56 pages • 1 hour read
Casey MeansGood Energy
Nonfiction | Essay Collection | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Parts 3-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 3 Summary: “The Good Energy Plan”
Means addresses the systemic barriers that prevent many people from fostering Good Energy, referring to healthy habits a “rebellion.” In Part 3, Means identifies 25 of the most important Good Energy habits and presents a four-week plan for those interested in following her advice. She notes that the goal should not be to immediately master all these healthy habits but to find ways to sustainably implement them into a daily routine. Means recommends people go through her list of Good Energy habits and rate their individual competency for each using the four-level “hierarchy of competence”—unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, unconscious competence.
For the first week, Means advises individuals to figure out why they want to change their habits, to gain a deeper understanding of their current health, and to find some way to hold themselves accountable. Means shares her personal identity values, which include honoring the preciousness of life and impacting the environment positively. She shares a checklist of biometrics so individuals can gauge their health, and she adds a short message people can share with their doctors to help them secure the proper tests. Readers are then encouraged to take a baseline quiz to determine what Good Energy behaviors they already have and to gain deeper insight into what Good Energy living involves. Also during week one of the plan, Means advises readers to start a food journal and to order biometric tracking devices.
Week two of Means’s plan focuses on food choices, starting with the elimination of “added sugar, refined grains, and seed oils” (282). Other goals for week two include incorporating more fiber, probiotic foods, omega-3 fats, antioxidants, micronutrients, polyphenols, and protein each day. She lists healthy food sources, including a substantial list of convenient and healthy pre-packaged foods, and she explains how to prepare a balanced meal from scratch with examples of several Good Energy meals.
In weeks three and four, Means encourages individuals to select three other habits from her list of 25 Good Energy habits to implement in their own lives. She recommends two books on implementing new habits: B.J. Fogg’s Tiny Habits and James Clear’s Atomic Habits. Means lists the remaining Good Energy habits, including: 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, resistance training three times each week, 10,000 daily steps, move regularly, track sleep and get at least seven to eight hours of it a night, set consistent sleep times, meditate, practice, self-exploration or therapy, set an eating window, eat mindfully, maximize sunlight exposure, minimize blue light exposure at night, get exposure to hot and cold temperatures, drink plenty of clean water, eliminate harsh chemicals from home and personal care products, and get into nature for at least four hours a week. Means writes that individuals should make a plan before trying to implement their three chosen habits, so they understand where they are and where they’d like to be.
Means tells readers who follow her plan to set aside time to reflect on their progress each week, expressing hope that each reader will find improvements in their lives.
Part 4 Summary: “Good Energy Recipes”
Part 4 of Good Energy contains a detailed list of recipes that promote Good Energy. The recipes are divided into categories including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and others like snacks, sauces, sides, and desserts.
Means’s breakfast recipes include: frittata, smoothies, “Good Energy Milk,” wraps, seed pudding, pancakes, and fritters. She shares lunch recipes for salads, roasted vegetables, hand rolls, and wraps. Her dinner recipes include fried rice, salmon, mushroom and cauliflower bake, wraps, tofu masala, imitation crab cakes, rice bowls, and zucchini noodles. The final group of recipes—snacks, sauces, sides, and desserts—contains recipes for purees, dips, biscuits, dressings, cauliflower rice, brownies, crumble, crackers, cake, fries, and chips.
All of Means’s recipes follow her Good Energy eating principles, so they contain no added sugars, refined grains, or processed seed oils. Means includes nutritional information, explaining how each recipe is balanced according to her Good Energy principles, and detailed instructions for preparation.
Parts 3-4 Analysis
Parts 3 and 4 represent a shift in tone and structure, focusing on actionable Strategies for Fostering “Good Energy” and recipes designed to help readers develop long-term metabolic health. In these sections, Means adopts a more directive tone, encouraging readers to actively engage with their health goals and implement specific habits. While this approach promotes deeper self-reflection and sustainable mindset changes, it also raises questions about accessibility and practicality, particularly regarding the expense and feasibility of some recommendations.
Part 3 marks a departure from Means’s reflective and explanatory tone of earlier chapters, emphasizing immediate engagement and accountability. Means’s tone becomes more prescriptive, with clear calls to action such as, “Take fifteen minutes now to make a list of why you want your cells to function better and be powered well” (267). By encouraging readers to explore their motivations and values, Means sets the stage for a deeper mindset shift, moving away from superficial goals like weight loss. For instance, she states, “Being thinner isn’t an identity or a value, and I can guarantee you that this goal isn’t enough to get you to a truly healthier place” (267). This sentiment aligns with her broader theme of fostering Good Energy, urging readers to focus on sustainable health improvements rather than fleeting, aesthetic goals. This directive tone complements her structured, four-week plan, which guides readers through evaluating their current habits, implementing dietary changes, and gradually adopting other Good Energy behaviors. While this approach provides clarity and organization, its prescriptive nature limits its accessibility for readers that struggle with self-paced programs or feel overwhelmed by the volume of recommendations.
Means’s emphasis on self-exploration and reflection in this section encourages readers to anchor their health goals in personal values, such as environmental stewardship or cherishing life’s preciousness. This deeper focus on mindset distinguishes her approach from fad diets or temporary health trends, aligning with the theme of The Role of Lifestyle Factors on Overall Health. By addressing the psychological and emotional aspects of habit formation, Means empowers readers to create sustainable changes rather than pursuing short-term fixes.
Despite the clear structure of her plan, some of Means’s recommendations reveal a blind spot regarding accessibility. She advises readers to purchase wearable biometric devices, glucose monitors, and grain-free meal kits from brands like Daily Harvest—all of which require financial access. While these tools can provide valuable data and convenience, their high cost prohibits readers who lack disposable income from implementing Means’s suggestions, defining the text’s intended audience along socio-economic lines. Similarly, her suggestion to “throw away all refined grains in your house” doesn’t take into account the needs of readers who struggle with food insecurity or have limited access to healthier options. These recommendations inadvertently create a barrier to entry, clashing with her broader message of fostering health through achievable, sustainable habits.
In Part 4, Means shifts to providing recipes that adhere to her principles of Good Energy and serve as practical tools for implementing the dietary changes discussed earlier in the book. By outlining diverse options for meals, snacks, and desserts, she demonstrates how readers can maintain balance and enjoyment while following her guidelines. Her detailed explanations, such as the nutritional benefits of pasture-raised eggs, underscore the educational posture of these recipes, connecting each dish to the book’s overarching themes (320). Moreover, Means includes practical tips, such as preparing dressings in advance to streamline meal prep, which lower the barriers to incorporating her principles into daily life. However, her reliance on premium ingredients and niche food brands raises questions about accessibility, as not all readers have the resources or availability to replicate her recipes as written.
