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I am just curious to hear from other people if they have experienced any mental benefits from going low carb and/or paleo?

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The initial benefits for me through straight Paleo:

-A consistent medium level of energy (physical / mental) that never dipped throughout the day.

-Feeling good about my body after losing quite a lot of weight relatively fast.

After experimenting with very low carb (ketogenic periods)

-Feeling a little foggy in the morning but then after some butter / coconut oil / coffee, feeling euphoric and at maximum energy until about 4-6pm that night.

-The energy has resulted in much more focus, creativity and positive mood leading me to additional and a higher quality of output regarding all mental work.

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Initially I had killer headaches but after a few days I had no more energy slums and I just had a feeling of being alert and awake. It was really weird but my mind felt clear and light, like a load had been lifted. I generally felt happier. Before I was always tired and felt depleted. I'm glad I stuck out the headaches or else I would not have experienced my new found energy.

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VLC meat, fat, veggies....mood ups and downs evened out. Mental focus constant. No more dizzy, irritable, weak feeling when I haven't eaten in three hours. Can go a very long time without eating, still focused. Energy is constant like diesel fuel all day. Took 3 weeks of feeling terrible to get adapted, but well worth it. If I eat ANY sugar or starch, I feel like hell for days. Workouts have non stop energy. Love it.

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After going paleo: went from taking daily medication for 10 years for anxiety, depression, and insomnia. I can't even name all the medications I have been on and was still chronically depressed, anxious, and unable to sleep. 6 months into paleo I got off the last medication, today I am on NO medication and my symptoms are under control. I have ups and downs but no major depression or anxiety. I sleep like a baby! Nothing short of a miracle. I thought 100% that I would be on medication (that didn't even really work) for the rest of my life. Nope- all I needed was proper nutrition!

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Wow congrats!!! What do you usually eat and how does your diet plan look like? Thanks!!! – Natureman Mar 30 2012 at 15:55
That sounds great! :) – Pedrita Mar 30 2012 at 22:35
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Prior, headaches 2-5 times a week. Strong enough to be taking pills for them. Now, I haven't had to take a pill for a headache since June last year.

Now, a mental fogginess is lifted that I didn't even know was there. Now, my memory and recall are slightly better. Names and facts are jumping to mind when at times I might have struggled.

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Low carb made me feel very lethargic, stressed and moody. However, I am an athlete and I am training atleast 6 hours a day.

I now eat as much carbohydrates as I want, sweet potatoes, rutabagas and fruit. Occasionally rice. I feel fantastic. The elimination of grains from my diet is one of the best things I have ever done for myself.

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what are your fat macros like? – Lucas Apr 3 2012 at 1:38
Hi Lucas, I dont know. I eat 4 or 5 eggs a day, a few tbsp of coconut oil per day, 1 tsp of cod liver oil, red meat and every couple of days some almonds or nut butter. – AG Apr 8 2012 at 1:32
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paleo: tremendous benefits! less anxiety, more energy, more motivation to get things done, generally more positive.

low-carb: a definite no-go for me. it doesn't do me any good, mentally or physically.

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Paleo helped me go from being a permanent fixture on my couch/bed to being able to get up and function like a somewhat normal human being. It didn't cure everything but it got me to a point where my meds actually worked. That in itself was a miracle. I had a lot of shit that was messed up inside of me I guess so that takes time to heal. I had to go on an elimination diet for a month and then later started introducing GAPS gut healing protocols in with the Paleo diet regime. I recently went from moderatly low carb, to very low carb and that really helped with energy levels and mood. I believe that it's a process. I have been sick in one way or another for my whole life and it's just going to take time and experimentation. In a year I hope to be able to lay claim to a new vibrant life free of meds.

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Best of luck your way. This is me too. I'm frustrated that I can't get well right now but I hope in the coming months/years things will continue getting better, slowly. – Medis Mar 31 2012 at 10:54
Hi Medis. I've spent the last year reading through what feels like thousands of pages of information on blogs, websites and papers. I had to get on the right track before things started clicking. Best of luck on your journey. You can ping me on Facebook if you ever want to chat. – MeepsIsWellfed Mar 31 2012 at 16:08
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I am much calmer/alert/able to focus compared to eating SAD. Compared to SAD I eat low carb but within the whole-foods lifestyle I am medium-to-high carb with no loss of mental clarity.

I'm one of those who went from 2-5 days per week of migraine to 2-5 days per 6 months or longer, but in my case it was turbulent Wisconsin weather that was the problem. While I still feel atmospheric activity here in Nevada, the humidity and air turbulence is so much less than it doesn't translate to migraine. I mention that to point out that you can't attribute all changes to what you're eating.

The only thing that will tranquilize me and cause problems would be a massive neo-splurge. There doesn't seem to be a level of whole-starch, whole-fruit, fatty meat foods that dull the edge I've enjoyed for about a year now.

I drink coffee (with cream and honey) all morning but I wake up as clear-headed as I am with the coffee. If my schedule requires it, I can go all morning without coffee with no "fog" but I simply enjoy sipping the warm savory beverage. It's a hot climate here in southern NV so when it's around 80 degress at 7 am I'll drop coffee until the morning lows again fall well under 80 next fall.

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Ive felt more focused since starting paleo/primal..More optimistic..And most importantly my social anxiety seems to decrease when lowcarb..When I eat more carbs(especially fruit) than usual I definitely feel it when outside and on the train..Also ive noticed my mind is clearer/brain fog from Hashimoto's has gotten better..

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i used to have a pronounced social anxiety for a number of years a number of years ago and it was one of the symptoms i noted being totally eliminated during the early transition to low carb dieting after just a couple days it was dramatic and lifechanging – Lucas Apr 3 2012 at 1:41
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going low carb has meant I consume a lot more protein and fats that keep me satiated for a much longer period of time. it's so liberating not thinking about when your next meal is coming, and I actually sit down now and enjoy food rather than scoffing it as fast as possible. this only happened though when I upped fat and proteins. it's really quite fantastic!

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still waiting on the big energy kick though :S – mzrdnan Apr 17 2012 at 15:13
my energy on low carb was endurance based and mental as well strength goes down with weights no matter which way you want to swing it. unless of course you eat like 200 - 250 grams of protein a day for protein to glucose conversion – Lucas Apr 18 2012 at 18:47
I find it hard to make it to the end of the day ... and then I force myself to gym/crossfit and my workouts are shit. I used to be able to smash a great workout, and do things like Plank for over three minutes...now I can barely make 1 minute! That's all happened since going low carb. Apparently Ketosis is meant to give you great all day energy..haven't had that...I don't know if I'm able to get into that state though..been VLC for over 6 weeks now and still feel like death by 3pm...did you find it hard to get adapted? – mzrdnan Apr 19 2012 at 7:33

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