Natural Sugars or Healthy Fats – It all depends on your mood? #HCLF #HFLC or #LCHF
March 2, 2018 Leave a comment
Yesterday I mentioned ‘High Carbohydrate Low Fat’ and will admit I used the letters HCLF partly because those letters attract attention. Well, I did receive a few emails and this comment posted here at rethinkingbipolar.com:
“…if I am to have breakfast Roger what should I have? Fruit or bacon and eggs?”
- Ten years ago I would have said, “Make the most amazing fruit-salad cutting up at least six different colourful fruits. Perhaps add something that makes it unique, like a few cherry tomatoes! Then share with family or even take some to share with a neighbour.”
- Five years ago I would have said, “Bacon and eggs great! It is sugar-free. It’ll lower your blood glucose, give you energy and help with weight loss.”
- A year ago I would have said, “Ditch the bacon! It’ll be full of toxins. Get the best organic eggs you can, lightly boil or poach these so the white is just hard-ish and the yolk runny.”
- Now? Today? I’m thinking that providing we are avoiding junk and minimizing toxins neither option is going to do much harm and each contains an amazing mix of nutrients.
What I believe matters more is the timing of our breakfast (breaking of overnight fasting). I think every nutritionist agrees with what Patrick Holford wrote years ago, “Don’t eat for at least an hour after getting up in the morning”. There can be lots of reasons for delaying breakfast. For me, the time before eating is when I get most done per minute.
- Only about once a week do I have a meal at the time my relatives would call breakfast time, although still at least an hour after getting up.
- Four or five days a week, I will; write my ‘morning pages’, wash, dress, do yoga-style exercises, have a few hot drinks, shake, do a tiny bit of aerobic stuff, view most of my incoming emails, type a blog-post or similar, put any clothes washing on, walk, hang the washing to dry – All before I prepare my brunch.
- Usually one day and sometimes two days a week, such as when I am facilitating a group, I eat nothing before noon, 1pm or even 2pm. Keeping busy allows me to do this without causing big shifts in my mood.
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Does any of that sound hypo-manic? In recovery, I used to closely monitor my mood – always in fear of ‘relapsing’ as I had been told I was only in ‘remission’. I’m not losing sight of risks of mental health troubles, just that I now know it is lifestyle, stress etc and not any genetic-fixed-uncontrollable disorder. I keep going and achieving while recognizing my changing moods. I know behavior rather than mood determines my long-term happiness. |
How does this relate to the “fruit or eggs” choice?
By brunch or lunch-time, what I fancy eating has changed.
Yes, I can allow myself fruit. I often fancy eggs. Now though, I am just as likely to fancy raw organic sauerkraut wrapped in lettuce leaves. I often include all sorts of raw vegetables in my first meal of the day, which very few people would do if eating earlier.
Calories? It will be great when I can stop ever mentioning calories. For now, I’ll just say that do not restrict calories, just that I can eat a couple of big plates full of many different foods for brunch, be full-up for hours, with less than 600kcal. I’ll share more about what this means to me at a later date.
I’m hoping this long answer is taken well by my new reader and it will inspire others to learn as much as they can about what is becoming a popular route to better health and better moods, which may be referred to as intermittent fasting.
| I am welcoming bookings to provide talks and facilitate discussions. Please ask. |
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What does it all mean? I welcome your thoughts on any of the above or on this slide I created before my morning walk… 2 hours to go to brunch 🙂
Roger Smith (in the UK)
Rethinking Bipolar 