I feel like you have been waiting for this post. Everyone loves food, right?
I am someone who has struggled with food for my whole life.
So, this post is me writing down one of my struggles and how I am trying to do better. I feel like part of having a website about mental health is making yourself vulnerable. So let’s give this a shot.
Why Talk About Food?
Mental health can be related to literally anything you can think of. I know for a fact when I eat healthier food my mood is much better. Food is such an important part of life, and healthy eating habits are just as important. From my experience, there is no one quick way to lose weight or get that dream body. It is about a lifestyle change!
Food And Mental Health
You might be wondering what possible relation food has with mental health. At first glance, it might not seem like a strong connection. That is because one “cheat day” will not do much harm. Food, just like our mental health, is a long-term game. We will all always need to eat to nurture our bodies, and we will always need to nurture our minds. The big question here is how exactly do we nurture our bodies with our diets. Here lies another similarity with food and mental health. Both require us to take a step back and figure out what ticks for us. Everyone needs the same things from our food like vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, but how we get them is different depending on the person. I said at the beginning of this post that this is one of my biggest issues. In the next section, I will open up and explain why and then tell you what I am doing to work on this difficult part of my life.
The Best Diets For Optimal Mental Health
This is the part you have probably been waiting for. If you think this post has been boring so far I hear you so from now on I will make this topic fun again! My problem with food lies in two categories: portion control and willpower. I love to eat! And I love to eat what I want when I want. Now there obviously are some problems with this ideology. The human body is simply not built for that. That leads me to the best diets that I have found to apply to a lifestyle change instead of a quick fix. First, I strongly recommend The Keto Resources Diet. You might have heard of this plan before as a plan that puts your body into “ketosis”. This might sound intimidating and that is understandable. But I can guarantee you that this plan is effective if you stick to the process. So many people diet and do great for a week or two weeks and then slip up once and let it derail them. Slip-ups are okay and normal. Keto has helped put me on the right track to losing weight and keeping my own mind sharp! Some days are better than others but sticking to their specific and simple process has made this challenge seem more possible. By this point, I am sure you have realized I like to read. So of course I have a recommendation in the form of a book. The Muscle Building Cookbook provides a strong list of cost-effective recipes that give every opportunity to lose weight healthily without losing muscle mass. These two strategies provide the blueprint that has helped me feel more confident in overcoming the challenges I have faced in my journey toward a better dietary plan.
The Bottom Line
My mental health has been shaken many times by my diet. Sometimes when I gain weight I get mood swings, tiredness and fatigue, and simply a lack of energy. Now this article, like all of my posts, is meant to spread positivity and love. Life will always have those moments that just suck though. I was worried that by now you may be thinking “Oh Nick talks about this stuff so he must be fine”. There are times where I am not fine and my relationship with food is a reason for those moments a lot of the time. Remember, we are all in this together! Food is another part of trying to balance our lifestyles and none of us ever have to do it alone.
Most people are not aware of the impact that food can have on their mental health and clarity. One thing that works for me is taking fish oil. I also believe eating a diet high in healthy fats will help with your brain health. This is the first time I hear about The Keto Resources Diet. I checked it out, and it looks legit enough.
Hi! Exactly true! Food plays a very important role in our mood, energy, and happiness. Yes, healthy oils and fats are great for our bodies! That is a great point because the words oils and fats have negative connotations but they are not always bad at all. It is very legit but nothing is for everyone because it is not a loose weight quick system it takes consistency. But it works!
I have tried the KETO diet before with not much luck. My problem was substituting foods for foods that I don’t particularly like. I bought the substitute flour, and oil, and spices. Made some of the recipes and just did not like the food. So then I resorted to only eating keto foods I liked, which made it a very very limited diet. Of course then that did not last long. What is the key to sticking with the keto diet?
Hi! I totally understand what you mean. Any kind of diet is really difficult to maintain especially when the food just does not satisfy you. I have been there so many times and it is very frustrating. So to answer your question, and a great question it is, I will give you a couple of recommendations that have worked for me in the past. The first one I want to start with is don’t substitute the foods that you don’t like. I know that seems obvious, but you do not have to eat everything exactly the way that the diet explains. You can still use the original oils, flour, and spices! A great partner to the KETO diet is Intermittent Fasting. This means that you don’t eat anything outside of a certain time period. For example, you would only eat between 12 pm and 8 pm. You can eat without those substitutes you don’t like and still enjoy your food! The biggest key to sticking with the KETO diet for me is water. A lot of the time your body can trick you into thinking you are hungry when you are really thirsty. I hope these recommendations were helpful and please let me know if you have any other questions! Whatever your goals are, I know you can do it!