Eating for Energy: What You Need to Know

There are different goals for different meals. Sometimes a meal is social. Sometimes it’s a gift. Sometimes it’s satisfying a craving.
But when you’re eating intuitively and doing your best to fuel your body in a healthy way, you’re mainly eating for energy. Food is fuel, after all, and that old phrase, “You are what you eat?” Well, it’s not exactly true, but we all know that what you eat has a major effect on how you feel — for better or for worse.
If you’ve found yourself dragging, it could be because your diet is lacking certain vitamins and minerals — and that’s nothing to be ashamed of! In fact, it’s really easy, if you’re not paying close attention, for many of us to find ourselves iron deficient or low on magnesium.
And that’s where making a point to eat in a way that gives you plenty of energy is so important. Eating for energy doesn’t just mean that you’re eating a healthy diet — it also means you’re eating smart and packing your meals full of things like B vitamins and potassium.
Lucky for you, there’s a handy chart from Fix.com over at Fit Bottomed Girls that’ll show you why certain vitamins and minerals give you an energy boost and which foods are the best sources.

Are you big on eating for energy, or does that tend to be a byproduct? I definitely notice a difference when I’m not paying attention to my iron levels. Big time. —Kristen