What foods will give me energy?

[Shenanigans]

I'm not gonna lie, I live on an S.A.D. diet - Standard American Diet Processed and fried foods galore and I have a sweet tooth.... a major sweet tooth I believe my diet is what's causing me to feel tired and sluggish ALL THE TIME. I have no energy to do anything and exercising is out of the question!

I have bipolar disorder so I constantly turn to food and sleep to help me deal with the depression and stress. I get stressed out VERY easily. And I sleep a LOT. This has caused me to feel very bad about myself and the way I look.

I'm very concerned especially now because diabetes runs in my family very strongly. And now my poodle has diabetes which has really scared me It's a horrible disease and I see my mom and dad suffer with it every day. I really want to avoid this!!

So I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for some good, healthy foods that will give me energy to get my rear in gear and help me exercise more and keep me full I looked into the green smoothie diet that my friend is on and yuck Spinach and algae shakes? No thanks! I would prefer it if the food tasted good so it won't be so hard to stick to

I have a feeling my main culprits of making me feel tired are diet coke/pepsi, sweets, white bread, and white sugar. And also my love of burgers, fries, and pizza I want to go to a nutritionist but I have a feeling insurance wouldn't cover it

[StoryDreamer]

Sweet Potato 
Bananas are a powerhouse of energy food. Dip them in peanut butter for the protein.
Apples - Plus they have lots of fiber, so they're a great snack/food

[Eaglefeather]

I've heard that salad, granola, strawberries, sauerkraut, and energy bars like Luna and Cliff are good for providing energy. I tend to like Shredded Wheat cereal, as it has a lot of fiber and keeps me full.

[SourdoughStomper]

High carb foods will give you a brief rush of energy (blood sugar spike), but it is rapidly followed by being sluggish (blood sugar crash) and being hungry again.

Going lower carb would keep your blood sugar steady. Especially getting of grains and sugar. Perhaps, if you want, look into paleo/primal ways of eating.

[Tiffymh1fan]

Water to wash out all that sweets. Strawberrys, blueberrys, nuts, cucumbers, mangos, and fruit is better than sweets for energy. I love ice cream A LOT! But if I add some strawberrys to the bowl first I seem to add less ice cream.  Too another trick I learned and lost 45 lbs & did not exercise once. Besides eating strawberrys all the time, I added fruit to every meal no matter what. If I couldn't do that it was a veggie. I still eat lots of sweets, but my secret is smaller dishes. When I get ice cream or cake or what ever I eat, I put it on a tiny dish and eat slow. This works really try it. Keep us posted on how you feel!  I hope you feel better soon. 

[skyrocketneko]

I eat quite a lot of peanut butter. I make my own ice cream made of mashed bananas and peanut butter, and it's good for a sweet tooth!

[Whippycorn]

I think the correct question is not 'what foods will give me energy?' but 'what foods are sapping my energy?'. 

Answer: Carbohydrates. Especially refined starches (white bread, white pasta etc.) and sugars (soft drinks, cakes etc.).

Reduce your carb intake as much as you can (e.g. try to increase the ratio of vegetables to pasta in a meal, replace some cakes with fruits and nuts) and otherwise replace it with healthier complex carbs (e.g. switch brown bread for white, or try alternatives like quinoa). 

I do not think crash no-carbs diets (or indeed any fad diets) are a good idea. They are generally unsustainable (because they suck!) and as soon as you return to your usual diet, your body goes crazy and you can actually be worse for it. 

If you do nothing else, replace your soft drinks with water or at least one of these lower-sugar ideas:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/low-sugar-drink-ideas/

Good luck 

[SourdoughStomper]

I agree, I wouldn't recommend a no-carb diet either. Hard on the body and the thyroid gland needs some glucose to convert T4 to T3 (ie, to work properly). But going to a 50-100 g per day of carb routine will help. I also wouldn't recommend being on a low-carb and low-fat diet. That would be very difficult to do. Lower carbs and higher (good) fats is a good way to go.

[Shenanigans]

These are great tips, thank you! I do love nuts I need to make smarter choices and not always go the easy route like grabbing a diet coke and a Little Debbie I would love to have some energy and lose quite a bit of weight! And not get diabetes

I am such a carb addict And I love potatoes. LOVE. I could basically give up meat and veggies and live on potatoes and carbs so it's going to be hard not to live off of a 95% carb diet

[spottedslug]

Whole Foods.

Fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grains, meats (well, this is mostly ok, but be careful, lol)

I pretty much live on nuts, fruits and veggies. I eat whole grains only because my kids do and have a little meat every few days. I am only sluggish if I eat fast food or dairy. Also don't drink calories.

Also... no one ever likes to hear this but exercise will give you amazing energy and improve your mood immensely! I'm not talking a daily walk (though that is a great starting point for those who are sedentary), I mean a 45-60 minute dripping sweat workout.

I used to eat junk, pure and simple. And when I did, I wouldn't have believed someone posting what I just posted. The thing was I had to be ready to make a huge shift in my lifestyle. It wasn't just eat a little better it was a total change to my daily choices. It was gradual though. For me it was easier to build the exercise to a high level before I changed my diet. The strange thing was I no longer craved junk once I was getting an hour a day of intense exercise.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I answered your question in 2 words right at the top. I'm just quite passionate about this topic.

[Heartcease]

Besides changing your diet, have you had your thyroid checked?

[kaoskat]

I've recently switched to trying to eat all my meals more balanced and it seems to be helping me.

[DazzleKitty]

Someone once said that an apple can energize you more than a cup of coffee. I'm not sure how true this is, however.

[Bellevi]

Seconding everyone that said to try to cut out those white foods (bread, pasta, rice, sugar) and instead go for whole wheat.

Buy whole oats to make oatmeal for breakfast (none of that instant oatmeal) and add an egg white for protein. You can make it with low-fat milk for more protein, or you can make it with water. Add cinnamon or nutmeg (or both!), stir, and pop it in the microwave on a lower power for about five minutes to guarantee that the egg white cooks. Add a tiny, tiny bit of brown sugar and then add raisins for most of the sweetness (make sure that they're raisins with no added sugars).

Raisins and bananas are great snacks for a spike of energy (and the bananas have potassium!).

Avoid processed foods (frozen pizzas, frozen chicken nuggets, mashed potato mix, etc...). You'll feel better when your diet is mostly whole foods.

Drink mostly water. Tea and black coffee are good, too.

Exercise, exercise, exercise! You need to work up a sweat! Exercise releases endorphins, reduces stress, boosts self-esteem, and you feel energetic later in the day! Try a 30-minute workout three times a week. Plus, your body needs more calories on the days you exercise, so you can eat more. X3 There are lots of things you can do at home that are great for you, and you don't even need gym equipment! Feel free to shoot me a message, if you're interested. I'm happy to share.

[melodys_angel]

I would honestly suggest going to see a nutritionist if you can, hun-- even if its for one or 2 visits, they can really help you atleast get things started and show you critical areas..where to go, what to do..things that you woud never have thought of.

For now though, id suggest looking into the food guide pyramid and making sure youre getting everything essential in there..as well as the proper proportions.   Maybe try a few supergrains--quinoa, spelt and brown rice are actually really tasty, easy to digest (well maybe not soo much the brown rice but it sounds like you don't have to worry about that) and good for you