why your modern brain needs different fuel than your ancestors
90-seC office snacks to fuel your prefrontal cortex
Hola amigos from Marbella,
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” said Susan, standing next to the vending machine at work.
But Susan, our ancestors needed dawn-time carbs to hunt and harvest and you need fuel for back-to-back calls, high-stakes decisions, and mental clarity from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. That’s why the old rulebook fails modern executives.
Below is the strategic eating shift that powers modern executive performance.
Let’s dive in.
what to eat in the morning
Clean fast: black coffee plus 10 g MCT keeps dopamine steady.
Protein + fat first: eggs & avocado or Greek yogurt & flax seeds preserve executive function.
Skip simple carbs: bagels at sunrise guarantee a 10 a.m. focus nosedive.
Client Spotlight — Hussain, Chief Innovation Officer, Jeddah, KSA
“I log in at eight with only water and coffee—then coffee #2 and #3. By lunch I’m still energised and not hungry at all.”
Why it works: Stable glucose keeps the prefrontal cortex—the brain’s decision HQ—fully powered, so high-stakes thinking stays sharp all morning.
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what to eat for lunch
Lean protein + high-fiber greens: salmon, lentils, kale.
Fermented kicker: ½ cup kimchi or kefir powers the gut-brain axis (90 % of serotonin is gut-made).
Keep it light: heavy lunches reroute blood away from P&L thinking.
Why it works: A balanced microbiome crushes the 3 p.m. crash and sharpens mood.
what to eat for dinner
Evening plate: A fist-sized serving of sweet potato plus salmon. This duo helps your body turn “feel-good” serotonin into the sleep hormone melatonin.
Result: You top up energy stores without an insulin spike, leading to deeper REM sleep and better overnight memory.
Why it works: Carb back-loading shortens sleep latency.
what to eat at the office
Stash these boardroom snacks in your desk drawer, laptop bag, or office fridge and stay razor-sharp between meetings:
Beef biltong + 10 raw almonds
25 g protein, zero junk carbs. Shelf-stable, travel-proof, and impossible to spill on your keyboard.Greek-yogurt cup (plain, 2 % fat) + single-serve whey packet
Tear, stir, dominate. The rapid aminos blunt hunger for 3-4 hours.Roasted chickpeas (unsalted) + 1 square 85 % dark chocolate
Crunch + cacao polyphenols = dopamine lift without the vending-machine regret.Apple slices + 2 tbsp natural almond butter (squeeze pack)
Low-GI fruit for slow glucose, almond fats for satiety—no fridge required.Cottage-cheese pouch + handful of blueberries
Casein drips aminos to your neurons while anthocyanins fight midday brain fog.Single-serve hummus + cut-up veggie sticks
Fiber feeds your microbiome; the crunch curbs stress-snacking impulses.Dry-roasted edamame pods
14 g protein in 100 calories, zero prep, TSA-friendly for fly days.Ultra-low-sugar protein bar (<5 g net carbs)
Emergency option when the boardroom runs long—check carbs, not marketing claims.
Pro tip: Keep a 750 ml water bottle on your desk and finish two before the workday’s half-time whistle; mild dehydration can slash focus by up to 20 %.
TL;DR
Why change? Caveman carb-loading at dawn tanks modern 16-hour workdays.
Morning: Clean fast or protein + fat breakfast → flat glucose → sharper decisions.
Midday: Lean protein, high-fiber greens, fermented kicker → steady energy, stable mood.
Evening: Slow carbs (e.g., sweet potato) + omega-3s → deeper REM, overnight recovery.
Desk snacks: Beef biltong + almonds, yogurt + whey, roasted chickpeas + dark chocolate—ready in 90 s.
That’s it for today.
¡Hasta la vista, amigos!
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