Meal Check
Many
people may find it emotionally or physically difficult to rearrange
macronturient intake in the manner laid out in these pages. This is
because carbohydrates, most especially starches and sugars (whether
fruit, starchy vegetable, grain or sugar) will temporarily increase
serotonin in the
brain, which in turn can temporarily
improve mood and a sense of
well-being.
This
temporary "lift" over time leads to gradually intensifying let-downs in
energy, mental alertness and/or mood within a couple of hours after
eating. This in turn prompts
the consumption of still more carbs AND increasing levels of stress
hormones put out by the adrenal glands. Along with increasing
mental alertness, mood and energy
swings, hunger sensations also intensify, becoming ever more dificult
to control.
In
other words, carbs are addictive. One of the major problems is that
over time you become depleted of serotonin (which
requires adequate protein to make in the body) and you then become
trapped on a roller coaster of mood, mental alertness and energy swings
- and excess
hunger. This then almost always will lead to
increasing overconsumption of carbohydrates, especially refined
starches and sugars, which then leads to yeast/fungal/Candida
overgrowth. Yeast/fungal overgrowth can itself create a
self-reinforcing desire for such carbs, in addition to a wide range of
troublesome and even serious health problems.
Good fats meanwhile help build and regulate hormones which are crucial to every aspect of bodily functions, and they help create satiety - which in turn helps dramatically reduce carb craving. Adequate, high quality protein is the main component of every cell and body fluid except bile and urine - and it is needed to build and repair muscles, hair, skin, nails, eyes, blood, enzymes, many hormones and nerve chemicals and more.
This
meal check may help you wean yourself from debilitating
excess carbohydrate intake. The
end goal is to eat enough of the right
foods (protein, good fats, and most favorable carbs) so that you remain
full and satisfied for at least four hours after each meal.
Breakfast
is the most important meal to include adequate protein and fat.
Be careful not to be too hard on yourself. If
you
occassionally "screw up" just start over at your next meal. This is
about building metabolic health over the long term. It is
not a
temporary band aid.
MY energy
level, mental focus and mood remained
good. This means at my last meal I either
did
not eat enough good fat or maybe enough carbohydrates.
AFTER
assessing whether I included enough good fat at my last meal, I
then consider that I
may need to INCREASE
my carbohydrates, especially most favorable.
I became sleepy or fatigued, I couldn’t concentrate as well, I became irritable or anxious for no reason - OR I just felt “off”. This means that at my last meal (or even last several meals) I ate too many carbs in relation to protein, and my insulin levels were too high. I need to REDUCE my carbs, especially my “unfavorable” carbs, and make sure I remembered to add in enough “good” fat.