Looking for diet help

[dylankane]

So first of all, I'm not here for weight loss tips, I can't put weight on if I try! And i definitely don't undereat. I'm trying to transition to a more balanced diet, where each plate is half veg(excluding starchy veg), quarter protein, and another quarter carbs. I'm doing this, well I have no idea why.. because there may be advantages I guess?

My current diet(when I'm not doing this):

Breakfast: granola with milk (450 kcal)

Lunch: pasta with tomato sauce (600 kcal)

Dinner: pasta with tomato sauce (600 kcal)

Now the meals on the healthy diet are in theory the exact amount of calories, so I should have the same amount of energy right? Completely wrong, no brain energy at all, I struggled to even read my uni books so I'm here to basically ask why is a healthy diet stopping me from being able to read ect? All I've done is swapped over to more veg. I'm bilingual(French teacher) and I felt it very difficult to form arguments in my second language on this diet. On day 3 I had awful stomach pains as well... so what the fudge is happening? Like what the heck

[Activity2004 Administrator]

Hi and welcome to the group, dylankane . Thank you for introducing yourself to the group.

Has your doctor suggested counting carbs. for each meal? Sometimes, when you eat more carbs., a person can get tired and/or have high blood sugars (if the person is a Diabetic). If you eat very few (or not enough) carbs., then your blood sugars can go extremely low (hypoglycemia).

[Cooper27 Administrator]

If your diet has generally consisted of granola and pasta, I'd be concerned that you're not getting all the nutrition you need - a few things you're likely missing out on that can result in brain fog would include B12, ferritin, omega 3s and vitamin D (which is fat soluble).

It could be worth a trip to your doctor to get tested for some of these deficiencies, and perhaps to be tested for coeliac disease and thyroid issues, as they can also make it difficult to gain weight.

[dylankane in reply to Cooper27]

Already have been I'm completely fine, but like I said its contrary to your comment because when I eat "healthy" I get brain fog, not the opposite way round, and by healthy I mean what the Harvard plate recommends(3/8 veg 1/8 fruit 2/8 carbs and 2/8 protein. That is what I'm trying to figure out, it doesn't seem healthy. If all these nutrients are so important, why can a cow build every cell in its body and it only eats grass I'm pretty sure that cows now getting any 5 a day. That being said, I sont wanna tangent from the point. Healthy = brain fog, eating carbs and meat = absolutely fine.

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to dylankane]

It's a bit of an out there idea, but perhaps it's withdrawal? When people cut back on carbs, they usually go through a period of feeling sluggish (e.g when people trying keto talk of keto flu). You usually get over it after a couple of weeks.

[dylankane in reply to Cooper27]

I thought the same thing but after 3 days nothing changed? And as soon as I had some carb densed food I was back to normal..

[dylankane in reply to dylankane]

How long would it take to "withdraw" do you recon??

[Cooper27 Administrator in reply to dylankane]

It'll take a couple of weeks to pass. You're giving in too soon.

The reason you feel better for having the carb dense foods, is because you're feeding the craving and that stops the withdrawal symptoms.

If you want to do it more gradually, you could start by replacing just a quarter of one bowl of pasta with veg (e.g. cauliflower, courgette, peppers), and just gradually increase the veg and reduce the pasta. Add some frozen berries to your granola to replace some of the oats.

[dylankane in reply to Cooper27]

No I'll go through with it, I've printed a couple of images off to help me stick it out.. thanks alot for the reply cooper