Whenever I "hardcore" Peat, I Lose All Motivation. How To Be Both Relaxed And Motivated?

[Anders86]

I have noticed that having a serving of 40-60g of protein of muscle meat sparks some "drive" in me. I suspect it's the carnitine and other proteins boosting some cortisol and liver health. I have been very low on muscle meat the last 2 years, but in a "balanced" context it is sorta nesesary.

 

[opethfeldt]

Still trying to figure this one out myself. At the moment, it seems I can either be a high achiever or healthy. Not both at the same time. That said, I'm definitely smarter and more creative now, so the ideas I have are of much greater quality. I just have a lot less motivation to do mundane tasks than I used to. Not only that, but I'm now assertive enough to tell someone off when they want me to do something I believe isn't worth my time. The only thing that I have found to help at all is caffeine. With low estrogen, I pretty much need caffeine just to get enough alertness to drive a car safely haha.

 

[Travis]

I usually don't follow Peat guidelines 100% strictly. I make a general effort to balance PUFA with sat fat, eat as much salt as I want, and prefer animal protein over plant protein, but nothing beyond that. However, whenever I do decide to eat strictly according to his principles (only eggs, OJ, milk, potatoes, cheese, etc.), I get very relaxed and completely lose all motivation. I literally just want to lay in bed all day with warm blankets and read. I get too lazy to do any schoolwork, too lazy to do laundry, to cook, anything at all (except going out...I seem to love going out when I'm relaxed), which is why I essentially am forced to eat unhealthy so that I can get stuff done.

Has anyone experienced the same or know why this is happening? My inference is that I'm normally running on stress hormones, and fight-or-flight mode is great for getting stuff done, which is why people are extra-productive after fasting, intense exercise, or when motivated by fear. Eating well brings down these stress hormones so as our stress hormones go down, our motivation goes down. But how do we be both relaxed and motivated? That is the question...

Thanks so much for reading.

My best guess would be you're sufferenting from subclinical β-casomorphin-induced somnolence type II (sβCS).

 

[Blossom]

My best guess would be you're sufferenting from subclinical β-casomorphin-induced delirium type II (sβCD).

Do you have a proposed cure or treatment for that or would stopping cow dairy be enough?

 

[Travis]

Do you have a proposed cure for that or would stopping cow dairy be enough?

I changed it to 'somnolence' because that is more appropriate. The exorphins in goats' and sheeps' milk have a lower activity, and soy also has a μ-exorphin. The exorphins in wheat work on the κ- and δ-opioid receptors, so although they can influence the immune system and prolactin release they aren't soporific. I barely eat cheese but had bought pecorino romano about one month ago and had some parmesan, via raw cow's milk, about three weeks after that. I think the difference is certainly noticeable, yet something likely only perceivable after a few month's abstainment from dairy products. I have gone long bouts lasting months-to-years without dairy of any kind, many times in my life, and I can feel it's effects initially.

Cheese also has γ-aminobutryric acid, which is made by Lactobacilli from glutamate.

Coffee does have an anti-opiate called caffeoyl quinide formed upon roasting, perhaps making it a partial antidote to all μ-opiates. The 'common wisdom' is that coffee is 'unhealthy,' yet I cannot think of a good reason why this would be so.

 

[Energizer]

Perhaps eating better has lowered your stress hormones, revealing a hypothyroid state. Without knowing your pulse and temperature, it's difficult to know. Also, potatoes are problematic for some people, myself included. I would be wary of starch in general if you're after motivation. Starch can increase estrogen, prolactin, etc, which all can lower libido and motivation. Just to be sure though, it might be a good idea to post what you eat on cronometer.

 

[Anders86]

I changed it to 'somnolence' because that is more appropriate. The exorphins in goats' and sheeps' milk have a lower activity, and soy also has a μ-exorphin. The exorphins in wheat work on the κ- and δ-opioid receptors, so although they can influence the immune system and prolactin release they aren't soporific. I barely eat cheese but had bought pecorino romano about one month ago and had some parmesan, via raw cow's milk, about three weeks after that. I think the difference is certainly noticeable, yet something likely only perceivable after a few month's abstainment from dairy products. I have gone long bouts lasting months-to-years without dairy of any kind, many times in my life, and I can feel it's effects initially.

Cheese also has γ-aminobutryric acid, which is made by Lactobacilli from glutamate.

Coffee does have an anti-opiate called caffeoyl quinide formed upon roasting, perhaps making it a partial antidote to all μ-opiates. The 'common wisdom' is that coffee is 'unhealthy,' yet I cannot think of a good reason why this would be so.

I see Hypothyroidism is listed as first cause for Somnolence in the Wikipedia article. I guess Thyroid supplements would be beneficial?

 

[Travis]

I see Hypothyroidism is listed as first cause for Somnolence in the Wikipedia article. I guess Thyroid supplements would be beneficial?

It certainly increases the metabolic rate, yet it is a hormone. I personally don't like messing with hormones because I see them more-or-less as 'naturally aiming to achieve homeostasis.' Yet iodides do appear safe and is a necessary component of thyroid hormones, and selenocysteine is needed in the structure of thyroid deiodinase for full activity. I would hope that with adequate iodide + tyrosine the thyroid would make the correct amount of thyroxine for any given situation, and having enough selenium should guarantee its' proper conversion to triiodothyronine.

 

[Anders86]

It certainly increases the metabolic rate, yet it is a hormone. I personally don't like messing with hormones because I see them more-or-less as 'naturally aiming to achieve homeostasis.' Yet iodides do appear safe and is a necessary component of thyroid hormones, and selenocysteine is needed in the structure of thyroid deiodinase for full activity. I would hope that with adequate iodide + tyrosine the thyroid would make the correct amount of thyroxine for any given situation, and having enough selenium should guarantee its' proper conversion to triiodothyronine.

So a little paradoxically for me as I`m getting most of my selenium, iodine and phenylalanine/tyrosine from milk.

But I get you.
A bigger emphasis on sea food would be beneficial then.

 

[jet9]

Still trying to figure this one out myself. At the moment, it seems I can either be a high achiever or healthy. Not both at the same time. That said, I'm definitely smarter and more creative now, so the ideas I have are of much greater quality. I just have a lot less motivation to do mundane tasks than I used to. Not only that, but I'm now assertive enough to tell someone off when they want me to do something I believe isn't worth my time. The only thing that I have found to help at all is caffeine. With low estrogen, I pretty much need caffeine just to get enough alertness to drive a car safely haha.

What non peat foods makes you high achiever?

 

[Travis]

So a little paradoxically for me as I`m getting most of my selenium, iodine and phenylalanine/tyrosine from milk.

But I get you.
A bigger emphasis on sea food would be beneficial then.

A person make the case that supplemental potassium iodide (KI) is unnatural, yet they'd be a hypocrite should they also eat salt (NaCl). These are almost like yin & yang pairs because Na⁺ is the counterion of K⁺ and Cl⁻ is that of I⁻. High-salt diets displace iodide ions gained from natural food, even land food, and supplementing potassium iodide to counter this would be no less natural than eating the salt that'd displaced it. Commercial iodized salt has an insignificant amount of iodide and is adulterated by aluminum silicates to prevent aggregation, or that that 'salt clumping' you get with sea salt. I intend on making my own iodized salt using potassium iodide, perhaps in a 1∶10 ratio, to counter the negative effects of both increased Na⁺ and Cl⁻.

I do like getting everything from food, but will take an exception with iodide because I also consume salt.

Plants have more selenium that what is commonly shown in charts because it exists primarily as selenocysteine, selenomethionine, and selenohomocysteine. When minerals are analyzed in most food analysis applications they are homogenized and centrifuged with only the supernatant analyzed by flame spectroscopy. This determines the free inorganic selenium species such as Se²⁻, SeO₃²⁻, and SeO₄²⁻ in the soluble phase yet ignores the protein-bound majority discarded with the precipitate. Selenized-yeast is widely available and contains mostly selenomethionine, a species having lower toxicity than inorganic selenium ions. Iodothyronine deiodinase is also a selenoenzyme.

 

[opethfeldt]

What non peat foods makes you high achiever?

Not so much specific foods. I meant that I am a high achiever when I have high stress hormones. They can be very motivating.

 

[Wagner83]

Not so much specific foods. I meant that I am a high achiever when I have high stress hormones. They can be very motivating.

What about being lazy with zero motivation but still happy with gaba-boosting supplements or struggling with dairy (and drive) like some do?

 

[opethfeldt]

What about being lazy with zero motivation but still happy with gaba-boosting supplements or struggling with dairy (and drive) like some do?

Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at. Happy and content, but so content that the world could literally go to ***t and I'd just shrug it off. It can be a problem. I also find high androgens to produce a very "everything should just be done for me" mindset, which is neither healthy nor sustainable. What do you mean when you say you struggle with dairy? What symptoms do you get? Perhaps that's my issue.

 

[Wagner83]

There are some reports here https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/dairy-free.2848/ and others scattered around. I would first and foremost question your supplement arsenal though, quite a few supplements recommended or sold on here have potent GABA effects. Given what you said I'm not sure this is what you're suffering from. Btw when one doesn't feel optimal on supps I often have the impression that ray suggests stopping everything and reassess.

Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at. Happy and content, but so content that the world could literally go to ***t and I'd just shrug it off. It can be a problem. I also find high androgens to produce a very "everything should just be done for me" mindset, which is neither healthy nor sustainable. What do you mean when you say you struggle with dairy? What symptoms do you get? Perhaps that's my issue.

 

[opethfeldt]

There are some reports here https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/dairy-free.2848/ and others scattered around. I would first and foremost question your supplement arsenal though, quite a few supplements recommended or sold on here have potent GABA effects.

I'd rather like to keep the GABA up. I find it to have pretty potent health benefits. I figure increasing motivation is just a matter of increasing dopamine more. Perhaps mine isn't optimal. I have heard, though, that GABA decreases dopamine. I don't know how true that is, but I've also read supplements like tyrosine and caffeine have anti-GABA effects and they certainly feel like they do. So perhaps I have no choice but to lower GABA if I want to be more motivated. I really enjoy high GABA, from a personality standpoint, even. It seems to reduce the tendency I used to have to micromanage my life. My quality of life has, by extension, greatly improved. For this reason, I am pretty wary of decreasing GABA. I'd rather not go back down that road.

 

[X3CyO]

Perhaps all of peats information should just be used in the context of relaxation and healing rather than as a lifestyle choice unless living specifically for longevity.

Structure or energy


Theres not much to strive for if youre already content.

 

[opethfeldt]

Perhaps all of peats information should just be used in the context of relaxation and healing rather than as a lifestyle choice unless living specifically for longevity.

Structure or energy


Theres not much to strive for if youre already content.

That's true. However, I'm not at a point in my life where I can really afford to be totally content. There are still goals I'd like to achieve and I'm far too young to just give up on them and somehow content myself with being less successful. However, I admit to becoming less focused on material possessions and wealth since adopting the Peat diet and lifestyle. A compromise can definitely be made.

 

[X3CyO]

That's true. However, I'm not at a point in my life where I can really afford to be totally content. There are still goals I'd like to achieve and I'm far too young to just give up on them and somehow content myself with being less successful. However, I admit to becoming less focused on material possessions and wealth since adopting the Peat diet and lifestyle. A compromise can definitely be made.

Same

 

[Andman]

Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at. Happy and content, but so content that the world could literally go to ***t and I'd just shrug it off. It can be a problem. I also find high androgens to produce a very "everything should just be done for me" mindset, which is neither healthy nor sustainable. What do you mean when you say you struggle with dairy? What symptoms do you get? Perhaps that's my issue.

+1

I'd rather like to keep the GABA up. I find it to have pretty potent health benefits. I figure increasing motivation is just a matter of increasing dopamine more. Perhaps mine isn't optimal. I have heard, though, that GABA decreases dopamine. I don't know how true that is, but I've also read supplements like tyrosine and caffeine have anti-GABA effects and they certainly feel like they do. So perhaps I have no choice but to lower GABA if I want to be more motivated. I really enjoy high GABA, from a personality standpoint, even. It seems to reduce the tendency I used to have to micromanage my life. My quality of life has, by extension, greatly improved. For this reason, I am pretty wary of decreasing GABA. I'd rather not go back down that road.

+1

Not sure how to solve this dilemma though. Tried dopamine agonists?