About a year ago, I received questions from a man in my email community. They were good ones, so I devoted part of a seminar to them.
“I want to know how food can create low mood and low energy. I mostly want a methodical way to fix things. I'm also interested to know if your tastes can change over time so that you'll like good foods.
“As someone who has never really had high mood or energy for the better part of 8 years now despite trying many exercise programs, diet is really my last thing to try. It would be nice to have some idea what can happen.”
Overall, low mood or energy is probably the result of how the foods we eat can affect glucose and brain chemistry.
I’ll simplify (oversimplify) and keep the answer to three basic aspects: glucose, serotonin, and protein.
Food Affects Glucose, Mood and Energy
Some foods can cause large fluctuations in blood glucose. The result can be a pattern of sharp rises in glucose, followed by sharp drops. Some people are highly susceptible to those fluctuations, so they feel good when glucose is up, and crummy when it’s down.
The most important factor in the glucose drops is not how low, but how fast, it falls.
Those fast glucose drops can bring on a variety of symptoms in susceptible people. Some symptoms may be physical (headaches, low energy), some may be emotional (irritability, depression, mood swings), and some may be mental (confusion, decision-making difficulties). Yet all of them — and many more — may be related to glucose peaks and valleys.
Foods that can trigger big glucose fluctuations are typically junkier carbs, such as cookies, cakes, pastries, white flour breads and other products — or even combinations of starches and saturated fats (potatoes with butter, for example).
Food Affects Brain Chem, Moods and Energy
If someone who’s carb-sensitive — defined as exaggerated insulin release in response to certain carbs — eats lots of junky carbs, he/she can make lots of serotonin. It’s linear: big insulin means big serotonin production. We’ll skip the mechanism because I’ve covered that in previous posts, and in my book.
We know that serotonin receptors can and do down-regulate — for example, in response to anti-depression meds that target serotonin levels.
Down-regulation is a decrease in the number of receptors plus a decrease in the sensitivity of the ones that remain. The result? Serotonin won’t work as well.
That’s why dosages may need to be adjusted over time.
Now, to my knowledge, no one has researched serotonin receptor down-regulation with respect to food.
But ever since I did the research for my dissertation, I’ve had a theory that such a down-regulation of serotonin receptors might very well occur in carb-sensitive people who eat lots of junky carbs, such as sugar. Call it an educated speculation.
If that’s the case, it would explain rotten moods resulting from a less-than-optimal diet.
And That Brings Us Back To Protein
Protein in your diet allows you to make the brain chemicals — serotonin is only one — that boost mood and also prevent cravings for junk.
Protein contains the amino acids to make brain chemicals that make us feel alert and mentally energized.
Protein triggers hormones that produce satiety and decrease the desire for carbs. Both can help prevent overeating junky carbs that trigger low energy and low moods. The same hormones can also prevent continuation of a poor diet that may cause those undesirable effects.
I’ve pushed the benefits of protein many times. No discussion of energy, mood and food would be complete without it.
Eating “good” fats will also help to boost mood, but I vowed to keep this to 3 oversimplified points. So let’s save fats and mood for another post….
Today I had my first real “parenting scare.” I was horsing around with my son and his wrist popped. You know when you pull on a finger and it pops out and back in ? Well his wrist made that sound and it scared him, scared me, and hurt him so bad he was hysterical for almost 3 minutes. I could barely dress him to get him to the ER. Now you have to imagine this to see the humor, so read on and try to visualize.
I’m panicking because I think I just broke his wrist from holding him by his hands when his body weight was too heavy. He’s hysterical and literally acting like his whole e right side is paralyzed. This is my first experience with an injured child of my own, so I am almost in tears because I feel totally responsible. My incredible daughter is trying her best to make my son and I feel better. I can’t touch my son’s right arm at all because of the pain, so I put the shirt over that arm but not in the sleeve. I RACE to the Er with him, jump out and get my daughter out first, then run to my sons side. I take his seat belt off and then…………HE SAYS “Daddy my shirts not on” and SLIPS HIS RIGHT ARM INTO THE SLEEVE LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED!?!?!? I say “You’re arm doesn’t hurt” and he says “No, all better.” With a smile. Ummmmmmmmm WTF !?!?!
After walking him in just to double check and wait for his mom to come and check him, I loaded them back in the car (feeling like a complete idiot in front of my ex wife) and decided to cancel the hike/picnic I had planned with them. Besides, it was too cold. We happen to be near Southlands and I knew there was a pottery-painting place over there so we went. Got a great table, picked out some cool items to paint, and had one of the most memorable times the kids and I have had as a family ever!
The place was packed and oddly enough it was mostly kids with one or the other parent (meaning either the mom or the dad). Could I have possibly found where single parents take their kids? ha-ha. But there was ONE family there where both the mom and dad were with the kids. I am going to explain to you EXACTLY what I saw because it ties into my point.
The table with both parents consisted of a boy and girl (probably 8 to 10 in age) and parents around my age. The kids and the mom were painting. I only noticed this table because another man and his daughter came in and sat next to them. The single man said, “Hey dude, I never see you on this end of town.” He says “Ya, unless I am going to McCabes (The bar right next to this shop).
Now that they had my attention I noticed that the father had his nose BURIED in his F&*^%ing Phone the entire time, had nothing to paint, and looked like he probably didn’t even know where he was or who was around him because he was so wrapped up in whatever was on his phone!!
I thought to myself as I looked around at the other single parents (assuming they are divorced like me) that we all lost 50% of our time with our kids due to divorce. I never thought I would have my kids and then say, “Ok, I only want to spend HALF my time with them. I wanted and still want all 7 days of the week. But this is what I got. And this “dude” was sitting there with his kids and ignoring them. He said more to the single dad than he did to his kids the whole time we sat there. So so sad.
Now I know some of you may think to defend him and say, “well maybe he had to catch up on work emails.” I assure you it was not that. He looked like he was either reading the inquirer or watching porn. He kept laughing, smiling, and his eyes never left the phone. Plus he looked annoyed that he had to be there and never turned to face his family; rather he was faced away from the table. But I’m not trying to judge (although it sounds that way), I am trying to set up my point for the story.
Here’s a two part “aha moment” for you.
First, I may not have had a day like today if my son hadn’t scared the Bajesus out of me. Today will be a moment that is burned in my brain forever and one I will always cherish. Who knows, 20 years from now I may be at one of the kids weddings and they’ll say “Remember when we painted that pottery after Brady hurt his wrist?” And that is what one might call a “CAPTURED” opportunity right? Meanwhile the table next to us, another father is MISSING an opportunity!!! Hopefully he won’t the next time he’s there, possibly now a single dad like me because maybe his wife decides that if she’s not more important than his phone than what’s the sense.
In class we have an opportunity to check up on so many people in their quest for fitness goals, but what about things outside of fitness? Or maybe fitness related goals that if obtained would be life changing but if missed would be life CRUSHING? Today I am making a promise to myself and it’s as good as the promise I made to you all 2 months ago to stop drinking diet soda (Haven’t touched a soda since, cold friggin turkey), and that promise is to be more aware. If I see someone working hard, and losing weight, I am going to tell them. Maybe it’s those words of encouragement that they needed in that moment to keep going. Maybe they were ready to give up because they thought no one noticed. And if I see someone avoiding eye contact but looking like they need a friend, I am going to go start a conversation. My gym lost a great lady recently because she didn’t feel she could talk to anyone and I can promise you my whole team is more aware now of people who may need that hug.
Here’s the point folk. ALL around us people are having opportunities thrown at them whether they know it or not. And sometimes those opportunities can make or break the amount of LOVE, JOY, or SUCCESS we are going to have. If you ever see me missing an opportunity PLEASE come over and smack me. I was tempted to do that to the “Dude” at the table because believe it or not I want great things for pretty much everyone. And more so for his kids than him, but even some for him. Don’t be wasteful of your time, don’t under-estimate the power you have to change a life, and most of all don’t ever suffer the regret of a “Missed Opportunity.”
Thanks for reading and I stole a word from a friend, which I am going to use now in my closing line.
Are you looking for a fun, upbeat song for your next indoor cycling profile? I've got just the song you're looking for. This one is from Redfoo. He's part of the duo LMFAO which gave us a few other tunes that we all know: Sorry for Party Rockin', Party Rock Anthem and Sexy and I Know It. This one, called Juicy Wiggle is from his new album called Party RockMansion and is available for pre-order on iTunes and expected to drop on March 18. It would make a great warm up or standing climb and would also be a good one for jumps. Try it in your next playlist and you'll get lots of smiles!
I'm always searching for new music and videos. While on a recent YouTube bender I came across this mashup and video. This is some amazing stuff!
Check it out.
Below, Premium Members can download the audio and/or video to this amazing mashup.
[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
Group indoor cycling began 25 years ago. With great class delivery by instructors, indoor cycling can provide low impact, high energy, thrilling and inspiring workouts. It’s globally one of the most popular indoor classes and in the last few years dedicated indoor cycling studios have raised the bar in terms of class quality and experience. All good there then … no need for change eh? Not so! One fundamental omission from group cycling has finally been properly addressed: the intelligent measurement and use of data. Consumers have shown that data is here to stay with the exponential increase in use of fitness apps, trackers and wearable technology. Data has finally reached the world of indoor cycling! Boutique studios followed closely by some of the large operators are leading the way utilizing big screen displays and cloud-based performance tracking tools to provide an accurate fitness picture to members. It’s not guessing, estimation, and assumptions any longer. Studio owners are able to provide real value to their members through showing them real, measureable results.
Reliable data can be extremely motivational, demonstrate historic improvement, and provide clear and achievable goals. This also equips the studio and the instructor with incredibly important information as to which members are achieving their goals and which members may benefit from some additional instruction, guidance, or motivation. Applications such as VismoX, Performance IQ and MyZone are smart tools that help the instructor and participants with structured predefined classes, simple and clear analytics and goal setting. This is a brave new world for indoor cycling but one that can be rolled out to supplement existing programs with minimal challenges.
With indoor cycling moving into the data world this is also an opportunity to appeal to an entirely new audience … the outdoor cyclist. Outdoor cyclists at the elite level have been training using power meter measurement for nearly 15 years. The benefits are clear, measurable and attainable as a cyclist trains within power ‘zones’ that are set based on his or her personal ability and goals. When this system of measurement is translated to an indoor class, the results are remarkable. Now a class of 30 participants can all train at the correct intensity which is personalized to each rider’s body. For too long indoor cycling classes have been high RPM and lots of sweat, with no tangible gains or goals to strive for. On the simplest level it’s now possible to accurately calculate calorie burn and improve endurance, sprinting or whatever you or your coach/instructor set as your target. The data can be used as an integral motivator real time in a class or it can be tracked in the background depending on the type of class being offered.
The world of data is going to take the world of indoor cycling firmly into the 21st century, attracting a whole new audience, providing more variety in programming, new instructor aids, and personalized goal setting and tracking. For more information on how adding power measurement could help your business, visit www.stagesindoorcycling.com
Attached to this post is a harmonically mixed indoor cycling music set, of the best remixes of 2015 that I found on YouTube.
All you need to do is “Play It and Forget It.”
Premium Members, follow the link below to download this new mix.
[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
Right Click on the blue underlined link
Select “Download Linked File As”
Select a download location
Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
From the drop down menu select “iTunes” or “Spotify”
File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library
To download the above media on a PC:
Right Click on the blue underlined link
Select “Save Link As”
Select a download location
Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
From the drop down menu select “iTunes” or “Spotify”
File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library Click here to watch a video on how to download media files from ICI/Pro.
