Healthy eating is just as essential for entrepreneurs, executives and managers as it is for top athletes. In the business world, awareness has begun, but remains embryonic.
“We are still a long way from making the connection between what we put on our plate and our daily cognitive performance,” laments dietitian-nutritionist Andréanne Martin. On the other hand, more and more leaders are paying attention to their diet.
McGill University professor Karl Moore has interviewed nearly 1,000 CEOs for talks and a radio show over fifteen years. Over the past few years, he has noticed significant changes in their lifestyle, particularly with regard to mental health, physical activity and diet.
“They put a lot more emphasis on those three elements than 15 years ago. You can’t neglect your health and play in the big leagues,” he says, comparing CEOs to National Hockey League (NHL) players.
Sophie Alain is one of those leaders who have changed their diet. The co-owner and director of operations of Pâtisserie Michaud changed her eating habits about twenty years ago. Since then, she has avoided restaurants, which she frequented a lot, to cook her own healthy meals.
She advises entrepreneurs – who are short on time – to prepare their food on Sundays, and freeze the leftovers.
Ms. Alain even organized two nutrition conferences in her company to educate her employees on the importance of healthy eating.
It is enough to respect the basic advice of nutrition to obtain many benefits. Thus, processed foods, refined grain products and added sugar are to be avoided, says dietitian-nutritionist Andréanne Martin.
A snack consisting of a granola bar and a banana is “the worst possible trap” according to her, because a person’s energy level fluctuates after the absorption of fast sugars.
Conversely, you need a lot of color on your plate, says the nutritionist. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains and animal and vegetable proteins have a special place in the rainbow.
“This color allows us to get a range of vitamins and minerals” which help with “cognitive performance”, which is very important for entrepreneurs, managers and executives, positions which bring a “very impressive mental load says Ms. Martin.
A more stable energy level, reduced stress and anxiety, improved sleep and increased concentration are some of the benefits of a colorful diet.
“You need some thought to be a good human leader. That thinking can’t happen when you’re hypoglycemic [too low blood sugar], when you’re hyperglycemic [excessive blood sugar], or when you’re not hydrated,” says Mrs. Martin.
Since making changes to his diet three years ago, Guillaume Chabot has had a higher, but more importantly, more stable overall energy level. Previously, the ex-CEO of Poitras Industries ate a lot of carbohydrates during the day, especially in snacks, which caused him headaches.
Mr. Chabot swapped carb-based snacks for more protein. “The headaches stopped 45 days later,” he says. A few weeks later, he saw improvements in his focus and energy.
Her secret: make two to three small changes a week, like adding spinach to her morning smoothie. Mr. Chabot draws a parallel with the business world, where he often tells his employees to set a few priorities a day.
“It’s kind of the same with nutrition. You have two or three priorities in the week, then once that’s acquired, you can work on something else. »
