Kevin Gardner, Negosentro | Certain foods affect the way we function in the world. Foods such as processed starches can make us feel great when we’re eating them but then make us feel sluggish the moment we finish. Foods that are high in sugar can also make us feel like we’re on top of the world when we’re eating them. Yet, these foods are not good for long-term energy.
What These Worker Diets Have in Common
All of these diets have a few things in common. Most of them encourage you to eat few carbs, little to no grains and few processed foods. The idea is that once you have these foods out of your system, your body will be able to maximize energy more efficiently and help you metabolize your food better.
How These Worker Diets Help You Work
Since these diets cut out heavy carbs and starches, your body can run on protein and fat instead. Both protein and fat are much better energy sources, but your body needs to free itself of toxins and sugars to be able to feel the effects.
- Paleo
The Paleo diet is one of the most popular diets on the market today. The basic concept behind this diet is that you simply eat only the foods that our caveman ancestors would have eaten thousands of years ago. Some scientists believe that humans weren’t meant to eat certain foods, such as grains and legumes and that the invention of agriculture is what contributed to modern-day obesity.
The Paleo diet places an emphasis on meats, vegetables and unprocessed sugars. You may also eat some rice products in moderation as well. Potatoes are essentially off-limits but may also be enjoyed in moderation.
One of the best parts of this diet is that it’s easy to find Paleo products as they are sold at many major retailers. Thrive Market Paleo foods are particularly popular amongst the Paleo crowd.
- Primal
The Primal diet is very similar to the Paleo diet. It focuses on foods that our ancestors ate back in the days of the cavemen. You are even encouraged to exercise like a caveman on this diet. The diet encourages you to use resistance training and complete several days of sprint training.
The biggest difference between Paleo and Primal is that Primal offers you a little more leeway when it comes to the foods you’re allowed to eat. You can eat some dairy and some potatoes on this diet. Primal encourages you to eat a Paleo lifestyle most days of the year but to enjoy yourself when indulgences arise.
- Whole 30
One of the strictest diets in the bunch is the Whole 30. This diet is an even stricter form of Paleo. On this diet, you must cleanse your body for 30 days from dairy, processed foods, most starches, sugars, grains, and legumes. You also cannot eat certain types of oils or chemicals in your food. Alcohol is also forbidden. The idea behind Whole 30 is that you should cleanse your body of certain foods to determine which foods you are sensitive to.
At the end of 30 days, you can reintroduce most foods back into your diet. Some people choose not to reintroduce certain foods and instead choose to go completely Paleo or Primal.
- Keto
The idea behind the Keto diet is that you should eat a low-carb and high-fat diet. You are encouraged to eat as few carbs as possible (even in your vegetables) and eat a high amount of fat. You must stay below 50 grams of carbs per day. This is why you’re not encouraged to eat processed carbs of any kind. You may have certain vegetables and some fruit on this diet. To enter a state of ketosis, your body needs to be deprived of carbs. Instead of carbs, you can eat as much fat as you want.
Changing your diet can be tough, but keep the end goal in mind. If you want to be a better worker, not only will these diets help you be more focused at work, but more healthy overall.
