Carbs and ZeroCarbs Depression

[BestSinceDAYONE]

So, like many of us on this forum, I have tried many diets, low carb, high carb, vegan, IF etc.

So my question is as it relates to mental health, anecdotally (and it sounds like others have the same experience) a low carb diet feels GREAT for a few days almost euphoric and then I slip into a deep depression where I am super passive about everything. Very rigid in my thinking and just in general a blank mood, not really smiling etc. But it seems to be the best for my physique in terms of fat loss and as far as work, you almost become hyper aware of things and Vulcan like.

With carbohydrates it definitely seems to improve my mood and overall happiness with life but I tend to get fatter and overeat VERY EASILY

Can anyone ELI5 why this occurs? Given my hormone panel (I can attach again, but I am low SHBG guy) what can I do / take to improve this? (Thyroid, testosterone, etc. )

 

[animalcule]

+1 curious to know if anyone has an answer

 

[youngsinatra]

1. Keeping total fat intake at <10-15% helps a lot in terms of insulin sensitivity and staying lean while eating a lot of carbohydrates. Just adding in moderate amounts of fatty foods and minimal amounts of oils makes me gain fat on a high-carbohydrate diet. Fat with carbohydrates also makes me very sluggish and mentally foggy. With low fat I don‘t really get that food coma.

2. Eating exclusively whole food carbohydrate sources (whole grains, starchy root vegetables, fruits, legumes, vegetables) and avoiding refined carbohydrates like sugar/white rice/white bread helps to maintain stable blood sugar / avoid blood sugar crashes. They also supply the necessary co-factors for glucose oxidation (B1, magnesium, potassium…) that are lacking in refined carbs.

3. Still make sure to eat enough lean animal protein with (at best) every carbohydrate-rich meals. Lean beef, chicken breast, low fat dairy products are great choices.

 

[Peatful]

So, like many of us on this forum, I have tried many diets, low carb, high carb, vegan, IF etc.

So my question is as it relates to mental health, anecdotally (and it sounds like others have the same experience) a low carb diet feels GREAT for a few days almost euphoric and then I slip into a deep depression where I am super passive about everything. Very rigid in my thinking and just in general a blank mood, not really smiling etc. But it seems to be the best for my physique in terms of fat loss and as far as work, you almost become hyper aware of things and Vulcan like.

With carbohydrates it definitely seems to improve my mood and overall happiness with life but I tend to get fatter and overeat VERY EASILY

Can anyone ELI5 why this occurs? Given my hormone panel (I can attach again, but I am low SHBG guy) what can I do / take to improve this? (Thyroid, testosterone, etc. )

I don’t have much data on you from this post
But it seems to me like the answer is in your own text


You’re “hungry”.
Or simply not meeting your metabolic needs.

Eat more.
Get “fat”.
Heal.
Mood will lift and stabilize
Weight will come off


Yes yes-
People smarter than me will debunk this.
Say it doesn’t work.


Keeping your blood sugar steady is also key.
You can start there.
Balanced macros 40/30/30 or 50/20/20
That may be enough to make a difference

 

[BestSinceDAYONE]

I don’t have much data on you from this post
But it seems to me like the answer is in your own text


You’re “hungry”.
Or simply not meeting your metabolic needs.

Eat more.
Get “fat”.
Heal.
Mood will lift and stabilize
Weight will come off


Yes yes-
People smarter than me will debunk this.
Say it doesn’t work.


Keeping your blood sugar steady is also key.
You can start there.
Balanced macros 40/30/30 or 50/20/20
That may be enough to make a difference

Thank you! I have attached my labs

 

[Peatful]

Thank you! I have attached my labs

You are welcome

And you are hypothyroid


Probably just in a stressed state from overtraining and or under eating

You are not meeting your metabolic needs
Or
Very stressed out
It’s usually a bit of both in today’s world

See this time and time and time again
Especially with a history of trying “restrictive diets” that you mentioned in your OP

 

[BestSinceDAYONE]

You are welcome

And you are hypothyroid


Probably just in a stressed state from overtraining and or under eating

You are not meeting your metabolic needs
Or
Very stressed out
It’s usually a bit of both in today’s world

See this time and time and time again
Especially with a history of trying “restrictive diets” that you mentioned in your OP

I am def very stressed...

Do you know why people claim that carnivore "cured" their depression etc.? It seems like my experience has been different...

 

[Dainis Spainis]

Do you feel that certain foods make you feel worse immediately after eating? What are those?

 

[Peatful]

I am def very stressed...

Do you know why people claim that carnivore "cured" their depression etc.? It seems like my experience has been different...

Could be many different factors.

The liver needs protein.
That’s probably a large factor.
Especially if a person was underfed previously or meat free.

 

[GreekDemiGod]

2. Eating exclusively whole food carbohydrate sources (whole grains, starchy root vegetables, fruits, legumes, vegetables) and avoiding refined carbohydrates like sugar/white rice/white bread helps to maintain stable blood sugar / avoid blood sugar crashes. They also supply the necessary co-factors for glucose oxidation (B1, magnesium, potassium…) that are lacking in refined carbs.

Have you minimized or eliminated refined carbs?
No longer eat white sugar or rice?

 

[GreekDemiGod]

Delete

 

[youngsinatra]

Have you minimized or eliminated refined carbs?
No longer eat white sugar or rice?

Yes completely eliminated.

 

[DrJ]

So, like many of us on this forum, I have tried many diets, low carb, high carb, vegan, IF etc.

So my question is as it relates to mental health, anecdotally (and it sounds like others have the same experience) a low carb diet feels GREAT for a few days almost euphoric and then I slip into a deep depression where I am super passive about everything. Very rigid in my thinking and just in general a blank mood, not really smiling etc. But it seems to be the best for my physique in terms of fat loss and as far as work, you almost become hyper aware of things and Vulcan like.

With carbohydrates it definitely seems to improve my mood and overall happiness with life but I tend to get fatter and overeat VERY EASILY

Can anyone ELI5 why this occurs? Given my hormone panel (I can attach again, but I am low SHBG guy) what can I do / take to improve this? (Thyroid, testosterone, etc. )

I experience similar. If I do low-carb / carnivore I will feel great up until about 2 weeks and then it's no good. I definitely feel much better on high carb.

The trick for me is - just as youngsinatra suggested - that you go very low fat when you are going very high carb. This keeps you from gaining weight and really forces your body into carb burning. Also, I suggest a bit of taurine if you go high carb as it will support the oxidative metabolism by blocking beta oxidation. But do not eat junk carbs that are low-fat like energy drinks and soda. Use nutritionally dense, low-fat carb sources like fruits and potatoes.

The second part is you still need to get lots of protein to support neurotransmitter creation and your liver. A diet targeting high-protein, very low-fat really only leaves you with a few main protein options: skim milk and non-fat yogurt. Of course you can take some low-fat beef like jerky or maybe some chicken sparingly, but meat can make the fat go up pretty quickly.

So then your diet ends up looking something like this:
- fruit
- potatoes
- some rice
- skim milk
- non-fat yogurt
- a few eggs

Which, you know, is not so far from the base diet Peat suggests to restore your metabolism of 3 quarts milk and 1 quart OJ.

For me, my mood and focus stably elevated on high carb once I got fat down below 50g, and now I am almost always under 30g per day. Not saying you have to stay there, but I think this helps the high-carb approach work tremendously better when you are trying to force your body over to carb burning. I actually love eating potatoes and look forward to it every time with lots of salt. Skim milk I find gross, but I warm it up and put instant coffee powder in it and then it's just fine.

And lay off the alcohol.