Slaying Energy Vampires – Eating for Energy

How to Maximize Your Stamina So You Can Keep Up With Your Preschooler

Do you ever feel like your children are energy vampires, robbing you of your vital energy while adding it to their own life force?  I used to feel that way when my children where young, but now I can see that many of my lifestyle choices were sapping me of my energy, such as eating too much sugar, managing stress poorly,  and not getting enough sleep.  I had to learn to take good care of myself first, so that I could take good care of my kids, and that’s how I learned to slay my own energy vampires.  Here’s what I know:

Eating foods high in sugars and refined carbohydrates such as pastries, desserts, and white bread will suck the life right out of you.  Your blood sugar will spike for a short while after eating these types of foods and then it will crash, leaving you feeling tired and lifeless.  However, eating a combination of four types of nutrients will help keep your blood sugar stable and keep you from feeling drained.  Try to eat something from these four nutrients every time you eat:

In the November Newsletter, we’ll talk about other things that can steal your energy, and what to do about it.

• CARBOHYDRATES (found primarily in fruits, grains, and starchy vegetables such as potatoes)
• FIBER (found in all plant foods)
• PROTEINS (found in abundance in meats and poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds and beans)
• And FATS (found in a variety of oils as well as avocados, nuts, nut butters and seeds)

QUICK TIP: If you typically grab donuts or a soft drink for a pick-me-up, try one of these instead:

• a piece of fruit with a handful of nuts
• a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread
• refried beans on a tortilla
• an egg with hash browns
• hummus with raw veggies and whole grain crackers