Ask HN: How to keep energy levels consistent every day?

Sample size of one caveat

Firstly, I think it is impractical to have consistent energy levels every day. IMO and experience, human beings operate in phases. There are days where I am ultra-productive, not even distracted by mails or messages and there are other days when I keep checking WhatsApp every minute. There are also days where I am not producing much but I am excited about something new in my field and on which I am reading. And so on - you get the drift.

Second, from an energy-diet linkage perspective, I've found that I am sharpest on days when I skip breakfast and snacks until late into the day (2-ish). I fathom this to be related to the absence of insulin spikes and the subsequent carb-induced inertia. This is a variant of intermittent fasting and it has clearly had an impact on my work productivity.

Curious to read others' experiences on this.

First things first, I fully suggest heading to the doctor. Feeling faint after eating/drinking coffee can be your blood sugar or your blood pressure bottoming out. It can be a myriad of other things too [1], some quite serious. I'd mention your low energy levels to the doctor as well, as it sounds like it is worse than normal. I think taking care of this will make a big difference in your energy levels.

As far as other things you can do, it is really all diet, exercise, and consistently getting good sleep. I eat most of my food in the evening because I'm not hungry in the morning. I drink a cup of coffee sporadically through the day (rarely do I have two cups in a row). I walk as my main form of transportation. This stuff is more likely to give you consistent energy levels from day to day, but it won't even out some of the ups and downs throughout the day.

You mentioned dehydration: I had a spell where I was getting a bit queasy and dizzy through the day. I called the doctor, and the nurse held off on making an appointment because it sounded like dehydration. It is something you can get over fairly easily. Her instructions? Take it easy for a day. Eat healthy foods. A banana is especially helpful (potassium). Drink lots of fluid. It should get much better that same day - and it did. Otherwise, off to the doctor with me, but luckily that didn't happen.

Good luck, and I hope you get feeling better.

[1] http://www.md-health.com/Dizziness-After-Eating.html

Armchair medical advice here:

1) see a doc. While there, along with other checks, check for diabeties and insulin resistance. The tests that don't require testing glucose levels after drinking a lot of sugar aren't as effective. 2) Assuming insulin related issues, check out the keto diet or something siimilar. One can become a fat burner instead of a sugar/carb burner. Thin people who are also fat burners have a month's worth of energy even without eating. Not a couple hours of fluctuating glucose levels like many. It has worked for me. I couldn't keep my eyes open in the afternoon, would frequently feel awful especially after eating high sugar things like a milkshake, and I did OK at the doctor's tests for diabetics which runs in the family. After a number of months I am no longer overweight. (Note that the FDA recommends we eat what the Agricultural industry happens to sell most of--mostly grains.) None of this may be applicable to you. But for me it was quite a puzzle after seeing a doctor and getting nowhere so consider it a possibility if you get no working answers from your doctor.

I'm continuously occupied with thoughts on this subject. You will need to study your body, I was experimenting a few years and from that I know what makes me sharp and what doesn't. In my case - refined sugar in any shape or form is affecting me a lot in negative way and I can see results straight away. This also holds for food rich in carbs as well as anything that contains processed grains. And my problem is I found myself to be addicted to sweets and bread (cravings when I'm trying to cut these off). I'm not sporty type of person (and there are periods of time when I'm extremely loaded and working long hours).

But I'm also lucky that my wife is very much into the subject of healthy living and food/dietary requirements. And for about 6 years she is attending seminars about different types of food and what effect they have on our bodies. Through those seminars she found a few easy tips that worked for me (though I am aware they are only shortcuts that let me survive until I can do things properly, i.e. treat sport seriously in my life). I'll share them with you so maybe they will be a good start on your journey:

One of those tips was bulletproof coffee (original recipe by Dave Asprey though in principle it's mycotoxins-free coffee with raw butter and coconut oil - healthy type of fat). In essence your brain can burn either carbs or fat. Carbs are preference though after immediate energy spike body gets crash. If you avoid carbs for long enough (more than 12 hours, different depending on person) your body may go to ketosis - state where your brain can switch to burn fat - and that's where bulletproof coffee comes to the game - since most of it is fat.

Another tip was avocado - it keeps me filled (much less cravings) and in the same type it's healthy fat too!

Another one was to keep a bottle of water (high PH) with me all the time. I started doing this when I realised there could be whole day past by and the only liquids I would drink was coffee! I aim to drink 1.5 litre a day, this bottle stands on my desk so I reach and have a gulp every now and then. Our body is mostly build from water so it's helping to keep water level within levels allowing normal functioning (you will need to find how much is `normal` in your case).

I started testing above three on myself 3 years ago and get consistent result. Less crash from coffee, need much less coffee (essentially one in the morning and that's it), longer high-focus sessions without shaky hands syndrome (since I drink much less coffee). And local coffee shop started making bulletproof coffee about 2 years ago too which helped :-)

Another `discovery` of my own is I am really not benefiting late nights sessions (wow! though not so obvious when you are coding). If I stay late at night the very next day I'm less focused and generally less happy of the outcome when day ends. So I tend to shift from late night to early morning, which also made my family to benefit too.

Regarding "feeling of need" - I had this too, it goes away when you go into routine and find your own rituals that you celebrate each day. Morning bulletproof is one of my rituals :-) and it helps since my brain is focused on following my way - even if I smell coffee later during the day I'm not intimidated.

Good luck!