Lately, I've been paying more attention to how much work I'm doing as a programmer. I get things done, but I feel bedraggled. I'm 25, but I lack the energy you figure a 25 year old would have. The cause? My diet sucks. I typically wake up, start coding, have a very meager breakfast, eat lunch fairly late, and then sometimes, have a big dinner (steak, etc.). My energy levels are never consistent, however. I do know I have a high metabolism, though, and this clashes with any serious eating I'll do even on the days where I eat three meals a day. In the event that I do eat something heavy, less than 2-3 hours later, I will feel as if I haven't eaten.
I've been told to keep snacking (fruits, nuts, etc.) throughout the day, but I never seem to actually be eating enough to not feel washed out. The key is that I never actually feel hungry, though.
I've been trying to figure out how I can do better with my diet as a programmer. A lot of things I've read are aimed at losing weight. I've been the same weight +/- 5lbs. for the last 10 years at least, so that's not my concern.
Does anybody have any recommendations for foods programmers should be eating to maintain energy levels?
In my experience the act of sitting in front of a computer all day just makes me feel lethargic, no matter what I eat. I went on various forms super healthy diets and none of them really changed anything. I generally felt much better when I went to the gym for 2 hours before going into work. However, I felt even better on the days I didn't go into work at all.
I can eat garbage like nachos, beer, french fries and go snowboarding all day and feel on top of the world. I determined that sitting around all day is a slow death, and my body was letting me know.