Increasing Physical Energy Levels

Good question Craner;
depending on one's basic health - one can get out and move that body,
take regular walks and se what happens.
Take up an easy form of Tai Chi- the people you see moving slowly early morning in the park,
gets the blood and the "chi' moving.
'Finding' Tai Chi some years ago was a revelation;
after doing the simple moves a few times and 'getting into it' a bit,
one can definitely feel the energy move in your body, some 'life' in there
something you may be missing I am guessing ?

See if you get anything from trying this kind of thing,
then meditating - tho' not strictly about 'energy level'-
is another part of the body -mind' package and something to go onto along with weekly simple Tai Chi type movements and exercise .
Once you feel or see some benefit, you can get hooked on doing it !

Go easy Mr. C

diet, physical exercise, enough sleep & at regular times, stop smoking (if you do), stop drinking/taking drugs (if you do any of those) or at least cut down, same goes for coffee. of those in terms of increasing physical energy I would say the most important is diet - which I guess you could extend out to include alcohol etc - which is crucial. I'll refrain from making specific dietary suggestions unless you're interested.

I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for, but having more energy is one of those things where there's kinda no shortcuts.

At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, it's surprisingly easy not to get enough sleep. And some people seem to need more than others to function well during the day.

As far as food goes, bananas are generally reckoned to be a very good energy source. Make sure you're getting enough vitamins, especially B vitamins, because you need these to metabolise whatever calories you're eating.

Sound advice from all above. I second the Tai Chi recommendation - I do some other internal arts but same difference really. Getting up and moving about on the regular, every 30 minutes or so, if you're in a sedentary office job, works wonders I think.

You're a kind of feedbaack system and doing stuff creates the energy/buzz to do more - that's providing you're not burning out and running on empty. I'd say being excited about new projects and new experiences is also part of this, so if you have the time and inclination, join a class or take a trip somewhere. Anything to kickstart the stimulation.

Body & brain , Padraig gets it right -
first get the body together through better diet, good sleep, less poison(s) and stress relief -
then the brain will follow.

Moderation, some balance and as Darryl points out- begin a system of feedback that can give some
light at end of tunnel / goal(s) / results once you see or feel a result that you like !

Probably better to be hooked on something positive then not so positive habits ...

I could be talking out of my arse here but if you've quite recently cut down on booze and fags in a big way, it might just be that your metabolism is taking a while to adjust. A mild but lengthy withdrawal process, in other words. Where's nomad when you need her?

I'm sure it will eventually, but you might feel shitty while your body gets used to it. Nicotine and alcohol are both physically addictive, after all.

Mr. Tea said:

I'm sure it will eventually, but you might feel shitty while your body gets used to it. Nicotine and alcohol are both physically addictive, after all.

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Think you are onto something there Mr. Tea ...
it can take a while to see the results of cutting back or cutting off.

Go to bed earlier (before 12), after an hour's rest from stimulation (tv, pc etc).

Eat porridge in the morn'.

Wank twice a day for at least 40 minutes at a time.

Works wonders I tell you. You and your hand almost become the same person.

Best leave out the strangulation until you've at least earned your Grade 6, though.

craner said:

I've stopped smoking (almost, mostly) and drinking (regularly, or every night) and I don't take any drugs; I don't drink much coffee but I drink a lot more water than before and in a consistent fashion. This ought to help, right? What should I eat and when?

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all that stuff is indeed good & ought to help.

as far as diet, there's a few things. lots of fruits & vegetables, leafy greens (kale, spinach, chard, etc - tons & tons of iron, which is good for combating fatigues) especially. in general I try to get most of my carbs from fruits & vegetables rather than from bread, rice (esp. white), potatoes, pasta, etc tho I do eat quite a bit of oatmeal. low-fat protein sources like chicken (not fried, mind), turkey, fish, egg whites, but no red meat. nuts & seeds, also nut butters (if peanut butter, the real stuff rather than Jif or whatever). no or v. little refined sugar - no sweets, no soda, and so on. refined sugar is like f**king poison. be on the lookout on labels for words like sucrose, maltose, corn syrup, which all just mean sugar. this is also the reason for avoiding refined carbs from bread, pasta, etc (esp that made from white flour) which quickly break down into simple sugars in your body. also be on the lookout for sugar in foods where you wouldn't expect it.

as to when, multiple small meals are always preferrable to one big meal - keeps the body's blood sugar steady - this is why, for example, if you eat a bunch of refined sugar you'll get a burst of energy & then crash. I try to make sure every small meal is relatively balanced.

of course, every person is slightly different. for example, I run, do fairly serious weight training multiple times a week & train muay thai almost every day, so I eat quite a lot, including quite a bit of protein. other people's needs will be different, based on age, weight, metabolism, level of activity & so on. it depends on what your goals are as well. I mean, I'm really strict about it - I drink a beer once in a while & I occasionally drink coffee, but that's about it, & I never eat sweets. not everyone will want to take it that seriously, & that's absolutely fine. still, I think all of the above is general advice that anyone can utilize - you just have to gear it to your own needs.

sorry, I don't mean to go on & on but as you may be able to tell this is a subject about which I'm fairly passionate & I tend to nerd out about it the way some dudes nerd out about obscure dancehall 12"s or particle physics or whatever. hope some of it helps.

also, to go on a bit more, v. quick on the topic of exercise, I recommend to you - actually to everyone - weight training. specifically Olympic lifting (deadlift, clean, clean + jerk, snatch, etc). for so, so, so many reasons. can be used as cross-training waerobic stuff like/running, cycling, etc; actually Olympic lifting can be aerobic in & of itself, a la Crossfit, but that's a bit of a different ballgame. anyway.

one disclaimer: v. important to make sure you learn technique & do it properly - don't want to feel like I set anyone up to get injured

you already know the answer. no booze, no fags, no caffine, no late nights, do the things you love and cut out the self-flagellation. dont do tai chi you'll look ridiculous. its for old people as any chinese person will tell you. also be vegetarian.