What Should I Eat For Weight Loss, Optimum Health, and Energy?
The question most asked, “What should I eat for weight loss, optimum health, and energy?
Eat everything you love, as long as it has a “Bright Color”!
Instead of focusing on what you should NOT eat, focus on all the fabulous things you CAN eat that are good for you! My patients ask me “what is the best thing to do for weight loss, optimum health, and energy?” When I tell them to stop eating wheat, wheat products, dairy, and all refined sugar and sugar products, they look at me and ask, “What should I eat then?”
This question needs to be asked, “What are my needs, goals and what is realistic for my lifestyle?” Most people’s goals are more energy, weight loss, and optimum health. The best foods are simple foods that have the most color. I tell all my patients to go to a great health food store or farmers market and look at the huge amount and variety of foods that are green, orange, yellow, red, and purple. Foods with lots of color indicate lots of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants. They are fabulous tasting and naturally sweet.
Fruit is an easy, on the go snack that can be found anywhere. Vegetables are great raw, steamed, stir fried, and baked. You can eat tons of them at one time with minimal caloric intake. They keep for days in the refrigerator, reheat easily, and make great snacks that truly satisfy hunger. Once you try regularly eating, fresh fruits and vegetables, 4 to 5 times a day, they will become your new potato chips with more health benefits.
My favorites are:
Broccoli: It’s so flavorful that you don’t have to do much to it. Marinate it in olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh lemon. Barbeque, steam, or sauté it and then add a little more lemon. Make a large batch as it keeps for days in the refrigerator. It is great served cold as a big afternoon snack or it can be added to salad as a salad green.
Artichokes: They are delicious hot or cold. Make low calorie aolies sauces for dipping. Lemon and basil are amazing with this vegetable. They are so filling and delicious you feel like you ate an entire meal.
Asparagus: Absolute gift of the gods!!! This is another one great for barbequing. Baste with olive oil, salt, and pepper. The oil will keep more moisture in the asparagus. Steam and then add light sesame oil, shaved Asiago cheese, salt, and pepper
Summer squash: Lightly steam or sauté, add fresh tomatoes and kalamata olives. Add fresh basil, green onions at the very end to kick up the flavor. Sprinkle shaved Parmesan on top.
Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are great baked and sautéed. Try drizzling olive oil over cooled diced potatoes. Add arugala, cilantro, chopped tomatoes, green onions, and feta cheese. Think of this as a very vitamin enriched potato salad.
Tomatoes: Use the cherry tomatoes. Lots of olive oil, small balls of mozzarella or feta cheese. Add salt, pepper, chopped Napa cabbage and 2 to 3 cups of chopped basil and a little green onion.
Cherries, blueberries, raspberries, and most melons are very low in calories and sugars. Mix these with plain non-fat yogurt and natural sweeteners, like Stevia; you have a low calorie, anti-oxidant, delicious dessert, snack, or light meal. Add a little fresh mint as an accent flavor.
As humans we have lots of predictable habits and patterns. For instance, every morning when we wake up we stumble over to the coffee machine. For optimum health and energy, we need to change our habits into new healthy choices that are satisfying and supportive to the body. The benefits are many. The body is an exhaustible energy field and has amazing regenerative ability. So make fruit and vegetables your new health snacks and see how much better you look and feel.
I hope you enjoy making some of my favorite recipes. In my series of articles I will be writing about “How To Keep your Brain Happy and Healthy”; “Super Foods What they are and How to Use them”; ” Why You Need Antioxidants”; Natural Supplements and Herbs That Boost Energy and Fight Fatigue”; and ” Your Immune System and How to Help It”. So stay tuned.
Dr. Barbara Custer L.A.C, O.M.D., runs a clinic in Mill Valley, California combining natural and western medical techniques. To effectively do this she uses Western Medical testing, nutritional programs, Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine. If you are interested in optimizing your health, energy and happiness, please visit Dr. Custer’s website http://www.drbcuster.com
Dr. Barbara Custer, runs a clinic in Mill Valley, California combining natural and western medical techniques. To effectively do this she uses Western Medical Testing, nutritional programs, Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine
