4. Eat for energy

When you exercise your body needs to be fuelled. Here’s how to maximise your power foods.

HOW?

• Eat between five to six meals a day. By eating smaller portions of food, more often, you will feel less hungry between meals and not deprived. Tip: use your cell’s alarm to remind when next to eat.
• Include the following lower glycemic index (GI) options on your shopping list: legumes, oat bran, pasta made from durum wheat, low GI bread, seed loaf, basmati rice, baby potatoes, rye breads, most fruits and vegetables, milk and yoghurts.

WHY?
If you only eat – let’s say, two large meals a day – your body goes into a starvation mode and tries to hold onto kilojoules. Irregular eating or missed meals and snacks can also create a feeling of intense hunger, which gets us craving more high-fat, high-sugar foods. By eating every three to four hours you keep your body from storing as many kilojoules (as fat) because your body has a steady supply of food to use for energy.

A steady intake of nutritious fuel at regular intervals keeps your metabolism steady and elevated, your blood glucose stable, and your body operating at maximum efficiency.

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