Day 3: How to eat for better energy

This is day 3 of the 6-day Energy Challenge. To start at the beginning, click here.

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I usually think about is what I want to eat – and as soon as I finish eating, I’m already planning the next one.

This tendency to look ahead is quite common, says Dr. Nate Wood, a culinary medicine researcher at Yale School of Medicine and a trained chef. But he added: “We rarely look back and think about how the food we eat makes us feel, unless perhaps our stomach is upset.”

By tuning in to how our food affects us, he said, we can understand which foods give us energy and which foods make us sluggish. It can also help us eat for better energy in the future. That’s the focus of today’s challenge.

Track your energy after you eat.

The task is simple: notice how the food you eat makes you feel. An hour and a half to two hours after you eat a meal or snack, write down the sensations you experience: Are you satisfied, tired, hungry? Then rate your energy level from one to five.

Why wait an hour or two after eating? That’s when digestion is well underway, said Dr. Wood. As your meal breaks down, glucose enters your bloodstream and the pancreas secretes insulin, which your cells use to absorb the glucose for energy. As your brain and intestines send signals to each other about how the food is being processed, you can get a sense of whether the food gives you energy or makes you feel exhausted.

Every meal doesn’t have to be viewed solely as fuel for the tank; Of course, eating should also be enjoyable. But paying attention to what you eat can help you feel better in the long run. Some questions to ask yourself: Was this meal mostly carbohydrates? Was there a lot of sugar in it? Did I eat protein?

Following one day should give you some insight into how different foods affect your energy. To get an even more accurate picture, Dr. Wood suggests trying this exercise over the next three days. Then, if you wish, you can use these cues to focus on foods (and combinations of foods) that give you energy.

Are you feeling inspired to make some changes? Here are some ideas.

If you want to get more energy from your meals, there are small adjustments you can make.

Fill your plate with foods rich in… fiber, complex carbohydrates and proteins can slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream and help prevent fatigue, said Dr. Wood. If you can incorporate that trifecta into your meals and snacks as much as possible, you may feel more energetic.

I told Dr. Wood that I usually have a low-protein breakfast, such as a fruit smoothie or a slice of whole wheat toast. Two hours later I usually fall asleep.

He suggested adding avocado along with shredded chicken and sriracha to my toast, or protein powder or a spoonful of nut butter to my smoothie to make my energy last much longer.

Dr. Wood also said that “lunch and dinner foods can often be healthier than breakfast foods, and vegetables are easier to handle.” This made me feel good, as one of my colleagues had recently inspired me to start eating leftovers for breakfast. For example, she gets quinoa with stewed chickpeas and tomatoes. Now I try to eat breakfast more often.

For afternoon snacks, Dr. said. Wood to keep sources of lean protein on hand to pair with complex carbohydrates, such as whole-grain crackers with hummus or cottage cheese.

Lunches and dinners should follow the same formula, said Dr. Wood. Lunch could consist of a tuna salad sandwich with curry and arugula on whole-wheat bread, along with a handful of berries, he suggested. Dinner might be a three-bean chili with Greek yogurt and scallions, with a baked sweet potato sprinkled with cinnamon on the side.

This exercise is not about deprivation, but about finding a formula for a more stable energy supply, said Dr. Wood. And for the majority of people, he added, small changes “lead to changes that are more lasting.”

This simple, adaptable energy bar recipe was created by Genevieve Ko, editor at New York Times Cooking. It’s packed with fiber, thanks to whole wheat flour and tangy dried fruit, and nuts add protein — and crunch.

Save the recipe: Energy Bars