There’s plenty of advice on the web about what to eat and drink, and a lot of it can be more than a bit confusing. What exactly is a “superfood”? Should you be eating a meat-heavy caveman diet or a fruit-rich raw food diet for optimum health? Do you really need two liters of water every day?
Often, we mistrust the advice being peddled – and with good reason. But this shouldn’t lead us to stop caring about what we put into our mouths altogether. One of the best ways to cut through the hype, the fads and the ridiculous promises is to figure out what works for your body. That means being conscious as to how food, water, caffeine and alcohol make you feel – and adjusting what you consume accordingly.
Listening to your body about food
Try thinking through times when you’ve felt ill, lethargic or sluggish after eating. You might want to ask yourself questions like:
- How do I feel after a big meal?
Have you ever been stuck in a boring lecture or conference after a large lunch? Did you find yourself struggling to keep your eyelids open? Most people find that overeating at lunch-time has a poor effect on afternoon productivity: it’s hard to get on with work when you want to curl up and fall asleep.
Eating a big evening meal might help you to sleep – but eating too much near bedtime is likely to leave your stomach unpleasantly full and gurgling as you’re trying to drop off.
- How do I feel if I eat a lot of sugar?
Some people react more strongly to sugary foods than others, experiencing an initial surge of energy followed by the “sugar coma” slump. I find that I invariably feel groggy and out-of-it after a huge ice-cream sundae, and realizing this has helped me curb my sugar intake!
- Do my eating habits help me stay energized and focused?
Most of us are distracted and irritable when we’re hungry – have you ever skipped breakfast and found it difficult to concentrate at school or work? Even if you’re dieting, it’s important to eat enough, which means having a light snack if you’re hungry between meals.
The types of foods which you eat also have an effect: you’ll probably find you get sustained energy from high-fibre foods, starch-rich foods and fruits and vegetables – whereas sugary treats like pastries and doughnuts can leave you struggling to focus.
Listening to your body about water
Many of us are making a conscious effort to increase our water intake, but you probably don’t need to force down glass after glass of water if you’re not thirsty. Ask yourself:
- Does drinking a glass of water perk me up when I’m tired or irritable?
If so, you might be getting dehydrated. I often don’t realise that I’m thirsty until I find myself lacking concentration and getting grouchy. Next time your brain is feeling sawdust-like, have a glass of water and see if it helps.
- Do I get headaches which go away when I drink water?
One of the most common causes of headaches is not drinking enough water. If you find yourself suffering regularly from mild headaches, try drinking extra water. This especially applies if your headaches always occur at the same time every day.
- Am I forcing myself to drink water when I’m not thirsty?
If you really aren’t thirsty, there’s no need to drink more water just to meet a daily quota. Learn to trust your body here – if you feel fine otherwise (no headache or lethargy), it’s unlikely you’re getting dehydrated. Drinking too much water isn’t great for you, because it depletes the amount of sodium in your body.
Listening to your body about caffeine and alcohol
Some people have a much higher tolerance for caffeine and/or alcohol than others. This can be due to genetic factors, body mass, or simply how much caffeine or alcohol you’re used to drinking. When considering whether you need to limit your intake, or limit when you indulge, think about:
- Do I feel ill after drinking alcohol or caffeine?
I regularly drank too much alcohol as a student, and (unsurprisingly!) felt dreadful each time. There’s nothing fun about the room-spinning sensation of being drunk, and if you get to the point of throwing up, that’s your body reacting to what it sees as an attempt to poison it.
Caffeine rarely produces such strong reactions, but too much can leave you wired and jittery rather than perked up ready to concentrate.
With both alcohol and caffeine, you need to figure out how much you can drink without getting a negative effect. Maybe your friend can get through two bottles of wine every evening, or your colleagues drink triple-shot espressos – that doesn’t mean your body will be happy with you doing likewise.
- Does alcohol or caffeine affect my sleep?
Some people find that a small amount of alcohol can help them sleep, and others like a mug of milky tea or coffee last thing at night. But too much alcohol (even just one glass of wine for some of us) results in poor quality sleep, and many people need to avoid caffeine in the evenings in order to drop off easily. After sleeping badly for several nights in a row, I cut out the cup of tea I was drinking at 6.30pm when I got home from work; it worked a charm.
Have you made improvements to your eating and drinking habits based on how your body feels? Or do you find it hard to trust your physical reactions? Share your experiences with us in the comments below.
Written by Ali, a writer and website creator (www.aliventures.com).
Image by The Half-Blood Prince
Great post, it has given me some things to think about (and test). I love the image that was attached to this as well, where are they from?
Stumbled!
Cheers,
Glen
I definitely watch what I eat or have noticed it affects my mood, and especially as you pointed out, my sleep habits. Caffeine is totally out, and I try to avoid sugary/starchy foods as well to try and keep my blood sugar always stable ensure maximum productivity throughout the day.
Very good post! I can relate, I’ve done this for years now, slowly changing my diet. As of today I eat no refined sugar, drink no milk and eat very little products with milk in them*, coffeine is down 90%. I recently stopped eating pasta, which was super hard.
*I love cheese too much. Toooo much. Can’t stop the cheese.
Nutrition and health posts are often a tricky business, as there are so many different opinions that are each backed-up by (sponsored? scientific?) research. And whenever there is consensus on a topic, there usually are exceptions for different people with ailments, allergies and the likes.
But this post is spot on in my opinion. The key message: “listen to your body” is very sound advice. Listen to how your body responds on the short term (matter of hours), but also on the longer term (days). Some people thrive on a glass of wine a day, while others might not tolerate a daily intake (but can perfectly drink it every other day).
great post…Being an athlete, I have also found it helpful to keep a food diary in conjunction with working out. Record not only what you ate as well as what you did for your workout, but also how you felt. It may help you figure out how certain types of foods are making you feel (ie. hyper, bloated, lethargic, etc.).
Once I reached my late 20’s and early 30’s my tolerance for sugar has gone way down. I can’t eat gummy bears or anything that is just pure sugar without instantly getting a headache. And, I definitely sleep worse after a rich heavy meal accompanied with a glass of wine.
Great post. I think everyone’s body reacts differently to food. I echo Blogversary’s comment on sugar. It never used to bother me, but after having a baby 5 years ago I get a wicked headache if I eat or drink something very sugary.
I also get really irritable after about two weeks on a carb restricted diet. I have trouble sleeping and I get jittery. So now I have added a few high fiber carbs back into my daily routine and I am more calm and relaxed.
I recently read In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan which completely changed my view of food. I realized that I wasn’t eating a lot of “real” food. Totally recommended for anyone who buys most of their food at a standard grocery store.
Another important point is that your tolerance for things changes as you get older. I used to be able to eat a few pieces of cake (when the opportunity presented itself), but now I want to fall asleep after just one. Same thing on big, heavy meals.
Diet (and exercise) are really the key to feeling good, but it usually isn’t obvious to your brain, which makes things tough. Check out my blog which talks a lot about how different things can be when you focus on what you eat: http://www.thereluctanteater.com
I completely agree. To sum up your advice…
“Learn to trust your body”
I have Crohn’s disease, so I am much more sensitive to these issues. What I eat directly affects my performance throughout the day, and the best way to learn what is good for me, is simple trial and error. Trust your body, it never lies.
Also, check out 10 tips to eat healthy on a budget.
http://yinvsyang.com/eat-healthy-on-a-budget/199/
I lived for 10 years with misdiagnosed fibromyalgia which turned out to be a yeast overload. I did an anti-Candida diet for a year and felt great for the first time in a decade. Now periodically I have to do a detox and if I eat too much wheat/sugar, I end up sleeping poorly and in pain.
Of course living in Spain, that’s not easy where there’s sugar in everything and bread is the basis for most of what people eat.
When it came to food, my whole family were compulsive overeaters. Some were also bulimic and anorexic. So, we really didn’t know how to listen to our bodies for the correct signals. It was as if we had shorted all the hunger/satiety indicators. Anyway, it helped a lot to reset everything by doing a water fast. After 8 days of only water and herbal tea, I finally experienced true hunger for the first time and ended the fast. As a result, I had detoxed decades of bad eating and reset my tastebuds for natural healthier foods. Eventually I returned to more junk food — but not even close to the amount I had been consuming before the fast. This year I fasted again — this time for 10 days and 5 days of post fast for a total weight loss of 20 lbs. immediately afterwards and was able to cut out alcohol completely and transition to a mostly raw food diet. But, it was surprisingly easy to do b/c, as you recommend, my body was able to signal to me what it needed. Sometimes it needs sugar, so I give it a little sugar (fresh fruit). Sometimes it needs salt, so I give it a bit of that (popcorn with salt). Though I used to force myself to drink a lot of water, mostly with my meals, I have since learned that drinking too much liquid is not good for proper digestion and changing that habit has made a huge difference in my health. No more cramps or indigestion! Anyway, I chronicled my fast and the amazing benefits I gained from it at http://shanelyang.com/2008/07/03/fasting-log-day-1/ for all who have ever thought about fasting for health or weight loss. It’s also fantastic for your skin! : )
I am regularly ridiculed at work for ‘eating like a bird’, but after several months of feeling bloated and lethargic for the better part of the day, I realised that it was general after lunch that the feeling started. So I started to eat slowly and stop as soon as the feeling of hunger had subsided (not always continuing to eat until the feeling went away entirely). Wouldn’t you know, I started being able to focus in the afternoons.
Mine is salt, I am not crazy about salt but I have had so much on my plate lately that i have not paid enough attention to salt. I can feel it in my body, I can taste it in everything. As of today I have reduced my salt intake by 50% but I am still suffering side effects of three months of careless eating.
Here’s to drinking more water.
-Tabs
I must be in the flow with the universe because lately every time I want to know the answer to something on my mind, an answer appears out of nowhere such as this article.
Over at my blog I decided to undertake a 30 day “Tim Ferriss Diet” (hate that word since it implies one day you’ll go off it but in this case I’m experimenting to see what works). I eat at least 3 meals starting off with scrambled eggs, black beans and mixed vegetables. One thing I noticed during this 30 day trial is increased energy throughout the day – I used to want to power nap at mid-afternoon. Not so much anymore.
Because I put myself on this “new lifestyle change,” I’m much more aware of how my body is feeling. It’s interesting to see my level of awareness go up. This was a timely article because it was a reminder to stay aware and pay attention to what our bodies are telling us.
Our bodies “know” but if we’re not aware, then we don’t respond accordingly. But I’m acutely aware of how I’m feeling since undertaking this 30 day experiment. It’s been pretty interesting, not to mention drastically life changing (for instance, no more cereal – BOO HOO).
BTW I wanted to say to @Thomas – “I know how hard it is to give cheese – I LOVE cheese too.” While I’ve eliminated cheese from this 30-day trial, I do not plan to deny myself the pleasures of cheese – the key, from what I’m learning is moderation. That’s all. We can do that. I think denying ourselves is a big killer – it’s the #1 reason why we fall off the wagon because we deny ourselves our favorite foods.
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nice post, i have noticed that whenever i eat until i am full i find myself not in the mood, i do believe that leaving a space in my stomach makes me more energetic and happy