Simple food, good mood - A daily structure for food intake

Nutrition lies at the base of an active, healthy lifestyle. You can spend as many hours as you like training, doing sports, working long hours, studying or doing any kind of activity - if your food intake is lacking certain fundamental nutritional components, you will not make as much progress nor feel as good as you could. Eating healthy and clean food will aid you to feel better and be more productive in all areas of life. And by being more productive you will make sure you add more value to yourself, people around you and the society as a whole. So rather than isolating food as “an activity” during the day, consider that food intake lies at the basis of a bigger chain reaction.  

But what should I eat then? Eating clean food does not appear too difficult on paper and but it gets a lot trickier while we are entangled in our daily busy lives. That is why we made a simple guide that you can follow to make your food intake easier on a daily basis. It can help you if you feel lost in the available options or simply struggle with proper food intake every day. This structure works as a guide and it is up to your food preference how you fill in the blanks. In this guide any kind of sports activity would be scheduled before your dinner.

FuelMe’s Daily food intake guide:

Breakfast:

• Food: Protein + Fats
• Supplements: Fish oil + Vitamin D + Zinc

Lunch:

• Food: Protein + Vegetables

Snack (before sports):

• Some carbs or protein

Dinner (after sports):

• Food: Carbs + Protein + Vegetables

Snack:

• Supplement: Magnesium citrate (before sleeping)

No-go list:

• Alcohol
• Sugar (this eliminates bread & all baked stuff)
• Processed foods

Now you have a daily structure, it’s time to fill in the blanks. To give you some more guidance, here are some good and basic sources of carbs, protein and fat you can consider.

• Carbs: rice, potato/sweet potato, some fruit
• Protein: beef, fish, chicken, vegetarian sources, pure protein powder
• Fat: avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts & seeds

The reason we only give you a structure is because we do not want to push a certain diet down your throat - everyone has different taste preferences. And what works for you, does not necessarily work for others. Also your mood can affect what you feel like eating that day or week. A diet carries the connotation that it it is only a temporary solution and you will not stick with it if you do not like it or is forced upon you. Something that you do actually like yourself, will turn into a habit and a permanent change for the better. Eventually you will embody the change and minimize the risk of falling back into unhealthy eating patterns.

Two general rules of thumb for good food sources: Plant-based + Colours

If you are struggling to find a balanced food intake, this guide might work for you. Carbs are set for after training as you would need more carbs after physical effort. Some forms of carbs (fast carbs) will spike your blood sugar and give a drowsy sleepy feeling, which is not beneficial or ideal when you would like to feel productive during the day. So save your carb intake for the evening when the activity level is going down. Try to insert a palm of protein into every meal. And as you notice: vegetables are key. Keep in mind this is only a guide and plenty of other diets or food guides can work for you depending on your daily rhythm.