The Power of Vegetables: How They Boost Your Mood and Energy Levels

"Could it be the food I'm eating that's leaving me tired in the evening?"

This seemed to be the question at the end of the day. In the midst of doing enough exercise and getting enough sleep, I thought I'd have enough energy to 'keep hustling' after hours. Since making the change to join the AM CLUB, I've also made a few other lifestyle changes and the big one is EATING. "We are what we eat." We all know this expression but it tends to go over our head. It's such a simple truth yet we tend convince ourselves that it surely can't be the food that's causing us to feel this particular way. First. Acknowledge that the 'FUEL' we put IN greatly determines what we put OUT. Think about it. Remember the time you ate those 2 burgers and average french fries? How did you feel after? Satisfied? Or did it have you running to the toilet within 30 minutes? "If you eat right, you feel right." Let's cut to the chase. I've made an effort to cook more instead of spending money buying dinner out like I had been for the past two plus years in Hong Kong. One thing you'll often hear is that eating out can be super convenient, relatively healthy and not cause too much strain on the wallet. Why is this so? Mainly because working hours are quite long in Hong Kong and most people only get home late thus the reason many people eat out constantly. There is the social plus too. So we decide to eat out, out of convenience, which leaves us with no dishes and no cleaning and perhaps a little bit more time when we finally make it home. On the other hand, dinner in Hong Kong usually consists of starchy carbohydrates such as rice (could of guessed that one) or noodles coupled with some sort of protein and some vegetables.

Sounds good right? It was. Now I've switched my evening meals up with a lot more vegetables such as broccoli, butternut, pumpkin, spinach etc. The key difference is that I've replaced the starchy rice and noodles with good quality vegetables AND I'm rewarded with the feeling of lightness that comes with it.

"You can lose weight without doing endless hours on the treadmill." I'm still eating rice and noodles but I choose to get them in during the day usually at lunch time. My body can use the energy for the rest of the day which sets me up for training in the evening. So it's not a 'no carb diet' or ketogenic diet or a any type of diet. I'm just getting my carbohydrates from my vegetables . My body doesn't need the rice or noodles as much because it doesn't need those kind of carbs at night. The lightness that has been brought about has given me more energy in the evening as well as increased the quality of my sleep. It compliments the waking up early regime and has made it a lot more sustainable over the last 50 days. To wrap up Have a look at what you are really eating throughout the week and experiment by making some changes to see how your body feels. Make note of what foods make you feel good and which ones leave you feeling sluggish or lazy. Looking to lose weight or get lean? Switch your starchy carbs for vegetables in the evening. This one small change doesn't require too much energy and once you get started, it is quite easy to maintain. Having a girlfriend or boyfriend that also wants to make a change definitely makes it easier and you both benefit. Took about a week to sift through my thoughts about this change I made and since it's about eating, it was challenging to write my first post about it. Leave a comment if this made sense and if you found it helpful at all. What vegetables do you like to eat?