Diet And "irrational Thoughts"

DWR

Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2016
Messages
17
I'm not entirely sure how to post this concisely.

I've noticed some tremendous benefits in clarity of thought and mental processing since shifting my diet. Much of this would be difficult to articulate in a clear manner....however...I can give one example with clarity.

I'm sure most of us deal with one or more significant fears. For me one of the most powerful is an irrational fear of heights. A tremendously powerful fear/awareness of falling when I'm 1st exposed to heights. Standing on a hotel balcony, walking over a bridge etc.. Now it's easily controlled (I've gone sky diving, flown a GA airplane etc) but overpowering initially.

I've noticed that since shifting to an "RP diet" {yes I know that technically their is no such thing} this has disappeared...completely. I'm very much aware and cautious but that overwhelming gut wrenching emotion is entirely gone???
 

EIRE24

Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
1,792
I'm not entirely sure how to post this concisely.

I've noticed some tremendous benefits in clarity of thought and mental processing since shifting my diet. Much of this would be difficult to articulate in a clear manner....however...I can give one example with clarity.

I'm sure most of us deal with one or more significant fears. For me one of the most powerful is an irrational fear of heights. A tremendously powerful fear/awareness of falling when I'm 1st exposed to heights. Standing on a hotel balcony, walking over a bridge etc.. Now it's easily controlled (I've gone sky diving, flown a GA airplane etc) but overpowering initially.

I've noticed that since shifting to an "RP diet" {yes I know that technically their is no such thing} this has disappeared...completely. I'm very much aware and cautious but that overwhelming gut wrenching emotion is entirely gone???

So what does your daily diet consist of and how many calories a day?
 
OP
D

DWR

Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2016
Messages
17
Milk and OJ (1 quart each) + whole fruits (dates, apple, banana, pear, grape, mango, papaya etc.) with some meat (beef, chicken, pork, liverwurst). I've cut way back on mixed salads, bread, beans and nut's and also added 2 tablespoons or so of coconut oil (mostly in my coffee) {3-5 cups caffeinated & 2-3 cups decaf}. I have not been tracking calories but I'd say 3000/day is a fairly accurate number.
 

CoolTweetPete

Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2015
Messages
730
Age
37
Location
San Francisco
Many people seem to notice a marked increase in overall sense of well-being when switching to a more Ray Peat / bioenergetic inspired way of eating. I certainly did. Pretty sure I posted a similar thread when I first joined the forum lol.

I would guess it has to do with less HPA-axis activity due to reduction in free fatty acids, cortisol, adrenaline, etc. Obviously more complex than that, but I think initially some folks (particularly if coming from low carb) notice a dramatic change in mood bc of these improvements in diet.
 

EIRE24

Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
1,792
Milk and OJ (1 quart each) + whole fruits (dates, apple, banana, pear, grape, mango, papaya etc.) with some meat (beef, chicken, pork, liverwurst). I've cut way back on mixed salads, bread, beans and nut's and also added 2 tablespoons or so of coconut oil (mostly in my coffee) {3-5 cups caffeinated & 2-3 cups decaf}. I have not been tracking calories but I'd say 3000/day is a fairly accurate number.

Full fat milk? You must eat a hell of a lot of fruit to get to 3000 cals a day.
 
OP
D

DWR

Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2016
Messages
17
Dates have a lot of calories, I'll normally eat 8-10 a day, so that's 600-800 calories right there. A quart of milk is 600, a quart of OJ is 400, about 400 calories of cheese per day and roughly 250 calories of coconut oil. So my base diet is 2300-2500 calories + whatever whole fruit and the half & half + sugar in my coffee and whatever meat, sweets, bread etc. I might eat.
 

EIRE24

Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
1,792
Dates have a lot of calories, I'll normally eat 8-10 a day, so that's 600-800 calories right there. A quart of milk is 600, a quart of OJ is 400, about 400 calories of cheese per day and roughly 250 calories of coconut oil. So my base diet is 2300-2500 calories + whatever whole fruit and the half & half + sugar in my coffee and whatever meat, sweets, bread etc. I might eat.

Ah didn't know you ate that many dates. So your milk is full fat and not skimmed?
 

calamityjane

Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
30
I'm not entirely sure how to post this concisely.

I've noticed some tremendous benefits in clarity of thought and mental processing since shifting my diet. Much of this would be difficult to articulate in a clear manner....however...I can give one example with clarity.

I'm sure most of us deal with one or more significant fears. For me one of the most powerful is an irrational fear of heights. A tremendously powerful fear/awareness of falling when I'm 1st exposed to heights. Standing on a hotel balcony, walking over a bridge etc.. Now it's easily controlled (I've gone sky diving, flown a GA airplane etc) but overpowering initially.

I've noticed that since shifting to an "RP diet" {yes I know that technically their is no such thing} this has disappeared...completely. I'm very much aware and cautious but that overwhelming gut wrenching emotion is entirely gone???
I can relate to this completely. There is a glass lift at my shopping centre. Just 2 floors and I literally couldn't even look at it without feeling faint. This meant having to take the stairs with heavy trollies of groceries. Then one day out of the blue the feeling was gone & I've been using the lift ever since. I suspect that it's hormonal.
 

HDD

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2012
Messages
2,075
I suspect it's hormonal/serotonin, also. I have had a fear of certain bridges at different times and also of driving through the mountains. At one point, I struggled to drive over a local bridge I use regularly. I was probably on a very extreme diet at that time.
 

Diokine

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2016
Messages
624
I agree with the hypotheses concerning serotonin. I think one aspect of serotonin in regulating behavior is to encourage conservatism and cautiousness. There is almost an aspect of OCD, i.e. irrational fear that can't be worked through. There are other factors at play obviously but increasing the metabolic rate is going to do a lot for encouraging new experiences (increased dopamine.)

I can totally relate to these experiences also. I had always been a cautious individual and fairly anxiety prone. I was also very afraid of heights. The fear of heights started slowly diminishing some time ago, but since I started putting Dr. Peat's principles into full effect and taking control of my metabolism, it is completely gone. I've gone rock climbing a few times recently and experienced no anxiety. I often get the urge to climb tall things (like cranes or buildings under construction for instance.) Not saying this is particularly indicative of great health, but it is in stark contrast to my previous attitudes. There are many other areas where I have experienced profound change, but the most striking is in regards to anxiety. I very rarely get anxious now, and when I do I can usually trace the cause without much effort, and I understand that I have the tools to remedy it.
 

artist

Member
Joined
May 31, 2015
Messages
420
I know exactly what you mean OP, have the same experience with diet affecting paranoia/visceral fear
 

sprinter

Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2013
Messages
232
I struggle with Gephyrophobia. I had a really bad panic attack 2 years ago when I was walking across a long and high bridge and suddenly felt trapped. I was scared that I might lose control of myself and jump off. Even though I know this is irrational, since then I've had anxiety with driving over bridges, walking in high places, or being in a place where I may feel trapped. Ray Peat's principle have certainly helped to some degree, but the fear is still there.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Nov 26, 2013
Messages
7,370
So peating doesn't work for gephyrophobia
 

lvysaur

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2014
Messages
2,286
I used to be repulsed by certain insects, now I'm not. Not even roaches.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom