ok! I think this is my longest post EVER! Sorry - hope you stuck with my this far.

Usually I charge $150 an hour for this - but what the hay! I know how many of us fight for energy, having pernicious anemia and gluten intolerance means that I fight for energy every waking moment. The above list allows me to access and optimize that energy by revving my engine (metabolism).

Taking energy bars is like treating the symptom instead of the disfunction - and the energy bar craze is my personal pet peeve. They are bad for you and in the long run, screw up your system.

Be well - namaste.

Wow, what a fantastic gift of information! Thank you so much-- I learned a lot!

Leah