I'm like Caleb aiming to stay up emotionally, mentally, and physically in the first place by continual grazing but if fatiguing I go for low glycemic index foods that provide quick energy within the constructs of whole foods - a small apple, banana, coconut chips, nuts, seeds(pumpkin and sunflower and hemp well chewed), nut butters(often with the apple or banana), dark high quality chocolate(not Snackers)...Mixing a small amount of caffeine or micro ground coffee into the nut butter dipped on some apple or banana works for me too but I don't make a habit of caffeine on trail. A matcha or yerba mate or turmeric ginger drink lifts me up. I'm not aiming for a quick pump up - blood sugar spike - followed by an equally quick crash which then puts me in a roller coasting energy, mental, and emotional cycle.
I recently mentioned the quick metabolizing of MCT's - medium chain triglycerides or medium chain fatty acids - in coconut oil on the coconut thread.
Just indiscriminately going after fat and calories especially in a large midday meal can have the reverse effect of energizing depending on the sources of the ingredients. Heavy meals can take significant energy to digest. aka Holiday gorging followed by nodding out on the couch in front of the TV
A morning and then early or late afternoon dose of acetyl-L-carnitine, sustained R alpha lipoid acid, B12, Ginko biloba, broad spectrum ginseng or fresh rhizome(seng) in the Appalachians, guarana, Rhodiola rosacea,... help with the mental and physical energy.
Numerous studies demonstrate that physiology - how one holds their body - influences feelings of well being and disease. Even if one doesn't "feel like it" practice energy uplifting postures i.e.; chin up and level, shoulders back, full deep breaths, full speech, stomping happily through the rain puddles like Gene Kelly in Singing In The Rain , etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZYhVpdXbQ Way before my time but I like being happy rather than angry, sad, or annoyed! I prefer love over hate and strife! I like rain!
I thought it was initially inane to go to a Yoga class to learn better breathing? Better breathing helps energy. Optimal oxygen is a requirement.
Being appropriately hydrated helps energy. Water is a requirement to feeling energized. The cleaner, the less adulterated, the better. Drink while imagining the pure refreshing life giving water energizing every cell in your body.
What I include in being energized is not just influenced by foods though. Emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of being positively energized should not be discounted in themselves or in their ability to influence physical energy desires.
I aim to stay engaged, be present in the moment on hikes. Seek to appreciate things connected to hiking beyond just hiking - that rock, tree, mountain range landscape, sounds of water flowing, group of flowers, a bee, an ant, beetle, generosity/kindness/consideration/hope/love/peace emanating from people, rain, sun, taking out and staring at that pic of your son playing with the dog while holding the hand of and kissing your wife(letting those positive emotions and mental well being flow), having that pic of Nature, etc. This helps not only mentally but biochemicals are being released that affect the physical well being.
Music. Load up on music that is not only energizing with a fast tempo but uplifts with a positive message in the lyrics. C'mon if this music doesn't lift you up you may not have a pulse:
Happy, after seeing the vid, by Pharrel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM
What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21LGv8Cf0us OR IZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0xoMhCT-7A
There Little Birds by Bob Marley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaGUr6wzyT8
The Walker by Fitz and the Tantrums
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGBLlFMn9Xc
Yes music has the potential to energize just as it has the potential to depress, de-energize, enlist feelings of melancholy...
Find something to laugh about. Easy, based on all the silly things we've done or experienced. Tip: gratitude- finding something to appreciate - and laughter, which as has been said is - good medicine - often go together.
Find others of a high energy level(humans and wildlife) and let it be infectious so that you feed from and contribute to each other's energy levels with the ultimate goal to uplift everyone and everything. Seek to avoid low energy people and psychic vampires. Be aware of your environment bringing you down rather than you uplifting the environment(immediate surroundings). It has an affect on your physical well being including "energy" levels.
Be aware of and engaging in exhibiting control of your thoughts. Thought life - what we mediate upon - influences energy levels in all respects including physical.
I find extra physical ability/energy when I meditate on:
Joshua 1:9. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
Philippians 4:13. "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
The aim here in sharing all this is to recognize energy needs beyond just physical, noticing how all these aspects influence and are intertwined energetically, and by having as many avenues to "energize" as possible it makes it harder to feel physically "bonked."
See the differences in the whole person(wholistic or holistic) approach with all these different aspects interconnected similar to the whole food food approach I've endlessly been commenting about rather than reductionist theoretical scientific approach we're more accustomed in the U.S. culture?