Prioritizing your nutrition is the foundation for peak performance.
There are unrecognized challenges that many leaders face that prevent them from leading at their peak performance. It’s a nutritional issue.
One of the first compromises leaders make is to deprioritize nutrition. Busy travel schedules and over-booked calendars cause leaders to reach for things that are convenient and often unhealthy, rather than things that keep them energized. But as a CEO coach, positive organizational psychologist, and nutritionist, I can attest that the key to peak performance is your daily diet.
Food is a huge source of energy. The food we put into our bodies influences our mental focus, emotional stability, and how much energy we have to put into it as a leader.
If a leader has nutritional issues, they can experience extreme energy highs and lows and sleep issues, sending them into a downward spiral of negativity. An energy crash can look like having trouble concentrating, not engaging, being slow to react, or showing no empathy. These behaviors can be misinterpreted as leadership issues.
In my recent Psychology Today post, I explained why it’s important to prioritize the well-being of leaders. I explained that step one is raising awareness, which involves changing the way you think and connecting to your purpose. Happiness comes from both self-awareness and energy. An important step to increasing your energy starts with the basics of your diet.
However, most people fail in their attempts to improve their nutrition. The standard ways people approach health goals often don’t work.
Over the past few years, my top three New Year’s resolutions have been to “work out more,” “eat healthier,” and “lose weight.” Four months into 2024, he says, fewer than 20% of people are still achieving their health goals. By February, 80% had given up.
Sadly, health goals tend to remain at the top of the list year after year, repeating the cycle of failure as we fail to achieve last year’s goals.
Why aren’t health goals met every year?
- Our goals are wrong. Without realizing it, we often set goals based on self-criticism, or harsh, negative self-talk, such as losing weight. Goals that revolve around getting on the scale can be incredibly demotivating.
- We go too hard and too fast. We try to change everything at once. And when nothing sticks and things don’t change right away, we feel like we’ve failed.
- We don’t understand that nutrition is a balance between physiological and psychological functions.. Either you don’t understand one or the other, or you’re only relying on one or the other, or you need to change the combination from a nutritional standpoint.
- We deprioritize ourselves. We can start with good intentions but not take action to serve ourselves and prioritize everything else in our lives.
When we think that nothing is going right, we can easily fall into a downward spiral. You may feel disappointed if you don’t meet your health goals each year. At times like these, we need to bring compassion and kindness to ourselves.
how to progress
Consider a different approach to achieving your health goals. I expand on these ideas in my book Brilliant: Become a Bright Leader Without Burning Out.
- Connect to possible locations. Imagine what would be possible if you could achieve a sustainable healthy lifestyle. Think about how you can develop your physical strength to reach your full potential.
- Harnessing the neuroscience of change. Our brains are designed to make small incremental changes rather than large changes all at once. Recognize that taking one small step at a time creates long-term change. Let’s start with the simple, small steps in front of us.
- Make yourself a priority. As a leader, taking care of yourself through proper nutrition requires intentionality and prioritization. Plan ahead to ensure you have access to healthy food and snacks throughout the week. Pre-packed nutritious food is easy to access even during busy times. Think about what helps your body every day.
- Balance both your physiological and psychological functions. Recognize that there are many bad cycles that need to be broken in order to reach the energizing cycle of good sleep, good food, and good hydration. Focus on creating a positive cycle that supports both your physiological and psychological functions without compromising yourself.
Basic steps to improve nutrition
- You are the expert on your body. Everyone is biochemically different. Many people may tell you what is good, but you can be your own food expert. What foods make you feel good and give you energy? What foods make you feel bad? If you’re not sure how food affects your mood, take note to become smarter about your body. Please start paying.
- Drink more water: Being dehydrated puts a strain on our bodies. An estimated 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated, and most of us don’t drink enough water, even if we don’t feel thirsty. Drinking more water is one of the easiest and most effective steps in the right direction. Slowly increase your water intake by 8 ounces per week.
- Eat real food: Make small changes and slowly incorporate more whole foods into your diet. Balance the macronutrients in every meal. This means including three macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
reflection questions
- What do I want most for my health in the coming year?
- What is the best way to nourish yourself both physically and mentally?
- How can we show compassion for ourselves on this journey instead of allowing ourselves to feel negative?
- What is the small step in front of you?
When leaders feel inspired to take action to improve their nutrition and health, they begin a spiral of sleeping better, waking up refreshed, and maximizing their brain performance. They operate with sustained physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy to excel in leadership and life.
Nutrition is an integral part of leadership and is the absolute foundation for leadership at peak performance. Leading at your best starts with fueling your diet.
