Fuel Your Business by Fueling Yourself
As an entrepreneur you learn how to navigate the ups and downs of business. You also balance business with external things such as friends, family, and your health. There are challenges that you face every day. The last thing you need is an unnecessary roadblock making things more challenging.
Most of us also live our day-to-day dealing with silent issues like stomach pain, bloating, or energy highs and lows that make it hard to focus on the tasks at hand. Even worse, so many people experience similar symptoms that they’re written off as normal. The reality is, with a little attention to detail, we can make our food work for us rather than against us.
We can eat in ways that help us sustain our energy, clear brain fog, and keep us focused.
We can eat in ways that make our body feel good – so we don’t have to deal with digestive distress or discomfort while trying to nail a pitch.
We can eat in ways that allow us to fully step up to the plate and run our business, and the rest of our lives, with confidence.
Try starting with these simple day-to-day tips that can make a big difference in how you feel and perform.
Rest to digest
You know the phrase “you are what you eat.” This is true, but I would amend it to say “you are what you digest.” We can be eating all the best things, but if your body isn’t digesting and absorbing them, you’re missing the benefit.
Digestion is a parasympathetic process, meaning, it happens best when we are in a relaxed, stress-free state. This can be a challenge if we are always eating on the go and working through lunch. In the short term, poor digestion leads to the inflammation we feel as bloating or gas. In the long term, poor digestion leads to nutrient deficiencies. Nutrient deficiencies cause decreased cognitive performance and out-of-whack energy levels.
When possible, take a step away from work at mealtimes. At the very least, take 5 deep breaths before eating. Take a second to look at and smell your food to stimulate the central nervous system to begin digestion. Make sure to adequately chew your food to ensure proper breakdown – 30 chews per bite is a good goal. Chewing and digesting our food is paramount in our ability to perform.
Focus on getting enough water
Are you through your second cup of coffee before you even reach for a glass of water? Water is the most important nutrient for optimal health. It’s also the number one nutrient deficiency in America. A loss of only 1% of body water can result in impaired cognition and a 2-3% loss can decrease aerobic performance.
To put it simply, focus on your water intake. Set a glass right next to your coffee machine before bed so you can remember to drink a glass while your coffee brews in the morning.
How much should you be drinking throughout the day? Take your body weight and divide it in half. A 150-lb person should aim for 75 ounces of water per day. Do you feel like you’re always running to the bathroom when you increase your water intake? That’s a clue that you want to add in some electrolytes. Electrolytes are minerals that control the flow of water in the body. You want to make sure you are actually absorbing the water you drink. Try adding a pinch of high-quality mineral sea salt, some lemon, or a supplement such as Nuun hydration tablets to your water bottle.
Restore metabolic flexibility
Up and down energy levels are a sign that our body is having trouble regulating blood sugar. Ideally, the body can switch back and forth between using carbs, fats, and proteins as energy sources. This is called metabolic flexibility.
When this flexibility is absent, our body starts producing adrenaline to make up the difference. This is fine once in a while during a big meeting, but if it’s every day the body takes hit. A more sustainable option is to restore the body’s metabolic flexibility through eating a balance of macronutrients.
Make sure to include protein at every meal. Focus carbs around fruits, vegetables and starchy, whole food carbs. The nutrients in things like potatoes and squash are more available for your body to digest and absorb. They're also better food for the gut microbiome. Most importantly, they wreak less havoc on blood sugar regulation than some of their more processed counterparts. This means less energy swings.
It’s especially important for women to ensure they are getting an adequate amount of fat in the diet. Fats are the primary fuel source for low to moderately intense activity. This includes staying focused and energized throughout your workday. Fatty acids are also the building blocks of many of our hormones, making them especially important for healthy endocrine function.
One way to move the needle is to add adequate fat to your first meal of the day. Some great options are eggs, avocado, or something more indulgent like lox. Need something quick? Try hard boiling the eggs, or be sure to add some nut butter, full fat milk, or coconut to your smoothie for a more balanced energy release throughout the day (and make sure to “chew” your smoothie like we talked about above to best digest it!).
Find yourself reaching for that afternoon coffee more than you’d like? Try switching it out with a herb based tea to promote digestion, liver health, and blood sugar regulation. Look for ingredients like dandelion root, burdock root, slippery elm, and marshmallow root.
Prioritize food sourcing
You’ve likely heard of the essential fatty acids Omega-3 and Omega-6. These are necessary nutrients for the function of many processes in the body. They aid in anti-inflammation, the immune system, the cardiovascular system and the nervous system. They are needed in our body in a 1:1 ratio. This is the ratio that they are found in animals in nature.
Conventionally farmed animals are forced to eat a diet out of their norm and fed hormones to bulk them up. This affects the nutrient profile of the meat they produce. In conventionally farmed animals we find an Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio closer to 1:20.
A deficiency of Omega-3 fatty acids has been shown to impair learning and memory in animal studies and contribute to an increased risk of mental disorder in humans. Conversely, supplementation of Omega-3 has been shown to increase cognitive ability and neuroplasticity.
Want to make sure you’re able to stay focused and clear when making big decision for your business? The best animal sources of Omega-3s are beef and salmon. As mentioned, you’ll want to make sure to prioritize grass-fed beef, and wild-caught fish. Other ways to improve Omega-3 intake would be to throw some flaxseeds or walnuts on your salad.
Your health and comfort doesn't have to take a hit when running your business. It also doesn't have to take as much effort as some may think. Put in place some of these tips to get your body in your corner, and move through your day feeling energized and pain free.
Chelsea Mancini is a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Personal Trainer based in Boston. Several years into a successful sales career, she found herself burnt out, struggling with stomach pain and skin issues, and questioning her career path. Her efforts to heal herself led to an exciting career in health and wellness. She now spends her time helping women take control of their health, and feel energized and strong in their own body.
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