Effect of junk food on the mind - now I'm confused!

[PhoenixFlex]

Please help me solve this if you can – any suggestions are welcome!

 

Sorry this is a bit of a long post. I’ve bolded all the important stuff, so if you want you can skim it and see if you can come up with a solution at the end.

*****

 

On Thursday and Friday I rewarded myself for having a diet with virtually no junk food 98% of the time. As a ‘compensation’ for holding out so long, I ate a LARGE amount of chocolate, and piled on the ‘evil’ refined sugars.

 

I had more mental energy in those 48 hours and felt better than I had done in weeks or even months!

 

What’s more, after 3 and a half hours of hard exercise, I felt like I could jump a horse – literally!

 

 

Bit of a paradox, huh? I thought chocolate and junk food was supposed to make you slow and drained of energy!

 

I still can’t forget all the other things they can do to you though, so I know I can’t use this as a solution for my energy dilemma. But yesterday, the first day back on the ‘super-clean’ diet, my brain energy was back in the pits .

 

There must be an alternative – what can I do to simulate the effect that the junk had on my energy levels?

Without actually eating them to an unhealthy degree?

 

What is it in them that made me alert and awake, and what else is there out there that I can eat or do for the same effect?

 

 

When I have energy, I am happy. On Thursday and Friday I was on Cloud Nine.

 

******

If you have anything to say that you thing might help me figure out the answer, please don’t hesitate to leave a post!

 

 

All the best,

Felix

[iNow]

Well, the simple sugars give you an endorphin rush. You have the energy you do because they are easier to break down than protiens and complex sugars, but they don't last long. They spike. Then, when you went back to your normal diet, you didn't feel bad because of the food you were eating, but instead because your body was going through a bit of withdrawal from the chocolate and candy. Also, when those simple sugars went into your body, your insulin levels spiked, but then brought your blood glucose levels down really fast, and probably below the right baseline. You probably felt tired, had a hard time focussing, and were a bit irritable.

 

You want energy? Get a smoothie. The fruits will give you the temporary boost you crave and enjoy, and the protien (if you add protien) will give you sustainable energy.

[PhoenixFlex]

So in other words, the only way I would be able to sustain this would be by eating chocolate and candy all the time (which is why my energy didn't plummet after the first day)?

[iNow]

Well, you could sustain a similar reaction by eating fruit regularly, but it won't likely be as intense.

[PhoenixFlex]

That's probably why I used to have more energy when I was back home. I used to eat a hell of a lot of dried fruit, which is concentrated fructose.

[iNow]

The thing with chocolate is it has all kinds of chemicals that "make your brain happy." It also has caffeine which is a stimulant, so you could replace that by other means. Have some coffee or a diet soda (or, better yet, some green tea) with your dried apricots perhaps.

[Rachelbuz]

That's probably why I used to have more energy when I was back home. I used to eat a hell of a lot of dried fruit, which is concentrated fructose.

 

Hi,

 

Dried fruits such as raisins are a super concentrated food source and should be treated with respect.

 

Vitamins and minerals play a key role in humans life. Learn the difference between densely packed nutrients and loosely packed nutrients.

 

Fresh fruit is loosely packed, high in water content, and dried fruit is dense with little or no water.

 

Thanks