We eat everyday, but sometimes the food we consume can be doing us more harm than good. To determine this, I’ve researched some rules you should incorporate into your everyday. Don’t be too put-off by the term ‘rules’, use it as loosely as you like. Think of these as guidelines on the types of foods you should eat, and how often you should be eating them.
At the start of the day, have some oatmeal for breakfast. Yes, I am aware that this isn’t a groundbreaking discovery, oatmeal has been had for breakfast too many times in history. But the fiber and protein present in this age-old breakfast must-have get digested very slowly, thus keeping you full for a longer period of time. It also helps stabilise your blood sugar levels. Eating oats with bananas or berries increases the all-good impact of the cereal. Along with your breakfast cereal, have some hot lemon-water. Lemons (and fresh coconut water) are a great source of electrolytes. These electrolytes work to provide energy to your body and keep you from getting lethargic during the day. What I do is to have sliced lemon slices stored away in the freezer. Every morning, I place 2 slices in my morning coffee mug and pour over water from a recently boiled kettle. In about 10 to 15 mins, its ready to drink.
Along with these two things, I’ve got a game changer that I’m pretty sure most of you are going to avert your eyes to: avoid caffeine. Its horrible for you! Well, not horrible but not exactly great, either. If you absolutely must, then have just 1 cup in the morning. A tip to going towards avoiding coffee in the morning is to slowly reduce the dosage of the coffee and start alternating it with other forms of morning energy drinks, such as milo. This is still not considered super healthy, but at least it does lesser damage than coffee. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to avoid coffee altogether (well, here’s hoping). taking regular coffee breaks (and by regular I mean at least twice a day) can lead to your body expecting regular hits of the drug, and therefore putting your system through withdrawal symptoms, such as fatigue, headache and a bad mood.
During the day, while at our desks working away feverishly, some of us might forget to snack on something. Never go for more than 5 hours without eating something. It doesn’t have to be a full fledged meal, but it shouldn’t be just water, either. Develop the habit of keeping healthy snacks with you all day. Box Green is an awesome company that delivers healthy snacks directly to your doorstep of office cubicle, so you can remain munching and healthy. You can hop on over to their website, choose from a range of healthy snacks, and build your own snack box. Snack boxes start from $19.90, and you get a 20% discount with code ‘CRAVINGS’. Staying away from any kind of food for more than five hours can cause dangerous fluctuations of blood sugar levels, causing you to feel light headed or faint at times. This type of irregular eating also causes you to binge every meal, as your body thinks it needs to stock up on food since you don’t eat at other times besides during the actual mealtime.
Another thing remember when eating? Load up on the protein. If you’re not into meat (vegetarian) or just would like to have one meat-heavy meal a day, then I suggest going for protein packed grains, such as quinoa, instead of rice or noodles. Quinoa is a versatile whole grain that can be used in salads, is high in protein and fiber and is super easy to prepare. Its also pretty hardy – depending on what you’re pairing it with, you can keep your prepared quinoa in the refrigerator and come back home to have it for dinner, or simply take it with you for lunch. If you’re working around the Telok Ayer area, might I suggest The Muffinry for awesome salads and wholemeal sandwiches. They are all delicious, prepared with heart and light on the body but can keep you going for quite a while (trust me, I’ve been there).
There you go, the simple rules for eating. I must admit, I attached numbers to each of them and removed them, hoping that this article will look less intimidating that way. Did it work? Let me know!