Day after day, many of us eat our meals without even considering whether or not our food choices are the perfect ones for us. These choices are supposed to give our bodies the fuel they need to do their very important jobs—from standing up to moving around to fighting off harmful bacteria and germs.
Doesn’t it stand to reason that the more perfect the fuel we provide our bodies, the more efficient they’ll be at doing the tasks we often take for granted? Are you willing to spend just four days finding out what the perfect fuel is for you?
Let’s assume you said, with great enthusiasm: You bet your sweet bum I am! To which I respond: Way to go, my friend! I knew you had it in you.
To find your body’s perfect fuel, the key to success is being deliberate. Before you begin, look at your schedule and make sure there’s not anything coming up that will throw you off course. Remember, it’s only four days. The next step will be to plan your meals based on the steps I’ll be describing soon. Lastly, either find a note-taking app on your smart phone or get yourself a little notebook.
I found out about the four–day energy experiment through my health coach training, and it’s beyond simple. By eating in a very specific way for four days and paying attention to your body’s response, you can streamline the way you eat—and all the planning that goes with it—in a way you never thought possible. Okay, on to the goods.
During the experiment, you eat animal protein, plant protein, or no protein for each meal. Let’s take a look at what that means.
Animal protein includes the obvious choices like chicken, pork, and beef. Organ meats such as liver fall into this category too.
Plant proteins includes all kinds of nuts, seeds, and beans, as well as tofu.
No protein means you rely on vegetables, fruits, and beverages such as black coffee or tea.
Throughout the four-day experiment, follow these steps after every meal.
- For each meal, make note of what you ate. (Open that note-taking app or grab that notebook, whichever floats your boat.) Of course, if you’ve already written down a meal plan, you can skip this step.
- Immediately after you eat, notice if your energy level went up or down. Don’t pass judgment here; approach it with curiosity.
- Set a timer for two hours. When it goes off, evaluate your energy level again. Make note of whether your energy went up, stayed consistent, or went down.
Day 1
- Breakfast: no protein
- Lunch: animal or fat protein
- Dinner: no protein
Day 2
- Breakfast: animal or plant protein
- Lunch: no protein
- Dinner: animal or plant protein
Day 3
- Animal protein is the star of every meal you eat.
Day 4:
- Time for a plant protein day.
Super easy, right? And you’re perfectly capable of interpreting your results all on your own. The foods that give you energy right after you eat and also sustain your energy levels two hours later are your perfect fuel. These are the food choices you should make to feel your best on a daily basis.
You’ll no longer need to ponder questions like…
Should lunch be some salami slices with cheese or a nut-and-seed trail mix?
Is a black bean burger or grass-fed beef the best option for dinner?
Do I want to make muffins for breakfast this week or cook some hard-boiled eggs?
You’ll know what your body’s perfect fuel is in four short days. Make the decision to do this for yourself in the next three weeks. If you’d like some support in making it happen, let me know.
Image from iStock/SIphotography.
Paula Widish, author of Trophia: Simple Steps to Everyday Self-Health, is a freelance writer and self-healther. She loves nothing more than sharing tidbits of information she discovers with others. (Actually, she loves her family more than that—and probably bacon too.) Paula has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Public Relations and is a Certified Professional Life Coach through International Coach Academy.
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