Eat based on your brain chemistry? That sounds complicated, but it’s actually way easier than it sounds. Even though “just eat 1200 calories per day” sounds easier on paper … it’s much more complicated and ineffective when put into practice.
Your body will get your attention, one way or another
Our entire body, including all the internal workings, is made up of the foods we consume. When we don’t give our body and brain the stuff they want, they get mad. And, when they get mad, they yell. The yelling may be soft at first but if it continues, they scream!
This is what most 1200 calorie dieters learn the hard way. Typically, the screaming is in the form of chronic fatigue, always getting sick, loss of cycle, brain fog, or injury. Your body wasn’t rebelling against you. It was trying to get your attention. Just like a needy child, your body will get you to pay attention one way or another.
What does brain chemistry have to do with food?
So, maybe eating foods based on your brain chemistry sounds a little complicated on paper. But, it’s much easier and much more effective than the other way. There’s a simple way to know, based on your personality, whether you are sympathetic or parasympathetic dominant.
Essentially, we want to know if you need to pump the brakes or rev the engine. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for your stress response, or ‘fight or flight’ mode. Your parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for calming you down, or ‘rest and digest’.
The two operate like yin and yang. Some people need more foods to calm the brain down, while others need certain foods to amp them up.
One important trait to look at is anxiety or OCD-like tendencies. Those individuals who are naturally more anxious, definitely need to calm the brain down. Anxiety is nothing more than your neurons firing too fast. Therefore, we can use food choices to slow down that brain activity.
Individuals who are more extroverted and natural leaders usually need more foods to increase brain activity. They are more parasympathetic dominant and if they aren’t activated, it can come across as laziness or unmotivated.
Our anxious friends would be better served favoring carbs over fats because carbs increase serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that calms the brain down.
Our extroverted friends would be better served favoring protein/fats over carbs because that will increase dopamine, which will allow them to thrive as the natural leaders they are.
Then, we have other individuals who can go one way or the other and it would really depend on timing and context. For example, amping them up for a workout and calming them down for recovery and sleep.
Rather than immediately jumping to the 1200 calorie plan, instead try this …
If you are naturally more anxious, eat protein, carbs, and veggies with each meal. If you are naturally more extroverted, but are lacking motivation, eat protein, fats, and veggies with each meal.
We can get much more specific if we know your personality type, which will give us even more insight into your brain chemistry. When applied, you notice an immediate difference in how you feel and how your body responds.
For example, our client Zoe recently said “This is freakin’ amazing! My body is responding so well and it all feels so ‘normal’ that it’s almost impossible to believe!”
Eating based on brain chemistry is powerful and effective.
If you’re interested in getting more specific, there’s a quiz on my website that breaks this down even further into 5 personality types.
Or, if you’re already convinced that this piece is what’s been missing from your approach to nutrition and fitness and you want our help … the next step is to DM me and see if you’re a good fit for our 6-month program for individuals who are looking to get leaner and lose those last 20-30 lbs.
We tailor your nutritional plan to your unique personality and brain chemistry, which means you’ll feel more like yourself, will naturally have better mood stability, and will put less stress on your body.
This leads to increased adherence and consistency with your nutrition, which ultimately leads to better results.
We’ll also make sure you’re hitting approximately the right calorie and protein counts on a weekly basis (leaving freedom for restaurants and other “untrackable” meals!)
Finally, we’ll tweak your nutrition to accommodate your training program and the amount of stress you can tolerate, which will lead to body composition improvements.
DM me if interested or fill out the coaching application and we’ll have a very quick chat to see if this is a good fit for you and your goals.
