Hey guys, I'm looking for some idea's
I've a new job, usually just at the weekends, but for the past couple of weeks and this October week it's been store set up since it's a new store, so it's 9-6 everyday. I've noticed though that I find it really difficult to keep my energy up and am always hungry and end up with a headache at the end of the evening, although I notice this with college and other jobs too. I know for a fact it's cause I'm not eating the right foods that slowly release energy but I don't know what foods do this?
Usually ,because I'm gluten free and Vegetarian, in the morning I have gluten free toast, and for lunch a gluten free roll with a yogurt or something.
Can someone suggest some snacks that keep you feeling energised and not hungry throughout the day? I've heard banana's and rice cakes are good for keeping sugar levels stable.
It's to save me eating chocolate bars in the morning and feeling the sugar rush then feeling the effects in the afternoon when your levels drop back.
Any idea's would be great?
Thanks PSL

I would suggest that you eat a more substantial breakfast to give you a good start - porridge, egg and bacon, beans on toast etc etc. Do you have facilities for warming up some food at lunchtime ie a microwave? In that case you can re-fuel with something more filling than a roll. Take some time to prepare some food the night before (maybe make a few spare portions) and have a proper meal at lunchtime.

Snacks - bananas, cereal bars, nuts are good for energy. You could have a tub of seed mix or similar to nibble on (oh dear, does that make you sound like a budgie..?)

Dehydration can cause headaches - are you drinking enough during the day? Keep a bottle of water handy and keep swigging!

Are you dehydrating yourself at the same time?

Em I literally don't even go through a bottle of water at work, I usually take diluting juice but I only really drink it at lunch time but during store set up till friday I'm allowed to take a bottle onto the shop floor so I will do that, I never thought of being dehydrated to be honest, thanks for pointing that out!
There is a microwave at work so I'm going to ask tomorrow since I'm gluten free and can't just go out and buy something if it would be okay to take like mashed potatoes or rice or something in to eat.
Thanks PSL

You want the so-called low GI (glycæmic index) foods - rice cakes are relatively highly processed, and release their energy rather quickly. Oat based cereals are good, though porrige is not all that long-lasting in my own experience, and I prefer müsli, which is uncooked and also absorbs liquid after being eaten rather than before, leading to it lasting longer. However, it depends of course on how gluten free you have to be - I know some people avoiding gluten can manage oats, and others can't. Fats also delay gastric emptying, so can slow down the release of glucose from foods - diabetics eating pizza tend to find that the cheese on top and general greasiness mean they have to split their insulin dosages to cover the longer carb release, for instance: so cheese on gluten-free toast would be another option. Baked beans are also good (pulses in general, so if you fancy a breakfast of foodstuffs more usually eaten at other times of day, go for lentils or chickpeas or similar. Bananas do release reasonably slowly - they also have more calories than other fruit, piece for piece, so watch out for that. Fruit in general is also a good option, say with yoghurt, and I would chuck in sunflower seeds and honey or something like that. Research into how or why or whether that diet which involves people eating no carb and as much fat and protein as they can get their mitts onto (sorry, can't remember its name, I don't much care for weird weight-loss programmes) found that people felt full on lower calorie intake if they were taking them as fats and proteins than as carb - the diet in question was said to work because in the absence of carb, people were using fat stores for more energy, and that in turn started a fad for lots of protein in breakfast, which led to more insanely overprocessed cereals on the market - but as well as being over processed, they're over priced.
Oh, and nuts, yes. If not salted, and in moderation, a handful or two of nuts lasts rather well . The others are right though, dehydration could be a part of it all too. Hope things ease up soon for you.

The low carb diet is actually gaining popularity, not just because of the research, but the understanding of how humans have evolved over the last few million years.

Added to this is the realisation of the ridiculous and increasing amount of sugar and carbohydrate (basically chains of sugar) being consumed over the past few decades. The body can't handle it and that is why the insulin goes crazy, blood sugar levels yo-yo, people get hunger pangs, and obesity and diabetes are on the increase.

I switched to a low carb way of eating last year and cut out all vegetable oils. (Don't like to call it a diet cos it has to more of a life style change). I work in a place where I've have a medical every year since 2001. The improvement in blood HDL, LDL, triglyerides were amazing and I lost loads of weight. My blood pressure is down and I'm on half the medication I was on before.

Fat contains lots of important vitamins and is used as energy by almost every part of the body except the brain, which uses glucose. Your body has loads of fat and needs it!. Fat is only dangerous because people stuff their faces with 'unnatural' sweets, biscuits, cakes, rice, bread etc. Stuff which only appeared in our diet relatively recently, and which our organs have trouble coping with.

Fat has also had a bad press because we used to eat a lot of hydrogenated fat (which is now BANNED in Denmark) and takes ages to be digested, so stays in the blood stream and of course sticks to artery walls.

I almost forgot - the reason you feel fuller is because with very little carbohydrate being turned into sugar, the blood sugar stabilises and therefore so does the insulin levels made by the pancreas. No more hunger pangs.

Steve

You don't necessarily need to heat rice up to make a decent lunch from it. How about a rice salad type lunch made of rice, mixed beans (from a tin) and some tuna. Add a dressing if you like made with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Along the same lines you could use green lentils (again you can get them tinned) and feta cheese and chopped tomatoes with a bit of pesto stirred in. Tinned pulses may well be the way to go for quick, easy, low GI and gluten free lunches.

I snack on Nairns Oat Biscuits. They're quite good at filling you up.

I also second the porridge suggestion made earlier.

It is possible to get gluten free porridge oats - not easy but they do exist.

I have three snacks a day: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Simple answer: a glass of water and some fruit.

Even better than reheated mash - bring a large potato, cook it in its jacket and serve with your choice of topping.

TSax's rice salad suggestion is a good one, especially considering that there are health risks with reheating rice. Other gluten-free grains are millet and quinoa (not sure about barley and buckwheat - can anyone confirm?). The great thing about grain-based salads (unlike lettucey ones) is that you can make them the night before and they'll taste none the worse for it.

Or how about a thermos of soup?

Not sure about buckwheat but I know my Mum couldn't eat barley. She was VERY gluton intolerant, soup which had no gluton in it's thickening but with crutons caused her a major reaction when sent back to the kitchen for replacement and all they did was fish out the crutons.

When she was 1st diagnosed she really strugelled to eat the right things to stop her feeling wobbly between meals. Gluton free porridge with a banana worked well for breakfast. She used to always carry a couple of crisp breads in her handbag to nibble if finding something better to eat proved hard.

The rice salad idea is great - just remember to chill the rice fast as it is warm rice that has the health risks associated with it.

Be cautious with the gluton-free breads. Many are not very filling and very high in calories.

Let us know how you get on