WHAT SHOULD I EAT TO GIVE ME ENERGY?
The number of people that come to Caring Medical with the complaint of low energy is amazing. In this fast paced world we live in, it is becoming harder and harder to do everything we need to do, in the time we need to it in, and then still have time and energy left for ourselves. It’s time to find out what works for you, so that you can do the things you need to do and feel great while doing it!
SO WHAT IS GOING TO GIVE ME ENERGY?
There are two answers to this. The first is simply eat as many fresh, home cooked meals as possible. Lessen your intake of “fake” chemical foods and eliminate excessive intake of junk like sodas. The second answer is that the right energy food is different for every Hauser Diet Type! The one thing that will give a Lion the ability to power through the day may be the same thing that will leave a Giraffe stuck in a rut! So, follow the guidelines that are right for you!
LIONS AND OTTERS
You need protein and fat! Grabbing a candy bar, piece of fruit or having just a bowl of cereal for breakfast will drain you. Starting your day out that way is setting you up for disaster. Instead you need to grab a hardboiled eggs or a couple strips of bacon. Now, when you’re feeling low through out the day, don’t reach for a bag of pretzels, reach for the canister of nuts! Pretzels and other carb based snacks will have you looking at the clock, saying isn’t it time to go home yet?
Remember what you have before bed will determine how you feel when you wake. If the family is having hamburgers, drop the bun, or if spaghetti is on the menu, load up on the meatballs and leave the pasta for the kids. Don’t wake up regretting the dinner from the night before! These are foods that will give you energy!
BEARS
We actually see Bears who function best on different foods at different parts of the day. You don’t have to pass on the carbs, but make them complex. Whole wheat toast and peanut butter for breakfast may work fine for you, but a plain white bagel with jelly could lower your energy. Fruit is an option, but you may want to pair it up with some peanut butter or an egg just to buffer your blood sugar rises and drops. Making sure you pair up carbohydrates with protein or fat for each meal or snack will give you the best bang for your buck. If you want some whole grain crackers or fruit during the day, just make sure to add some nuts of cheese with it. And if having salads for lunch or dinner put a few ounces of meat on it to fill you up. Always remember portion size- that is what will be most likely to get you in trouble. If you over do it, you could zap your energy!
MONKEYS AND GIRAFFES
We hope you’re all carb lovers! You actually fall into the category that most general diet informational magazines suggest…carbs for energy! Grabbing a piece of fruit, a piece of whole grain toast with jam, or having a bowl of high fiber cereal is a great way to start your day. Omelets however won’t get you going. Lunch and dinner should also be carbohydrate based in order to get you through the day and wake up feeling good and ready to go! Salads or vegetarian style sandwiches are good lunch choices, while veggies and whole grain crackers would be good pick me ups through out the day. When it’s time to sit down to dinner, look past the chicken and steak to fill up on whole grain rice and vegetables. Eating these complex carbs will keep your energy stable all day long!
You can find a lot of diet books out there, or health websites that will tell you eat this or that for increased energy. But who should eat that? Everyone? Definitely not. What gives anyone energy may not be the same food that gives you energy. The challenge is finding out what those foods are. You can do a trial and error, or you can do the quick and easy thing by getting Hauser Diet Typed. By doing Diet Typing and looking at your Blood pH and Glucose levels, you will be able to see with your own eyes what is going to give you energy. It can be hard to pay attention to how a food makes you feel, especially because we eat lots of different foods at the same time. Take the guessing game out it and get the proof!
Foods That All Hauser Diets Should Avoid
In the world of the Hauser Diet, we constantly focus on the fact that what is good (or bad) for one person, may not be good (or bad) for the next. This is why we individualize your diet plan with Diet Typing.
However, there are a few foods that everyone should avoid. For those who have not visited Caring Medical for Diet Typing our foods to avoid may be somewhat shocking to you. A lot of the items we suggest you stay away from are things that nutritionists in the modern medicine world support. From the Lion to the Giraffe you can all find some commonality in our “Hauser Diet avoid at all cost list”!
DIET SODA
It may not contain any calories, but it also doesn’t contain anything good for you. These are the ingredients in a common diet soda: aspartame, Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Benzoate (To Protect Taste), Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Caffeine…none of these are essential to the diet and further more there are noted negative side effects with many of these ingredients, especially with Aspartame which is an artificial sweetener. Aside from Diet Soda, avoiding artificial sweeteners all together is very important. There are a too many links out there from them to health problems.
PRE-PACKAGED MEALS
Convenient yes, nutritious no. Whether they are the frozen dinners you through in the microwave for 5 minutes or the boxed meals that tell you to just add the meat and bake, you need to realize what you’re eating. Have you ever looked at the ingredients in these revolutionary meals? I looked at the ingredient list for a popular brand of one of these meals in a box. For what should be a simple meal of chicken, rice, broccoli, and seasoning there were over 30 ingredients listed (I stopped counting when I got to 30!). Why so many? Are all of those substances necessary? Better yet, what do they do to us? That’s something to think about! Now, if you were to prepare this same meal at home, you would probably only use about 5-10 ingredients depending on the seasoning of it. Not only that, but it will taste so much better! The other benefit to preparing your meals is that you are more likely to stick to your Hauser Diet. If you’re a Giraffe are really going to pick the chicken out of that prepared meal? Or how feasible is it for Lions to scrape away the rice that’s all mixed in?
You don’t need all of the harsh preservatives, food chemicals, and hydrogenated fats that come along with those quick fix meals. I know convenience is important, but your health should be too. All you would have to do is fix a big meal one day during the week and then you have leftovers for the next few days. All you need to do is warm them up. And if it’s the portion control you like about the microwavable dinners, just do it yourself. Portion out what you have prepared into containers and freeze…it’s the same thing only better for you!
YOGURT WITH FRUIT
Yogurt is still a food that provides much conversation during consults with patients. Even if you’re a Monkey or Giraffe whose diet is a high carbohydrate diet, it doesn’t mean you should be taking in a large quantity of simple sugars. It means taking in lots of complex carbs. So here’s the problem. Yogurt that comes with fruit already in it, or has the fruit flavoring is going to be high in sugar, even the organic ones! We wouldn’t recommend that anyone choose these. But, if you go for the “low sugar” or “sugar free” fruit flavored yogurts you’re loading up on artificial sweeteners. This causes a dilemma, and the only way to solve this dilemma if you are really a yogurt fan is to buy plain yogurt. That way it’s naturally low in sugar without artificial sweeteners. You can always jazz it up on your own. We always suggest that Lions and Otters throw in some nuts or seeds to add a little crunch. Monkeys and Giraffes can add their own fruit it, and Bears can add a little bit of both. If you’re looking for a good brand or variety, try the Greek yogurt it’s really high in protein and the lowest in sugar. There’s even a full fat one and a 2% fat variety to suit all the Hauser Diets.
LOW-FAT EVERYTHING!
You would be hard pressed to find a food out there that doesn’t come in a low fat or fat free variety! Of course, we are talking about fat based foods. This is how the food industry makes its money. It feeds on what the media presents to us as health dangers. Fat free/low fat dressings, peanut butter, mayonnaise, and snack foods are so common that most people just assume it’s the right way to go. But they’re wrong! There are a few reasons for staying away from these altered products. First of all, our philosophy is that if you eat right for your Diet Type, you should be able to eat the original variety of all the foods you choose because you will be eating foods that your body needs.
Another reason why these foods aren’t the best choice is due to the additives and food chemicals. You can bet that when they take something out, i.e. fat, they will have added something else in! If you ever look at a jar of peanut butter verses reduced fat peanut butter, you will notice that they have the same amount of calories. They have taken some fat out, but they have added sugar, along with other ingredients!
Lastly, if you follow one of our main focuses, eating natural, you won’t have the option of low fat and fat free. Natural foods are in the state they should be eaten, not altered. This is the best way to go for your health!
Whether you’re a Lion, a Bear, or any other Hauser animal, staying away from these foods will give you even more of a boost than you already have from eating right for your Diet Type.
