(Fourth in a Series on Working from Home)
I don’t want to write this post. I want to start and end the day with chocolate, eat deep dish pizza for lunch and drink coffee all afternoon. I’m working at home, so it’s all right there for the taking, with no witnesses.
I would do this if I could get away with it. But we really can’t. All day long, we choose either the fuel of life, health and high functioning, or the Fuel of Death. When we eat and drink the Fuel of Death, we lose energy, motivation, stamina and clarity. We need little naps. We think negative, circular thoughts. We can’t sleep at night, furthering the downward spiral.
I’m not a physician or a dietitian, but here’s what I know for sure:
Too much coffee jitters and hypes us, affecting sleep hours after we drink it. I’ve had to switch to half decaf, and only two or three cups before noon.
- Too much food at once makes most of us super dopey. Big lunches especially slow us down. It helps to eat a few hundred calories late morning, then again mid-afternoon.
- Sugars and refined flour – the principal ingredients in all yummy food – give us nothing, tax our organs and load us up with unwanted weight. The harsh reality is that we were made to eat mostly plants that have not been messed with. You know: apples, carrots, salads, grainy brown bread with seeds in it, nuts. Anyone who has tried a few days of this stuff without the sugar and white flour knows how good it feels. Everything is easier because our bodies have what they need.
- Some protein with each meal or snack keeps our energy more even – an egg, some nuts, a few cubes of cheese, a little lean meat or fish. It also keeps us from getting hungry again too soon and grabbing handfuls of cheese puffs.
- Alcohol does not enhance work performance, or any performance. It doesn’t matter that lots of great artists were big drinkers. Most of them didn’t end well and we could have had decades of better work from them if they’d stayed sober.
- Drugs, illegal or misused, do not enhance work performance, no matter how brilliant we may feel for a time.
The statement of the obvious must be repeated until we really believe it; Good food leads to good work. Bad food leads to bad work. I know there are some people who code for twelve hours at a time on Monster drinks and donut holes, but it’s going to catch up with them.
Changing eating habits is really hard. I’ve worked on one at a time, and I’m still far from ideal. Drinking a lot of water is a good habit to start with. Only buying good food really helps. Measuring quantities helps. Planning the day’s food ahead helps.
However we do it, we will be sabotaging ourselves when we try to work without the fuel our bodies were made for.
Yes, all truth.
100% correct. People ask why I try to eat this way on a regular basis. I simply say I feel better as long as I do. It is not because I am not tempted by many of the “bad foods” as well. I usually advise people to change one habit a time as well so you are not overwhelmed. Otherwise they are on a diet which will not hold. Drinking a lot of water also discourages non-stop caffeine drinks I have found. We are impacted by what we take in so this is simply speaking the truth.
You are SO right! A sensible diet, plenty of water, and daily exercise not only enhance our performance (no matter what we do), but we FEEL so much better–energized and positive. Appreciated what you said about artists who produced genius work even while over-eating, drinking too much, or taking drugs. Such habits caught up with them; we lost them too young. Not the role models we want to follow! Thank you, Colleen, for the great reminders of good habits that contribute to good work.