Tag Archive - Diet and Exercise

How Writers Can Benefit from a Sense of Purpose and Routine

Today’s guest post is by author Tori Eldridge.

It’s a scary time in the world right now. We’ve been forced into a new way of living and are concerned about the well-being of our family, friends, and communities. Many of us have been confined in our homes for months and will be living this way for at least a few more weeks.

It’s important to adjust to this change in a way that makes us feel calm, safe, and sane—a tall order when faced with upsetting news reports and worsening statistics. Harder still, if serious family problems arise from being locked in or our financial stability crumbles.

This new reality is different for everyone.

We have our own adjustments to make and challenges to face. But we also have people we care about, close to our hearts and in the world at large. While we empathize with the suffering of others, it is vitally important that we also protect our own emotional well-being. This is easier said than done because once we open our hearts, emotions, of all kinds, flood in.

So, how do we keep ourselves emotionally sound and physically fit? Continue Reading…

Why Writers Should Take Their Diet Seriously

In the last couple of Monday posts on writer productivity, we’ve been looking at nutrition and exercise. While researching all this, I learned some neat things. I realized that my body regularly craves almost all the best foods for productivity. I don’t think it’s just a matter of coincidence, that I happen to like these foods.

Rather, I believe it’s evidence of my body talking me and I’m listening. In recent years I’ve come to crave almonds (I also read that they contain something needed during menopause, and that’s also a factor in my craving). But I also crave walnuts, avocados, and eggplant.

What I’m thinking is that, while our bodies sometimes scream “Go buy a pizza or a triple-decker ice cream cone,” if we strain to listen beyond the superficial craving (which is often our bodies saying “I need glucose”),  maybe we can hear that true biological voice telling us what we need as we’re cranking out those books.

I’ll crave different foods at different times of the year, and I believe that’s in line with our biology. Summer is when fruits are plentiful, with their high sugar, to give us lots of energy for heavy outdoor physical activity.

If we consider we were made to work harder and more hours in warmer weather and rest and be mostly dormant during cold seasons, it makes sense. In the winter we long for heavy, thick soups and potatoes. Foods that make us warm and sleepy. Continue Reading…

How to Create a “Writer Productivity Diet”

Okay, we’re going to have a little nutrition lesson here, and if this makes you cringe, I promise to keep it as short and sweet as possible.

Glucose is at the heart of energy. What is glucose?

It’s a type of sugar you get from foods you eat, and your body uses it for energy. As it travels through your bloodstream to your cells, it’s called blood glucose or blood sugar.

We’ve all heard something about “blood sugar levels,” but you may not have paid much attention to this subject or considered the part it may play in your productivity.

While we are looking at the B in the Productivity ABCs—biology—I would be remiss if I left out a discussion about glucose.

Simply put, we need energy to be productive. We need sugar.

But not just any sugar. Continue Reading…

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