Posts Tagged ‘Energy Levels’

Benefits of Eating More Raw Foods

April 5th, 2010

There are plenty of very good reasons to make the switch to a higher concentration of raw foods in your diet. Ideally, of course, you would make the switch to an all-raw diet if eating for energy was your main priority in life. However, sometimes life gets in the way of your ideal eating goals.


But when you feel yourself wavering between a healthy raw option and that processed chocolate bar at snack time, here’s a few thoughts you can review in your mind to remind yourself of why you chose to eat more raw foods in the first place.


Raw foods take less preparation time. Sure, it might not seem like it at time, but overall, a raw diet means you spend a lot less time in the kitchen, and a lot more time out enjoying your life. No longer will you have to baste roasts, cook pasta, thaw turkeys, or wait for water to boil. A raw diet means, at most, you have to put something in the dehydrator overnight. Otherwise, it’s a few minutes of prep time, and straight onto the plate.


Eating raw also means less energy waste, both in your home and in your body. Cooking foods means electricity-hogging appliances like your stove are used, spilling excess heat into your home and adding big bucks to your bills.


But while eating raw means less energy used, it is also a high energy diet for you, in that the essential vitamins, nutrients and living enzymes in the food that sometimes are lost to the cooking process are instead brought into the body. You will probably notice, almost immediately after you begin eating more raw foods that you will have energy levels you haven’t felt since you were much younger. You won’t believe how tired and sluggish you used to feel, and it is that feeling of power, energy and vitality that you need to remember when you feel your will power slipping, and the lure of something cooked and unhealthy beaconing to you.


What other reasons do you need to keep yourself on the raw foods straight and narrow path? Eating for energy in its raw form means you will be taking in more fibre, which will aide in digestion and help you to feel full on less food.


Eating raw also usually means an intake of fewer calories, but more good calories. Many people try to lose weight by simply cutting calories, but in the end, their body craves the energy. Eating raw doesn’t deprive the body, it floods it with good fuel, and encourages the body to become a more high-powered and efficient machine in the process.


A diet high in raw foods will, by its very nature, have less processed sugar than the average person’s diet. But with all of the fresh fruits available, you will never have to deny your sweet tooth.


In the end, when you make the change to eat more raw foods, the biggest benefit will be the higher levels of energy, and how good overall you will feel. Can a moment on the lips replace that? Fat chance.

Healthy Eating Plan for More Energy

March 25th, 2010

Most people simply eat. They don’t stop to think about what they’re putting into their bodies, and they certainly never ponder if there are better options when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and getting more energy from their food. But if these are areas that concern you, here are a few tips to help you get the most out of every mouthful.

One of the best things you can do is eat raw foods as often as possible. In their raw form, many of the foods you eat contain more vitamins and nutrients. That’s because the cooking process leaches away many of these benefits, not to mention killing all of the natural living enzymes that could really be helping your body out.

Another way to help yourself is to choose healthy snacks instead of junk food. It sounds obvious, but it does take a little planning ahead. There is always a candy machine nearby, but if you have a bag full of almonds and apple slices, you’ll get the snack you need, when you need it, and you won’t suffer later when the candy would usually run out and leave you with a sugar deficit.

And while it might seem like a good idea at the time, you should never skip a meal. Your body thrives on regular consumption of fuel – if you skip meals, you teach your body to store excess calories for lean times, rather than letting your body burn them as needed. Stay to a fairly regular eating routine, and your body will know that there is always more fuel coming, and be more willing to let you run the tank right to empty.

Drink plenty of water. Again, this sounds like common sense, but sadly, many people neglect their water intake needs. A properly hydrated body is one that can concentrate all of its efforts on the task at hand.

You should always eat when you’re hungry. If you are between meals and you feel a little pull in your stomach, go find yourself a healthy snack. Ignoring those signs from your body will impair your energy levels, as a starving body will begin to shut down, and you will feel weaker for it.

On the flip side, don’t eat when you’re not hungry. Many people will do this, absent-mindedly snacking while they watch television or read a book, or while they are out with friends. When snacks arrive, take a second to do an inventory of your stomach. Are you really hungry, or just looking for something to do?

Don’t eat out of boredom!

Watch the toppings! Even the healthiest foods lose their purpose when they’re drenched in fatty, heavy dressings, or covered with salts or sugars. Always remember that even an energy-rich food like blueberries can be rendered into an “energy bar” that’s more sugar than anything else.

And don’t forget to season your food. Many people grew up with the only seasoning on the table being salt. There is a whole world of spices out there, and they will allow you to keep eating healthy foods without getting bored of the same old tastes with every meal. Spice things up, and you’ll be able to stick to the good stuff longer.

=> Got any favourite energy tips of your own? Feel free to share them in the comments.

Settling for Good Enough

December 14th, 2009

The other week, my girlfriend wrote a great post on the topic of being satisfied with being “healthy enough”. You can read it here. It’s a really great piece.

I’d like to follow up where she left off and continue the discussion mainly because my diet of late has not been the greatest. I guess my excuse is that it’s the holiday season and we’re surrounded by chocolates and other temptations.

Normally, my “moderation” mentality would kick and say “Ok, you’ve had a few chocolates, now it’s time for some greens.”

But it hasn’t recently.

I think part of the problem is that I’m settling for being healthy enough.

I don’t have any health issues. I still workout 6 days a week. And other than a slight drop in my energy levels, I feel “ok”.

But the reality is that that’s a real travesty!

And it’s not just me. There are millions of people who are going through the same thing. I’ve seen with my own eyes with thousands of personal clients that I’ve worked with.

But what really tears me up is that I KNOW how to eat well – yet I’m walking the talk right now. That’s an internal battle I deal with every day and it’s not a lot of fun.

I guess part of the problem is that I have very high standards for myself and if I’m not being congruent with those standards then I might as well as throw in towel – at least temporarily.

My subconscious knows that even if I don’t eat that great for a month or so, my body is resilient enough to withstand the “storm”.

That kind of belief can lead to serious problems. Settling for good enough, or healthy enough, if JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

I shouldn’t accept it and neither should you.

It’s really a dangerous place to be. Neither too healthy nor too unhealthy. Just smack in the middle. Riding the wave of mediocrity.

But that’s not what I’m all about. That’s not what Eating for Energy is all about. That’s not anyone is about.

It’s only by allowing ourselves to settle into poor habits that we begin to feel defeated and think “oh, what’s the point? I’m just going to fall back into my old habits anyway.”

We don’t chances because we fear failure. We don’t want to start eating healthy because if we were to slip back that would be terrible.

But I’m here to tell you (and myself) that eating well is not taking a risk. Sure there’s the temporary pain of removing your favourite addictive foods like coffee, chocolate, and many others, but the rewards are just too good to ignore.

So don’t settle for mediocrity. Don’t settle for “healthy” enough. If you don’t feel fantastic, then that’s not good enough!