5 Ways A Healthy Diet Is Making You Tired

Carbs help your body burn fat without depleting muscle stores for energy. The ideal diet is 50 to 55% complex carbohydrates.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Every time you go more than two hours or so without eating, your blood sugar drops
• About 12% of women ages 20 to 49 may be iron-deficient
• Start your day with soluble fiber, which can be found in oatmeal, barley and nuts

(Health.com) -- Who doesn't wish for more energy at least a few dozen times a day?

Of course, you know that a good night's sleep, regular exercise, and effective stress management can give you a much-needed boost. But to further figure out why you're slumping, you need to pinpoint the energy-sucks in your diet. (Hint: Those low-carb meals aren't doing you any favors.)

"Our bodies rely on the energy and nutrients we get from food, so what you eat -- and how and when you eat it -- can either drain you or sustain you," says Jennifer Sacheck, associate professor of nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

These fuss-free nutrition tweaks will give you more oomph every day:

You go long stretches without eating

Food Fix: Snack early, snack often

Every time you go more than two hours or so without eating, your blood sugar drops -- and that's bad news for your energy.

Here's why: Food supplies the body with glucose, a type of sugar carried in the bloodstream. Our cells use glucose to make the body's prime energy transporter, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Your brain needs it. Your muscles need it. Every cell in your body needs it. But when blood sugar drops, your cells don't have the raw materials to make ATP. And then? Everything starts to slow down. You get tired, hungry, irritable and unfocused.

Grab a bite every two to four hours to keep blood sugar steady. Nosh on something within an hour of waking -- that's when blood sugar is lowest.

Health.com: Best and worst foods for energy

Your breakfast is too "white bread"

Food Fix: Think soluble fiber

Energy, thine enemy is a sugary breakfast: pancakes, white toast, muffins and the like. Instead, start your day with soluble fiber (found in oatmeal, barley and nuts).

"It dissolves in the intestinal tract and creates a filter that slows the absorption of sugars and fats," explains Dr. David Katz, founder of the Yale Prevention Research Center and author of "Disease Proof."

In fact, research shows that choosing a breakfast with either soluble fiber or insoluble fiber -- the kind in whole-grain breads and waffles -- actually protects against blood sugar spikes and crashes later in the day.

A smart start: cereals with at least 5 grams of fiber a serving and whole-grain breads with 2g per slice.

Health.com: 8 tips to instantly boost your energy

You're eating the wrong veggies

Food Fix: Get more broccoli and kale

There's no such thing as a "wrong" vegetable, but for the most gusto, pick cruciferous ones, like broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and kale. These produce rock stars contain isothiocyanates, compounds that activate a protein called Nrf2, which in turn generates mitochondria, the part of cells responsible for converting glucose into ATP.

"The more mitochondria you have, the better your muscles work and the less fatigued you'll be," explains Dr. Mladen Golubic, medical director of the Center for Lifestyle Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute.

Toss broccoli into stir-fry; mix shredded cabbage with vinegar; or season cauliflower with turmeric, cloves cardamom, coriander and cinnamon.

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You avoid red meat

Food Fix: Beef up on iron-rich foods

Do you eat mostly vegetarian? Is your period heavy or long? Are you a coffee or tea fiend?

If you answered yes to any of these, you may need more iron, key for strength and stamina. About 12% of women ages 20 to 49 may be iron-deficient.

"If you're deficient, you could eat the best diet and still be exhausted," says Meridan Zerner, a sports dietitian at Cooper Aerobics in Dallas. Women need about 18 mg daily until 51, and 8mg after that.

Beef is the best source of heme iron, the form most easily used by the body; a 3-ounce serving has 3mg. You can get nonheme iron from plant sources, like kidney beans (5mg in 1 cup) and spinach (3mg in ½ cup cooked). To help your body absorb nonheme iron, eat vitamin C-rich foods (orange juice, berries, tomatoes) and avoid coffee and tea an hour after eating as tannic acids can block iron absorption.

Health.com: 25 ways to cut 500 calories a day

You've cut one too many carbs

Food Fix: Hello, whole-wheat pasta and potatoes!

"Our bodies run on carbohydrates," says Zerner. "It's too bad they've gotten a bad rap."

In a Tufts University study, women on a carbs-restricted diet did worse on memory-based tasks compared with women who cut calories but not carbs. And when the low-carb group introduced them back into their diet, their cognitive skills leveled out.

Carbs help your body burn fat without depleting muscle stores for energy. The ideal diet is 50 to 55% complex carbohydrates, 20 to 25% protein and 25% fat. Complex carbs provide energy as they're digested, while protein and fat, along with fiber, slow the digestion process so the boost lasts a good long time.

"Think about getting a mix of high-quality protein, carbohydrates and fat from whole, unprocessed foods over the course of any given day," says Katz. "That's really all we need."

Source:- http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/19/health/tired-dragging-diet-change/

MIND & BODY

Love Yourself... Diet

Give yourself exactly what you need—and losing weight will be just one benefit.

 courtesy of Shutterstock

Matzo ball soup, guacamole and chips—these are the foods I eat when I’m in the mood to celebrate. I drown my sorrows with Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar Crunch. And when I’ve taken too many trips to the freezer and too few to the gym, I punish myself by withholding the foods I love. Like a lot of women I know, my relationship with food is complicated: I look to it more for joy, solace, companionship (even repentance!) than for nourishment. But I’m learning that it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t need to starve yourself—or beat yourself up for not starving yourself—to lose weight. Instead, discover how to nurture yourself and create a healthier, happier relationship with food—and your body.

LOVE-YOURSELF STRATEGY: Learn to eat mindfully 
To kick the habit of overeating, turn your attention toward food rather than away from it. When you sit down to eat, relish each morsel. Notice the color, shape, texture, and aroma, as well as the taste. If you’re eating with friends or family, talk about how the meal was made and where it comes from. Even when indulging in a fast-food meal, take it home and enjoy it properly: Put it on a plate and eat with cutlery by candlelight!
HOW IT HELPS: Mindfulness, which can include deep breathing and meditation, helps you become more aware of the reasons you’re eating, says Jeffrey Greeson, Ph.D., a health psychologist at Duke Integrative Medicine. “Often we eat not because we’re hungry but because we’re stressed, frustrated, or bored.” Mindfulness lets you catch impulses as they crop up and teaches you to sit with difficult feelings and respond to them in a healthy way instead of using food as a buffer. It can also make eating more satisfying, which may help you eat less.
GET STARTED: Start today with a shopping trip to your favorite market. Choose foods that delight your senses—juicy fruits, colorful vegetables, and high-quality chocolate. Once back in your kitchen, take the time to prepare a meal that looks and tastes appealing.

LOVE-YOURSELF STRATEGY: Savor low-density foods 
Forget the idea that to lose weight you have to feel hungry all the time. Instead of depriving yourself, satisfy yourself with low-energy-density foods like fruits and vegetables, wholegrain breads, and broth-based soups; they’re filling without being high in calories or fat.
HOW IT HELPS: In a one-year study of 97 obese women (conducted by Barbara Rolls, a nutrition researcher at Pennsylvania State University and creator of the Volumetrics Eating Plan), those who filled their plates with low-density foods ate more but still lost 3.3 pounds more than those who ate less and restricted fat. In separate studies, Rolls and colleagues found that women who ate a large green salad or a bowl of broth-based soup before a meal consumed fewer calories than those who went straight to the main course.
GET STARTED: Create meals around legumes, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein, and when shopping for packaged foods, learn to check the labels. A food has a low-energy density if the number of calories is lower than its weight in grams. (For example, one half cup of black beans weighs 130 grams but contains only 100 calories, so it’s considered a low-density food.)

LOVE-YOURSELF STRATEGY: Embrace complex carbs 
Simple carbs like white flour, refined sugar, and white rice spike your blood sugar and leave you hungry soon after you eat. For a more satisfying meal, choose complex carbs like brown rice, beans, non-starchy veggies (leafy greens, peppers, and cucumbers), whole-grain pastas and breads, and most fruits; they’re all low on the glycemic index, meaning the sugars are absorbed more slowly into your bloodstream, keeping blood sugar steady.
HOW IT HELPS: Researchers at Harvard University found that obese patients who lost weight by eating foods low on the glycemic index reported less hunger and kept off the weight longer than those who lost weight on a typical low-fat diet.
GET STARTED: To find foods that are low on the glycemic index (scores of 55 or less), go to glycemicindex.com.

by Rachel Kanigel - See more at: http://www.naturalhealthmag.com/mind-body/love-yourself-diet#sthash.DKMtW2rC.dpuf