Diet and mental health

Does your diet affect the way you live your day to day life?

Does it affect your mood at all??

I ask this because for the past 4 or 5 months I have been eating a very unhealthy diet and I think it is affecting my mental attitude. I am very lazy most of the time and don't have the energy to go out and do things like I used to.

Anybody have any suggestions on what I can eat to help this?

I'll prolly get some fish, but I need other ideas. i also juice vegetables sometimes.

Thanks

 

Dude its all that Albertacos you've been mowing.


Yes yes and yes.

Try to balance the meal. I rarely eat out, because of all the "extras" garbage so many places put in processed foods. And so many restaurants buy food pre-cooked for the most part and just reheat it.

Try eating some "super" foods like blueberries, spinach etc to kick start your healthy movement. Also get a good amount of fiber in (I eat buckwheat, broccoli and spinach a lot) to get the old gross junk out of you so you can start anew.

 

i have ms coupled with excessive hunger. Im forced to actually eat the way I do. I put away chicken sammich every couple of hours. least 3 avocados a day, salad, milk, fruits veggies, tatoes, coconut, rice, grains, nuts.. and more nuts..

 

I found that a kale/turnip green/blackberry smoothie every morning on an empty stomach is a really easy way to get more nutrients in the body. Even if I eat junk the rest of the day it makes a difference.

 

Diet can have a lot to do with your mental state. I recommend that people get more healthy fat in their diet from whole food sources like avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, grass-fed meat, butter, eggs, etc. while eliminating as much sugar and white carbohydrates as possible. Contrary to popular health advice you often hear, it's good to eliminate grains from your diet as well, which are immediately converted to glucose by the body, as well as contain all sorts of nasty anti-nutrients like phytic acid (which leech vitamins and minerals from your body) and gluten, which wreaks a lot of havoc in the body as well. Grains actually have little nutritional value, and there are far better sources of fiber (I prefer chia and flaxseed). I find that eating foods that help to normalize the blood glucose levels and don't cause an insulin spike have a lot to do with improving mental clarity. Also, be sure you're getting enough omega-3's in your diet from meat (fish) and/or plant-based sources.

Start by eliminating some of the processed junk from your diet. I notice you eat a lot of fast food, which has little nutritional value. Your mind will not work properly if it's not getting the fuel it needs, and you will feel sluggish and have little energy. Basically you want to focus on eating whole foods while eliminating anything that's processed and refined. If you drink soda, that is one of the first places you will want to start, as soda is one of the worst things a person can consume.

Any little bit you can do to start improving your diet helps.

 

A supersize meal Mickey Deez and you'll be ready to take the world by storm. Double quarter pounder with cheese, extra large fry and a large mcflurry and ur good to go

 

One thing I want to say is if you decide to change your diet, you may want to comsider a moderate / gradual transition to healthy. I think going from one extreme to another would be difficult to maintain in the long term plus not as enjoyable? For example moving from fast food or more indulgent ones to a strictly no grain or gluten diet. I've never been over weight. I'm 5'4-5'5 and fluctuated between 112-130 in different life stages. Though a lot of my health is due to genetics, I also avoid the extremes and make meals an enjoyable event. This is especially true when they are on the healthy side, if it's not fun to eat in some aspect, then I don't want it.

 

Diet can absolutely have an affect on your mental well being for all of the reasons stated above. When I eat unhealthy crap, I can feel the downturn pretty quickly. It sucks because I love the taste of crap food, so easing myself off of it like happilyinlove stated is the best way to go.

There's a book out there called Wheatbelly that goes into this pretty deeply. Dr. Mercola speaks volumes about this as well, even though he sells his own products... as does Dr. Weil.

 

I definitely feel a loss of energy whenever I eat unhealthy foods. I agree with happily that it is difficult to drastically alter your diet overnight, but you could start by mixing in healthy foods into your current diet. Grab some fruit or nuts to snack on during the day, steam some vegetables to go with your dinner at night. I eat a kale salad every night before I go to bed. It takes two seconds to put in a bowl and throw some dressing on (I just use oil and vinegar, a lot of salad dressings have unhealthy additives in them) and kale is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. Once you start making small changes you'll become more aware of various healthy foods and how they make you feel versus how you feel after eating fast food.

you should really educate yourself on nutrition as well. Until a couple of years ago I never really bothered eating healthy but I started learning a lot about the food industry and it really opened my eyes to what I was putting in my body. Educating myself really helped make for an easy and natural transition from an unhealthy diet to a healthy diet.

 

More cocaine and booze, less eating. Then when you do eat go all out. $30 steaks, you know.

 

I could go for a nice steak right now. However, I'd rather cook it myself. Steak at restaurants is way overpriced.

 

Who cares? They wait on you and cook it for you.

 

I start my day with a 16 oz. coffee and a 12 oz. V8 juice.

And then have a light lunch later.

Run circles around people half my age at work (all day), lol.

/energy drinks suck.

 

Yes, ever since I decided to smoke my vegetables.

 

yea, i need to do something to get all the toxins and shit out of my body. Maybe a cleanse. idk

Avacados are good. I'll try and find a way to add those in.

I like kale. I mix it with salad sometimes. I need to buy moar of it.

yea, i eat a TON of fast food. I think im addicted to it, as stupid as that sounds. Im going to start bringing food to work so i dont go and buy fast food on my lunch break.
What kind of fish do you eat PR?

I will be buying some fish soon. idk what kind though. maybe wild alaskan salmon. ive had that before and it was good.

lol that sounds so good. But im not going to get it!!!!

Yea ive tried to just quit bad food cold turkey and switch to healthy food but junk food was constantly on my mind. like all fucking day all i could think about was carls jr and in n out and 5 guys lol.

I will be easing my way off bad food this time

I actually just bout some stuff so i can steam vegetables. I like kale mixed with salad. unfortunately the kale i have now has gone bad so ill need to buy moar.



Thanks everyone for the replies!!! :2thumbsup:

 

Agree with the comments about avoiding processed foods.

Fresh (or prepared from raw, frozen), lightly cooked, whole foods served warm is a good basis for a diet.

 

There is nothing stupid about thinking fast food is addictive, because it absolutely is. I know for a fact that fast food is addictive, and part of it comes from firsthand experience, because when I was your age I was myself addicted to fast food and eating it literally almost everyday. This is when I stated becoming overweight, and eventually obese. Fast food is loaded with all sorts of fat, salt and flavor enhancers which are intended to make the food addictive and thus keep the fast food industry growing. This is why the food tastes so good to people, even though the quality of the food is almost non-existent. It takes some serious will power to break the addiction to fast food, though the longer you are able to stay away from it, the less the cravings become. Try to stay away from it for at least a week, and if you can manage longer, do it.

This is why I recommend high amounts of HEALTHY fat to replace the UNHEALTHY fat in fast food. It will help with the cravings, while at the same time keeping you satiated.

As far as fish goes, wild sockeye salmon is my favorite because of the fat content and the high levels of omega-3s. Haddock, cod and trout are also good choices, but salmon is at the top of my list. Sardines and anchovies are good, too, and are relatively low in mercury.

As far as detoxing, make sure you're drinking plenty of water. You said you use ACV, so that helps a lot. It doesn't help much if you're continuing to eat crap, though. Fermented foods and pre/probiotics are also great for detoxing, as are certain supplements, like chlorella. Psyllium husk and organic sulfer/MSM, too

 

i think it works both ways

too much crap is bad and too much good stuff is bad


both in moderation is good

 

How is "too much" good stuff bad? I don't think bad food has ever been a requirement for health. However, good food is a must for good health.