Velocity Day 3: First Hurdle
At work tonight I hit my first real obstacle. I felt terrible. I felt like I was about to fall over. Obviously I knew this was not what was supposed to be happening with velocity, so I ate. I had salmon, a potato, and a glass of milk... and I felt better immediately.
So I definetly encountered a problem in the current diet plan today: it makes me want to pass out at work (or more generally: when I'm doing something that requires more energy than watching champions league soccer). On the bright side, I was able to address it: by eating something different than what I had been.
By no means do I plan to abandon my project, but I'm not going to continue doing things the way I have been. After all, this is still a work in progress. Clearly I need to rewrite part of the plan to solve this issue permanently. I identify three possible areas I may be missing something in my diet that my meal gave to me: 1) some micronutrient (vitamin or mineral) 2) carbohydrates 3) some virtue of eating whole food.
I don't think the problem is 1. From my measurements, I'm probably getting more nutrients than I was before I was on the diet. Additionally, I felt better almost immediately. A vitamin or mineral deficiency would probably take more time to manifest itself, and take more time to rectify than what I encountered. However, I could be wrong. I know not all nutrients are absorbed as effectively in supplement form as they are in whole food form, so this is a concern I'll put on the backburner for now rather than discarding entirely.
I do think 2 and 3 are likely candidates. My first guess would be that low carbohydrate intake is the culprit. Physically I felt okay (not hungry, not weak) but mentally I felt a little sluggish. Since the muscles & organs can use protein or fat for energy, but the brain & nervous system can use only glucose, I think the fact that I felt nervously drained but not physically drained is another indicator that carb depletion was the culprit. However, I think the wisest course of action will remedy both 2 and 3.
If I'm going to include new carbs in my plan, I want to include a source that will create a smaller insulin response from me. This means that it will provide me with energy more slowly, and that it will have a smaller potential for fat storage. Veggies are probably my best bet, which is nice because they're whole food. Starting with greens like spinach, brussel sprouts & brocolli, I'll add veggies to my diet until I feel good again. The caloric impact should be fairly low, but for every cal of veg that I add, I'll subtract calories from the whey powder I'm ingesting, because I'm getting plenty of protein as it is. This will also provide me with some more whole food nutrients & I guess it'll address 1 as well. Perfect.
So I definetly encountered a problem in the current diet plan today: it makes me want to pass out at work (or more generally: when I'm doing something that requires more energy than watching champions league soccer). On the bright side, I was able to address it: by eating something different than what I had been.
By no means do I plan to abandon my project, but I'm not going to continue doing things the way I have been. After all, this is still a work in progress. Clearly I need to rewrite part of the plan to solve this issue permanently. I identify three possible areas I may be missing something in my diet that my meal gave to me: 1) some micronutrient (vitamin or mineral) 2) carbohydrates 3) some virtue of eating whole food.
I don't think the problem is 1. From my measurements, I'm probably getting more nutrients than I was before I was on the diet. Additionally, I felt better almost immediately. A vitamin or mineral deficiency would probably take more time to manifest itself, and take more time to rectify than what I encountered. However, I could be wrong. I know not all nutrients are absorbed as effectively in supplement form as they are in whole food form, so this is a concern I'll put on the backburner for now rather than discarding entirely.
I do think 2 and 3 are likely candidates. My first guess would be that low carbohydrate intake is the culprit. Physically I felt okay (not hungry, not weak) but mentally I felt a little sluggish. Since the muscles & organs can use protein or fat for energy, but the brain & nervous system can use only glucose, I think the fact that I felt nervously drained but not physically drained is another indicator that carb depletion was the culprit. However, I think the wisest course of action will remedy both 2 and 3.
If I'm going to include new carbs in my plan, I want to include a source that will create a smaller insulin response from me. This means that it will provide me with energy more slowly, and that it will have a smaller potential for fat storage. Veggies are probably my best bet, which is nice because they're whole food. Starting with greens like spinach, brussel sprouts & brocolli, I'll add veggies to my diet until I feel good again. The caloric impact should be fairly low, but for every cal of veg that I add, I'll subtract calories from the whey powder I'm ingesting, because I'm getting plenty of protein as it is. This will also provide me with some more whole food nutrients & I guess it'll address 1 as well. Perfect.
