My little secret...tablespoons of olive oil and coconut oil at different times in the morning with no other food (drink filtered water first when you wake up). The brain loves these healthy oils and helps skip a meal for weight loss if you desire. Coconut oil helps metabolism, but must be extra virgin. Olive oil must be extra virgin, but must be legit because the mob in Italy has screwed up the quality of imported oil for extra profit...use the internet and buy local if possible...grocery store olive oil is mostly diluted too. These oils will help focus, curb hunger, nourish the heart, liver, and brain (studies show they help Alzheimer's issues).
What @Baron says holds good value. However, note should be taken when you consume those complex carbs, as blood flow gets directed towards it's metabolism (and you want the brain to have a better flow and less active requirements). The optimal time is 1.5 hrs before your trading schedule. An aerobic workout (50% of optimal) prior to that is also very beneficial to get endorphins and other positive hormones/neurotransmitters going. The above is the physical aspect. The psychological aspect also needs to be understood. These few words in bold (above) are very important. Just as it is important to be physically primed prior to trading, it is even more important to conserve. For instance, take a long distance runner. If he/she had the best nutritional intake prior, but uses bursts of energy to get ahead of the pack, at some point, the intake is used up and when he really needs that energy, it is not there, no matter how good he is. He just fought against himself!. Things in the morning (opening) move big and fast. You should do everything to make your first one or two trades a winner. If things don't move your way, the faster you realize it, the better. Remove yourself from that scenario. Those who enter trades where they have to fight, fizzle out fast (think of the runner). Opening trades due to faster and bigger movement requires more mental power; two trades (handled for over 5 min each) is enough to drop your mental productivity to lower levels. Those results are not felt by a non-experienced trader; they are shown via the PnL on subsequent trades. There is much much more to the above and your post. You will discover it with time.
An aerobic workout (50% of optimal) prior to that is also very beneficial to get endorphins and other positive hormones/neurotransmitters going. This may sound stupid... but the flip side of this, ....and I can attest to it.... is this can make you too cocky. I try to keep that in mind. You know how the market can humble somebody that "knows" they're right. But the early morning workout buzz before the open is the shiiite.
I can say for me, it seems to be a preference or personality thing. I must have TRUST in my trades and that's why I trade with a high win %. This only works because I have TRUST in my ability (from a lot of experience) to notice changes in market conditions. A low win % (with good r:r) seems to mess with a lot of traders mindset...it takes a lot of patience and discipline to trade through many losses and having FAITH one or two trades will make up the losses and more. Boredom and impatience constantly tempt traders. That's really hard in my opinion, but so is finding high probability setups. Other than that, it's the feeling of losses that make me do the right thing...losses hurt too much! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!
Boredom and impatience constantly tempt traders. Exactly. Thats why those opening bell endorphins can get ya in trouble if you're not careful. Oooh don't I know.
I can see that angle, but I'm assuming the market has taught one enough lessons than to think they are better than the market. Valid point, but cockiness is put in place with enough (painful) experience
It's like, we're watering the lawn and all is well. The grass is green, the flowers are smiling. Then we want to try it with a fire hose. Over and over.
Imo one needs some grease to keep blood sugar on an even level throughout the day. A fried pork chop for breakfast with fried egg and a glass of whole milk not 2% should do the trick. One might consider staying away from breads...fruits...lowfat crap and sugar. Taking tumeric and lecithin granules may help keep arteries unstopped and fight against inflamation. Also hear it is good for the brain.
Thanks! Yeah, I guess it's boredom that's my worst enemy in trading. Especially at the second half of day, when I know I have to keep doing trades, but most major events and news have already been traded. That's where I get the most distracted and that's when I lose most money. Have no idea what to do about it...
Nice one. It's one of those thoughts that are really basic when you know about it, yet are quite enlightening when first heard. And honestly, I can't claim I'm completely past this stage, as some of my trades from the past still haunt me.