I discovered an amazing trick this week, that energized my writing and let me float through the day, no slogging, no groaning, no fighting to keep myself at the desk.
Actually, I relearned the trick.
Last October, my DH was in a bad traffic accident and as a result, has been forced to take time off work. It drained all our reserves, including my emergency salary stash (I had six months’ worth tucked away). We immediately started cutting the most obvious expenses, then had to crunch down even further.
Over the years we have been cleaning up our diet, getting rid of most aspects of the S.A.D., and venturing into organic produce and grass-fed, hormone-free meat and dairy, and so forth.
All that was thrown overboard and for weeks we have been subsisting on pasta and hamburgers and anything we could make out of minced beef.
We knew it was impacting our energy, but I didn’t realize how much it was gouging from us until we swapped back this week to a ruthlessly clean week of chicken and salad, organic vegies with every meal, and zero sugar or carbs (except the vegies).
Oh wow, has it been an amazing week so far!
I had not realized how mentally bogged-down I had become. If you flip through my work logs for the last few weeks, you’ll see the pattern, though. Lack of inspiration, motivation and get-up-and-go has gradually but definitely ground me down until I was forced to off-load an entire book, and fill in the schedule with a boxed set.
Ugh.
But now…oh wow!
We got back to normal eating with a sigh of relief on Sunday. Monday, I turned up at the keyboard, not feeling all that much different, and floated through my five hours writing only to discover I had written well over 8K words! In the last few weeks it has been a struggle to reach 5K a day and I have been forcing myself through sheer bloody mindedness to get to 6K, my minimum per week day.
The rest of the week has been similarly struggle free. The words are flowing. So are the ideas. I’m making connections and not getting distracted, either. I slip into flow quickly, and have no trouble working in the evenings (when, before, I struggled to stay awake after supper).
I don’t intend to get into an argument about what a “clean” diet consists of, for there are totally opposing arguments about the meaning. I mention all this only to encourage you to consider your own diet. Is it clean? Is it healthy? Is it serving your writing?
Because a supportive diet will make a huge difference.
I knew this before the accident and this bout of crappy eating. I knew it intellectually, but the difference in my energy and mood and the ease of writing has underscored and hammered the point home this week. It’s not just physical energy you gain. Mental balance, creativity, motivation and discipline all soar.
Wouldn’t it be worth a trial month or week just to find out for yourself how much your writing improves?
What have you got to lose?
t.
I’m fascinated. Would LOVE for my brain to work better. May I ask – you have no starches or grains but you do have meat, veggies, dairy? Is it ketogenic low-carb you aim for? Sounds kinda like it, but I’m very curious. I promise not to wage war on your answer 😉
Hi Hilary:
I follow a pretty strict ketogenic diet, while my DH sways between keto and paleo (the carbs being the difference). I do take in a little diary, mostly cheese and some cream. But yes, absolutely no starches, grains, pulses, sugars (including fruit), and controlled protein, portions, etc. It’s very strict right now, because there’s a lot of cleaning up to do after six months of atrocious eating.
I can say, though, that I’ve continued to gain in energy and clarity since I wrote this post, too.
Although I say all the above with the qualifier added–diet is very personal and different for everyone. Cleaning up your diet is the best thing you can do, but what constitutes “clean” for you may not be my version. For example, for many reasons, I have a completely wrecked metabolism, so my carb tolerance is microscopic.
Someone younger and more active than me may find keto far too harsh, and that paleo works best for them.
Trial and tweaking is the best approach for anyone.
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
t.
Yes, definitely! Thanks 😀