Yesterday, I was thinking about how tired and unmotivated I was. It was 12:30, I had already eaten my 9:00 and 12:00 snacks (health bars), and had drunk coffee and water. What was my problem?
Turns out, I need to be paying attention to more than carbs and calories for tracking my energy level - specifically, I should be watching my proteins. According to this article on ediets, even though carbohydrates and proteins offer the same amount of calories per equivelant unit of weight (4, for those who want to know), your body reacts differently:
What you eat affects which nerve chemicals will be dominant in your brain, which affects how you feel. Carbohydrates can make you feel tired because they increase the brain’s level of the amino acid tryptophan, which in turn spurs the brain to make the calming neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is important for normal sleep patterns, learning, blood pressure and appetite, among many other functions.
Eating protein raises the levels of another amino acid called tyrosine, which prompts the brain to manufacture norepinephrine and dopamine, other kinds of chemical messengers in the brain. Not as well known as serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine can keep you energized because they promote alertness and activity.
Of course, fitness is always about more than what you eat – sleep, exercise and basic healthy lifestyle habits also affect levels of important chemicals in the brain, like dopamine. Based on this article though , I think I’ll start revamping my daily menu to include a protein-heavy lunch.
