When it comes to our energy, many of us are “running on empty”. Instead of recuperating our energy correctly, we often fall into the “stimulant trap” of eating and drinking a “quick pick-me-up”.
We often eat when we are tired, not necessarily when we are hungry. And when we use food to stimulate ourselves into another half hour of alertness, what do we typically reach for? An apple? A steaming bowl of vegetable soup? Nope – we reach for coffee and a pastry, or a soda. All nutrient poor, much of it very high in calories.
This food is not serving us nutritionally, it is also addictive. That means when we are low on caffeine and sugar, we experience intense cravings and headaches. We interpret these signals as signs of hunger, but they’re not. They’re symptoms of toxic withdrawal, the same as you would experience when you couldn’t get your hit of nicotine or heroin.
The vicious cycle The more stimulating foods and drinks we consume, the more exhausted and overweight we become… and the more we want, and think we need to eat and drink. See the vicious cycle?
Joel Fuhrman, M.D., a Nutrient Rich expert advisor, discusses one of the particular effects of caffeine in his bestseller, Eat to Live: “Eating more frequently and eating more food suppresses caffeine withdrawal headaches and other withdrawal symptoms… You are prodded to eat again, eating more food than you would if you were not a caffeine addict. You will never be in touch with your body’s true hunger signals when you are addicted to stimulants.” Sugar also creates a craving cycle of glycemic swings.
When reading the Diet Trap #3 article, you learned that the cause of overweight isn’t your natural hunger drive. Now you understand why – we have overwhelmed our natural hunger drive with toxic substances that are concentrated “mutants” of our natural foods. Your true hunger drive is your best friend in reaching and maintaining your ideal weight.
Stimulating foods and drinks seem to give you more energy, but they don’t. Pastries, chips, coffee, and soda all pull energy from you and leave you needing more. They give you “energy boosts,” which are not infusions of energy at all. They are energy expenditures.
How stimulants work Whenever you put a toxic substance in your body, your body has to spend energy to process and use the food. Depending on how toxic the substance is, your body works harder to get rid of the offending substance by speeding up its metabolism. You are using energy, not gaining it.
Intoxication through alcohol is the primary example You could be tired, but just put away a couple of drinks and all of a sudden you’re “up.” Then when the stimulation from the intoxication wears off, you realize that you are more exhausted than before you had the drink.
What seemed to give you energy actually robbed you of energy.
Stimulation with artificial substances gives you no return on investment for the energy expended. When you exercise, you can get stronger muscles and greater stamina. Your only return on your stimulation investment is a depletion your vital energy reserve, which you use to get the stimulants out of your body as quickly as possible.
The costs of stimulation Before long, this starts to take a toll on your weight, your performance, your productivity, your sense of well being, and your success in every area of your life -even your longevity.
If you want a sure-fire way to push your body into overeating, just drink coffee, have a caffeinated soda (diet or regular), or a sugary “treat.” Before long, you will experience withdrawal and turn to food you wouldn’t have otherwise desired, just to ease the withdrawal symptoms.
The only way to experience consistent, abundant energy, with an increasing capacity to make the most of it over time, is to balance activity with recuperation in a body effectively fortified through whole-food, nutrient-rich eating – the first two core essentials you’ll master during your time with MyTrainer.
Look for the article for the Diet Trap # 8:
The Low-Fat / Low-Cal Trap: starving yourself until the binge.