Eating well and mental health in recovery
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 5,229
over time since I sobered up I kept modifying and cleaning up my diet in attempt to get healthier and feel better. I've lost tons of weight gotten in shape and now eat a high carbohydrate vegan diet. Every time I deviate from it I feel crummy so I jut keep doing it. It works for me
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: "I'm not lost for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost ..."
Posts: 5,273
I am the opposite. I eat a low carb paleo diet (lots of meat and veggies and fruit; no grains, dairy, legumes, potaoes, or sugar), and I've never felt better. I know people who are vegan who feel great too. I think it's important to listen to your body and pay close attention to how you feel. Not everyone tolerates food the same way, but I think everyone agrees that processed stuff is bad no matter what. If it comes out of a box, bag, or can and has stuff I can't pronounce, I don't eat it.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Bklyn. NY
Posts: 1,859
Food has a profound affect on my mental and emotional well being. My diet has changed gradually over time. I currently have very little (if any) processed sugar in my diet, I'm careful with my carbs, and I'm a vegetarian (not vegan though).
I teach health in a night school program to teens at risk. I focus a lot on diet and nutrition. While scientists are always coming up with new theories and ideas regarding how we feed ourselves, one thing seems to remain constant. We need to be sure we include the 6 essential nutrients in our diet. Proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water. While the amounts of each of those can be argued, if we don't get enough of each and every one... We are endangering our health.
I learn a lot from the people around me. A friend of mine from work was on the Atkins diet for about 10 years. At the age of 51 he passed away this past October from a sudden massive heart attack. Another friend of mine not too long ago went on the high carb diet (which I had never heard of before, but works). Within a few months he wound up with some serious skin problems. When he balanced what he ate with proteins again, he got better.
Early in sobriety, before I was a vegetarian, I fell in love with a woman who was the first person I knew who didn't eat meat. Her idea of being a vegetarian however meant she simply removed meat (and pretty much all protein) from her diet. She went from being one of the most energetic people I knew, to being bedridden, unable to do the simplest tasks, for close to 2 years.
It's important that we give our bodies what they need. Fad diets work excellently, for a while. And then they destroy. I urge anyone and everyone to thoroughly research the good and bad of anything radical they're doing in regard to what they eat. And open yourself up to all sides of all information available. My friend Joe (the Atkins guy) was 150% certain that what he was doing was the right, healthy thing to do. We had many discussions regarding our individual diets, and he used to joke with me saying the only way we're going to know who right is when one of us is standing by the others casket. The fact that we joked around like that still messes with me some, but it also makes me wish I'd have talked with him differently, or even smacked him the head.... Not literally of course. Anyway... Yeah....
Last thing I want to mention is that I just started researching drinking water first thing in the morning. It's something I've been doing for about a year, because I realized I never get thirsty, but I had no idea the claims they're starting to make in regard to how this simple practice can change our lives. If interested, google drinking water first thing in the morning, or Japanese water cure. Some real interesting stuff that I'd write more about, but this post is long enough
.
I teach health in a night school program to teens at risk. I focus a lot on diet and nutrition. While scientists are always coming up with new theories and ideas regarding how we feed ourselves, one thing seems to remain constant. We need to be sure we include the 6 essential nutrients in our diet. Proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water. While the amounts of each of those can be argued, if we don't get enough of each and every one... We are endangering our health.
I learn a lot from the people around me. A friend of mine from work was on the Atkins diet for about 10 years. At the age of 51 he passed away this past October from a sudden massive heart attack. Another friend of mine not too long ago went on the high carb diet (which I had never heard of before, but works). Within a few months he wound up with some serious skin problems. When he balanced what he ate with proteins again, he got better.
Early in sobriety, before I was a vegetarian, I fell in love with a woman who was the first person I knew who didn't eat meat. Her idea of being a vegetarian however meant she simply removed meat (and pretty much all protein) from her diet. She went from being one of the most energetic people I knew, to being bedridden, unable to do the simplest tasks, for close to 2 years.
It's important that we give our bodies what they need. Fad diets work excellently, for a while. And then they destroy. I urge anyone and everyone to thoroughly research the good and bad of anything radical they're doing in regard to what they eat. And open yourself up to all sides of all information available. My friend Joe (the Atkins guy) was 150% certain that what he was doing was the right, healthy thing to do. We had many discussions regarding our individual diets, and he used to joke with me saying the only way we're going to know who right is when one of us is standing by the others casket. The fact that we joked around like that still messes with me some, but it also makes me wish I'd have talked with him differently, or even smacked him the head.... Not literally of course. Anyway... Yeah....
Last thing I want to mention is that I just started researching drinking water first thing in the morning. It's something I've been doing for about a year, because I realized I never get thirsty, but I had no idea the claims they're starting to make in regard to how this simple practice can change our lives. If interested, google drinking water first thing in the morning, or Japanese water cure. Some real interesting stuff that I'd write more about, but this post is long enough
.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 476
Originally Posted by karate
AGREE !!!!!!!!!!
If it wont ruin my liver ,cause me to get in fights ,or wreck my car .
Its all good .
If it wont ruin my liver ,cause me to get in fights ,or wreck my car .
Its all good .
1. It is not addictive.
2. It quenches your appetite slightly.
3. It literally makes you "warm and fuzzy" inside on a cold day
4. No "withdrawal" nonsense to worry about, no hidden crap secrets or "hidden fees" like alcohol.
5. It is available pretty much everywhere and is dirt-cheap.
6. I hear rumors on the internet that it has tons of anti-oxidants and may help fight diabetes.
7. It really helps to clear out that morning fog out of your mind
8. It just makes you feel good all around, its not as strong as alcohol in this department....... but it does produce a "mild" mood boost in comparison
9. Gives you a calm, relaxed energy for as long as the effect lasts
and the best one.......
10. It goes GREAT with sweets like donuts, pastries, cake, chocolate......... actually, i make it a point to always have something sweet with my coffee, its just not the same without
Only downsides i can think of.....
1. Makes it harder to sleep if ingested too close to bedtime
2. Diminishing returns, the first cup feels AMAZING....... 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th cups not so much
....................... my ONLY regret is that i didn't "discover" coffee earlier, if i had known about the energy and productivity-boosting effects of coffee and it's relative harmless-ness, i would have started in high school. I am on day 79 of alcohol sobriety and i will tell you, coffee has been very much a crutch for me....... has helped me combat the cravings that i get from time to time.
For the record, my dad (lifetime alcoholic) drinks coffee anywhere from 4-6 times a day and is still ticking along at age 66. I know a lot of older and elderly folk who still indulge in coffee every morning, so i wouldnt be surprised if some of those studies on longevity involving coffee have some truth to them.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 668
Originally Posted by grubby 
Coffee has been my guardian angel so far - it has been there by my side and has helped me get that motivation "jump start" to get thru the day, i started in 2010 and dont plan on E.V.E.R. stopping............ 1. It is not addictive. 2. It quenches your appetite slightly. 3. It literally makes you "warm and fuzzy" inside on a cold day 4. No "withdrawal" nonsense to worry about, no hidden crap secrets or "hidden fees" like alcohol. 5. It is available pretty much everywhere and is dirt-cheap. 6. I hear rumors on the internet that it has tons of anti-oxidants and may help fight diabetes. 7. It really helps to clear out that morning fog out of your mind 8. It just makes you feel good all around, its not as strong as alcohol in this department....... but it does produce a "mild" mood boost in comparison 9. Gives you a calm, relaxed energy for as long as the effect lasts and the best one....... 10. It goes GREAT with sweets like donuts, pastries, cake, chocolate......... actually, i make it a point to always have something sweet with my coffee, its just not the same without Only downsides i can think of..... 1. Makes it harder to sleep if ingested too close to bedtime 2. Diminishing returns, the first cup feels AMAZING....... 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th cups not so much ....................... my ONLY regret is that i didn't "discover" coffee earlier, if i had known about the energy and productivity-boosting effects of coffee and it's relative harmless-ness, i would have started in high school. I am on day 79 of alcohol sobriety and i will tell you, coffee has been very much a crutch for me....... has helped me combat the cravings that i get from time to time. For the record, my dad (lifetime alcoholic) drinks coffee anywhere from 4-6 times a day and is still ticking along at age 66. I know a lot of older and elderly folk who still indulge in coffee every morning, so i wouldnt be surprised if some of those studies on longevity involving coffee have some truth to them.
4. No "withdrawal" nonsense to worry about, no hidden crap secrets or "hidden fees" like alcohol. 5. It is available pretty much everywhere and is dirt-cheap. 6. I hear rumors on the internet that it has tons of anti-oxidants and may help fight diabetes. 7. It really helps to clear out that morning fog out of your mind 8. It just makes you feel good all around, its not as strong as alcohol in this department....... but it does produce a "mild" mood boost in comparison 9. Gives you a calm, relaxed energy for as long as the effect lasts and the best one....... 10. It goes GREAT with sweets like donuts, pastries, cake, chocolate......... actually, i make it a point to always have something sweet with my coffee, its just not the same without Only downsides i can think of..... 1. Makes it harder to sleep if ingested too close to bedtime 2. Diminishing returns, the first cup feels AMAZING....... 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th cups not so much ....................... my ONLY regret is that i didn't "discover" coffee earlier, if i had known about the energy and productivity-boosting effects of coffee and it's relative harmless-ness, i would have started in high school. I am on day 79 of alcohol sobriety and i will tell you, coffee has been very much a crutch for me....... has helped me combat the cravings that i get from time to time. For the record, my dad (lifetime alcoholic) drinks coffee anywhere from 4-6 times a day and is still ticking along at age 66. I know a lot of older and elderly folk who still indulge in coffee every morning, so i wouldnt be surprised if some of those studies on longevity involving coffee have some truth to them.
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