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How to Lift Your Energy Through the Power of Food
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Welcome to spring! I know it’s weird saying that now, but I am in Australia after all and September is the start of spring here, which means that I got to celebrate a spring birthday in September! And it was great fun. Many years ago now, my very first day of school was on my birthday and since leaving full-time education, I’ve had a rule to never work on my birthday and this year was no exception. We took off and headed to glorious Manly by Ferry and had a super relaxing day on the beach. What better way to celebrate another year around the sun?
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So, wherever you are in the world, September is here and brings the start of a new season, a new beginning and a new chapter (and for many a new year in education). Whatever has happened in the past, now is the time to draw a line and look forward as it's a new opportunity for you to start over and decide what to focus your energies on. And you don’t have to change direction at all, but simply ‘upgrade' what’s already in place to take things to a whole new level. The great thing about upgrading is that it requires a lot less energy, is far easier to implement and will have greater impact in less time.
So with that in mind, below are 7 simple upgrades you can do to lift your physical and mental energy:
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Upgrade your food habits by eating more plants
What we eat has a direct impact on our overall physical and mental health & wellbeing. Everyone knows that of course. However, many people are not practising what they know, simply because they are super confused about what to eat for health. And it’s no wonder with the amount of conflicting advice out there. However, one thing that most experts agree upon is that upping the amount of plant-based food (vegetables) in your diet is going to be good for your health and all of the associated benefits: energy, weight loss, nice skin, shiny hair, lowered blood pressure, reduced risk of heart disease and stroke, positive impact on digestion, blood sugar and mental wellbeing. As Michael Pollen’s great book ‘In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto’ summarises well:
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‘Eat real food, mainly plants’ and ‘nothing that your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognise as food’
I’ve been eating a mainly plant-based,non-dairy diet since 2006 and have refined and upgraded it over the years to ensure that I get amazing nutrition to support my lifestyle. But what's right for me may not be right for you and in a perfect world, your diet would be highly personalised and tailored just for you, based on your individual genetics, blood type, lifestyle and preferences.
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This day is coming, but for now, suffice to say that your health will certainly benefit by simply eating more plants during your week.
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How to integrate more plants into your family’s diet:
- Have plants for breakfast
What do you have for breakfast at the moment? If you’re consuming cereals from any of the popular brands, chances are that you’re eating a lot of sugar and you deserve better than that. So what to replace it with? Have a power smoothie, but not one full of fruit which is going to give your body a lot of sugar. Try the Raw Energy Power green smoothie, which is full of kale, spinach, celery and berries - delicious. You can also add supplements to give it that extra boost! This one addition to your day will give you your ‘five a day’ in one go!
- Go meat-free on Monday
Meat-free Mondays, or whatever day you choose, marks one day in your week to eat 100% plants. Studies found that a diet which reduces or even excludes meat and animal produce in favour of vegetables, fruit and grains could reduce your chance of becoming obese by as much as 50%. 44% of Australians are now reporting to going meat-free at least one day per week. Why not join them?
- Make plants interesting
Plant-powered food doesn’t have to be boring and in one meal, you can meet your vegetable, protein and carbohydrate needs as well as feel satisfied and satiated. Personally I eat a lot of salad which I love and, to inspire you, here are SumoSalad’s Head Chef Kim's tips and tricks to transform your salads from boring to amazing
- Challenge yourself to try a different vegetable every day
This is what I did when I first gave up eating meat. The whole experience became an exciting adventure as I discovered so many vegetables that I’d never even heard of, let alone tasted! Here is a link to help inspire you to try new things!
- Have plant-based Snacks
If, like me, you love to snack, there are so many plant-based snacks on offer in the marketplace. From creating trail mixes containing pumpkin seeds, dried berries and nuts to protein balls like the Bounce balls, Kale Chips, grapes or just a pack of sugar snap peas or long-stem broccoli - DELICIOUS. Click here for some more ideas
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In Australia, only 5% of children have more than 5 plants per day, and Australian consumers are amongst the most health-conscious in the world! So there’s a lot of room for improvement and that’s why SumoSalad, the world’s largest salad company (where I’m Chief Customer Officer) has put its energy behind encouraging people to be ‘Flexitarians’, acknowledging that doing more things right, rather than everything right, is better for your physical and mental wellbeing. The campaign kicked off last week and we have a lot of fun planned over the next few months and, the good news is that you can get involved wherever you are in the world.
So are YOU a Flexitarian? Find out by visiting the Sumo website
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So that’s it for this month. If life is feeling a bit flat for you, celebrate the start of a new season and start to turn things around by upgrading your nutrition, which will start a ripple of change in your whole life! I promise you: You’ll get loads more energy and then the obvious question will be what to do with all of that extra energy?!
Keeping the conversation going
Raw Energy’s mission is to combat negative stress and lift the energy in workplaces. Our philosophy is based on the belief that we are whole people and that truewellbeing is the result of upgrading our habits and increasing energy across five main segments. We work with people across all spectrums of life, helping them build deeper self-knowledge and greater clarity to have a bigger impact on their world.
Until next time....
Lawrence
Founder, RAW Energy
PS. use this link to book a virtual meeting with me
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Quote of the month
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The Raw Energy Philosophy
The RAW Energy Coaching philosophy looks at the whole person, recognising that life is organised into a number of segments, each creating positive or negative energy. True wellbeing is the result of achieving balance in each aspect of your life, recognising the interconnection between the different parts. Our mission is simply to inspire people to live healthier lives by upgrading their lifestyles, one habit at a time.
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