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Let's say you have a very busy, activity-filled day tomorrow. You've got your morning workout at 8, hang gliding at noon, mountain climbing at 2pm, and some white river kayaking at 5pm. Oh, and don't forget your east coast swing dancing lesson at 8pm.
Now that's my kind of day! ;)
So what do you do to prepare yourself?
Besides making sure you have enough food for the day, you probably hopefully reserve time to get lots of restful sleep so you can have energy for the day ahead.
While this is a GREAT idea, it's not the only step you should take to ensure you don't stall out in the middle of your day.
Calories, Calories, Calories
Whenever we talk about getting enough calories, we usually refer to the day in which we are eating. If there is a particularly active day coming up, we tend to only think about upping our food intake *for that day*.
But look at it this way. We don't sleep well tonight to feel well-rested today, do we? Of course not. We sleep well tonight to have enough energy tomorrow.
And when we don't, we feel it the next day.
It's the same with food.
Take a Tip From the Trainers
I'm sure you've heard of what endurance athletes call "carbo-loading."
Carbohydrate loading is when an athlete eats a diet high in carbohydrates for a few days (sometimes preceded by a period of intense exercise and carbohydrate restriction) before a big event. This helps to maximize the amount of glucose the muscles take in and, therefore, helps the athlete's endurance and overall performance.
You see, our bodies use glycogen stored in our muscles and liver. When we are not well-fueled, these stores deplete much quicker, leaving us tapped out and fatigued.
It's a lot like a car. Just as you need to fill up your car with gasoline for it to run, you need to fill yourself up with glucose for YOU to run!
The more glucose we have in our system, the longer we can continue to perform (whether that be performance in an actual sport, or just everyday life activities). And the only way to take in more glucose is to EAT!
A Daily Lesson
Getting enough fuel today for energy tomorrow is ESPECIALLY good advice if you are active early in the morning like I am. I usually like to take my dog for a walk and then follow it up with my workout, all before 10am. I don't have breakfast until right afterward, so it's important for me to make sure that I ate well the day before.
And I can always tell when I don't because I so do NOT want to workout! When I do get enough fuel the day before, I have MORE than enough energy for my workouts.
Practicing eating today for energy tomorrow is a good preventative measure for cravings as well. It is much, much easier to resist tempting cooked food favorites when you're well-carbed from the day before and on into the current day. In fact, it's even MORE likely that you won't have cravings in the first place!
And What's the Best Fuel?
Sweet fruit, of course! As I already mentioned, our body uses glycogen. What's glycogen? It's nothing more than long chains of glucose, the simple sugar found in sweet fruit!
Swayze
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