This is your brain on Kinetix…. How eating K-Balanced calms the brain and energizes the body.
There are a host of reasons why diets don’t work: restricting calories, having low energy, mood swings, fending off cravings, and poor sleep to name a few. This type of “lifestyle” is just not sustainable and gaining back the weight you’ve lost (and then some) seems inevitable. We call this kind of eating yo-yoing, the back and forth and ups and downs of imbalance. What if I told you this imbalance is deeper than that? That your success or failure on a diet is not about will power at all. I like to think of this kind of eating as the yo-yoing brain. You see, food is metabolized by the body much like a drug. Out of all the organs in your body, your brain is the most sensitive to what kinds of foods you put in, when, and in what amounts. That’s why everyone, within a week of eating K-Balanced, says they instantly feel super energized, yet oddly calm and focused. How does this happen so quickly, so profoundly, and so consistently to every person who does Kinetix? Read on . . .
The answer lies in the nutrition - 40.40.20, eating 6 times a day, and eating every 2-3 hours without fail. It’s this specific combination that helps regulate your brain chemistry toward that calm, focused, energized state. This brain chemistry state revolves around the hormone serotonin and its good friend tryptophan. Let’s talk a bit of biochemistry for a moment.
Trytophan is an essential amino acid (a baby protein) that is not made by the body and so must be acquired by food. Think all animal protein, eggs, and dairy, in particularly high amounts cottage cheese, tofu, and soy products. It is a precursor that eventually turns into serotonin - a chemical messenger in the brain which promotes calmness, regulates mood, emotions, and hunger. Serotonin also plays a role in panic, irritability, the regulation of appetite, sleep difficulties, PMS, migraines, TMJ, Fibromyalgia, IBS, and tinnitus.
Sounds simple, eat more tryptophan and get calmer and calmer right? Wrong. Bad news first; tryptophan competes with 5 other amino acids for the coveted first class ride across the blood brain barrier. So, in fact, eating more protein alone, decreases tryptophan levels because it gets out competed by the other amino acids. This leads to less calm - some might say down right agitated and anxious. Hello low-carb dieting????? The good news, eating complex carbohydrates like whole grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, and milk along with trytophan rich foods helps tryptophan get to the brain much quicker and with greater concentration. This is exactly what is happening in your brain at each carbohydrate and protein rich K-Balanced meal and snack. The ultimate serotonin inducing meal is the beloved K4 Turkey Sandwich. It is no wonder that sandwich is a staple of most Kinetix lunches. At work, who doesn’t need more focus and calm?
From what recent studies have shown, serotonin levels from food effect a person pretty rapidly, from immediately upon eating and lasting up to two hours. This isn't like using the serotonin re-uptake drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft, or other medications which influence set levels of tryptophan over a day or so. Food potentially provides “new” serotonin into the body; whereas, the medications reuse whatever amount is there. Like I said, food is metabolized much like a drug. So there you have it, a snapshot of your brain on Kinetix nutrition, just some food for thought. Oh and by the way, a good 30 minute workout gives a major boost to serotonin levels too!
The answer lies in the nutrition - 40.40.20, eating 6 times a day, and eating every 2-3 hours without fail. It’s this specific combination that helps regulate your brain chemistry toward that calm, focused, energized state. This brain chemistry state revolves around the hormone serotonin and its good friend tryptophan. Let’s talk a bit of biochemistry for a moment.
Trytophan is an essential amino acid (a baby protein) that is not made by the body and so must be acquired by food. Think all animal protein, eggs, and dairy, in particularly high amounts cottage cheese, tofu, and soy products. It is a precursor that eventually turns into serotonin - a chemical messenger in the brain which promotes calmness, regulates mood, emotions, and hunger. Serotonin also plays a role in panic, irritability, the regulation of appetite, sleep difficulties, PMS, migraines, TMJ, Fibromyalgia, IBS, and tinnitus.
Sounds simple, eat more tryptophan and get calmer and calmer right? Wrong. Bad news first; tryptophan competes with 5 other amino acids for the coveted first class ride across the blood brain barrier. So, in fact, eating more protein alone, decreases tryptophan levels because it gets out competed by the other amino acids. This leads to less calm - some might say down right agitated and anxious. Hello low-carb dieting????? The good news, eating complex carbohydrates like whole grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, and milk along with trytophan rich foods helps tryptophan get to the brain much quicker and with greater concentration. This is exactly what is happening in your brain at each carbohydrate and protein rich K-Balanced meal and snack. The ultimate serotonin inducing meal is the beloved K4 Turkey Sandwich. It is no wonder that sandwich is a staple of most Kinetix lunches. At work, who doesn’t need more focus and calm?
From what recent studies have shown, serotonin levels from food effect a person pretty rapidly, from immediately upon eating and lasting up to two hours. This isn't like using the serotonin re-uptake drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft, or other medications which influence set levels of tryptophan over a day or so. Food potentially provides “new” serotonin into the body; whereas, the medications reuse whatever amount is there. Like I said, food is metabolized much like a drug. So there you have it, a snapshot of your brain on Kinetix nutrition, just some food for thought. Oh and by the way, a good 30 minute workout gives a major boost to serotonin levels too!
Comment
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Comment by Dove Ronai on June 2, 2010 at 10:52am - Great article - concise, applicable information.
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Comment by Christina Hulsman on April 29, 2010 at 12:12pm - This is a great article, very informative. I definitely find myself becoming panicky if I don't get to eat--which happens often at Starbucks. I am a shift and we are often understaffed and breaks to eat sometimes don't come around for shifts because everyone else needs theirs--which makes me even more frustrated and panicky! Maybe a new job would help...
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Comment by Sheryl Komis on April 29, 2010 at 11:04am - Thanks for that information. I can tell the difference when I miss that 3 hr. mark. It has also effected the way my body reacts to the exercise and fat loss vs. lean muscle. Really very interesting. I didn't realize food was so powerful. I always thought I was eating pretty healthy. Since I joined Kinetix I feel so much better, more energy and definitely don't get that nod-off feeling in the afternoon anymore. It's great!
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Comment by Susan Fitton on April 29, 2010 at 10:14am - Just saw old comment regarding not feeling so great after having started and questioning the amount of dairy, strange as it sounds, my mother has a very odd reaction to dairy - cheese in particular (aged cheeses even more so) where it actually triggers depression. She is very careful but countless times she has felt the onset of depression and has ended up being able to trace it back to an unexpected source of cheese. Weird as it sounds... I don't know what the physiological basis might be but thought if this has come up before this might be of interest.
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Comment by Lesley Ma on April 29, 2010 at 9:54am - I definitely agree with the idea of being more focused. I feel that I make up for any time I might miss at work due to lunch time workouts with being more focused on my work when I am working. I don't feel so overwhelmed by a busy day (and ALL days are busy!). I had been attributing that to the workout, but it makes a lot of sense that 'feeding my brain' is keeping me alert & focused.
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Comment by Coach Lisa on September 3, 2008 at 8:53pm -
Everyday I eat K-Balanced I feel FANTASTIC. Seriously.
I think it is funny that even when I am taking free targets, my body WANTS a combination of foods not all pastries or pasta.. I am so glad that this is not a quick fix. I can feel good knowing that I am not denying myself of any macronutrient with Kinetix. My brain is happy:)
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Comment by Amanda, Nutritionist on September 2, 2008 at 6:59pm - Wow Whittney- How much dairy are you talking? Without knowing what and in what quantity you are eating, it's hard to say why you're feeling what you're feeling. Tell me more.
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Comment by Whittney on September 2, 2008 at 6:37pm - Am I the only person that has had the opposite happen? I'm moody. I haven't been sleeping well. I've had the overwhelming urge to sit around my house and do nothing all day. It's been a bad two weeks. Maybe it's the dairy? I've never had so much dairy in my life.
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Comment by Coach Aaron on August 28, 2008 at 10:25am -
Amanda,
My body totally agrees with you.
When I'm unbalanced.........my body feels like garbage..........or if I eat "healthy food"(unbalanced/ low carb meat and vegies) I feel low energy and cranky.
How I feel is definitely linked to what I put in my body.
Very important to reflect on.
Thank you for sharing,
AD
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Comment by Coach Terry on August 27, 2008 at 11:00am - Plug in the George Forman Grill...I'll be having more turkey sandwiches this week!!
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