Recent Switch To RP From ZC - Increase In Stress/anxiety?

anonbiohacker

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Apr 3, 2018
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13
Hey all - great forum here. Lots of useful information that's helping me piece together more of the puzzle. I recently switched from a Zero Carb diet to a Ray Peat inspired diet. The main reason I switched was because I heard Danny Roddy's story. When I realized how similar his health journey was to mine (in terms of progressing from Veg, to Vegan, Raw Vegan, Primal, Keto, ZC, etc...) and that he no longer follows a ZC diet in favor of a RP inspired diet anymore, I immediately became interested and made the switch.

That was about 2 weeks ago. I ate a ZC, meat based diet for about 6 months. The reason I embarked on this dietary journey was due to anxiety/mood problems that became problematic when I was 21 (am 23 now). I honestly found tremendous overall relief from anxiety on the ZC diet, but I did struggle with extreme fatigue at times, low blood sugar, and extreme lethargy. I really had low anxiety about EVERYTHING, which was great, but I did not have amazing energy. I guess you could say I had mild anhedonia. Also, I seemed to have poor thyroid function. I had a low pulse, significant dark circles under the eyes, thinning hair, etc...

So what have I experienced since switching to a Ray Peat inspired diet? I have noticed A LOT of changes. First of all, my diet: milk, OJ, raw sugar, liver, oysters, fruit, cheese, yoghurt, honey, gelatin. I eat/drink as often as I can throughout the day. I have no idea what my macros are, but I would estimate about 3000 calories with 65% coming from carb, 20% from fat and 15% from protein.

The biggest difference I have noticed is my energy levels. I have WAY, WAY more energy. To do everything. My pulse is much higher. My body temperature is high. I have a lot of jittery energy. I spring up from my chair and bed and feel light. This is a nice change from feeling to lethargic all the time, but there is one caveat: my mind also has started racing. My mind is constantly moving and I am finding it harder to relax. I am always thinking about something that I have to do, my surroundings etc. When in my lectures, I am now getting distracted from the professor again, and overall find it a bit difficult to focus on what I want to focus on. Mind you, I am in quite a stressful time of my life right now, but still, there is a significant difference from when I was eating ZC.

Does anyone have experience or insight with this? Thank you for the help.
 

raypeatclips

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Jul 8, 2016
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I think people can find easing into the Ray Peat style of eating better than completely switching diet . If you were eating decent starch sources before like rice or potatoes or a good quality bread id consider reintroducing them again and see if your anxiety improves.
 
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anonbiohacker

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Apr 3, 2018
Messages
13
@raypeatclips

Thanks for the response and I completely agree. I completely turned 180 degrees and I know that it will take some time getting used to. I haven't eaten rice or potatoes or bread as a calorie source in my diet since I was vegan over a year ago. I just feel kinda speedy, intense, and like everything is heightened. I'm finding it harder to get into those relaxing, gaba-induced slow brain waves. If that makes any sense.
 

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