While I've been following Flexible dieting for a while now, and while the freedom of being able to eat really whatever I want as long as it fits my macros has had some real psychological benefits-- recently I've been reevaluating how I view and use food. A lot of people seem to view food as either a source of enjoyment/something to look forward to, or view it as "fuel" for their bodies as a machine (like the phrase "you wouldn't put crap low level grade gas into a ferrari"-- or something like that... it's been a while since I've been on the Bodybuilding forums. I've moved back and forth between these mindsets during my life in lifting, but I think I've finally found a good middle ground.

Taking as a given that my macros are being met-- I've noticed that the more "cheat" type foods I eat (i.e. not foods that crunchy California folks would likely touch) the more of these foods I want and crave. Even in moderation, when they're a regular part of my diet-- I get more food cravings. So in the name of experimentation, I went a week without any "processed" foods (yes I know that term is problematic sometimes-- but bear with me).

I ditched whey protein, and instead got all my protein from animals (grass fed when I could get it), eggs (cage free and free range, etc. when I could find a reputable brand); carbs came primarily from green veggies, starches like sweet potato and different squashes, and fruit (primarily berries-- preference); and fats came from the animals I ate, fish, nuts and avocados. I wasn't a big dairy consumer prior to this anyway, but I went ahead and cut out all dairy with the exception of some greek yogurt (I can never quit GY). I also cut out (pretty much completely) all diet drinks/sodas, and almost all artificial sweeteners.

Now before anyone gets angry about losing another "good mind" to Paleo, or Bulletproof, or whatever other food religions are out there that I don't know about-- this was me simply trying to learn more about my body and how food does or does not affect how I feel mentally and physiologically. I realize that a lot of foods can have the same affects one way or another on body composition-- but I want to know what foods make me feel best, in the gym and in the classroom/ in my studies.

Sticking to this for a week had some interesting affects, and maybe they're placebo, maybe they're due to something completely unrelated, but I think the changes really are attributed to the change in foods:

1) Less bloated/less water weight fluctuation. Even when dieting, and when the scale is moving downwards-- I've always had some pretty extreme water weight fluctuations. My nutrition coach has even referred to me as a "walking science experiment" because he hasn't seen many people fluctuate in water weight like I do. Since changing the foods I eat-- this has become less extreme.

2) More energy in the morning and throughout the day. This has probably been the best part for me. Between school, career prep stuff (last year of law school), training, and trying to keep various relationships healthy and nurtured-- there's never really any true "down time". Beforehand, despite calories having increased and getting adequate amounts of sleep, I was feeling constantly fatigued, stressed, and anxious (history of anxiety issues as well-- Law School hasn't helped haha). Since the shift, I practically jump out of bed ready to go (even when I get less sleep than normal)-- and this lasts pretty much all throughout the day. While I may get sleepy at night (which is a plus in my book)-- I don't get that fatigued/lethargic feeling that I used to.

3) I Sleep Better. I've always had problems with not being able to fall asleep. No matter how exhausted I was, I'd lay awake in bed unable to drift off. I actually hated bed time, because it just meant another round of frustration. Since changing food sources, I've been having no trouble falling asleep (~15-20 min. max rather than 1-2 hours) and I feel like I get better quality/deeper sleep. This could also connect to the fact that I feel more energized, so I've naturally been waking up earlier-- which in turn helps me feel more tired by the end of day. Either way, I'm happy with both effects.

4) My Mood is improved. While I still get anxious from time to time, and stressed out (not necessarily bad things-- they can be positive/important feelings in certain situations) overall my mood is stabilized and I have an overall sense of well-being that stays constant. This is huge for me as well, it allows me to roll with the punches of everyday life without getting bogged down by stressing unnecessarily or spiraling into a counterproductive state of anxiety and/or depression (since the two often go hand in hand).

5) Training is better. As a result of all of the above, Training sessions have been going better. I feel better on the inside, and I move better as a result. I've got better focus and clarity in the gym, I find that I don't need pre-workout caffeine anymore (despite waking up earlier/sometimes having less sleep), and I feel more recovered from session to session.

6) Food Cravings have pretty much disappeared completely, and I feel Full pretty much all the time. Even when I'm hungry, it's not that ravenous/panicked type of hunger I used to feel-- it's more of a "I could eat/ should eat sometime soonish".

All this being said-- this 1 week experiment has now turned into an "indefinite" experiment. I will be shifting my eating to this way from now on, with the exception of special occasions/date nights etc. I'm still going to live my life, but this will be the way I eat ~90% of the time.

Maybe this isn't news to anyone (it probably isn't)-- and when I think about it, it's not really news to me. But knowing what we know, and actually incorporating this knowledge into how we live our lives-- are two very different things. Now that I've felt how good I can feel, purely by changing the foods I eat (remember, macros stayed the same)-- I don't really wanna go back.

Because I like data, I'll be documenting how I feel/ things I notice with the various food sources, etc. (basically just keeping a journal) as I continue with the shift.

The more you know....